Star Tribune
Why Erin Fitzgerald stopped selling downtown Minneapolis commercial real state and started buying instead
Eventually, it moved from valuing the buildings for owners to valuing the buildings for the lenders of those properties. I spent a lot of time researching the loan maturities for buildings. And the conclusion that I came to was that a lot of these buildings were going to be facing loan maturity — or the debt was going to be coming due — in ‘23, ‘24, ‘25, ‘26. And because of the interest rate environment, they wouldn’t be able to refinance — and would more than likely be handing the keys back to the bank.
Finally, I just decided I couldn’t sit on the sidelines any more and watch this opportunity pass me by. Because I just realized that we were heading into the greatest buying opportunity of our lifetime.
How does Willow Peak operate, and who are your investors?
We have lots of partners that we outsource a lot of things to. I would say that founding Willow Peak was about taking my experience in transforming properties and creating vibrant spaces, and applying it on a larger scale.
For this building [300 First Ave. N], some of it’s really just our own money, and then we have a couple partners on the deal with us. Willow Peak represents the general partnership of the building, and [Minnetonka-based] Onward Investors is the limited partner or the equity partner. Willow Peak is really the one who is in charge of the repositioning strategy, the lease-up — making sure that the building performs as an investment.
It’s very ambitious to say this, but our goal in 2025 is to raise a $100 million fund. There’s a lot of challenges in doing that, especially for a new firm like ours. But I think the opportunity is there — for family offices or high-net-worth individuals or financial advisors that are looking for alternative investments with a high return. With Willow Peak, investors are part of a mission-driven effort to support urban renewal while achieving meaningful returns.
The Minnesota State Auditor’s Office has ended its review of controversial Orono land deals that transferred property rights to city officials and became a point of debate in recent elections.
The City Council in recent years vacated public rights-of-way on property for Planning Commissioner Bob Erickson and Council Member Matt Johnson. Critics said the moves potentially made their land more valuable while also reducing public access to the lakeshore.
A group of former Orono mayors asked the auditor’s office in 2022 to investigate, saying they believed the deals represented a conflict of interest and went against longstanding policies aimed at preserving public access to Lake Minnetonka. Officials who defended the deals, meanwhile, described them as an effort to clean up century-old land records that hindered development.
In a September memo, shared with the Minnesota Star Tribune this week, the state auditor’s office wrote that it was clear the land deals had been controversial.
“However, we do not see a basis for further OSA inquiry into them, as such inquiry would have to be based in determinations that either are for courts to decide (e.g., were the vacations beyond the broad discretion afforded to the City Council for such matters) or left to the will of the voters, who ultimately judge the wisdom of the City’s elected council members in their exercise of the power given to them,” the memo said.
Neither Erickson nor Johnson could immediately be reached for comment.
In an interview Friday, State Auditor Julie Blaha said her office’s review focused on two main points: whether Orono city leaders overstepped their authority and whether there was a conflict of interest.
Blaha said the transfers didn’t “hit that bar of being clearly outside the public interest in a way we could decide that,” though she left open the possibility “a court could decide that.”
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s choice to head the Interior Department, will also lead a newly created National Energy Council that will seek to establish U.S. ‘’energy dominance’’ around the world.
Burgum, in his new role, will oversee a panel that crosses all executive branch agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, Trump said in a statement. As chairman of the National Energy Council, Burgum will have a seat on the National Security Council, Trump said.
”This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation,” Trump wrote. His new policies will help drive down inflation, win an ”arms race” with China over artificial intelligence and even expand U.S. diplomatic influence around the globe, Trump claimed without explanation.
He accused the ”radical left” of engaging in a war on American energy, in the name of fighting climate change. His policy of energy dominance, which he also espoused during his first term, will allow the U.S. to sell oil, gas and other forms of energy to European allies, making the world safer, Trump said.
Trump has called oil and natural gas, along with minerals such as lithium and copper, ”liquid gold” that should be exploited to the maximum extent possible.
We will ”DRILL BABY DRILL,” expand ALL forms of Energy production to grow our Economy, and create good-paying jobs,” Trump said.
Burgum, 67, was elected North Dakota governor in 2016, his first campaign for elected office. A former software executive, he led Great Plains Software, which Microsoft acquired for $1.1 billion in 2001. Burgum has also led other companies in real estate development and venture capital.
Burgum has taken a pro-business style as governor of a state where agriculture and oil are the main industries. He’s pushed income tax cuts, reduced regulations, and changes to animal agriculture laws and higher education governance. Burgum also emphasized a ”data-driven” approach to governing, advocated for a Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in the state and prioritized engagement with tribal nations.
Star Tribune
Onetime Stillwater guard given 2¼-year term for helping murder inmate distribute meth in prison
A onetime corrections officer at Minnesota’s high-security prison in Stillwater received a 2¼-year prison term Friday for helping an inmate distribute meth inside the prison’s walls.
Faith Rose Gratz, 26, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in St. Paul after she pleaded guilty in November 2022 to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
The inmate, Axel Rene Kramer, 37, was sentenced Wednesday to a 15-year term after pleading guilty to the same count. His sentence will run concurrent with the 24-year term he received in 2010 in Cottonwood County for aiding and abetting second-degree murder stemming from the shooting of Alberto Samilpa Jr., 20, of St. James, Minn., in 2007.
State Corrections Department records show that Kramer was to have been released from prison about eight months ago and then be put on supervised release until November 2031.
Ahead of Gratz’s sentencing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office told the court in writing that “on the phone, law enforcement found thousands of text messages between Kramer and Gratz. Many of the messages were mundane or discussed a burgeoning romantic relationship between Kramer and Gratz. However, numerous times over the several months of messaging, Kramer instructed Gratz on how to obtain drugs.”
Gratz and Kramer “discussed … getting married once Kramer was out of prison,” another court document read.
After her prison stint is up, Gratz will be on supervised release for two years.
According to federal court documents:
