Star Tribune
Sgt. Adam Medlicott, wounded during standoff, remembers fallen Burnsville comrades at memorial
Burnsville Sgt. Adam Medlicott, who was injured in the line of duty by the gunman who killed three of his colleagues, remembered fellow first responders for their bravery in a speech at the Eden Prairie memorial service Wednesday, his first public comments since the attack.
Burnsville officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, both 27, and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth, 40 died Feb. 18 after an hours-long standoff. Medlicott, who was shot, was released from the hospital on Feb. 19.
He supervised Elmstrand and Ruge on nights and was standing with them on their final call, Medlicott told the packed auditorium at Grace Church in Eden Prarie.
He was one of Elmstrand’s field training officers and said he quickly realized how smart and thoughtful he was. Elmstrand would often enter Medlicott’s office uninvited, making himself at home and asking questions. He was considering applying for an open sergeant position. Elmstrand would have made an excellent sergeant, Medlicott told the Burnsville chief in the audience.
“I’ll miss our midnight talks, Paul,” he said.
Just after Ruge finished field training, he and Medlicott were dispatched to a woman set to start addiction treatment who was refusing to leave. Ruge and another young officer worked through the call, and it was a disaster, Medlicott recalled.
“After the call, Matt walked up to me and said, ‘Thanks, Adam. Man, I really effed that one up.’ Like any other cop, ‘I told him, Yeah, you really did.'”
He also told Ruge he was young and new to the profession. He would learn and grow and get better.
“I was standing next to him on his last call. But now it was Matt who was doing all of the talking. I believed in him as a crisis negotiator, and everyone here should know, he was doing an amazing job of it. You can’t reason with evil,” Medlicott said. “You didn’t eff this one up, Matt.”
While Medlicott did not know Finseth well, he said he would be forever thankful for him.
“I saw you run into the line of fire to save me and my guys. You’re the bravest person I’ve ever known.” he said. “Rest easy, brothers.”
Nine votes were needed to override Frey’s veto, but the vote was 7-6 in favor — not enough to overturn the resolution, which expressed solidarity with “nonviolent campus activism opposing war and supporting Palestinian human rights.”
The university has disputed that the protest at Morrill Hall was nonviolent, saying protesters spray-painted security cameras, broke interior windows and barricaded exits, trapping staffers for “an extended period of time.” University police and Hennepin County sheriff’s deputies arrested 11 protesters.
The university said the protesters caused over $67,000 in damage to doorways, walls and flooring; violated multiple university polices; and caused emotional harm to employees as they piled up furniture and copy machines to prevent workers from leaving.
The vote to override was supported by Council Members Robin Wonsley, Jason Chavez, Aurin Chowdhury, Jeremiah Ellison and Jamal Osman, as well as Council President Elliott Payne and Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai.
Those voting to sustain the veto were Council Members Michael Rainville, LaTrisha Vetaw, Katie Cashman, Emily Koski, Andrea Jenkins and Linea Palmisano.
That’s the same breakdown as the original 7-5 vote to approve the resolution, except that Jenkins was absent.
Bartho said she was heartbroken that such an act came to Northfield, but “we’re trying to make the most of it.”
The tree was donated by Paisley Gardens, a boutique garden center in Northfield. Decorated in purple garlands and big round ornaments, the tree will also be surrounded by lit-up trees and a thousand luminaries.
The Winter Walk, now in its 26th year, includes live music, fireworks, carolers, firepits and plenty of shopping.
If anything will put a damper on the evening, it’ll be temperatures in the single digits Thursday night, Bartho said. Not the actions of a Grinch with the heart of a dead tomato splotched.
“It’s not going to keep people away,” Bartho said. “People are coming down anyway.”
The Hennepin County Board approved a 5.5% increase to its property tax levy Thursday to fund a $3 billion budget for 2025.
Property taxes fund about $1 billion of the county’s $2.5 billion operating budget and $463 million capital improvement plan. About 60% of the county operating budget comes from state and federal dollars dedicated to various social programs.
Hennepin County is Minnesota’s second largest government, after the state government. Overall, county spending will grow by $87 million, or 3.6%, next year.
About $55 million comes from the property tax increase and the rest from savings. County leaders noted that federal pandemic aid is spent and tapping savings will make up short-term gaps without impacting long-term finances.
Much of the new spending will go toward rising salaries and benefits for the county’s 10,000 employees. The size of the workforce is not expected to change, and county officials are finalizing new contracts with the 17 unions that represent about ⅔ of workers.
More than 4,000 workers represented by six different AFSCME units approved new three-year contracts Wednesday that include 4% raises each year. That is on top of the regular increases some workers receive for their experience.
The new budget also includes $10 million toward covering the cost of uncompensated care at HCMC, the safety-net hospital overseen by commissioners and the Hennepin Healthcare System board.
