Star Tribune
Judge approves sale of St. Cloud’s Crossroads Center mall to Contrarian Crossroads
ST. CLOUD — A Stearns County judge last week approved the sale of Crossroads Center mall to a Delaware company that plans to take over the mortgage the previous owners hadn’t made payments on since August 2020.
The fate of the St. Cloud mall had been unknown since late last spring when the previous owner was found to be delinquent on its loan. U.S. Bank Trust Co., a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, filed suit in July against St. Cloud Mall LLC, affiliated with New York-based Brookfield Properties, to initiate foreclosure proceedings.
The lawsuit asked the court to allow for the sale of the property and to enter a judgment against the owners in excess of $84 million, which the mall’s owner owed on the principal, as well as interest and other fees.
In August, both parties submitted a joint motion to appoint a receiver, which is a neutral party that does not have any involvement or affiliation with the property, noteholder or borrower.
Stearns County Judge Laura Moehrle issued an order appointing Trigild, a commercial real estate company, as the receiver to “take possession of and protect the property” and “manage and operate the same and collect rents and any other income generated,” court documents state.
The order gave Trigild the authority to market and sell the property. Trigild entered into a purchase agreement with the Delaware limited liability company Contrarian Crossroads in late December. The agreement, which is not included in court documents, states the buyer will assume the mortgage debt and any related liens.
Moehrle’s order approving the sale was entered into the court system on Jan. 19. The case is now listed as closed.
Brookfield did not respond to a request for comment. The company told the Star Tribune in April that it was “constructively working with the lender to identify the best possible outcome for the future of the shopping center community.”
Ballard Spahr law offices, which represented U.S. Bank, also declined to comment.
The secretary of state’s office lists Contrarian Crossroads as having a principal place of business address in Houston, Texas and a registered state address in Roseville.
Crossroads Center is the largest regional shopping mall in the state outside of the Twin Cities. It opened in 1966 with about two dozen stores and has expanded to nearly 900,000 square feet of retail space. Current anchor stores include J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Scheels and Target.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed part of a state highway Wednesday evening near Austin because of a “major hazardous materials release” in the area.
Hwy. 56 from Hayfield to Waltham, a stretch covering about five miles, was closed in both directions and drivers were directed to follow a detour to Blooming Prairie on U.S. Hwy. 218.
No information on the hazardous materials released was immediately available.
A federal judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II during a 2023 traffic stop.
The decision is the latest development in a case that has drawn heated debate over excessive use of force by law enforcement. Criminal charges against Londregan were dismissed by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in June, saying the prosecution didn’t have the evidence to proceed with a case.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel granted Londregan’s motion to dismiss the civil suit, arguing he acted reasonably when he opened fire as Cobb’s vehicle lurched forward with another state trooper partly inside.
Londregan’s attorney Chris Madelsaid Wednesday that it’s been a “long, grueling journey to justice. Ryan Londregan has finally arrived.”
On July 31, 2023, the two troopers pulled over Cobb, 33, on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for driving without taillights and later learned he was wanted for violating a felony domestic no-contact order. Cobb refused commands to exit the car.
With Seide partly inside the car while trying to unbuckle Cobb’s seatbelt, the car moved forward. Londregan then opened fire, hitting Cobb twice.
In her decision, Brasel said the troopers were mandated by state law to make an arrest given Cobb’s domestic no-contact order violation. She said it was objectively reasonable for Londregan to believe Seide was in immediate danger as the car moved forward on a busy highway, which would make his use of force reasonable.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Donald Trump walked down the steps of the Boeing 757 that bears his name, walked across a rain-soaked tarmac and, after twice missing the handle, climbed into the passenger seat of a white garbage truck that also carried his name.
The former president, once a reality TV star known for his showmanship, wanted to draw attention to a remark made a day earlier by his successor, Democratic President Joe Biden, that suggested Trump’s supporters were garbage. Trump has used the remark as a cudgel against his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
”How do you like my garbage truck?” Trump said, wearing an orange and yellow safety vest over his white dress shirt and red tie. ”This is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.”
Trump and other Republicans were facing pushback of their own for comments by a comedian at a weekend Trump rally who disparaged Puerto Rico as a ”floating island of garbage.” Trump then seized on a comment Biden made on a late Wednesday call that “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.”
The president tried to clarify the comment afterward, saying he had intended to say Trump’s demonization of Latinos was unconscionable. But it was too late.
On Thursday, after arriving in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for an evening rally, Trump climbed into the garbage truck, carrying on a brief discussion with reporters while looking out the window — similar to what he did earlier this month during a photo opportunity he staged at a Pennsylvania McDonalds.
He again tried to distance himself from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose joke had set off the firestorm, but Trump did not denounce it. He also said he did not need to apologize to Puerto Ricans.
”I don’t know anything about the comedian,” Trump said. ”I don’t know who he is. I’ve never seen him. I heard he made a statement, but it was a statement that he made. He’s a comedian, what can I tell you. I know nothing about him.”
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Dentists are pulling healthy and treatable teeth to profit from implants, experts warn