Star Tribune
Fire that destroyed Lutsen Lodge continues string of North Shore business blazes
The late-night blaze that destroyed Lutsen Lodge was the latest in a series of fires that have destroyed beloved businesses and hotels along Minnesota’s North Shore. Since 2020, at least three other fires have destroyed five restaurants and stores in Grand Marais and Lutsen. One investigation ruled that the first was accidental, but the other two investigations continue and have not released a cause.
Here’s a rundown of each of those fires and what we know:
Crooked Spoon Café and neighboring stores, April 2020
A fire broke out on April 13, 2020, in the back of the Crooked Spoon Café, at 17 W. Wisconsin St. in Grand Marais, according to the report from the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s office. Strong wind gusts spread the fire to neighboring gift shops Picnic & Pine and White Pine North, fully engulfing the downtown buildings. No injuries were reported. The fire was later ruled accidental but a cause was never found.
The investigation was limited because a backhoe vehicle had begun knocking down the burned buildings as the investigator arrived at the scene, according to his report. The investigator wrote that Grand Marais Fire Chief Ben Silence said there was no choice but to start demolishing the structures out of fear that the fire would spread to other buildings. The report lists the cause of fire as “undetermined.”
Instead of rebuilding the restaurant, the owners opened a food truck in the winter of 2020-21 to continue the business. It remains open and regularly posts on Facebook to let people know where the truck will be serving pop-up dinners and offering delivery and pickup orders.
Sydney’s Frozen Custard and Wood-Fired Pizza, April 2023
This popular seasonal custard shop in Grand Marais caught fire on April 10, almost three years to the day after the fire at Crooked Spoon. The fire at 14 S. Broadway Av. destroyed the building.
The investigation is still active, according to a spokesperson for the Fire Marshal’s office. Contractor Ben Block said at the time that he suspects it may have been caused by squirrels in the wiring, based on a chewed-up bottle of chocolate that Block saw before the fire. Sydney’s reopened near the intersection of First Avenue West and Wisconsin Street.
Papa Charlie’s Tavern, June 2023
Lutsen Mountains lost its longtime restaurant and live-music venue Papa Charlie’s Tavern in a fire on June 24, 2023. Jim Vick, the general manager for Lutsen Mountains, said investigators informed him they were unable to determine a definite cause of the fire.
Vick said there hasn’t been any evidence to suggest that the North Shore’s recent string of fires has been anything other than bad luck.
“There’s been nothing to suspect there’s anything nefarious behind any of them,” Vick said. “It’s an unfortunate coincidence and circumstance, and each one has been a tough blow to the community.”
The hope is to begin construction on a new Papa Charlie’s in the summer and to open potentially next winter, he added. It would be at the same site as the former tavern.
Star Tribune
Former Medtronic consultant gets 18 months federal prison for insider trading
A former Medtronic consultant received an 18-month prison sentence this week for his role in a scheme linked to the $1.6 billion acquisition of an Israeli medical device company in 2018.
A federal jury in February convicted Doron “Ron” Tavlin, 69, of Minneapolis, of one count of conspiracy to engage in insider trading and 10 additional counts related to securities fraud. That same jury found David Jay Gantman, 58, of Mendota Heights, not guilty of all charges against him. A third defendant — Afshin “Alex” Farahan, 57, of Los Angeles — pleaded guilty in 2022 and has yet to be sentenced.
“His crime was cynical and brazen. It was also reckless,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ebert wrote in a memo calling for a 3-year prison term. “Tavlin’s conduct had the potential to blow up a deal that a team of executives and financial advisers had been diligently negotiating for months.”
Tavlin is now scheduled to self-surrender Jan. 5 to begin his prison term, which will be followed by 320 hours of community service.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Tavlin learned about a secret, pending acquisition by Medtronic of Mazor Robotics, where he worked as vice president of business development, in 2018. Tavlin also previously worked as a consultant to the Ireland-based Medtronic, which also has a headquarters in Fridley.
Tavlin illegally tipped off Farahan, his friend, about news of the imminent acquisition and told him to keep the news secret. Farahan knew the deal would likely result in a boost to Mazor’s stock price and quickly bought more than $1 million of the company’s stock throughout August and September 2018. Medtronic announced plans to acquire Mazor, which specialized in robotics for spinal procedures, in September 2018 and the deal closed three months later.
Prosecutors said Farahan netted more than $245,000, and Gantman made $255,000 in profit by selling the securities quickly after the deal was publicized. Farahan paid Tavlin for the secret information about the pending deal — including a $25,000 kickback about a year later —according to prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank, who sentenced Tavlin Monday, also ordered Tavlin to pay a special assessment fee of $1,100 – or $100 per each count. Frank did not impose a fine.
Star Tribune
Charges detail assault in Minneapolis that led to shooting rampage, killing one in Kandiyohi County
Another friend of the ex-girlfriend arrived to help. He pulled up in a car as the group exited the apartment and Matariyeh immediately pointed a gun at him before pounding on the windshield with the gun. Everyone fled as Matariyeh ran back inside the apartment.
The two men met in a parking lot before attempting to return to the apartment. That’s when they looked up and saw Matariyeh on the balcony. Matariyeh immediately began firing multiple shots at them as they took cover behind parked cars.
It was around this time that Minneapolis police officers arrived and made contact with Matariyeh’s ex-girlfriend. She believed he was still inside the apartment, but officers later learned that he had fled. They reached him on the phone. He told officers he was going to kill innocent people if he couldn’t speak with his ex-girlfriend or see his daughter, who was at daycare at the time. He later told police negotiators that “he wanted to go out by ‘suicide by cop.’”
All the while, Matariyeh was speeding westbound.
Police officers pursued him near Cosmos in Meeker County after being alerted that Matariyeh might have stolen another vehicle at gunpoint in Carver County.
Around 2 p.m. he pulled into the rural driveway of Peter Mayerchak in Lake Lillian. Mayerchak, who was in his yard placing hay over his septic mound, went and greeted Matariyeh, who shot him in the chest.
Star Tribune
DFL’s last-minute push to keep their trifecta
Mixing progressive dreams with dire warnings, a group of DFL leaders riled up a group of volunteers in St. Paul on Thursday morning, urging them to push on through the day’s freezing rain and fatigue in the remaining days before the election.
Several elected officials including Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar told the group of about 150 campaign staffers, volunteers and union members about how meaningful their work is to keeping DFL control of the Legislature, as the electeds start a statewide bus tour to turn out votes.
“We are here to keep our trifecta here in Minnesota,” U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar told volunteers on Thursday. “We’ve got five days, people!”
On the Republican side, House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said earlier this month that the House Republican Campaign Committee had raised a record $2.7 million ahead of the election and she said Republicans have also set records in volunteering and door-knocking as they work to break DFL control.
Minnesota Democrats hold a rally before starting a bus tour around the state to get voters excited, including Rep Ilhan Omar, Sen Amy Klobuchar, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, House Speaker Melissa Hortman, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, Rep Betty McCollum and Sen Tina Smith on Thursday. (Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
“Republicans have the momentum and resources heading into the final stretch to win the majority and restore balance to Minnesota,” Demuth said in a statement. “Minnesotans are ready to move on from the expensive two years of Democrat one-party rule.”
House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said she thought voters preferred action to the gridlock of divided government. “They’re looking for people who can get things done,” she said.
These last-minute get-out-the-vote efforts come as Democrats around the country push to keep control of state legislative chambers and try to flip a few statehouses that Republicans hold by just a few seats.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the arm of the national Democratic party that works on statehouse races across the country, has spent $500,000 on Minnesota races this year, including House races and the state Senate contest.