DPS Confirms Lopez’s Exit From Minnesota’s MMIR Office as Interim Leaders Step In

Overview

• The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said Guadalupe Lopez is no longer employed and is out as head of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office.
• DPS declined to say why she left and said the office will keep serving the community.
• The agency named Office of Justice Programs chief Kim Babine as interim lead with support from DPS Tribal Relations Director and former MMIR director Juliet Rudie.
• The announcement followed Lopez’s remarks at a remembrance event for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives the day before.
• Lopez told MPR News that she was fired and said she was told she had made poor leadership decisions.