Star Tribune
Rochester City Council member sues city officials, alleging bias over ADHD
ROCHESTER – A City Council member has filed a federal lawsuit against city officials alleging ongoing discrimination against her due to her attention disorder.
Molly Dennis alleges in a suit filed Monday that city officials and the Rochester City Council intentionally discriminated against and punished her for behavior related to her attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), including through a March 2023 censure that prohibited her from speaking to city staff except through department heads and administration.
“Defendants have repeatedly engaged in reprisals and retaliation against Dennis making it virtually impossible for her to discharge her duties as an elected public official,” Dennis wrote in the suit.
Dennis also says city officials defamed her — in one instance, she points out Norton told a third-party investigator looking into Dennis’s discrimination claims last summer that Dennis has tried to fix parking tickets.
Norton’s comment was included in the investigator’s report in a section where the mayor described how she felt Dennis “micromanages and abuses her authority” by getting personally involved in incidents rather than directing residents to staff members. Norton said Dennis had demanded information in the past on confidential police matters.
The suit is the latest development in an ongoing fight between Dennis and city officials. City officials say Dennis has harassed staff and acted inappropriately as a public official while Dennis says she faces retribution for her efforts to make city business more transparent, pointing out city spending issues and the way local officials operate.
“My allegiance is to the taxpayers,” she said Tuesday morning. “And I get retaliated against for that.”
Rochester officials said in a statement Tuesday the city “is committed to defending itself from Council member Dennis’ claims.” Rochester has retained outside counsel through the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust.
“Due to the litigable nature of this item, the City of Rochester cannot comment further at this time,” city officials said.
The suit filed Monday was part of a 90-day window offered through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), who declined to hear Dennis’ case as her status as an elected official represents a legal gray area when it comes to employment discrimination claims.
Dennis said in the suit the city continues to treat her as an employee, pointing out an email from City Administrator Alison Zelms last month that outlined protocols for how city council members should interact with staff and what topics should be discussed in virtual meetings organized by Zelms or other officials.
Growing grudges
Tensions between Dennis and the city spilled into the open after the council censured her last year, though emails and other public records show Dennis has had issues with other colleagues and staff in the past. Each side claims the other has escalated tensions over the past few months with embarrassing public revelations that could jeopardize the public’s trust in the city’s ability to function.
A city-funded outside investigation found no merit in Dennis’ discrimination claims, instead outlining several instances where Dennis appeared to be hostile toward other council members and staff — including a February 2023 council meeting where Dennis repeatedly confronted Zelms and fellow City Council members over concerns the meeting wasn’t recorded. Several council members later told the investigator they felt physically threatened.
Dennis denies threatening her colleagues, saying these instances didn’t happen or were purposefully misconstrued to damage her reputation. She says she talks with her hands and can be blunt and direct, but she would never physically threaten anyone.
One major incident was a contentious July 2022 meeting between Zelms, City Attorney Michael Spindler-Krage and Dennis over her behavior.
Dennis brought along a witness to help her process information city staff gave her. She said she asked to end the meeting early as she had trouble focusing and got up to shut a door, which caused Zelms and Spindler-Krage to become alarmed.
City officials say Dennis became physically threatening while trying to leave. Dennis said Zelms and Spindler-Krage wouldn’t allow her to leave at first, so she sat with her witness. She later said she heard Zelms warning staff in nearby offices to keep their doors closed “for their safety.”
Dennis has in the past declined to publicly name the witness, citing the witness’s desire to keep private. Yet Dennis said in an interview last month the witness would be willing to testify in a lawsuit against the city.
Rochester officials and her fellow colleagues say Dennis refuses to accept responsibility for bad behavior and is purposefully spreading misinformation about city business to garner sympathy.
Dennis maintains city officials are trying to publicly smear her reputation for her attempts to keep residents informed and have more say in how the city is run. She’s concerned with how media attention has affected her family, but she said she still feels called to serve area residents.
“I signed up to make good government,” Dennis said Tuesday. “This incredible attack that I believe I’ve been enduring … I never want to play the victim but I really feel like this is very wrong.”
Star Tribune
Converting office buildings to housing could save downtowns, but at a cost
Transforming the heart of both downtowns, which have much larger buildings than old warehouses, is going to take a lot more money, creativity and time. Josh Talberg, managing director at downtown Minneapolis brokerage JLL, said with no major apartment buildings on the drawing board in either downtown, the fleet of empty office buildings present a golden opportunity to create more housing and lead both cities in a new direction.
“You can can certainly see the fundamentals improving, and you can feel that vibrancy, and that’s ultimately the foundation that’s needed to get investors to reinvest in the city,” he said. “But it’s not as if these 18-wheelers can turn on a dime.”
Star Tribune
Release of hazardous materials forces closing of highway in southeast Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed part of a state highway Wednesday evening near Austin because of a “major hazardous materials release” in the area.
Hwy. 56 from Hayfield to Waltham, a stretch covering about five miles, was closed in both directions and drivers were directed to follow a detour to Blooming Prairie on U.S. Hwy. 218.
No information on the hazardous materials released was immediately available.
Star Tribune
Civil suit against MN state trooper who shot Ricky Cobb II is dismissed
A federal judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II during a 2023 traffic stop.
The decision is the latest development in a case that has drawn heated debate over excessive use of force by law enforcement. Criminal charges against Londregan were dismissed by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in June, saying the prosecution didn’t have the evidence to proceed with a case.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel granted Londregan’s motion to dismiss the civil suit, arguing he acted reasonably when he opened fire as Cobb’s vehicle lurched forward with another state trooper partly inside.
Londregan’s attorney Chris Madelsaid Wednesday that it’s been a “long, grueling journey to justice. Ryan Londregan has finally arrived.”
On July 31, 2023, the two troopers pulled over Cobb, 33, on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for driving without taillights and later learned he was wanted for violating a felony domestic no-contact order. Cobb refused commands to exit the car.
With Seide partly inside the car while trying to unbuckle Cobb’s seatbelt, the car moved forward. Londregan then opened fire, hitting Cobb twice.
In her decision, Brasel said the troopers were mandated by state law to make an arrest given Cobb’s domestic no-contact order violation. She said it was objectively reasonable for Londregan to believe Seide was in immediate danger as the car moved forward on a busy highway, which would make his use of force reasonable.