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MN Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chutich to retire
Chutich was appointed by former Governor Mark Dayton to serve on the Minnesota Court of Appeals in 2012 and then the Supreme Court in 2016.
ST PAUL, Minn. — The state’s first openly gay Supreme Court justice will step down at the end of the court’s term in July.
Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chutich announced her retirement Tuesday after serving 12 years on the bench, including eight on the high court. Chutich is the second justice on the state’s Supreme Court to announce their retirement in less than a week after Justice G. Barry Anderson submitted his resignation letter on Jan. 11. Chutich’s last day will be July 31.
“I have loved serving the people of Minnesota on their appellate courts, first on the Minnesota Court of Appeals for four years and now as a member of this Court for almost eight years,” Chutich said in her resignation letter. “I am also grateful to my colleagues on the Court, who strive every day in a collegial and collaborative fashion to apply the law in a principled and even-handed way. They are hard-working, intelligent, and kind human beings.”
Chutich was appointed by former Governor Mark Dayton to serve on the Minnesota Court of Appeals in 2012 and to the Supreme Court in 2016, according to the Minnesota Judicial Branch.
“I want to thank Justice Margaret Chutich for her service to the court. She has been a brilliant jurist who has advanced the rule of law for all Minnesotans,” said Governor Tim Walz in a statement. “She is also a trailblazer as Minnesota’s first openly gay justice. With grace and humility, she has moved our state forward and redefined the image of a justice. Similar to the late Judge Diana Murphy, who Justice Chutich clerked for, she has forged a path for women to lead at the highest levels of the law and our government.”
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Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
