Star Tribune
Former Duluth East hockey coach Mike Randolph violated employee conduct policies
Not all of the interviews were negative; a fair amount of players and parents reported positive experiences with Randolph, some saying they never witnessed him belittling players.
“To me, he was fabulous,” one parent said, noting their child “blossomed” under Randolph.
Terch wrote he was not able to substantiate an allegation that Randolph received payments from the East End Hockey Boosters, although he did find “unusual financial management practices” by the booster club, including a misrepresentation to parents about the use of at least some of what they paid, a commingling of funds between events and “unorthodox” accounting practices. Several parents said they felt they had overpaid many times without explanation. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began investigating the former East hockey booster club in 2023 for alleged embezzlement. The status of that case is unknown.
In response to the report’s release, Duluth Public Schools Superintendent John Magas said in a statement that he can’t discuss personnel matters, but the district takes all reports from students and families “very seriously.”
“Our primary goal is to ensure that students have the best possible experiences, both in the classroom and in extracurricular activities,” he said. “We are committed to thoroughly investigating any concerns brought to our attention and taking appropriate action” to maintain safe and positive learning environments.
St. Thomas Academy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Star Tribune
Mary Moriarty vows to retry Cody Fohrenkam whose conviction for murdering Deshaun Hill was overturned
The appeals court ruled that at least some of that evidence was wrongfully used to convict Fohrenkam.
Walker, the attorney representing Hill’s family, said that although it’s disappointing that the family must sit through another trial, the ruling is “what makes America, America.”
“I understand where the judge is coming from,” Walker said. “It’s one of those cases that upsets people — people getting out on this, that and the other, on ‘technicalities,’ but they’re not technicalities, it’s the law.”
Star Tribune
Eagan parents of college runner who died by suicide settles suit with her coach and school
The Eagan parents of a college runner who died by suicide has settled their lawsuit that alleged their daughter’s cross-country coach at the time tormented her with demeaning comments in emails and texts about her weight and learning challenges.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Florida in June 2023 by Ray and Lynne Pernsteiner, the parents of Julia Pernsteiner, 23, who died in her Jacksonville University dorm room on Nov. 8, 2021. Her death came two months after the coach kicked her off the team, the suit contended.
The lawsuit named as defendants the university and former cross-country coach Ronald E. Grigg Jr., who coached women’s track and cross-country at the Division I school from 1998 until his sudden resignation in July.
The family’s attorney, Robert Spohrer, said that the case went to mediation, and there was “an amicable resolution of all issues” that led to the suit’s dismissal.
Spohrer said a strict confidentiality agreement among the parties prevented him from disclosing terms of the settlement.
Attorneys for Grigg and the university did not respond to messages left by the Star Tribune.
Messages were left Thursday with the law firms representing the school and Grigg. The defendants have yet to file any response in federal court to the allegations. The university said in a statement that it does not comment on pending litigation.
The suit contended that Pernsteiner’s constitutional rights were violated under the Americans with Disabilities Act and under Title IX because of discriminatory acts based on her gender.
The state Republican Party and conservative legal groups filed a petition with the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday claiming that Hennepin County did not appoint partisan election judges in the right way.
The party and two conservative groups, the Upper Midwest Law Center and the Minnesota Voters Alliance, want to know how Hennepin County appointed election judges to its absentee ballot board this year. The board’s work includes making sure signatures on absentee ballots match signatures on voter registration cards and deciding if a ballot is spoiled or not.
The central question of the lawsuit, according to Andy Cilek, executive director of the Minnesota Voters Alliance, is whether county elections officials have to exhaust lists of potential election judges provided by the political parties before selecting others for the absentee ballot boards, which are required to have a balance of Republican and Democratic election judges.
“We want to understand how this occurred,” said Minnesota Republican Party Chair David Hann.
The suit alleges no one from a list of 1,500 Republicans supplied by the state Republican party to the Secretary of State’s office were selected by Hennepin County. Hann said he did not know if any Republicans were selected to serve.
Ryan Wilson of the Upper Midwest Law Center said the group has not scrutinized lists of election judges in other counties to make sure they included names provided by the state Republican Party. Wilson said his group is focusing on Hennepin County because it has the most voters, and the most potential to have an impact, he said.
In a statement, Daniel Rogan, Hennepin County auditor, said absentee ballot board members were appointed in compliance with state law and guidance from the Secretary of State.
