Star Tribune
UHC CEO Brian Thompson is shot and killed in New York City
After clearing the jam, the shooter began to fire again, Kenny said, and then fled on foot.
Responding to reporter questions, Kenny said police don’t know if the shooter could have been a professional, nor could investigators say if there was a silencer on the weapon. From watching the video, he said, “it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly.”
After his initial flight from the scene, the suspect was later seen riding an e-bike, including when he was spotted in Central Park.
“The motive for this murder currently is unknown,” Kenny said. “Based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear that the victim was specifically targeted. But at this point, we do not know why.”
United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Thompson was CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer. It is a division of Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group, which is the fourth-largest public company in America behind Walmart, Amazon and Apple.
His wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he had been receiving threats. “There had been some threats,” she said in a phone call with NBC News. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
Star Tribune
Why Minnesota is projected to face a future budget deficit, and what lawmakers might do about it
Minnesota had a record surplus two years ago. Now, it’s projecting a deficit on the horizon. How did the state get here?
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Star Tribune
Change your tree ordinance or we might sue
Holly Gillis, her husband, Ethan Bassett, with one of their two children, Grant, 2, outside their Edina home. (Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Neal said the city began enacting tree preservation ordinances about a decade ago, after hearing from residents who worried that too many old trees were being removed during redevelopment. The latest controversy stems from a change that took effect in 2023.
When people are seeking building permits in Edina, they need to submit a tree protection plan that details which old trees will be protected and how. If the trees are being removed, the applicants need to outline how they’ll replace them.
Trees that are being removed are assigned a dollar amount based on their species and size, and applicants must place money in escrow until they can prove that comparable replacements survived. There are exceptions for some trees that are considered invasive or threatened, such as ash trees.
City officials said they have reviewed 455 permits since January 2023, of which 68 required an escrow. They estimated that 3,677 trees were preserved during that process, and 755 were removed.
“The goal is to reduce the amount of old-growth trees that are removed for development projects,” Neal said. “That’s the goal. If we can do that by cooperating and helping people site their building and their construction in a way that reduces tree damage, that’s great. That’s one way to do it. But another way to do it is to build in some financial incentives and disincentives that encourage people to preserve trees rather than remove.”
Gillis and her husband, Ethan Bassett, moved to Edina from Ohio. When they were looking for houses last year, the market was tight, and they struggled to find an existing home they liked. They decided on a sloped, heavily wooded lot that had been zoned for residential but didn’t yet have a house on the site.
Star Tribune
Veterans recall life of Charles Sehe, Mankato survivor of Pearl Harbor attack
MANKATO – A neon green sign at VFW Post 950 silently mourns one of Minnesota’s most acclaimed and well-documented wartime heroes, spelling out taps for “Charles Sehe, Pearl Harbor Vet.”
Sehe died at age 101 on Nov. 3 at his Mankato home. He was the last Minnesota survivor to have served on the USS Nevada during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
After surviving what became known as the Day of Infamy, Dec. 7, 1941, which forced the U.S. entry into World War II, Sehe served on the Nevada throughout the conflict, including on a mission that brought him within sight of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France. After coming home, Sehe became a researcher and academic, eventually teaching at Minnesota State Mankato for 23 years.
“This guy’s a hero,” said James Mason, sergeant in arms at the Mankato VFW, officially Morson-Ario-Strand VFW Post 950.
Mason, a gruff former Marine Corps gunnery sergeant, shared photos of Sehe at the post during a lunch in late November. He became friends with Sehe about a decade ago.
The Pearl Harbor attack left lasting psychological scars on Sehe, and he had a hard time talking about it with most people. But among other veterans, Sehe would open up, said Mason, 78. The two men would talk for hours over a beer or a breakfast at Hy-Vee, meeting several times a month. Sehe took an interest in the experiences of younger veterans, especially Marines, said Mason, and they in turn were fascinated by Sehe’s story.
Sehe grew up poor in Geneva, Ill., according to a 2015 oral history with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. His father, a former horse trainer, lost his job during the Great Depression. Sehe recalled always being hungry, eating lunches of sugar sprinkled over lard spread on bread. As a teenager he got a job at a bakery where he’d eat cake crumbs off the bottom of the pans.
When World War II started, Sehe joined the Navy, despite not knowing how to swim. When he arrived at the USS Nevada, he was awed at the sight of the battleship, as he’d never seen a vessel larger than a canoe or clam boat.