Star Tribune
Why have several elected officials been censured in the north metro?
The last time the Blaine City Council voted to censure a member was in 1988. The Robbinsdale school board didn’t have any record of a member being censured in the past two decades. And Brooklyn Park had never placed a censure on a council member.
But that has now changed. Across the north metro in recent months, all of those governing bodies took the usually rare action and officially reprimanded members of their boards.
And in Lino Lakes, the council in September voted to censure Council Member Chris Lyden for applauding an email with anti-Muslim comments. He argued he did not deserve the action. Before that, the last time a council member was censured in the city was in 2017.
“I’ve been in government for a long time, and it’s a very rare thing. It’s a serious thing,” Jim Scheibel, a former St. Paul mayor and adjunct professor at Hamline University, said of the string of censures. “It can be very appropriate, also. We’re in a time of very heightened tension in government at all levels, at the federal level and, this is an indication, at the local government level.”
Scheibel and others who keep an eye on local politics said many residents are unfamiliar with what the public reprimand means. There’s also been confusion among some elected officials on their options for taking such a vote-of-no-confidence, as it is not spelled out in many municipal codes.
“I would guess most people don’t know what a censure means or what it does,” said Amber Eisenschenk, research manager with the League of Minnesota Cities.
Brooklyn Park did not have specific rules for how to censure an official until 2017, when the City Council was starkly divided and embroiled with controversy.
A sign with the rules for dogs is displayed at the entrance to Purgatory Park in Minnetonka on Tuesday. (Renée Jones Schneider)
During public comment periods on the park plan, officials heard from residents who urged them to allow dogs off leash throughout the park, saying it provides a crucial exercise opportunity for both the animals and their humans. Others said they’d had problems with dog bites or dogs running into neighboring yards.
“We’ve heard from residents all over the city that they do go to Purgatory [Park] for the beautiful nature and to let their dogs run off leash,” said Matt Kumka, the city’s park and trail project manager. And, he added, “We heard that some folks did have unwanted interactions with dogs at times.”
In a meeting late last month, council members began discussing whether they want to allow retractable leashes and, if so, if they should max out at 6 feet long or 20 feet. Council Member Deb Calvert suggested retractable leashes could be especially helpful for older adults, who might not be able to walk as fast or far as other dog owners.
“They’re losing what was their dog park, and I feel like we need to toss a proverbial bone in their direction,” Calvert said during the council meeting last month.
The council also appears poised to create an advisory group to help decide which areas of the park should be open to off-leash dogs and whether those spots should be marked by signs or fences.
If the mayor and council approve the new proposals, Kumka said officials don’t necessarily expect an increase in citations but that “it would improve clarity regarding the expectations of behavior and a bit more of an opportunity to provide education for the folks in the parks.”
This was the second time in roughly the past 17 months that Griffen has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. In July 2023, he was stopped in Chanhassen and accused of driving 60 mph in a 40 mph zone. His blood-alcohol content was 0.09%. Griffen pleaded guilty to a reduced careless driving charge in February and was placed on a year’s probation.
In the months following that allegation, Griffen crashed his car into a fence and gazebo in Mound on Oct. 28, 2023. He was cited and convicted of failure to drive with due care, a petty misdemeanor. On Dec. 7, 2023, in Shakopee, police stopped Griffen for driving 55 mph in a 30 mph zone. He was convicted of a petty misdemeanor in that case as well.
Griffen called 911 shortly after 3 a.m. from his Minnetrista home on Nov. 24, 2021, saying someone was with him, and he needed help. He also told the dispatcher he fired one round from a gun, but no one was wounded, police said. They added no intruder was found.
The same day, Griffen had posted, then deleted, a video on Instagram saying people were trying to kill him as he held a gun in his hand. He was alone inside the house, with police outside, until he emerged and agreed to be taken for treatment.
Griffen also spent four weeks undergoing mental health treatment in 2018 after two incidents that September — one at the Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis, the other at his home — that prompted police involvement. He later revealed he lived in a sober house for the remainder of the 2018 season.
On Facebook, North Shore residents have been keeping track. He’d been spotted on London Road. He was on 61 by the Knife River Bridge. He was at the Lake Breeze Motel on Congdon Road. There were Bo Peep jokes. “Sheepers!” someone exclaimed. “RUN BRAD RUN!” someone else urged.
Nobody knows how a sheep ended up by his lonesome along the North Shore. Nobody has claimed him and there aren’t any significant sheep operations in the area.
Travis Hoffman, a sheep specialist and associate professor at North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota, (whose phone number ends with 2222, or “Baaa,” he said, no kidding), said that judging by photos posted on social media, Brad the sheep is young, maybe a year or so old. He looks like he was last sheared about six months ago. His breed wasn’t immediately apparent. He could be a Shetland or a Romeldale, or possibly a cross-breed. An identifying ear tag that could trace his origins appears to be missing.
All sheep need, he said, is grass and water, so as long as Brad can forage, he’ll be fine.
Hoffman offered advice for would-be sheep nabbers. A lone sheep will see humans as predators and will move away from them. So if you want a sheep to go right, approach from the left. (This could be useful, as you never know where livestock will turn up. When I was a teenager in Plymouth, I came home to find a pig sleeping by our house.)
Get the sheep into a fenced-in backyard or into a garage, he advised. Don’t try anything goofy like pulling on a fleece and getting onto all fours (my idea). A well-trained sheep dog could round up Brad in a hurry. Also, as sheep like to hang out in flocks, a few bait sheep might entice him into a pen.
