Nonprofit exec to be Minn.'s next housing chief

The new commissioner of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency comes from a nonprofit background.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has named Dan Bartholomay to lead the department, which runs homeownership loan programs and works to foster more affordable housing. He replaces Tim Marx, who left to take a job in New York.

The 47-year-old Bartholomay has been a top executive at the McKnight Foundation since 1995.

As commissioner, Bartholomay will be at the forefront of state efforts to combat mortgage foreclosures and fight long-term homelessness. The agency has 200 employees.

Pawlenty says he would be willing to hear out supporters of a foreclosure moratorium. He vetoed a bill containing a freeze last year amid concerns over its duration and effect on credit availability.