Star Tribune
Sartell, MN, mobile home park residents sue owners after sewage leaks
The lawsuit pits the residents against the current and former out-of-state owners. The mobile home park, just east of the Mississippi River and tucked between a bowling alley and a car wash, was formed in the 1970s and owned by the same company from 1978-2014.
The park was purchased in 2014 by Colorado-based RV Horizons, run by David Reynolds and Frank Rolfe, who own and operate several parks across the country and lead a training course on how to get rich by owning mobile home parks. Reynolds and Rolfe have faced several lawsuits and compliance complaints over the years, and their Mobile Home University has faced criticism for its focus on raising rents and reducing services to turn a bigger profit — even earning the ire of John Oliver on his HBO show.
Reynolds and Rolfe also operated the park under the name Impact Communities, and sold it to Michigan-based Gemstone Communities in June. Attorneys for the owners are not listed in the state’s public court system, and representatives from the companies did not return requests for comment.
The lawsuit states that after RV Horizons purchased the park, “rents started raising significantly and repeatedly, water bills became outrageous and random, amenities vanished, residents who complained faced retaliation and, worst of all, [residents faced] health and safety concerns as the SMH Park began to seriously deteriorate.”
Residents attempted to buy the park in 2016, but an appraisal showed the park needed significant infrastructure repairs estimated at $1.5 million to bring the property into “average condition,” the lawsuit states. The residents couldn’t get financing so the deal fell through.
The lawsuit is asking the court to order the owners to correct the plumbing and wastewater system failures, as well as fix the park’s faulty system for utility billing.
Authorities identified a 35-year-old St. Paul woman found shot to death last week in a North End apartment.
The St. Paul Police Department said Damara Alexis Stowers was the woman found shot in her apartment on Oct. 19.
Police found Stowers at around 9 p.m. in the dwelling in the 100 block of Sycamore Street East after reports of a shooting. Officers rendered aid until Saint Paul fire medics arrived and pronounced her dead at the scene.
Investigators believe a carjacking reported that same night is connected to Stowers death, but no arrests have been announced. The victim in that carjacking was shot, but Regions Hospital staff treated them for noncritical injuries.
Stowers’ death marked the fourth homicide in the capital city in 10 days, and the 25th homicide this year according to a Star Tribune database. There were 28 homicides by this time last year.
NHP is seeking other employers to join their efforts, and is looking to invest in both multifamily and single family projects in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin.
The availability of new apartments allows aging single-family homeowners to sell and downsize, said David Gaddie, a longtime bank executive and chairman of Essentia’s board.
And that house “can be sold to a young family that needs housing, and they can move on up the ladder,” he said.
Developments chosen for loans won’t be targeted toward employees sought by a specific employer. The nonprofit is considering loans to projects in Superior, Wis., and Coleraine, Minn., and expects to offer investments between $2 million and $5 million.
Herman said Essentia has long invested in affordable housing, including a 72-unit project for seniors near its former downtown hospital. Without housing, “good health is almost impossible,” he said, and he’s hopeful other employers will consider housing investments that might yield lower monetary returns, “but a great return” on employee recruits.
The nonprofit’s board includes Gaddie, Herman, former Wells Fargo executive Phil Rolle, interim (and former) Maurice’s CEO George Goldfarb, and former Allete CEO Alan Hodnik.
Star Tribune
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approves rate increase for Minnesota Power electric bills in Duluth, Iron Range
This is the second rate increase granted to Minnesota Power in two years. In January 2023, the PUC granted a 9.5% increase. That was also much smaller than what the company wanted, though higher than what some consumer advocates asked for.
More than 650 people wrote to the PUC about the rate increase, most in opposition. Many were dated prior to or just after the settlement was announced publicly. Matthew Laveau of Wrenshall said “these added costs are not sustainable to their customers.”
Gretchen Matuszak of Esko wrote she is retired and can hardly keep up with her electric bill as it is now. “You sure make it tough for us old timers!” She wrote. “Give us a break!”
Allete CEO Bethany Owen during a Minnesota Public Utilities Commission meeting in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday May 9, 2024. ] RENEE JONES SCHNEIDER • renee.jones@startribune.com (Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Minnesota Power has about 150,000 customers across northeastern Minnesota. It serves energy-hungry iron mines, pipelines and the paper industry, all of which make up nearly 70% of the utility’s energy sales.
The company has the lowest monthly bills for the average residential customer of Minnesota’s three investor-owned utilities, and its electric rates for those customers are below the national average, according to 2022 data, the latest reported by the PUC. Its prices for commercial and industrial customers are higher than neighboring states, however, and 95% of the national average.
The utility has shifted its power mix from 95% coal in 2005 to nearly 60% renewable energy now as it works to meet a state law requiring a carbon-free electric grid by 2040.
