Star Tribune
Two small central Minnesota banks merge, increase lending limit to $6.2M
Two central Minnesota banks are merging to bolster the size and resources of the community institutions.
First State Bank of Sauk Centre and Little Falls-based Pine Country Bank will operate as Pine Country Bank, per a Monday announcement. Regulatory authorities have already approved the merger, which will complete in January.
“We’d be considered an agricultural bank,” said Rob Ronning, CEO of Pine Country Bank. “It makes up the largest portion of our portfolio.”
Ronning said the merged bank’s lending limit will likely increase from $4.1 million to $6.2 million. As of June 30, Pine Country Bank had assets of $244 million and First State Bank had assets of $157 million.
Holding company MidCountry Acquisition, based in Minneapolis, owned and operated both banks and drove their merger.
“They were just looking to get more efficient,” Ronning said of MidCountry’s motivation to combine the financial entities.
Pine Country Bank — which began in 1927 as the Royalton State Bank — has branches in Little Falls, Rice and Royalton. First State Bank has locations in Sauk Centre and downtown Minneapolis. Pine Country has 40 employees while First State employs 15 staffers.
Last week, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a percentage point. Ronning is optimistic about the impact of that on the banking industry.
He’s David Hunter II, and on Jan. 6 the North Minneapolis native will take over the job of overseeing the center that provides programs and services that empower individuals and families.
“David’s unique ability to meet people where they are, paired with his servant leadership approach, makes him the ideal leader to guide PWCC into its next century of service,” Board Chair Scott Morris said in a statement. “His empathy, understanding, and passion for our mission inspire hope and possibility for our entire community.”
Hunter’s appointment is sort of a homecoming. When Hunter was a student at North Minneapolis’ Bethune Elementary School, he took part in programs offered by PWCC. The center at 130110th Avenue N. this year is marking its 100th anniversary of offering food assistance, domestic violence support, parenting restoration classes, youth basketball and technology skills courses for young men and women. The center also hosts special programs for Juneteenth, Thanksgiving and Earth Day, and a Santa breakfast for families.
Hunter most recently served as center director for the Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge in Rochester, Minn., where he led recovery programs and guided teams focused on holistic growth. He also served as a chaplain, providing spiritual and emotional support to individuals and families.
His resume also includes working as a counselor at the Salvation Army in Minneapolis, where he connected individuals struggling with homelessness and addiction to resources. Hunter is also a board member of Second Chance Coalition and the R3 Collaborative, organizations that advocate for social justice and help those re-entering society.
Star Tribune
FBI searching autism centers in Minneapolis, St. Cloud after finding ‘substantial evidence’ of health care fraud
The FBI is searching at least two Minnesota autism centers Thursday morning as part of an investigation that it said revealed “substantial evidence” of fraudulent Medicaid claims made by many companies participating in a state program to serve people under 21.
Agents were searching at least two locations as of Thursday morning, according to a 54-page search warrant application: Smart Therapy Center’s business office in Minneapolis and Star Autism Center’s office in St. Cloud. A Star Tribune reporter observed FBI agents in the hallway of Smart Therapy Center’s office early Thursday morning.
The searches are in connection with an investigation into fraud related to the state-funded Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) health care program that serves people under 21 with autism spectrum disorder.
The state became one of the first to offer Medicaid coverage for EIDBI services in 2017 and, according to the search warrant, “dozens and dozens of autism clinics and other companies purporting to offer EIDBI treatment have been created in Minnesota.” That includes several people involved in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, according to FBI Special Agent Kurt Buelke.
Minnesota’s EIDBI program has seen an exponential growth in Medicaid billing submitted for its services: Minnesota companies billed the state for roughly $400 million in such services in both 2023 and 2024 for Minnesota Medical Assistant and related public health plans, the warrant describes.
Buelke wrote that the FBI’s investigation “has found substantial evidence that many of these companies have been submitting fraudulent claims for EIDBI services that were not actually provided or that were not covered by the EIDBI program.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to startribune.com for updates.
The Pine City school district has agreed to pay $65,000 to a student who was bullied because of her race during the 2020-2021 school year.
The settlement was announced Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. A department investigation found multiple students repeatedly bullied and harassed a seventh-grader because of her race. School officials violated the state’s Human Rights Act by “failing to timely and appropriately stop the racial harassment,” according to a statement from the department.
“Today’s announcement serves as a reminder to schools across the state of their legal responsibilities under the Minnesota Human Rights Act to proactively prevent and stop harassment and discrimination,” Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said in the statement.
Pine City Superintendent Cindy Stolp said the settlement addresses claims related to student-to-student interactions “during the height of the pandemic when students attended some or all of their classes from home.”
“As part of the settlement, the district denied any violation of the law,” Stolp wrote in a statement. “The district, however, remains focused on continued improvement, including fostering respect and understanding among students.”
The investigation uncovered that a seventh-grader was repeatedly bullied and harassed over the course of months by more than 10 students, and the student and her parents “persistently” reported the harassment to school leaders.
The department did not specify what constituted the ongoing harassment but said the seventh-grader was “greatly impacted and missed several weeks of school.”
Across Minnesota, more than half of eighth-graders who responded to the most recent Minnesota Student Survey in 2022 reported being bullied in the past month.
