Star Tribune
Fire that destroyed Lutsen Lodge continues string of North Shore business blazes
The late-night blaze that destroyed Lutsen Lodge was the latest in a series of fires that have destroyed beloved businesses and hotels along Minnesota’s North Shore. Since 2020, at least three other fires have destroyed five restaurants and stores in Grand Marais and Lutsen. One investigation ruled that the first was accidental, but the other two investigations continue and have not released a cause.
Here’s a rundown of each of those fires and what we know:
Crooked Spoon Café and neighboring stores, April 2020
A fire broke out on April 13, 2020, in the back of the Crooked Spoon Café, at 17 W. Wisconsin St. in Grand Marais, according to the report from the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s office. Strong wind gusts spread the fire to neighboring gift shops Picnic & Pine and White Pine North, fully engulfing the downtown buildings. No injuries were reported. The fire was later ruled accidental but a cause was never found.
The investigation was limited because a backhoe vehicle had begun knocking down the burned buildings as the investigator arrived at the scene, according to his report. The investigator wrote that Grand Marais Fire Chief Ben Silence said there was no choice but to start demolishing the structures out of fear that the fire would spread to other buildings. The report lists the cause of fire as “undetermined.”
Instead of rebuilding the restaurant, the owners opened a food truck in the winter of 2020-21 to continue the business. It remains open and regularly posts on Facebook to let people know where the truck will be serving pop-up dinners and offering delivery and pickup orders.
Sydney’s Frozen Custard and Wood-Fired Pizza, April 2023
This popular seasonal custard shop in Grand Marais caught fire on April 10, almost three years to the day after the fire at Crooked Spoon. The fire at 14 S. Broadway Av. destroyed the building.
The investigation is still active, according to a spokesperson for the Fire Marshal’s office. Contractor Ben Block said at the time that he suspects it may have been caused by squirrels in the wiring, based on a chewed-up bottle of chocolate that Block saw before the fire. Sydney’s reopened near the intersection of First Avenue West and Wisconsin Street.
Papa Charlie’s Tavern, June 2023
Lutsen Mountains lost its longtime restaurant and live-music venue Papa Charlie’s Tavern in a fire on June 24, 2023. Jim Vick, the general manager for Lutsen Mountains, said investigators informed him they were unable to determine a definite cause of the fire.
Vick said there hasn’t been any evidence to suggest that the North Shore’s recent string of fires has been anything other than bad luck.
“There’s been nothing to suspect there’s anything nefarious behind any of them,” Vick said. “It’s an unfortunate coincidence and circumstance, and each one has been a tough blow to the community.”
The hope is to begin construction on a new Papa Charlie’s in the summer and to open potentially next winter, he added. It would be at the same site as the former tavern.
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.
An off-duty Washington County sheriff’s deputy caused a head-on crash while under the influence of alcohol and injured a couple in the other vehicle, officials said.
The crash occurred about 10:40 a.m. Sunday in Afton on Hwy. 95 at Scenic Lane, the Minnesota State Patrol said.
Campbell Johnston Blair, 58, of Hastings, was heading north in his Subaru Crosstrek, crossed into the opposite lane and collided with a southbound Ford Expedition, the patrol said.
Blair and the other vehicle’s occupants, 38-year-old Erik Robert Sward and 36-year-old Heather Lynn Sward, both of Lake Elmo, were taken to Regions Hospital with non-critical injuries, according to the patrol.
The patrol noted the alcohol use by Blair was involved in the crash.
Blair, who was driving a private vehicle at the time of the crash while off-duty, has been a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office since 2020 and is currently assigned to our Court Security Unit.
The Sheriff’s Office has been asked for reaction to the crash involving one of its deputies.
