Star Tribune
Bryce Campbell, Lutsen Lodge owner, addresses financial challenges and calls out arson rumors
The owner of fire-ravaged Lutsen Lodge has been dogged by allegations in an escalating number of lawsuits for failing to meet financial obligations that total hundreds of thousands of dollars, and continued to grow even as the last embers of the historic Lake Superior getaway still smoldered.
Bryce Campbell acknowledged Wednesday that he owes roughly $150,000 to several people who own cabins and condominiums near the Lodge that he managed for rental. Some have sued Campbell, alleging he withheld proceeds from the rentals for many months.
Without prompting and as the investigation into the blaze continues, Campbell, in an email Wednesday responding to questions about his legal problems, denied speculation he said he saw on social media, and among some of the cabin owners, that he had anything to do with starting the fire.
“My heart is broken, and I feel like I’m grieving a person,” Campbell wrote to the Star Tribune. “You have no idea what it’s like to lose such a big piece of your life [that] my mom and I were building together. … It makes my broken heart hurt even more to focus on such absurd accusations.”
Campbell wrote that he recently invested millions of dollars in improvements to the three-story lodge, so “you don’t [expletive] torch a place and burn up $5 million of your money. … Let’s use some common sense here, people.”
Authorities in Cook County say the fire started about 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday; the lodge, built in 1952 on a resort site that dated to the late 19th Century, was quickly engulfed. By later that morning, all that remained standing were two chimneys. The lodge’s general manager said there were no guests checked in on Monday night, and no one was injured in the fire.
The lodge was insured, Campbell said, adding that he is “dreading the process” but intends to see that it will one day be rebuilt and re-opened to the public. .
The State Fire Marshal, taking the lead in the investigation, released a statement Wednesday noting that the lodge, which had a working sprinkler system, was last inspected in July, when seven violations were found, with four of them repaired. At this time, the statement continued, “it is too early in the investigation to determine if the three outstanding violations played a role in the fire.”
A federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms spokeswoman said a certified fire investigator with her agency has connected with state officials about the blaze.
Campbell, 39, bought the lodge in 2018 and its sister property 70 miles to the south, Superior Shores, in 2020. His legal problems started in July 2021, when he was sued by a remodeling contractor for failing to pay a majority of the $310,000 he was billed for work on Superior Shores. A judge found him liable, and he paid the contractor about $190,000 this past July.
A cabin owner who also has a condominium in a complex that overlooks the lodge said he is suing Campbell for withheld rental payments that total tens of thousands of dollars combined.
An Eden Prairie couple say they are owed $13,000. Court records show that an 89-year-old widow from the Northfield area sued Campbell on Monday, about 12 hours before the fire, contending that he owes her $11,000.
Jay Halverson, of Edina, owns a townhouse and a cabin near where the lodge once stood. He said Campbell owes him about $30,000 in rental proceeds from both properties.
Halverson, president of a residential association for 10 cabins up the hill from the lodge, said he and six others intend to go to conciliation court in pursuit of their money. He said the grand total “is really unclear because of [Campbell’s] sloppy bookkeeping or even the lack of bookkeeping.”
Cliffhouse is just one of four residential associations near the lodge that have either ended or are winding down their management relationships with Campbell, Halverson said.
Halverson said that when he heard about the fire, he was immediately suspicious about its cause. “It seems like some kind of a movie that comes on late at night,” he said.
Tracy Skar has a Cliffhouse townhouse and is the association’s treasurer but does not rent out her unit. Skar said she knows “there are lot of people who are owed money. It was a bad situation that I thought couldn’t get any more drama, and then this happened.”
Skar added that the fire’s cause has spawned “a lot of speculation. [That] has been everybody’s first thoughts, second thoughts. It’s a sad situation, and you never want to think the worst.”
Cook County records show that Campbell has been increasingly late with his business’ property taxes. While his taxes associated with the lodge are made by escrow on time, two other properties he owns nearby have been paid late every year since 2019, except for 2020, according to the records.
When asked about his current financial health given the sizable payout in July to the contractor, money due to nearby property owners and continuous delays paying property taxes, Campbell responded: “cash flow is limited [due] to a slow winter [and] millions just spent on a major project.”
The statement from the State Fire Marshal said it’s difficult to estimate when the investigation will wrap up “due to the magnitude of this fire.” Firefighters remained on the scene Wednesday, still tending to hotspots.
“There was great potential for a loss of life with this fire,” Lutsen Fire Chief Steve Duclos said. “We are thankful that wasn’t the case.”
Star Tribune staff writers Jana Hollingsworth and Christa Lawler contributed to this report.
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.
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.
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