DULUTH, Minn. — The rollerblading community is mourning a passionate inline skater who died during a marathon Saturday on the North Shore. 

In a statement posted on Facebook, organizers of the NorthShore Inline Marathon announced that participant Mike Lufholm died following the race in Duluth Saturday. The 36-year-old Lufholm was a Duluth native who now lives in the Twin Cities. 

“Mike’s passion was skating, and it truly brought him so much happiness,” organizers wrote in the post. “Our hearts go out to his wife, daughter, family and all those who were close to him. He made such an impact on the rollerblading community.”

Duluth Police Department Lt. Michael Tinsley said in an email to the Duluth News Tribune Sunday afternoon that shortly after 7:30 a.m. Saturday, “a medical was reported of a skater down in the tunnels of I-35 along the course.”

Tinsley said officers responded to help other medical staff, and the skater was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Police were not involved after that, Tinsley said.

Lufholm’s passion for the sport included serving as an ambassador for the Rollerblade company. In a profile on the company website, he describes how he developed a passion for “going fast” while skiing with his father as a kid, and then begging his folks for a pair of inline skates after seeing a group of classmates buzzing around on them.  

He said the passion for inline skating was just as strong as an adult, 26 years after being bitten by the bug. 

“Skating is just as beneficial for my mental health as it is for my physical health. No matter what is going on in the world around me, I always feel better after going for a skate,” Lufholm told Rollerblade. “Sharing that joy with friends always makes the experience more enjoyable. I have made many lifelong friendships and can’t imagine what life would be like had I never found skating. Without a doubt, skating helps keep me happy and healthy.”

Lufholm posted on his personal Facebook page that he and his wife had just welcomed a baby girl into the world in late August. His friends and members of the inline skating community shared an outpouring of grief on social media Sunday after learning of his death. 

“He was one of the most uniquely talented people I’ve ever met, and he was so humble you’d never know it,” wrote Jason Calva. “His skating, photography and light painting were in a category of his own.”

“Mike made the world a better place,” added Jeff Steltz. “He posted, ‘I found a good one’ when he found a palm-sized agate. Well, we lost a good one yesterday. Prayers and condolences to Mike’s family.”

Lufholm’s death follows the passing of another athlete who collapsed and died Sept. 8 while taking part in the City of Lakes Half-Marathon. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him as 27-year-old Blake Groulx of Minneapolis. Groulx’s obituary said the cause of death was “cardiac issues” suffered during the race. 

PORTAGE COUNTY, Ohio — Portage County‘s sheriff appeared to call for residents to record the addresses of residents who publicly display support for presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski, who took office in 2021, made the remarks in Facebook posts shared to two separate accounts on the night of Sept. 13. 

“When people ask me…What’s gonna happen if the Flip – Flopping, Laughing Hyena Wins?? I say…write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards! Sooo…when the Illegal human “Locust” (which she supports!) Need places to live…We’ll already have the addresses of the their New families…who supported their arrival!” Zuchowski wrote. 

 Zuchowski limited the comments on the post. 

3News reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment but did not receive a response back.

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — An upcoming training session with officers at the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board was canceled after they learned Kim Potter was a part of it.

Potter, a former Brooklyn Center police officer, was convicted of manslaughter after she shot and killed Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in 2021. She served 16 months of a two-year sentence.

Daunte’s mother, Katie, said she had no idea Potter would be a part of a training session until after it was canceled.

“I was mad and hurt at the same time. I don’t understand why she would have the audacity to feel like she has that right to even go into a community and benefit off our tragedy,” she said.

Katie said she was relieved they canceled it out of respect for her and her family.

“Whenever I hear Kim Potter’s name or hear her doing anything like this it’s like tearing a band-aid off a forever bleeding wound,” she said. “She doesn’t get to triumph off of our tragedy.”

Potter was supposed to speak alongside former Washington County Assistant Prosecutor Imran Ali.

In an email, he said “We have presented before, but minimally. Her participation is usually between 5-10 percent of any training.”

He said money isn’t her objective.

“Most of the speaking has zero compensation. If the travel is out of town, I make sure her travel costs are covered and a small stipend,” Ali said in an email.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said it’s unfortunate the planned training was canceled and hopes they reconsider.

“We should all support and at least respect how victims feel. At the same time, as attorney general, we’re trying to reduce deadly force encounters between police and community,” he said. “I think it is admirable that Kim Potter would want to come forth and tell her story to help other people learn. I mean she has a cautionary tale to tell.”

Ellison believes Potter’s past could help improve policing.

“I think it could be beneficial for public safety, and it could improve policing,” he said. “She can tell them that she spent decades as a police officer, believed in what she was doing, and committed, and still despite that training and that experience committed a lethal error when she killed Daunte Wright.”

However, Katie just doesn’t see how Potter being a part of training sessions can improve policing.

“Nobody can learn from that,” she said. “I don’t think she’s learned anything. If she’d learned anything she would have written us a letter. I haven’t heard anything.”

Katie said she visits her son’s memorial three times a week to feel close to him.

“I talk to him every time I’m out here, and I feel like he hears me,” she said.

A metal sculpture details his face with different symbols crafted into the metalwork.

“This is Daunte’s face with his crown. We have a couple fists embedded into his crown,” she said. “We have the No. 23 which symbolizes his favorite number because of basketball and Michael Jordan… the infinity just means he’s just going to live on forever. His story will forever be known and told.”

A memorial sits next to the artwork that has a picture of Daunte and a copy of his death certificate.

“The death certificate was really important to me because of the fact that it shows he was, it does homicide and gunshot wound. And I want people to remember that he was killed by law enforcement,” she said.

They also planted a flowerbed by the memorial that is currently blooming with red flowers.

Katie said she is more than willing to visit police departments and explain the impact deadly force has on families.