Star Tribune
North Oaks buildout to continue after settlement between James J. Hill descendants and the city
The messy legal battle between North Oaks and the city’s founding family and master developer — the heirs of legendary St. Paul railroad magnate James J. Hill — is finally over.
The result is that the exclusive Ramsey County suburb of 5,300 will be built out over the next decade according to the Hill family’s vision, despite initial resistance from a majority of the City Council.
The North Oaks Co., owned by Hill’s great-granddaughter Mari Harpur and her husband, Doug, now has the city’s approval to build out the final phases of the private community.
That includes lots for 37 single-family homes, 73 townhomes and 74 condos — adjacent to 900 acres of open space that comprise the largest conservation easement held by the Minnesota Land Trust in the metro area, said Mark Houge, president of North Oaks Co.
The only approval still needed is for 17 additional lots for single-family homes, he said.
“The Harpurs are really proud of the work they’ve done to get us where we are today,” said Houge, noting the ongoing emphasis on environmental stewardship. “Each day the value of that conservation easement becomes more evident.”
But it’s taken months of litigation and hours of contentious City Council meetings to get to this point, he said.
The public dispute roiled the affluent bedroom community, best known for its natural setting and its privacy. Uninvited visitors can be ticketed for trespassing by simply driving on the city’s private roads.
City officials did not return requests for comment. But according to a news release, they were “pleased to have resolved this litigation” and looked forward to working with the North Oaks Co. in the future.
The release added that the litigation will not affect North Oaks’ insurance premiums. The city relied on the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust for legal council.
The Hill family’s history with North Oaks dates back to 1883, when Hill purchased more than 5,000 acres for farming. His descendants inherited the property, and in the 1950s created a community with spacious lots, ample privacy and an emphasis on preserving its natural beauty.
Mari Harpur bought out her siblings in the 1990s and mapped the buildout of the community with an eye toward environmental stewardship. Newer homes are clustered together to allow for open natural space.
City leaders approved that concept in 1999 as part of a planned development agreement. Since then, that agreement has been amended multiple times and construction has commenced in phases.
But a new majority of City Council members elected in 2020 was skeptical of the 1999 agreement and its amendments. The council denied final approval of the townhome development in the fall of 2021, citing failure to meet applicable regulations, and earlier this year withheld final approval for 16 single-family home lots.
The North Oaks Co. filed suit challenging both council denials. At a hearing in the case in February, Ramsey County District Judge Patrick Diamond said city leaders’ actions appeared to “border on disingenuous.”
In April, the City Council reversed itself and approved both the townhome and single-family development.
“It was exactly as was originally presented by the company, in conformance with the terms of the development agreement between the city and the company,” Houge said.
Diamond ruled in July that the council’s reversal made the North Oaks Co. suit and the company’s request for damages largely moot. Earlier this month, the city and company agreed to dismiss one remaining claim related to public records and the Minnesota Data Practices Act, ending the litigation.
Houge said an independent appraiser estimates the North Oaks Co. lost $1.5 million due to the delays and changing market conditions.
“Interest rates have doubled from 3 to 6 percent, and construction costs have gone up 20 percent,” Houge said. “That will ultimately be born by the homeowners.”
The company considered appealing the judge’s ruling on damages but ultimately decided against it. “We didn’t feel it was fair to penalize the entire community for the actions of four council members. The residents would have paid,” Houge said.
The Harpurs, who own a residence in North Oaks, sent out a two-page letter to every household in the city earlier this month providing a timeline of the dispute and explaining the outcome.
“For 70 years we have had a good working relationship with the city. Hopefully we are near the completion of our development and we can get back there,” the Harpurs wrote. “We are proud of what we have created for the community.”
Star Tribune
A new iron magnet — invented in Minnesota — could shrink reliance on China for EV batteries and cell phones
A giant magnet press is seen on a tour at Niron Magnetics on Thursday. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Wang said the Niron magnets are good for about 80% of uses, but he is working at the U on improvements necessary for some high-end technologies like EV motors.
Castilloux said it’s not yet clear what Niron’s magnets are best suited for in an industry with highly specialized needs. Another question is whether they will perform under tough conditions, like high temperatures, for huge vehicle and wind turbine markets or are better for simpler electronics and speakers.
Still the company has powerful investors, including General Motors, Volvo, Samsung, Western Digital and Stellantis. That’s why Castilloux is “cautiously optimistic” about Niron despite the challenges of commercializing new magnet tech. He said those companies likely wouldn’t invest heavily in a company merely for magnets in car speakers.
Niron is also working with the U.S. Department of Defense, which needs magnets for weapons, warplanes, submarines and more.
Castilloux said Niron has a few local competitors planning similar sized-operations for rare earth magnets, and it’s difficult to “come up against China, which is decades ahead on all fronts.” But he said there is enough demand to sustain local production, especially with industry and government support boosting domestic efforts. The U.S. is placing a 25% import tariff of rare earth magnets starting in 2026.
The Niron plant in Minneapolis can produce about five tons of magnetic material per year, and Niron aims to make 1,500 tons at the planned Sartell facility. That’s a small fraction of the more than 200,000 tons of traditional rare earth magnets sold globally last year, according to Adamas data.
These are smart people. Well-intentioned people. We’ve just been overwhelmed by the medium. I’m not a hunter. I went to graduate school for literature. We are in need of rhetorical flotation devices to keep us afloat in the floods.
Minnesota Governor and democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz compares Pheasants Forever hats with Matt Kucharski before they set out for the annual Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener on Saturday near Sleepy Eye. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
So here’s what actually happened last Saturday morning.
First-off, there’s not a Casey’s or Kwik Trip between the Twin Cities and New Ulm that carries a blaze orange stocking cap. That’s a missed opportunity. Because I searched nearly every single one on my pre-dawn ride down from Minneapolis Saturday morning to the appointed meeting-place on a gravel road to get wanded by Secret Service.
Second, hunting is the most Downton Abbey thing we do in American politics. It’s not the foxes and hounds and horses and bugle calls. But it is a little silly. How can you shoot a bird with 20 reporters, 15 staffers, and 5 social media influencers in tow?
Still, I get it. There is a romantic showmanship to the day. The prairie presents well. And you got to dress warmly, which my east coast colleagues — in hoodies and sneakers — didn’t. So we sat there seemingly an eternity before, right before 9 a.m., Walz’s motorcade arrived, and the governor got smiling to walk over and get his pheasant credentials checked by the DNR officer.
Then, yes, we did do a bit of “fake-news.” One of the photographers requested views of faces of the hunting party — consisting of Walz, the president of Pheasants Forever, a local landowner, and a Nobles County hunter. So, for a performative few minutes, without taking any shots, the group walked toward the mobile media row, holding guns.
Star Tribune
Duluth announces external investigation of role Mayor Roger Reinert’s campaign manager and girlfriend may have played in conducting city business.
Councilor Azrin Awal said she’s heard from several constituents asking for the investigation to be conducted by an independent source. It shows that councilors and the city are hearing their concerns, she said, and “holding ourselves accountable.”
Gurske, 33, is a business development and marketing manager for Superior, Wis.-based Amsoil. Emails show she offered a city staffer ideas and copy for social media topics to be covered by Reinert, coordinated a potential mayoral proclamation, reviewed a press release and asked his assistant the nature of a meeting Reinert was taking when it was requested to be added to his schedule.
Gurske was on a panel that interviewed a candidate for a senior adviser role for Reinert’s office, and also acted as his staff at a local elementary school where he read to students, emails show.
Of Gurske, he wrote last month that she is his “significant other” who is “a talented professional and someone I trust. She is also just as passionate about the future and success of our community as I am.”
He noted that he would never “intentionally — or ask anyone else — to do something that negatively impacts this office of the City of Duluth organization.”
Legal experts have said her actions are unethical and potentially illegal, and could raise conflict of interest and accountability accusations.
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