NORTH SHORE

Cook County jury to hear lawsuit against polygamous sect leaders

Tom Olsen — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 19:29:14 GMT

GRAND MARAIS — Jurors in one of Minnesota’s smallest counties will head to the courthouse next week to hear a case involving two men who have attracted international attention.

On the docket at the Cook County Courthouse is a trial in a lawsuit filed against Warren Jeffs, the infamous leader of a polygamous Mormon sect who is serving a life sentence for child sexual assault. Also named is his younger brother, Seth Jeffs.

The lawsuit, filed nearly two years ago, stems from Seth’s controversial purchase and sale of a 40-acre property near Grand Marais several years ago. Plans to build on the site never materialized, but his presence in the remote community attracted significant public outcry.

The plaintiff in the case is Elissa Wall, a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who was forced to marry her cousin at 14 and has spoken out about physical, sexual and emotional abuse suffered in the offshoot sect that she described as a cult.

In 2017, Wall won a $10 million judgment against Warren Jeffs in a Utah court — a sum she has yet to collect from the self-proclaimed prophet who allegedly continues to exert control over the church from a Texas prison cell.

The plaintiff claims in the lawsuit that Seth Jeffs, now 52, obtained the money necessary to purchase the Cook County property from his brother, and argues that she should stand to receive $130,000 — the sum he sold it for in 2023 — to collect against the outstanding judgment.

“In order to conceal their actions, the FLDS and its members, including Warren and Seth Jeffs, operate almost exclusively in cash transactions,” Wall said in an affidavit filed in the case. “Upon information and belief, Seth Jeffs acts as a conduit for funds from Warren Jeffs and his agents.”

But William Paul, the Duluth attorney representing Seth Jeffs, has called the case “weak and frivolous” and said the plaintiff “has not provided to date a scintilla of evidence” that Warren Jeffs had anything to do with the Cook County transaction.

Further, the attorney said he can establish that Seth Jeffs and his company, Emerald Industries, LLC, earned the funds from construction work he was hired to do at a Lutsen cabin.

“Claims that Seth Jeffs has received money from his incarcerated brother, who’s been incarcerated from 2006, have absolutely no merit,” Paul told the News Tribune, “and we are confident of prevailing at the time of the jury trial.”

Twenty-year legal saga

Warren Jeffs, who inherited control of the FLDS Church after the death of his father in 2002, has faced many allegations of child sexual assault and the arranging of illegal marriages between adult men and underage girls within the community based at the Utah-Arizona border.

The sect, which still practices polygamy despite the mainstream Mormon church banning it in 1890, is also known for its strict dress code and intense secrecy. Warren Jeffs reportedly married as many as 78 wives, some underage, and has more than 60 children.

He first entered the national spotlight around 2004, when his nephew sued him and authored a book about his experience in the sect. In the following years, he was charged in Utah and Arizona with sexual assault and conspiracy related to Wall’s arranged marriage and other crimes.

A national manhunt ensued, and he was placed on the FBI’s "Ten Most Wanted" list alongside Osama bin Laden before he was eventually apprehended in August 2006.

Seth Jeffs was also arrested in Colorado in 2005 on a charge of harboring his fugitive brother. He later pleaded guilty in federal court and was sentenced to three years of probation.

Wall testified in Warren Jeffs’ highly publicized trial and he was found guilty, receiving a 10-year prison term before the Utah Supreme Court overturned the verdict due to flawed jury instructions.

He was subsequently extradited to Texas to face more serious charges, and was convicted in 2011 of raping two children, 15 and 12. He was handed a life sentence, plus 20 years, and he remains incarcerated in Palestine, Texas.

Seth Jeffs, meanwhile, had another run-in with the law in 2016, when he and 10 other church members were charged in a $12 million food stamp fraud case. Then the leader of an FLDS compound in South Dakota, he later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to the six months he had already served in jail.

Wall authored a book, “Stolen Innocence," about her life, and the sect in recent years has been profiled in documentary miniseries on Peacock, Netflix and Discovery+.

Cook County plans scuttled

Seth Jeffs’ arrival in Cook County in 2018 was not welcomed by residents. He paid $54,000 for the land, 932 Pike Lake Road, about 10 miles west of Grand Marais, and filed permits to construct a nearly 6,000-square-foot pole barn with six bedrooms.

But in May 2019, shortly after a public forum was hosted by advocates and investigators who monitor the FLDS Church, landscaping work was ordered to halt by Cook County due to several “serious” wetlands violations.

Jeffs, in filings in the ongoing lawsuit, said he completed approximately $400,000 worth of work for a couple at their Lutsen cabin. He said he purchased the land with the intention of building his own family residence because “demand was high for construction” and he wanted to live in the area.

However, he indicated he later abandoned those plans because he “was not able to get any work because of negative publicity.”

Jeffs closed on the $130,000 sale in August 2023 — just hours before Wall obtained an emergency order from the court in an attempt to prevent the sale. Approximately $60,000 in proceeds remain frozen in Jeffs’ bank account, by court order, pending resolution of the lawsuit.

Wall and her representatives claim Seth Jeffs’ company is one of many that make up a “loosely knit, shadow organization” controlled by Warren Jeffs after the church lost control of its financial arm due to a series of lawsuits.

Wall plans to testify, as does private investigator Sam Brower, who has spent 20 years tracking the Jeffs brothers and the FLDS and has been a consultant and witness for the FBI and other state and federal agencies.

"I have information that leads me to believe that Seth Jeffs and other FLDS leaders were required to locate and acquire properties around the country that were referred to by Warren Jeffs as 'places of hiding' and 'places of refuge,'" Brower said in an affidavit, calling Seth Jeffs a “devoted brother and leader” and a “trusted courier.”

Warren Jeffs, 69, was served with the lawsuit in prison but has not responded to it and has been ruled in default.

Wall and her Grand Marais attorneys, Richard Furlong and Tyson Smith, declined to comment for this story, as did Brower, citing the approaching trial.

Judge orders case to proceed

Paul, the attorney representing Seth Jeffs, sought to have the case dismissed. He said the plaintiff is attempting to shift the burden of proof by making his client establish where he got the money.

Nonetheless, Jeffs has asserted in a court filing: “I purchased the property with my own money from work I had done, primarily home construction.” And his defense has submitted a copy of a $62,000 check he received for the Lutsen work shortly before purchasing the property, along with other work orders.

Judge Nicole Hopps, however, said there are material issues of fact to be decided by a jury. She noted Wall’s affidavit, which “credibly states that Seth Jeffs was not employed for several years during the underlying case and judgment and admitted to being a middle-man for Warren Jeffs to obfuscate assets.”

Seth Jeffs has acknowledged not having a paying job from 2007 to 2016, with any bills covered by the church. Wall’s attorneys have also cited old ledgers from the church showing cash transfers to him, and questioned the proceeds reported by his company in 2018.

In a pretrial order, Hopps ruled that evidence of Jeffs’ religious affiliation is admissible, but specific practices such as polygamy are not. She said the jury can hear about his fraud case, but his conviction for harboring his brother is too old to be admitted under court rules.

The trial is slated to begin Tuesday and may continue through the end of the week.

Seth Jeffs is now living in Menomonie, Wisconsin, according to court documents.

He stated in a deposition that he didn’t have any contact with his brother from 2016 until 2023, but started writing monthly letters to prison to “let him know now how we're doing as a family, and expressing our love and appreciation for him.” He said he never received a response.

As for his prophet brother’s “revelations,” he said he continues to follow “as well as I possibly can.”

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Front Row Seat: 10 things you didn't know about North Shore landmarks

Jay Gabler — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 10:28:00 GMT

DULUTH — While Desert Southwest tourists get their kicks on Route 66, Northland travelers have been taking it down Minnesota Highway 61 for nearly a century. Before that, the North Shore route had names including Minnesota Highway 1 and the Lake Superior International Highway.

Arnold R. Alanen is the author of a new history of the North Shore, from Duluth to Grand Portage — and everything along the way. "The Scenic Route: Building Minnesota's North Shore" is available now from the University of Minnesota Press, and Alanen is making three Northland appearances to present the book.

From his home in Madison, Wisconsin, Alanen spoke with me about some of the revelations that may surprise even North Shore know-it-alls.

Chester Congdon did much more for North Shore than build Glensheen

Duluth's historic mansion is a highlight of the city's lake shore, but Chester Congdon, who built Glensheen for his family, thought even bigger. "He was one of the original sponsors," said Alanen, "of the so-called Lake Superior International Highway."

A 1910 diagram appearing in the book depicts architects' plan for a landscaped boulevard providing separate lanes for cars, carriages, horseback riders and pedestrians. Congdon favored that plan and donated much of the land that became today's Congdon Boulevard — which is attractive, if not quite as elaborately landscaped as once imagined.

New Scenic Cafe used to have 'American Graffiti' vibe

If you were a teenager in 1950s Duluth and you wanted to take advantage of your night out with the family car, where would you go? You might well cruise up the shore to Johnson's Drive-In, which offered the classic complement of mid-century hot-rod attractions: burgers, carhops, jukebox. "It was a famous and most favored teenage hangout," said Alanen.

A succession of ownership changes starting in 1972 saw the business move away from a teenage clientele in favor of North Shore tourists. The biggest changes, though, have come in the 21st century as chef/owner Scott Graden has turned the restaurant now known as the New Scenic Cafe into one of the region's top foodie destinations.

Tom's Logging Camp remnant of roadside America

While the former Johnson's Drive-In has been dramatically transformed, Tom's Logging Camp remains an example of the kind of splashy tourist attraction that used to be more common along Highway 61. Owners Lauren and Steve Weckman don't just teach visitors about the region's logging heyday, but aim to maintain the retro feel the attraction has had for decades.

Some of the changes elsewhere along the North Shore are due to developments in technology. Gone are the days of coin-operated telescope viewers. Other changes are due to bygone practices that few, least of all the local fauna, would want to revive.

"The North Shore had at least two places where they would have bears chained to a post," noted Alanen, "and daring but, maybe, foolhardy tourists would then buy some marshmallows and bring them along and feed the bruins."

Russ Kendall's used to do a lot more than sell fish

Russ Kendall's Smoke House dates back over a century, and is still famed for tasty fish. Back in its early decades, though, the business offered a range of boat charters as well as boasting a tavern and dance hall. In the 1950s, you could even go to Kendall's to watch live "grapplers," competitors akin to pro wrestlers.

The grapplers would go at it in a tiny bar. "It must have really been tight and hot, even for the North Shore, to have those sweaty guys fighting in there," mused Alanen.

Pierre the Voyageur spoke

Pierre the Voyageur is the 20-foot stalwart who stands alongside Highway 61 in Two Harbors. Also known as "Pierre the Pantsless Voyageur" due to having a much heavier clothing layer up top than down below, the statue was built in 1960 to promote the Voyageur Motel and was moved to its current home in 2011.

The voyageur is now immobile, but that wasn't always the case. Originally, Pierre's head moved — and he even spoke. "The big man talked via speaker and a worker hidden in a booth," the Lake County News-Chronicle reported in 2010. Pierre's gaze became fixed in about 1980, when the motor that rotated his head wore out.

Like Elton John, though, the voyageur is still standing. "When (a) storm of March 2017 came in and blew off its paddle and one arm, they made repairs," said Alanen. "Pierre is there still to greet motorists when they travel along the expressway."

Two Harbors Lighthouse oldest still functioning in Minnesota

Having never been to the Two Harbors shoreline at night, I didn't even realize the Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast remains a working light station. "They don't need a lightkeeper anymore because everything is so automated," explained Alanen.

The light station has been active since 1892 — almost two decades before Split Rock Lighthouse became operational. It was electrified in 1921 and automated in 1981. Since 2001, the Lake County Historical Society has operated the light as a "private aid to navigation," according to the society's website.

Silver Creek cliff used to be deadman's curve

The Silver Creek Cliff Tunnel was completed in 1994 to promise safe passage along what was once a seriously sketchy stretch of highway.

In the 1920s, some 60,000 tons of rock were dynamited to create a cliffside stretch of Minnesota Highway 1, which sported on its Lake Superior side a 125-foot drop that was so sheer, it was said you could toss a cigarette butt right into the water from your passing car.

"Now," said Alanen, "people go by and they don't even realize what a challenge it used to be to drive there, especially on snowy nights or when it was very dark and foggy." Incidents on the road included a fatal crash in 1957, when a car broke through the guardrail and landed in the lake.

Now, the Gitchi-Gami State Trail allows hikers to follow the former highway right of way — at a much slower speed.

Silver Bay has taconite baptismal font

There is no more hardcore way for a Northland Catholic baby to enter the community of believers than to be baptized at a font made of taconite. At St. Mary's Catholic Church in Silver Bay, 5 tons of Babbitt ore were turned into a church altar and baptismal font in 1958. "That is really quite a fascinating feature," said Alanen.

Space-age Tofte roof approved by undergrad

Maureen Olson was a University of Minnesota Duluth math major in the early 1960s when her dad and uncle decided to build a motel office in the Googie style that was then trendy. Contractors Kenneth (Maureen's father) and Dale Olson had previously built the hyperbolic paraboloid roof for Zoar Lutheran Church, and decided to put their skills to the test by building another parabolic roof.

"They certainly had to work with the architect on the church, but built this one very much on their own," explained Alanen. Asked to review and approve the design, Maureen signed off — and obviously knew her stuff. The Tofte building is still standing to this day, home to Superior Massage Therapists.

"It's a tribute to her, too," said Alanen.

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In 2012, an experienced pilot vanished over Minnesota's North Shore. What happened to Michael Bratlie?

Jimmy Lovrien — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 17:00:00 GMT

Editor's note: This archival Vault article was first published Aug. 30, 2022.

TWO HARBORS, Minn. — Michael Bratlie took off from the airport in South St. Paul on June 8, 2012, and flew his two-engine plane up to Lake Superior and along Minnesota's North Shore.

A radar track of the Lakeville, Minnesota, man’s flight shows him following the shore, but the red line indicating his path ends abruptly near the Silver Creek Cliff Tunnel and Encampment Island north of Two Harbors.

There’s been no sign of him — not in the initial, exhaustive search and not in the decade since.

It’s believed Bratlie — then 67 years old, with more than 17,500 flight hours recorded as a bush pilot and a retired Northwest Airlines and U.S. Navy pilot — either crashed his twin-engine Piper PA-31 Navajo into the thick forest or into Lake Superior.

“We couldn’t find any debris. We were looking for oil slicks and debris fields and pieces of plane along the shoreline and all that,” said Carey Johnson, the Lake County sheriff from 2007 until he retired in late June. “And we never were able to come up with stuff that was related to the plane.”

According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s final report, released in January 2016, Bratlie took off just after 2 p.m. from South St. Paul Municipal Airport. He was flying within a half-mile of the Lake Superior shoreline at an altitude of 2,800 feet. As he approached Two Harbors, he descended and eventually reached an altitude of about 1,600 feet at 3:27 p.m. — his last recorded position.

He was reported missing at 10:25 p.m., the report said.

“The airplane reportedly had one of its two engines replaced and the pilot was to fly for about 4 hours to break-in the engine. The airplane did not return from the flight and was reported overdue,” the report said. “The airplane is missing and is presumed to have crashed.”

He did not file a flight plan, the report said. And a News Tribune story during the initial 2012 search said searchers weren’t able to detect the signal from the plane’s emergency beacon transmitter, which automatically sends a distress signal in a crash, meaning it was was not working, the connection to the antenna failed or the plane sunk in the lake, degrading the signal.

Lt. Col. Stan Kegel of the Minnesota Wing of Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force’s civilian auxiliary, rotated in and out of the role of incident commander during the 13-day search.

He said the Civil Air Patrol initially began its search with the available radar data, which was incomplete. It sent them into Wisconsin east of the Twin Cities. But after a day or so, improved radar data and data from Bratlie’s cellphone pointed them to the North Shore, specifically the area between Two Harbors and Silver Bay.

Ultimately, the Civil Air Patrol logged more than 600 personnel days and 600 air hours searching Lake and Cook counties and parts of St. Louis County by air.

“It’s a very heavily forested area, rugged terrain for sure. Obviously, Lake Superior was in consideration,” Kegel said. “It’s a difficult search when you’re looking down at basically solid forest. You’re looking for something that looks out of place. You’re looking for something that doesn’t look natural, something that looks disturbed.”

If they saw something noteworthy, they’d send a ground crew to check it out. Many other agencies also participated in the search.

Six weeks after her husband disappeared, Diana Bratlie wrote to the Duluth News Tribune, urging people recreating in the area to keep an eye open for signs of her husband. She made a similar plea in a May 2013 letter in the Lake County News-Chronicle, urging readers to report anything unusual to police.

Phone numbers and an email address believed to belong to Diana were no longer in service and a Facebook message from the News Tribune was not returned last week.

“Our family continues to hope he is somewhere in the remote area around Two Harbors or Silver Bay. We miss him terribly,” she wrote in the News Tribune in 2012. “With that in mind, I would like to ask anyone who is hiking, ATVing, fishing or just enjoying the beautiful north woods to be aware that Mike is still missing and to please keep an eye out for any sign of him or the plane.”

“That’s what we’ve always kind of thought. Are we going to someday have a hunter that stumbles upon wreckage?” Johnson said. “That has yet to happen.”

It wouldn’t be unprecedented.

In November 1990, a deer hunter found the remains of a float plane and its four occupants that had crashed nine years earlier in a spruce swamp 10 miles north of Island Lake.

And in September 1994, two hunters found a helicopter that had crashed the March before in forest and swamp land near Wisconsin Rapids, in central Wisconsin.

But Lake Superior poses a whole different challenge.

On Sept. 24, 1969, an Air Force jet trainer crashed in Lake Superior near Duluth during training operations. The plane and its pilot were never found.

Even after scanning areas of the lake with sonar and sending an underwater remote control camera into its depths, there was no sign of Bratlie or his plane. Johnson said he believes that’s where the plane could be.

Johnson believes because Bratlie was an experienced pilot, he would have been able to gently put his plane down in the water in the event of losing one or both of his engines. It was a maintenance flight to test a new engine, after all. A soft landing like that would have kept the plane intact, leading to no debris field.

“I am thinking it is more possible that it did go down in Lake Superior because of the day and the weather and all the rest of that,” Johnson said. “But just nobody one saw it — you didn’t hear it, you didn’t see it.”

In the years since, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office has occasionally received tips. A woman spotted something shiny on a cliff, but it turned out to be ice. And a sheriff’s deputy was fishing near Encampment Island and saw three distinct lines of bubbles coming up from the depths of the lake. He marked the location so it could be investigated, but a search of the area was fruitless.

The Civil Air Patrol would return again, too. In October 2012, it moved a planned training to the North Shore so it could both train and search for Bratlie when trees were bare, but it didn’t turn up anything.

“We pour a lot of ourselves into this and, obviously, it's our great hope that we find someone alive and rescue them, or in the absence of that, we hope to at least provide some closure and help resolve the situation,” Kegel said. “And so it's deeply disappointing when that's not the way it turns out.”

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Top 4 ‘Up North’ getaways Al Capone is rumored to have stayed in Minnesota and Wisconsin

Trisha Taurinskas — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 17:51:01 GMT

Editor's note: This archival Vault story was first published Aug. 25, 2022.

Tales of Al Capone’s secret Northland getaways and hideouts have swirled throughout the state of Minnesota for decades. Residents of the North Shore and Iron Range have long boasted their backyard as the bootlegger’s land of leisure.

Verifying those claims has become increasingly difficult over the years, yet that doesn’t stop Minnesotans — and Wisconsites — from claiming the notorious Capone as, kind of, their own.

The stories that are told today have become somewhat of gangster lore, sprinkled with truth and laden with mysteriousness.

Northern Wisconsin escape

It might seem odd that America’s most notorious gangsters of the 1920s and '30s considered northern Wisconsin and Minnesota the place to be, particularly in the summer. Yet, when compared to the rest of wealthy Chicagoans, their retreat to the North woods wasn’t all that bizarre. It’s where many of the city’s elite traveled for summer relaxation.

Of all the areas Capone was rumored to have stayed, the location in Couderay, Wisconsin, gets the most attention.

Spanning more than 400 acres, the property includes a structure with 18-inch stone walls, providing an added dose of safety. The property also included guard towers, hovering above the nearly 40-acre lake the property bordered. It’s rumored to also have included a gun tower.

While certainly a relaxing alternative to Chicago life, the retreat wasn’t just about hiding out. Al Capone and his crew would receive shipments of alcohol from Canada, which were flown over the border by seaplanes, according to the Library of Congress.

The property, which also includes a bar and restaurant, went up for sale in 2009, with a starting price of $2.6 million. It was sold to Chippewa Valley Bank.

Naniboujou Social Club

The Naniboujou Social Club opened in 1928 in Cook County, along the North Shore. The grand, private lodge was created for the nation’s elite, providing a private — and extravagant — retreat from the country’s larger cities.

In addition to celebrity members like Babe Ruth, the members-only club is also rumored to have included members from the organized crime community, including Al Capone.

The resort itself, including the property surrounding the structures, spanned 3,300 acres. The deep woods offered attendees hunting opportunities — and privacy.

Memberships weren’t given out lightly. The 99-year memberships went for $200 in the 1920s, according to the company’s website. Rather than advertising the club, the exclusiveness was promoted through friends of friends.

Lutsen

Lutsen Resort is among the locations up the North Shore that also claims to have been a hideout for the infamous Chicago bootlegger.

According to Lutsen Resort History, Al Capone stayed at the resort in the 1920s with a female companion. Upon checking out, the resort owners noted the fish house they rented was full of bullet holes. Capone paid an extra $20 for the damage.

The story surrounding how the bullet holes came to be is now a tale of legend and lore, with some suggesting a gun battle on Minnesota’s side of Lake Superior.

Finland

Another infamous — and grand — location that Capone frequented is rumored to be located outside the sleepy North Shore town of Finland, Minn.

While difficult to pin down specifics, a story in Northern Wilds provides details from locals who recall hearing the stories of the Capone getaway.

The residence included a main lodge, a swimming pool and a horse stable. A number of cabins for guests also lined the property.

Stories of Capone's Finland getaway also include notice of a large, underground safe where it is presumed Capone kept ammunition.

The property was located along Heffelfinger Road, according to Northern Wilds.

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Lutsen Lodge: Destroyed by fire, scorched by controversy

Brielle Bredsten — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 14:09:53 GMT

LUTSEN — A fire Feb. 6 destroyed the state’s oldest operating resort, the historic Lutsen Lodge, leaving only memories of what once was a place of celebration, gathering and tradition for guests.

Bryce Campbell, the colorful and controversial owner since 2018, has vowed to rebuild the lodge. But will insurance cover millions of dollars in damages? Whether this northern Minnesota gem will return is uncertain as the State Fire Marshal's investigation continues.

Campbell’s grandiose vision for the lodge was unraveling for some time before a fire resulted in its complete loss. According to public records from the State of Minnesota and Cook County, the multimillion-dollar plan was plagued by Minnesota liquor tax delinquencies, state fees for unpermitted work, unresolved fire code violations and multiple lawsuits in Minnesota District Court from contractors, employees and property owners who say they were never paid.

Is it unreasonable to expect the Lutsen Resort to rise from the ashes, despite his promise to rebuild?

Campbell didn’t respond to the News Tribune’s multiple requests for an interview for this story.

2001: Campbells start acquiring properties

Campbell, 39, is the owner of North Shore Resort Co., which falls under the Campbell Hospitality Group, an Ontario-based company he founded with his late mother, Sheila Campbell.

In 2001, Campbell and his mother bought the Reston Creemee Drive-In in Manitoba, Canada. It was sold in 2013.

In 2007, Campbell Hospitality Group bought Main Street Inn and Suites and Rest’n Inn, both in Manitoba. According to Empire Advance, a Manitoba-based weekly publication, both properties were renovated under the Campbells’ ownership.

On July 22, 2010, a kitchen fire at the Rest'n Inn caused irreparable damage to the hotel, according to the Reston Recorder, a since-closed newspaper in Manitoba.

At the time, Pipestone-Albert Fire Department Chief Jack Berry told the Recorder that the fire commissioner believed the incident was caused by a faulty electrical system in the grill area. According to the Office of the Fire Commissioner’s report, it appeared the fire originated from a deep-fat fryer and was deemed accidental.

Rest’n Inn also included two restaurants: Brycington’s and Aurora Bar & Grill. Eighteen employees were displaced after the fire and the Campbells sold the hotel in 2014.

The four-unit Main Street Inn and Suites, still owned by Campbell, is home to three apartments/condos and a chiropractic clinic.

Campbell Hospitality Group acquired the Roadrunner Motel in Rainy River, Ontario, in 2010. The Campbells planned to physically relocate six of its 18 units to the Rest’n Inn in Manitoba.

The motel was renamed “Walla Walla Inn” and reopened in 2011 with the help of Patti Diebel and her parents, John and Mary Sanderson, according to the Rainy River Record newspaper. Rainy River town records show that Campbell sold the Walla Walla Inn in early 2022 to 13805921 Canada Inc., a federally incorporated business.

In February 2014, Campbell Hospitality Group bought the 70-room Copper River Inn and Event Centre in Fort Frances, Ontario, with the help of the Rainy River Future Development Corp. and two other lenders. The Copper River Inn underwent a complete remodel with plans to reopen in March 2014, according to the Fort Frances Times. The addition of the inn's new Copper Taphouse and Grill opened in June 2018.

Campbell told the Northern Ontario Business news site that the hospitality group invested $3 million into the inn’s renovations, earning him recognition from the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce as 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year.

2016: Lawsuits begin

Under Campbell’s ownership, the Copper River Inn and Event Centre were involved in several lawsuits with the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Local 175. The union holds bargaining rights for the inn’s housekeeping, hospitality and front desk employees.

A court board had dismissed two applications, on March 28, 2017, and March 9, 2018, to decertify the union. These efforts followed the filing of two lawsuits by the union involving cases where two probationary employees at the inn were both found to be wrongfully terminated by Arbitrator Dana Randall in Ontario Court of Justice.

On Dec. 19, 2016, a 17-year-old probationary employee was wrongfully terminated after reporting workplace harassment, according to Ontario Court of Justice. A second grievance was filed Feb. 17, 2017, regarding the same employee, who alleged she had been sexually assaulted by a hotel guest on Nov. 6, 2016.

Both grievances were awarded by arbitration on May 17, 2019, including $1,000 in damages regarding the employer’s failure to respond to the sexual assault allegations, according to the law, and compensation for lost wages.

The case regarding the employer’s response to the sexual assault allegations was raised again in Ontario Superior Court of Justice Divisional Court. On July 19, 2021, the court ruled in favor of the union, which claimed the awarded damages were not enough, for a new hearing to be held before a new arbitrator, as well as awarding it $10,000 in associated costs.

On April 27, 2018, Copper River Inn employee Cindy Baker slipped and fell at work during her fourth probationary shift and suffered a significant Workplace Safety and Insurance Board-recognized injury. Baker was paid for three weeks of lost employment and returned to work with restrictions.

Originally hired as a part-time employee, Baker was then scheduled for a 48-hour workweek. After Baker complained to her supervisor, she was still required to work the hours, which resulted in “agonizing pain” and immobility.

On June 15, 2018, the Safety and Insurance Board instructed Baker to undergo an appointment, which determined she could return to work with numerous physical restrictions and with modified shifts limited to four hours. This was not accommodated by the employer, according to Ontario Court of Justice.

Then, according to Ontario Court of Justice, Baker was wrongfully terminated June 19, 2018, at the direction of Campbell. On Nov. 9, 2020, Ontario Court of Justice ruled in favor of the union on a damage award of $20,000 in Baker’s case.

Randall stated in the arbitration decision that Baker “had to put up with being portrayed as lacking charisma and flair in circumstances where she was fighting through pain that the employer willfully turned a blind eye.”

Under oath, Campbell said employees were upset that the union was spending their dues on arbitration. According to Ontario court documents, Board Vice Chair Mary Anne McKellar found that Campbell “either did not appreciate or did not care what representative authority the union held with respect to the employees.”

The court document also alleged that under Campbell’s management, the hotel was “chronically delinquent” in forwarding membership documentation to the union for new hires, and in forwarding dues it had remitted.

Further, McKellar stated, “The facts of this case support an inference that Mr. Campbell either was behind the initiation of the termination campaign, or that he created a climate in the workplace in which employees would perceive that a (union) termination application was desirable.”

2018: Campbells buy Lutsen Resort

In 2018, the Campbells purchased the Lutsen Resort. That August, Campbell took out mortgages on Lutsen Resort with Republic Bank, Inc. for $4.73 million and from North Shore Land Co. for $675,000, which matured in July 2023.

At that time, there were 150 employees, previous owners Scott Harrison and Nancy Burns stated during an interview with the WTIP radio station.

Then, the Campbells bought Superior Shores in Two Harbors from Joe Re on Jan. 1, 2020, for nearly $15 million. The record-high resort sale included 131 of the total 184 units of its lodge, lakehomes and Burlington Bay condos, according to Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

While Campbell's Canadian businesses were reported to have suffered greatly during the pandemic, he said his Minnesota businesses thrived — thanks to Twin Cities tourists, according to an article titled "COVID-19 recovery vastly different in Canada vs. the U.S." published Sept. 16, 2020, in the Fort Francis Times.

Meanwhile, Campbell said the programs offered by the federal and provincial governments during COVID-19 covered half of his losses. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, North Shore Resort Co. received over $1.8 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans between 2020 and 2021, retaining roughly 130 jobs.

In 2021, Bryce Campbell served as treasurer of Visit Cook County Board of Directors. He was appointed to a three-year term by the Lutsen-Tofte-Schroeder Tourism Association.

On Aug. 12, 2021, Sheila Campbell died. She and her husband, Kendon Campbell, operated a 600-acre cattle farm near Reston.

2023: Projects encounter challenges

The Campbells planned to transform Lutsen Resort into a luxury boutique lodge with the addition of a $4 million Nordic spa.

During the Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting Dec. 17, 2019, Campbell expressed concern that a newly proposed tax classification of short-term rental properties would impact his investments, such as the development of the spa, which he planned to submit building applications for the following year.

Campbell told commissioners he needed the ability for 60% occupancy on the property, but under the proposed classification, most of the resort's units would be limited to 50% occupancy. In that case, Campbell said he would move the spa to Two Harbors.

A conditional use permit application dated July 11, 2023, for the proposed Nordic spa stated it would replace the resort's saunas, hot tubs and pools. Upon review of the permit application, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources recommended denial, citing concerns about the potential of runoff contamination into the Poplar River and Lake Superior. The DNR also noted that changing the area’s topography would negatively impact the environment.

Lutsen Resort’s lodge was located at the mouth of the Poplar River and Lake Superior. It hosted lodging, two restaurants, events, a pool and massage services, and nearby on-site housing for its staff. Its eastern property boundary is the Poplar River, which hosts the Poplar River Condo Association on the opposite shoreline. To the west is the Lutsen Resort Townhome Association, under separate ownership.

Several nearby property owners heavily scrutinized plans to expand the resort. Cook County received numerous letters of opposition.

On Aug. 9, 2023, Campbell appeared before the Cook County Board of Adjustment to request a variance for an expansion of the Lutsen Lodge and for the construction of a separate three-story, 32-rental unit chalet.

The proposed construction of the spa would have included the removal of the bluff north of the parking lot. The request was tabled, pending completion of an Environmental Assessment Worksheet.

The following month, Campbell hired McMillan Tree Service to clear trees in this area.

At the Board of Adjustment meeting Aug. 9, 2023, Campbell requested a variance to replace the pedestrian bridge destroyed by the Poplar River flood in 2022. However, there would be no pedestrian easement. "It's always been a viewing bridge more than an actual accessory bridge,” Campbell said.

The bridge request was approved under conditions that the resort obtain the proper permits from the Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers and an easement agreement from the Poplar River Ridge Condominium Association.

During the planning commission's public hearing, Ann Sullivan, ex-officio planning commission member and county commissioner, commented publicly as a private citizen, stating that in addition to the Environmental Assessment Worksheet, she believed the issues with the resort’s prior public waters violation with the DNR should be resolved.

Sullivan was referring to the cease-and-desist order that was issued by the DNR to Lutsen Resort on Sept. 7, 2022, to halt unpermitted work on the pedestrian bridge on the Poplar River during fish spawning season.

Two days later, the DNR authorized limited emergency work, which expired Sept. 15, 2022. However, a DNR officer observed ongoing work that was beyond the limited emergency authorization and ordered all work stopped at that time.

The investigation into this matter is ongoing by the Minnesota DNR, Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to Gail Nosek, DNR communications director.

Grand Portage Reservation Water Quality Specialist Margaret Watkins also voiced concern about the resort's application to place a salt spa next to a trout stream without a plan for wastewater treatment.

Former employees speak out

"(Bryce) had a very specific vision on how he wanted things done, and it was not necessarily in line with the market that's in this direct area," said Quinton McCorquodale, former facilities director for Lutsen Resort's housekeeping and maintenance department.

McCorquodale was hired Oct. 3, 2022. "It was significantly slower than other properties that I've worked in this field," he said. He was among other employees laid off after the fire.

McCorquodale claimed Campbell was marketing the resort to “DINKS,” an expression referring to households with “dual income, no kids.”

“The majority of business in Lutsen prior to that had been kind of built on the Duluth area and locals,” McCorquodale said. “With the loss of that, he was not able to pull in as many people from Minneapolis as he had relied on."

Former staff members recounted that just months before the fire, Campbell changed the menu at The Strand, a high-end restaurant in the main lodge, to a single five-course meal option at $125 a person.

"I effectively saw the dining room almost dead in a month or so," McCorquodale said.

Alex Hilterbrand was hired by Lutsen Resort in January 2023. "I had responded to a recreation manager position,” she said. “They put me at the front desk.”

In her position, Hilterbrand said she fielded many calls from people complaining that the resort was "pushing out the community."

"Neither Edward (Vanegas) nor Bryce are from the North Shore area,” Hilterbrand said. “They were trying to turn the resort into something that didn't really match the vibe of what the people of Minnesota are like.”

Vanegas was the general manager of the Lutsen Resort.

From $3,000 bottles of wine to charging roughly $1,000 for a three-night stay, several residents, longtime guests and staff claimed the resort was out of touch with the local hospitality market, Hilterbrand said.

Further, Hilterbrand described the resort's employee residences as being "disgusting" and "moldy," with one of the two buildings having a cockroach infestation.

Improper inspection and maintenance was also alleged to be the root of a 2022 personal injury lawsuit filed with Minnesota's Sixth Judicial District Court on July 20, 2022, by a guest, Jessica Meli, who was significantly injured Dec. 24, 2020, due to icy parking lot conditions at the resort.

Hilterbrand quit after five months working for the resort due to the working environment. She now works for the Virginia Parks and Recreation Department.

"I knew in my heart of hearts working there that something was going on below the surface," Hilterbrand said. "And I just couldn't put my finger on it."

According to McCorquodale, he began covering the front desk after Hilterbrand quit.

“It was just a slow attrition and we didn't have the finances to replace those people,” McCorquodale said.

Resort mourns 2 employee deaths on same day

Staff and residents have raised questions about the drowning death of 20-year-old Saunder Strong.

Strong was hired as a dishwasher and was later offered a position as an activities guide for summer 2023.

Given her past experience as a park ranger, naturalist and outdoor educator with a degree in wilderness management and recreation programming, as well as a two-year certification in backcountry guiding, Hilterbrand believed Strong was unqualified.

"Mind you, people from the Twin Cities, they're a little bit different from the people up north in that a lot of them don't have the outdoor experience to really know what they're contending with when it comes to the cold, the lack of service, how harsh and unforgiving being outdoors can be," Hilterbrand said.

She recalled warning Strong on May 9, 2023, about the dangers of whitewater kayaking during snowmelt runoff season.

Later that afternoon, the resort's accountant, Kay Spielman, died in what is said to be a freak accident when a rock went through her windshield while she was driving near Two Harbors.

"The interesting thing is we only really acknowledge Saunder's death," Hilterbrand said. "After that, it was really just like, 'Leave it alone. We don't talk about it again. We're going to move on.' "

Homeowners demand payments

In July 2023, Campbell reportedly put the Superior Shores Burlington Bay condos on the market, offering a $100,000 Home Depot or Wayfair gift card to the first 20 buyers to close on a condo before September of that year.

On Nov. 20, 2023, Superior Shores condo unit owner David Kuiti, of Hermantown, initiated a civil lawsuit with the State of Minnesota's Sixth Judicial District Court in Lake County for over $100,000 against North Shore Resort Co. containing three counts: tortious interference with a business opportunity, willful breach of fiduciary obligation and duty to act in good faith, and civil theft.

According to the court document filed on March 12, after Kuiti refused to sell his condo unit to Campbell at a price significantly lower than its market value, Campbell, serving as president of the Superior Shores II Condominium Association, removed the unit from the rental pool. Kuiti went on to act as his own rental lease agent and alleged that Campbell, through his employees and agents, “continued a pattern of harassment” by refusing to allow reasonable access to renters of Kuiti’s property, according to the lawsuit.

A court case involving the operation of Superior Shores is ongoing in Lake County.

In March, the nearby Lutsen Resort also suffered a significant revenue loss when it offloaded the Poplar River Condos in what McCorquodale described as a “semi-amicable split” in partnership with the homeowners association.

In fall 2023, HOA members of Cliffhouse Townhomes and Lutsen Log Cabins, managed by Lutsen Resort, claimed they began seeing payments lapse even as their properties had bookings.

Cabin owner Bob Nagel is among the 10 vacation rental property owners who filed individual lawsuits in Sixth District Court against North Shore Resort Co. for non-payments from around August through December 2023.

“About five years ago or so, Bryce took it over,” Nagel said. “It wasn't very long afterwards the payments would be late and late and late. There were just all kinds of excuses. They wouldn't answer the phones. They wouldn't answer emails. Eventually, then you would get paid."

Since the News Tribune last reported on Lutsen Resort’s lawsuits with various rental property owners in February, six more Cliffhouse Townhome owners filed conciliation court claims. North Shore Resort Co. submitted a motion to dismiss each of the overall nine claims, arguing that the property owners had no legal right to an individual claim as members of larger homeowners associations.

The court ruled against North Shore Resort Co. in eight of the conciliation cases on April 28, totaling $113,792. One of the property owners voluntarily dismissed his case at the advice of his attorney.

"Let's say you have something inside that needs to be replaced,” Nagel explained of the property management arrangement. “You're supposed to be able to call him. Then he goes out and finds people to do it, and he bills you for it.”

Cliffhouse Townhomes, Lutsen Log Cabins and Poplar River Condos, all previously managed by Lutsen Resort, switched to Cascade Vacation Rentals, a separate North Shore property management company unaffiliated with Campbell, by the end of 2023.

Lutsen Sea Villas, which broke ties with Lutsen Resort three years ago, is now managed by Odyssey Resorts.

Lack of revenue reaches boiling point

The dwindling number of guests at the resort and restaurant had become apparent to the public. Revenue declined and debt continued to mount for the resort as contractors, concessionaires and employees alleged they went unpaid:

After several attempts to collect what he claimed were overdue payments for services, Mike McMillan, owner of McMillan Tree Service, said Campbell promised to pay him after Nov. 1, 2023, as the resort awaited a financing package to come through for its remodel. On March 7, 2024, McMillan Tree Service filed a lawsuit against North Shore Resort Co. in Sixth District Court alleging failure to pay for over $37,000 in completed services and late fees. "It's a small community,” McMillan said. “Everybody knew that things weren't quite right over there.” Former employees alleged they were unpaid as well. On Oct. 23, 2023, Arda Koc and Mert Aytan filed a conciliation court complaint for $6,460 in Sixth District Court against the Lutsen resort for withholding their final paychecks and housing deposits. Koc and Aytan requested to dismiss their case May 28 after making a settlement when Vanegas paid each $1,000 via the Venmo app.

In addition, several contractors filed mechanic's liens:

On Jan. 29, 2024, Double Jack Design Workshop PLLC filed a mechanic’s lien of $84,664 with Cook County against North Shore Resort Co. for architectural services for the overall master planning of the Lutsen Resort. Work completed from May 11 through December 2023 for the project included the west wing addition, lodge and ballroom renovation, Nordic spa, parking lot, site work, chalet hotel, gatehouse and the bridge. On Feb. 13, 2024, a mechanic’s lien of $270,965 was filed by Highmark Builders Inc. for work on the third floor performed between August 2022 and December 2023. On March 12, 2024, a mechanic’s lien of $8,918 was filed by McKeever Well Drilling, Inc. for water well drilling, repair and testing work performed between May 2023 and January 2024. Resort can't make payroll

"There's an overall lack of revenue,” McCorquodale recalled. “(Bryce) blamed winter for it, but it was more so his decision-making process."

When the resort’s management staff were notified that it would run out of payroll in six weeks, McCorquodale said he began seeking employment elsewhere.

“I asked when we were going to tell the front-line employees. Edward said to hold off on that and to trust him,” McCorquodale said.

A series of emails provided to the News Tribune offers insight into the level of awareness that the resort’s management, accounting department, owner and staff had regarding the strenuous financial circumstances in the days leading up to the fire.

On Feb. 1, 2024, Vanegas emailed Campbell to notify him the resort couldn't fund payroll for the period ending Feb. 4.

“We need to let our company’s managers and line staff know what’s about to happen and how we can assist them with new employment, continued housing in the interim and transportation to the airport and bus stations they might need,” Vanegas wrote to Campbell. “We must suspend guest arrivals and suspend accepting reservations.”

Vanegas warned Campbell that failure to disclose the payroll situation to staff and any work past Sunday could result in a Minnesota labor law violation. Vanegas encouraged Campbell to consider the National Bank of Commerce’s offer of $500,000 in funding, subtracting the mechanic's liens, for a net of $150,000 to cover one and a half payroll periods.

On Feb. 1, Lutsen Resort Accounting Director Donna McCurdy-Wolke said in an email to Vanegas that she expected a negative balance in the coming days due to automatic fees.

Vanegas responded that weekend food and beverage sales might cover both of their paychecks and indicated that Campbell was aware there was no bank balance.

In a Feb. 2 email, Vanegas instructed McCorquodale not to “continue to advance a resort closing/lose all of our jobs/ missed payroll agenda” to staff or managers as it would be “premature.”

That day, Campbell emailed the accounting department, encouraging them to “ride out this abnormal season and focus on a busy upcoming summer.” In that email, Campbell said there would be no final winter marketing push to fill March bookings. The resort would instead switch to “waterfall marketing” — tourism promotions aimed at attracting guests to the local waterfalls — to fill rooms for April and May.

In a Monday, Feb. 5, email, Vanegas notified the accounting department that he had suspended Sysco orders for the week. McCurdy-Wolke responded that Campbell would meet with bankers in two days and expected there would be enough funds to cover payroll that Friday.

“We are providing a tour for three senior executives from NBC Bank on Wednesday afternoon and they have expressed a need to audit Accounts Payable for Lutsen Lodge,” Vanegas wrote in an email to the accounting department.

McCurdy-Wolke responded that an account review would reveal, “We haven’t paid bills in months.”

Vanegas suggested suspending direct deposits and allowing paychecks to be written to buy time for accounts to come through.

McCorquodale said he asked Campbell in person about his plan to take out a bank loan to secure payroll. McCorquodale said Campbell assured him he would be paid. McCorquodale later notified Vanegas he received a job offer elsewhere.

“That evening, it all just went up,” McCorquodale said.

The fire that ended it all

After the initial 911 call the morning of the fire Tuesday, Feb. 6, McCorquodale said the resort’s night auditor, Tyler Cobb, called him at 12:36 a.m. During a previous interview with the News Tribune, Vanegas identified the reporting party as Tyler Standley.

“(Tyler) said that there was smoke coming up from the floorboards around the electrical outlet," McCorquodale said. "So he had gone downstairs and he had gone to the laundry room. The basement's actually split into two parts and the laundry room. There was no fire there or no smoke."

McCorquodale claimed to be the second person on the scene, arriving after the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. He saw smoke coming from the lodge’s lobby area, starting directly above the water heater. The fire spread laterally through the staircase, McCorquodale said.

Since the fire, McCorquodale spoke several times to agents from Ember Investigations, a Brule-based certified fire investigator specializing in fire causation. He said they seem to be particularly interested in the lodge’s water heater.

Vanegas declined to comment due to the ongoing insurance investigation.

The state fire marshal has not yet released a conclusion of its investigation.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 9 a.m., Friday, Aug. 2 to add that Edward Vanegas was the general manager of the Lutsen Resort. The story was originally published at 9:09 a.m., Wednesday, July 31. The News Tribune regrets the error.

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North Shore streams, and their steelhead trout, are running

John Myers — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 15:16:41 GMT

KNIFE RIVER — Two feet of snow melting fast, coupled with a half-inch of rain Monday, were just the ticket to finally loosen the last ice on North Shore streams, sending water tumbling down into Lake Superior and sending fish upstream.

Streams closer to Duluth opened the first week in April, while streams farther up the shore opened this week, said Cory Goldsworthy, Lake Superior fisheries manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

DNR crews captured their first spawning steelhead rainbow trout of the season in a North Shore river fish trap Monday. Many more will follow soon.

“They're in the river. It’s started,” Goldsworthy said.

The rush of water — the first this spring — was also enough to blow gravel bars out of the mouths of several North Shore rivers, like the Lester, where the rocks had been blocking fish passage upstream.

While the first few days of open water usually see rivers run fast and dirty, that period is passing quickly this spring because the streams and their headwaters were so low before the late-March snowstorm and because the ground was so dry and able to soak up much of the moisture.

The Knife River skyrocketed from frozen just over a week ago to 1,600 cubic feet per second during Monday’s rain but then dropped back quickly to a fishable 800 CFS by Tuesday afternoon.

“Conditions are just about perfect right now. The water is high, but it’s normal-high for spring runoff,” Goldsworthy said. “We haven't had normal for a few years.”

As air temperatures reach the 50s and water temperatures into the 40s, and with ample flow but no flooding, steelhead will begin moving out of Lake Superior and upstream to spawn, starting on streams closest to Duluth at first, then, later, farther up the North Shore.

“It still needs to warm up a little more," Goldsworthy said Tuesday. "The magic water temperature is 40 degrees for it to really get going. We were at 36.5 degrees today. But the forecast looks good. ... When I was growing up we always said, if the temperature outside is in the 50s and we get a little rain, grab your fishing pole and go.”

A little rain every few days helps keep the rivers at the right level.

The next two weeks in April could be the peak of the steelhead run, Goldsworthy said. That’s very different from last year, when deep snow on the ground lasted into May in some areas and the spawning run was a month later than usual.

On Tuesday, after the rain ended, eager anglers were already showing up on the Stewart and Knife rivers.

“It’s early, I know, and it’s still pretty high,” said Todd Boche, of Bloomington, Minnesota, who was trying his hand for steelhead on the Knife River on Tuesday morning. “But my wife and I needed to get out of the Cities for a few days. … And there's a chance one or two fish will be moving up. So why not try?”

You can keep these, eventually

DNR crews this week are stocking 140,000 clipped-fin, hatchery-raised steelhead trout in the Lester and French rivers that came from the eggs of wild Lake Superior steelhead caught in DNR fish traps in recent years.

Those 2-year-old stocked trout were about 6 inches long and will be legal to keep when they get bigger, probably in two more years. Those fish must be 16 inches to keep, and some of the fish from the stocking program, which began in 2018, should be returning to rivers to spawn now and should be big enough to keep this spring.

It is illegal to keep any wild, unclipped steelhead in Minnesota.

Smelt? Not yet, but soon

The very first reports of smelt beginning to show up along the Shore Shore of Lake Superior were filtering in early this week, but both the big lake and tributary stream temperatures are still too cold for a major run near the Twin Ports.

“When we hear that they are hitting over in Ashland, and we haven’t seen much of that yet, then it’s usually about a week or two until they start showing up over here," near the Twin Ports, Goldsworthy said.

North Shore streams are popular destinations for smelters with dip nets while the waters off Wisconsin Point and Minnesota Pont sand beaches can be a good place for large hauls using seines.

The smelt show up in earnest when the water temperature hits 40 degrees. “And we aren’t there yet,” Goldsworthy said.

Lake ice-out still ahead of normal

The recent precipitation provided a needed spurt of energy not just for the streams and their fish but also to help finish opening up northern Minnesota lakes.

Most lakes in the southern two-thirds of Minnesota opened a month or more earlier than average and most of those set all-time records for early ice out, topping even 2012, which had held many records until now.

Island Lake Reservoir just north of Duluth lost its ice on March 17, a record-early date and five weeks ahead of the April 17 median date, according to data from the Minnesota DNR’s State Climatology Office.

Lake Osakis in western Minnesota, which has 157 years of records — among the longest in the state — dating back to 1867, set a record early ice-out date of March 8. That’s nearly six weeks ahead of the median date of April 19 and more than two months earlier than the latest ice-out of May 14 in 1950.

Big Sandy Lake north of McGregor set a record early ice-out on March 16, exactly one month earlier than the April 16 median date in the 94 years since records have been kept, starting in 1930.

As is usual, lakes in far Northeastern Minnesota are losing their ice later, where thicker ice, a bit more snow and colder temperatures hung on longer. Little Jessie Lake in Itasca County lost its ice on April 8, another record but only 16 days ahead of its median date.

Fewer records will likely be set in the Arrowhead region, unable to match the non-winter and warm spring of 2012. But even Arrowhead lakes are still expected to lose their ice a couple of weeks earlier than normal this year, especially with temperatures into the 60s in the forecast.

Large swathes of Lake Vermilion were open as of Wednesday but, with some ice still floating around, official ice-out hadn't been declared. The big lake won't set a record — that was March 28, 2012 — but will beat its median ice-out date of April 30. The latest Vermilion has lost its ice was May 23, 1960.

Greenwood Lake in Cook County is, on average, the last lake in Minnesota to lose its ice, with a median date of May 9. It has happened as late as May 24 (2014) and as early as April 10 (2012).

The latest ice-out on record in Minnesota is for Gunflint Lake, on the Ontario border, which didn't lose its ice until June 3 in 1936.

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Illegal drone flight grounds helicopter fighting wildfire at Split Rock

John Myers — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 16:55:02 GMT

CASTLE DANGER, Minn. — A helicopter battling a small wildfire at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior on Tuesday had to be grounded and then sent back to base when an unauthorized drone was flying near the blaze.

Officials from the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center said the drone was spotted and the aircrew was informed before any problems occurred. But they are asking the public to comply with federal and state regulations that ban drones near wildfires.

Firefighters with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and a DNR helicopter responded to the 1-acre wildfire at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. While the helicopter landed to refuel, DNR firefighters spotted the drone where they were working. The DNR helicopter remained grounded until firefighters confirmed the drone had landed, and then the helicopter returned to base.

When a drone is spotted near a wildfire, all responding aircraft are required to land or return to the airport until the airspace is clear, delaying firefighting efforts.

“We are fortunate this time the drone was spotted before it collided with the helicopter,” Darren Neuman, aviation manager with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said in a statement. “Drone incursions are completely avoidable safety hazards that threaten the lives of everyone responding to the fire and nearby.”

Firefighters face tough conditions, smoke-filled air often limits visibility, and a collision with a drone could cause an aircraft to crash.

“It’s simple: Federal regulations prohibit the use of drones above wildfires,” Neuman said. “When they fly, we can’t.”

In addition to federal regulations on drone use, Minnesota law prohibits interfering with a firefighter in their official duties, including unauthorized drones that delay or restrict responding aircraft.

Already this season, Minnesota has seen more than 185 wildfires burn across more than 5,000 acres. With no snow across most of the state all winter, this is one of the earliest and driest spring wildfire seasons on record, and any period without rain will increase the danger that small fires could grow big. Fire danger increases on warm, windy afternoons and officials are urging caution with all burning.

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Patrons, neighbors, former owner remember Lutsen Lodge

Jimmy Lovrien — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 18:13:59 GMT

LUTSEN, Minn. — Jerry and Jeanne Proulx celebrated their honeymoon in 1963 at Historic Lutsen Lodge, returning over the years for their 25th anniversary or to eat at the restaurant when they were visiting the North Shore.

The North Oaks, Minnesota, couple were visiting Grand Marais when they heard about an early morning fire Tuesday that destroyed the resort, so they drove down and surveyed what remained on the North Shore of Lake Superior: two stone fireplaces amid a pile of smoldering debris.

“Memories, good memories,” Jeanne said when asked what Lutsen Lodge meant to the couple. “We love the North Shore. We loved this place and the oldness of it.”

Scott Harrison and Nancy Burns, of Duluth, owned the resort from 1988 to 2018. The couple received “innumerable calls” from people sharing similar memories of the resort on Tuesday, Harrison said. There’s also been an outpouring of stories on social media by couples who had their weddings there and by families who took annual vacations there.

After all, up to 70 weddings were held at Lutsen Lodge every year.

“It certainly has helped,” Harrison said of people sharing memories.

Harrison visited the site earlier in the day to see the damage. Doing so was “traumatic,” he said.

“For us, it’s heavy-duty heartbreak,” Harrison said.

By late afternoon, steam and smoke still rose from the rubble, but just one firefighter remained on-site, monitoring sprinklers — fed by water pumped from Lake Superior — and occasionally blasting hot spots with a hose.

Nan Bradley and Deb Niemisto, of Lutsen, co-owners of the nearby Lockport Marketplace, stood near what used to be the pool building but is now a pile of twisted steel joists and charred foam insulation.

“Totally devastating," Niemisto said. “Just unimaginable.”

The two heard about the fire just after they opened their shop for the day.

“It brings tears to the eyes real fast. It really does,” Bradley said. “It’s such a beautiful place.”

And after a fire last summer destroyed Papa Charlie’s Tavern at the nearby Lutsen Mountains ski resort, there’s now a growing “hole” in the tourism-dependent community, Bradley said.

“We’re hurting for restaurants,” Bradley said.

If there was a special occasion, whether that be a wedding, anniversary, holiday dinner or the Fireman's Ball, it was held at Lutsen Lodge, Niemesto said.

“Everybody that knows us that live in the Cities were calling us on the phone today. … (Lutsen Lodge) matters that much, I think, to Minnesota. I really do,” Bradley said.

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Historic Lutsen Lodge destroyed in fire overnight

Staff reports — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 15:53:20 GMT

LUTSEN, Minn. — The Historic Lutsen Lodge was destroyed in a fire early Tuesday, the resort said on social media.

Cook County Dispatch was notified of a fire alarm at the resort at 12:24 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, according to a news release from Cook County. The resort's night auditor, Tyler Standley, reported smoke coming from the basement boiler area located below the lobby area of the lodge. The building was engulfed.

Lutsen Lodge General Manager Edward Vanegas captured a video of crews working to put out the flames. Vanegas said volunteers from the Lutsen Fire Department and the Cook County Sheriff's Department arrived within 10 minutes of the staff reporting the fire.

"We had no guests overnight, just for a happenstance on a Monday night," said Vanegas, who has been employed at the lodge for the past five years.

Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen said the major flames had been mostly extinguished as of 8:45 a.m.

"It looks like a bombing of some kind, not that it was," Vanegas reported from the scene at noon as helicopters circled overhead. "It's just debris in a pile. The building is gone. There's no scale to it. You can't see it. Everything is kind of down on the ground. All the architectural elements are gone. It's just smoldering. They're putting hot spots out."

No guests were on-site, and no one was injured, the news release said. Insurance adjusters arrived to assess damages, which were unknown early Tuesday afternoon, Vanegas said.

There were about 40 staff working at the lodge during the winter season. That number usually doubles during the summer season and is mostly made up of student interns, Vanegas said.

"My goal over the next few days is to make sure my staff are taken care of. We have on-property housing that will continue, so they'll have a place to live, but we'll need to help them find alternative jobs in the area or help them transfer to other places around the country if they want to leave the area," he said.

There was a fire at the original Nelson family homestead building in 1949, which was replaced with an Edwin Lundie architectural design, he said. The new building burned in 1951, and was again replaced with the same architectural design.

"There's no historical documents from back then," Vanegas said. "Most likely wood heat."

'Absolutely devastated'

Lutsen Resort was founded in 1885 by Charles Axel Nelson, a young Swedish immigrant, as a small fishing camp.

Lutsen Lodge falls under the North Shore Resort Co. Bryce Campbell became the owner of the resort in August 2018. Campbell purchased the resort from Scott Harrison and Nancy Burns, who bought it from the Nelsons in 1988.

During Campbell's tenure, the resort has undergone several major renovations, including the historic lakeside dining room The Strand, and most recently, a complete renovation of the third floor of the resort that included the original apartment of the Nelson family, according to a press release from Visit Cook County.

“Lutsen Resort has been at the heart of the hospitality industry in Cook County for nearly 140 years,” Visit Cook County Executive Director Linda Jurek said in the release. “Its loss is felt deeply in the community.”

On Tuesday, Lutsen Lodge staff were calling all guests with future bookings to inform them of the fire and to provide refunds.

The state fire marshal is investigating the fire. According to Vanegas, the resort was recently inspected by state fire marshals about three weeks ago.

Campbell provided a statement included in the press release from Visit Cook County.

“We are absolutely devastated about this tragedy. There are so many generations of families and friends who have vacationed and worked here over the years. This place has held so many memories, today we grieve together.

“There are a lot of unknowns right now, but what we do know is that we will rebuild again and continue to keep the legacy of Historic Lutsen Lodge going for many generations to come,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., co-chair of the Senate Travel and Tourism Caucus, said during a news conference Tuesday the fire is “devastating for the workers.”

“Historically, there have been fires before at Lutsen Lodge, and they have rebuilt,” she said. “Our hope is that will happen because there is certainly enough business.”

Klobuchar said there are many “iconic places” in Minnesota, “but Lutsen really stands out.”

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Mushers disappointed in Beargrease cancellation

Jimmy Lovrien — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 17:29:56 GMT

GRAND PORTAGE, Minn. — The Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon board of directors didn’t take the decision to cancel the 2024 race lightly, President Mike Keyport said.

With no snow on the ground, the board on Tuesday, Jan. 2, voted to cancel the 2024 race, which was set to begin Jan. 28, instead of rescheduling it to March 3, a proposed postponement date, or modifying the full marathon’s 300-mile route from Duluth to Grand Portage.

Even if there is enough snow by March, the month can bring warm temperatures and icy trails, Keyport said.

And then there are the logistics of carrying out 300-mile, 120-mile and 40-mile races.

“We put our dogs first and the mushers and everybody else second, and the other part of the conversation was by moving the date to the third of March, we lose a lot of volunteers, we lose some vets, we lose some race officials,” Keyport said, adding that up to five of the 16 marathon teams would have had to drop out, as the postponement date would have overlapped with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska.

The Beargrease was also canceled in 2007 and 2012.

“From my perspective, as a Beargrease family member, it’s heartbreaking … but overall, the big picture, I think it was the right decision,” said Keyport, the great-grandson of John Beargrease, an Anishinaabe man who delivered mail along the North Shore via dog sled.

But the move has disappointed mushers who would have preferred a postponement.

We scoop poop all year round so we can race, and it’s not going to happen.

"It’s overall just a bummer feeling,” said Two Harbors' Colleen Wallin, who was set to run the marathon again, as was her son, Ero Wallin.

“John Q. Public, if you will, and the organizers, they think it’s a three-day event, but for the mushers, it’s a year-round event as we train and get ready,” Wallin said. “We scoop poop all year round so we can race, and it’s not going to happen.”

Events in Minnesota, Michigan and Maine on Wallin’s race schedule have not been canceled, but one race, the Gunflint Mail Run in Cook County, which is typically Wallin’s first race of the season, has been postponed to Feb. 10.

Ryan Anderson, a four-time Beargrease marathon champion and two-time mid-distance champion, said he is sure the organizers and volunteers are just as disappointed as mushers.

“I am not going to change anything by complaining or being depressed,” he said.

For now, the Cushing, Wisconsin, musher will continue riding a four-wheeler behind his team of dogs in preparation for a pair of February and March races in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

“Would I have liked to have (Beargrease) rescheduled? Absolutely,” Anderson said. “But I’m also being understanding of the volunteers that are putting in the time to make the logistics.”

Cloquet musher Billie Thompson was set to run the 120-mile mid-distance race again this year.

Thompson, who estimates she’s raced the middle distance race 8-10 times, has served as a Beargrease board member and volunteer in the past.

“Of course, it’s disappointing to see the race has been canceled, but I do understand that for the safety of everybody, it’s kind of necessary this year,” she said. “I would have liked to see it postponed first to see if we are able to get any snow, but that decision is up to the board.”

The only other race Thompson was signed up for this season, the Lake Minnetonka Klondike Dog Derby, is also canceled.

“Unfortunately, there are apparently still people waterskiing around Lake Minnetonka, so they’re not really able to run around it right now,” she said.

Thompson is now considering the WolfTrack Classic Sled Dog Race in Ely on Feb. 25 and races in Michigan and Wisconsin as possible alternatives.

Eva Sebesta, race coordinator of WolfTrack and director of the Ely Chamber of Commerce, said that while she hasn’t heard from Beargrease mushers yet, she plans on sending them information about the WolfTrack races.

The races — a six-dog 30-mile race and an eight-dog 50-mile race — have a capacity of 60 teams, and there are about 42 or 43 registered right now, Sebesta said.

Organizers will decide in early February whether the race will go on. In the meantime, Sebesta is hoping for snow. A lot of snow.

“We’re going to hold firm and take a look at conditions when it gets to be early February,” she said. “We’ve basically got seven weeks, and miracles happen. We’re hoping for a big one — a 10-foot one.”

While the race day is Sunday, Feb. 25, events that weekend bring people to Ely, helping boost business during a seasonal lull in visitors.

“It really is a good support for the community at a time when things are a little bit slower,” Sebesta said.

Keyport said he sympathizes with the businesses that get traffic from the Beargrease, noting the opening ceremonies at Black Bear Casino Resort in Carlton and the finish line at Grand Portage Lodge and Casino.

“And all the spaces in between where folks eat food and buy gas and stay at hotels,” he said. “It’s an economic letdown.”

The Beargrease organization plans to continue fundraising and other events. Asked about the financial health of the organization, Keyport acknowledged the cancellation is tough on sponsors but that Beargrease is gearing up for a return in 2025.

“Sponsors do come and go, but most sponsors that have been dedicated to the Beargrease over the years, we will just kind of roll over what they’ve given us, if you will, until next year,” he said.

“If anything, we’ll have more time to fundraise. … I think in the long run, we can make the 40th running in 2025 a way bigger and better event as well,” Keyport said. “Well, assuming Mother Nature kind of helps us out a little bit, too.”

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