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Maple Grove man shares warning after house fire
Dave Berberick lost his wife of 52 years in a tragic house fire and wasn’t able to rebuild their home because it was grossly underinsured.
MAPLE GROVE, Minn — A Maple Grove man not only lost his home but his wife of 52 years in a fire back in May. Dave wasn’t able to rebuild the home he shared with his wife for more than four decades, and that’s why he is now sharing his story to help others.
His family is hoping what happened to him won’t ever happen to you.
Dave remembers being inside his home on that tragic May 4th afternoon when his wife Mary Jo called out to him after she couldn’t get out of her power reclining chair.
“The chair looked like it was on fire,” Dave said.
“Molten plastic was dripping fire down to the floor out of the back of the chair so I said we have to get you out of there. I got burned trying to get her and I went out the back door to the garage, put the door up, staggered out and they wanted to go and try and get her but the flames were so ferocious already.”
At that point, Dave knew it was too late. He lost his wife of 52 years.
“I just sat on the curb with my head in my hands and the firetrucks came and the ambulance came,” Dave said.
Dave’s oldest daughter, Jessi Lindgren, says her dad spent 32 days in HCMC’s burn unit with severe burns and suffering smoke inhalation.
“When we got to the hospital, he was in the trauma bay and we were met by police officers and clergy and it looked pretty bad when we went in,” Jessi said. “He was unconscious at that point.”
While Dave was recovering, his family was dealing with immense grief all while navigating the process of rebuilding the family home.
“They lived there for 46 years… I was 6 years old when we moved in,” Jessi said. “All of my childhood memories were there and my mom had always said, ‘I am going to die in this house… they are going to bury me in it.’ and it was true.”
Rebuilding wasn’t easy. Jessi said her parents were heavily underinsured.
“He of course wanted to rebuild there, he just didn’t get enough money from the insurance,” Jessi said. “There was a cap they give you. They give a structural amount and they give a personal property amount and none of that took into account what the housing market is like now.”
Kathleen Poehles, an insurance agent with American Family Insurance, said most policies she reviewed this year increased 10-20%.
“This year in particular, it is so important for people to have a conversation with their agent,” said Poehles. “You are leaving yourself open to a major loss and financial hit. Talk to your insurance provider on an annual basis. Take advantage of the reviews they offer you. Ask questions.”
Jessi wants families to check their insurance policies if they know they haven’t recently.
“Make sure that you have the value of the home to replace it and check your insurance often,” Jessi said. “Don’t just let it go.”
Although Dave was unable to rebuild his home there is a silver lining for the Berberick family.
The nonprofit Firefighters for Healing, which helps burn survivors and their families with the help from Furniture and Things, graciously donated furniture for Dave’s new home in Maple Grove.
Here is a link to the Berberick family’s GoFundMe.
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On the eve of a big holiday event in downtown Northfield, someone cut down a tree in the center of town. It wasn’t down for long.
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — On the morning of the annual Winter Walk event in downtown Northfield, the brightly colored Christmas tree at the center of it all was in shambles.
“I got a text from one of the city streets guys saying the Grinch has been downtown and took out a tree,” said Jane Bartho, president of the Northfield Chamber of Commerce and Tourism. “I’m like, are you sure the wind didn’t take it out?”
After seeing a photo of the tree, Bartho had a definitive answer to her question.
Jane Bartho: “Yeah, clearly it was not the wind. It looked like a chainsaw took it off. You could see a path where somebody dragged the tree across the street.”
Kent Erdahl: “So you see the path and then you think, ‘Okay, it is the Grinch.’
Bartho: “It was the Grinch because who else? Who else would do it? I just can’t imagine. I cannot imagine who… who would have done that.”
But dwelling in ‘who?’ville wasn’t an option for Bartho, not with a event just hours away, which would draw thousands of people into downtown.
“Honestly, most of my focus yesterday was about the event,” she said.
Though the city crew was able to trim the base of the tree and get it upright again, the decorations were in disrepair.
“I mean, even the lights were cut,” Bartho said.
“Yeah, they cut the lights,” said Zandra Bornhauser, who was part of the team with Home Town Credit Union who sponsored the tree and had decorated it. “So we had to redecorate it fully, pretty much.”
“We were just shocked,” said Kurt Halverson, who helped with the tree repair. “It was just hard to understand who would take the effort on such a cold night to come down here in such a public space and cut down something that’s just meant to be a symbol of good and cheer.”
Thanks to their quick work, the team of helpers made sure that Grinch didn’t rob anyone of that cheer. The tree was back shining bright by the time the festival began Thursday night.
“It was magical,” Bartho said.
“It was so inspiring to see how everybody rallied around to wish us good luck in re-setting up the tree,” Halverson said. “It really did bring the community closer together on such a cold evening.”
As for the cold-hearted grinch, Bartho says they’re still checking security cameras and asking around.
“To see if anybody was looking out,” she said. “If anybody saw anything.”
And if they are eventually identified?
Bartho: “Maybe the punishment would have to be to decorate the tree every year in this frigid weather.”
Erdahl: “If you’re going to keep with the theme, you’ve got to invite them down and sing with them, right? You’ve got to warm that cold heart.”
Bartho: “At the end, yeah, his heart was warmed by the people in his life, so maybe the punishment would be to come down and have hot chocolate, feel the Christmas spirit and never do that again.”
Almost 80 percent reported that they have less than a year before they face financial distress.
MINNESOTA, USA — Despite Give to the Max Day breaking donation records, nonprofits tell us they still need help to keep up the demand for their services.
According to a recent survey by the Council of Nonprofits, 73 percent of Minnesota organizations reported they have grown programs and services to meet the demands of Minnesotans.
Almost 80 percent reported that they have less than a year before they face financial distress.
Open Arms is a nonprofit that delivers food to critically ill people. It said December is a crucial month for donations, because they will make decisions on their programs and services for the next year.
“Wages and the cost of ingredients have gone up 30% since the end of COVID or the end of the COVID years, and so that is really, really hard on all nonprofits,” said CEO Leah Hébert Welles. “And then the second thing, government funds have dried up.”
“It’s almost kind of like the way that the tide works and a big body of water where there is still significant need, but that wave of resources from 2020 has backed up, and the need for nonprofits is still right there,” said Jake Blumberg, the executive director of GiveMN, the organization in charge of Give to the Max Day.
Blumberg says 30% of donations for nonprofits happen in the last six weeks of the year.
“We have to make really hard decisions about what we can do next year, how many more people we can help, how many more staff we can hire,” said Welles,
To consider donation or volunteering to Open Arms of Minensota, click here.
To explore more nonprofits, visit GiveMN.org.
According to the report, the BPPD said Andre Lane has been missing since 11 a.m. this morning.
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — The Brooklyn Park Police Department is asking for the public to help find a missing man who has Alzheimer’s.
According to the alert, the BPPD said 57-year-old Andre Lane has been missing since 2 p.m. this afternoon.
He stands at 5’9″ and weighs roughly 250 pounds. Lane suffers from Alzheimer’s and dementia and may not be able to take care of himself, said the BPPD.
Lane was last seen wearing grayish-blue Levi’s jacket, black hat, black sweatpants, a gray long sleeve t-shirt and black Jordan shoes, according to the report.
Officials believe Lane left his residence, near the 6600 block of Tessman Terrace, on foot. The BPPD is asking people who live near Tessman Farm Road/85th Avenue North to check yards and properties.
Anyone who sees Lane is asked to contact the Brooklyn Park Police Department at 763-493-8222.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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