Star Tribune
Bryce Campbell, Lutsen Lodge owner, addresses financial challenges and calls out arson rumors
The owner of fire-ravaged Lutsen Lodge has been dogged by allegations in an escalating number of lawsuits for failing to meet financial obligations that total hundreds of thousands of dollars, and continued to grow even as the last embers of the historic Lake Superior getaway still smoldered.
Bryce Campbell acknowledged Wednesday that he owes roughly $150,000 to several people who own cabins and condominiums near the Lodge that he managed for rental. Some have sued Campbell, alleging he withheld proceeds from the rentals for many months.
Without prompting and as the investigation into the blaze continues, Campbell, in an email Wednesday responding to questions about his legal problems, denied speculation he said he saw on social media, and among some of the cabin owners, that he had anything to do with starting the fire.
“My heart is broken, and I feel like I’m grieving a person,” Campbell wrote to the Star Tribune. “You have no idea what it’s like to lose such a big piece of your life [that] my mom and I were building together. … It makes my broken heart hurt even more to focus on such absurd accusations.”
Campbell wrote that he recently invested millions of dollars in improvements to the three-story lodge, so “you don’t [expletive] torch a place and burn up $5 million of your money. … Let’s use some common sense here, people.”
Authorities in Cook County say the fire started about 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday; the lodge, built in 1952 on a resort site that dated to the late 19th Century, was quickly engulfed. By later that morning, all that remained standing were two chimneys. The lodge’s general manager said there were no guests checked in on Monday night, and no one was injured in the fire.
The lodge was insured, Campbell said, adding that he is “dreading the process” but intends to see that it will one day be rebuilt and re-opened to the public. .
The State Fire Marshal, taking the lead in the investigation, released a statement Wednesday noting that the lodge, which had a working sprinkler system, was last inspected in July, when seven violations were found, with four of them repaired. At this time, the statement continued, “it is too early in the investigation to determine if the three outstanding violations played a role in the fire.”
A federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms spokeswoman said a certified fire investigator with her agency has connected with state officials about the blaze.
Campbell, 39, bought the lodge in 2018 and its sister property 70 miles to the south, Superior Shores, in 2020. His legal problems started in July 2021, when he was sued by a remodeling contractor for failing to pay a majority of the $310,000 he was billed for work on Superior Shores. A judge found him liable, and he paid the contractor about $190,000 this past July.
A cabin owner who also has a condominium in a complex that overlooks the lodge said he is suing Campbell for withheld rental payments that total tens of thousands of dollars combined.
An Eden Prairie couple say they are owed $13,000. Court records show that an 89-year-old widow from the Northfield area sued Campbell on Monday, about 12 hours before the fire, contending that he owes her $11,000.
Jay Halverson, of Edina, owns a townhouse and a cabin near where the lodge once stood. He said Campbell owes him about $30,000 in rental proceeds from both properties.
Halverson, president of a residential association for 10 cabins up the hill from the lodge, said he and six others intend to go to conciliation court in pursuit of their money. He said the grand total “is really unclear because of [Campbell’s] sloppy bookkeeping or even the lack of bookkeeping.”
Cliffhouse is just one of four residential associations near the lodge that have either ended or are winding down their management relationships with Campbell, Halverson said.
Halverson said that when he heard about the fire, he was immediately suspicious about its cause. “It seems like some kind of a movie that comes on late at night,” he said.
Tracy Skar has a Cliffhouse townhouse and is the association’s treasurer but does not rent out her unit. Skar said she knows “there are lot of people who are owed money. It was a bad situation that I thought couldn’t get any more drama, and then this happened.”
Skar added that the fire’s cause has spawned “a lot of speculation. [That] has been everybody’s first thoughts, second thoughts. It’s a sad situation, and you never want to think the worst.”
Cook County records show that Campbell has been increasingly late with his business’ property taxes. While his taxes associated with the lodge are made by escrow on time, two other properties he owns nearby have been paid late every year since 2019, except for 2020, according to the records.
When asked about his current financial health given the sizable payout in July to the contractor, money due to nearby property owners and continuous delays paying property taxes, Campbell responded: “cash flow is limited [due] to a slow winter [and] millions just spent on a major project.”
The statement from the State Fire Marshal said it’s difficult to estimate when the investigation will wrap up “due to the magnitude of this fire.” Firefighters remained on the scene Wednesday, still tending to hotspots.
“There was great potential for a loss of life with this fire,” Lutsen Fire Chief Steve Duclos said. “We are thankful that wasn’t the case.”
Star Tribune staff writers Jana Hollingsworth and Christa Lawler contributed to this report.
Twin Cities, get ready to potentially spot an ex on the Minneapolis season of Love Is Blind, which was officially announced Wednesday night.
The anticipated reunion episode that closed out season 7, set in Washington, D.C., included the surprise announcement. The eighth season will launch on Valentine’s Day.
“This Valentine’s Day 2025 will mark the five-year anniversary of the premiere of Love Is Blind, and it is going to be the launch of season 8, which takes place in Minneapolis,” host Vanessa Lachey said in a moment also posted to social media.
Three of the incoming Minneapolis singles were introduced in the reunion episode. When asked about the challenges of the dating scene in Minneapolis, one contestant shared a sentiment many Minnesotans will be familiar with.
“It’s such a small community, it’s not like a major city but it’s also not a small town. So you kind of see the same people over and over, and it’s a small bar scene,” he said.
Star Tribune
Long Prairie, MN school board dismisses its superintendent, the latest controversy in this small town
LONG PRAIRIE, MINN. — The school district superintendent dressed up as the school mascot, Thor, on football nights. He read the graduation address in both English and Spanish. He even set up office hours in the cafeteria, granting easier approachability to students.
But now, two months into the school year, Daniel Ludvigson is gone. Or, rather, “on special assignment,” according to the terminology of the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle School Board, which voted 4-3 earlier this month to remove him as superintendent. The move came weeks after voting to not renew his contract, which expires at the end of the school year in June.
Four board members — two of whom voted to oust Ludvigson, including Board Chair Kelly Lemke — are up for re-election next week.
The dismissal is the latest blow in this central Minnesota community on the edge of the prairie. Over the last nine months, the town of 3,400 residents and seat of Todd County has lost its mayor, a city manager, two school board members, and now its superintendent.
Students walked out earlier this month in support of Ludvigson. Signs in support of Ludvigson can be seen across town on the lawns of apparent Democrats and Republicans alike. And last week, hundreds packed the American Legion off Hwy. 71 to eat beef sandwiches and sign support letters for Ludvigson, who only swung by to pick up his child for hockey practice.
In a time of great divide in America, this fight has nothing to do with politics.
“You’ve got Harris buttons and Trump hats side-by-side, arm-in-arm,” said Amanda Hinson, a former local newspaper reporter who is concerned the board is not being upfront about why they placed Ludvigson on special assignment. “We want transparency in our government.”
Lawn signs around Long Prairie, Minn., now include people weighing in on the dismissal of Superintendent Daniel Ludvigson by the school board. (Christopher Vondracek)
School board members say Ludvigson has repeatedly shown he is not ready for the prime time of a school district bigger than the one in central North Dakota he arrived from two years ago. They have twice disciplined Ludvigson, but did not state the reason for placing him on “special assignment,” beyond insinuating that staff are fearful to raise official complaints.
Rain and potentially heavy snow are on tap Thursday around the Twin Cities, just before families set out for Halloween trick-or-treating.
Temperatures were expected to drop throughout the day, creating conditions for flurries. A winter weather advisory is in effect from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. covering the Twin Cities metro area and parts of south-central Minnesota. Steady rain drenched the Twin Cities on Thursday, making for a soggy morning commute.
“As colder air begins to move in this morning, the rain will transition to heavy snow from west to east with snowfall rates of an inch per hour at times into early afternoon,” the National Weather Service in Chanhassen said in a weather advisory.
The Twin Cities and surrounding areas could get between 2 and 4 inches of snow, according to the weather service. The winter weather advisory is expected to affect Anoka, Chisago, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Washington and Le Sueur counties.
It’s unclear how much of the snow will actually stick, with warm surface temperatures likely leading to melting on contact in many areas.
“Exact totals will depend on snowfall rate, surface temperatures, and melting — which increases uncertainty with the snow forecast,” the weather service said in an early Thursday briefing.
“Thundersnow possible!” the weather service emphasized.
The good news for Halloween revelers is that the snow and rain are expected to wrap up in time for trick-or-treating, though temperatures will remain in the 30s with a sharp windchill.
