Star Tribune
Minnesota group opposed to abortion loses battle to collect $842K from man’s estate
A leading group in Minnesota that opposes abortion has lost its battle in court for a donation of nearly $842,000 from the estate of a benefactor who bequeathed the money one day before he died.
John Charais, of Forest Lake, made a gift of almost $850,000 in February 2022 to Minnesota Citizen Concerned for Life (MCCL) and its affiliated education fund, a gesture that emptied a family trust fund. The next day, Charais died by suicide at age 81.
His son, Nick Charais, of Bemidji, stopped payment on the donation checks and said MCCL knew his father wasn’t of sound mind when it accepted the money. The group sued the son last fall in Beltrami County District Court for the money.
Last week, Judge John Melbye sided with the son and dismissed MCCL’s suit.
“The delivery of the checks does not constitute delivery of the money, and therefore there was no gift,” Melbye’s dismissal order read.
The judge also rejected the claim by MCCL that the family trust was in breach of contract by blocking the checks from being cashed, writing, “There was … no enforcement contract. Since no enforceable contract existed, [the trust] did not breach a contract in this matter.”
The MCCL and its attorney have yet to respond to a request for reaction to the dismissal and whether any further legal action is being contemplated.
Joe Windler, the family’s attorney, said Wednesday that “the court held that delivery of a check alone cannot constitute a contract and, further, that MCCL did not provide [something in return] for the check. As a result, the court held there was not any merit to MCCL’s breach of contract claim.”
The Charais family, in a statement released Wednesday, said, “While we wish MCCL would have never pursued legal action, we are thankful for the court’s decision. We are ready to put this episode behind us and continue the process of healing.”
Soon after the trust was sued, Nick Charais told the Star Tribune in December MCCL officials were “trying to strong-arm me because they didn’t think I’d fight them back. My dad wasn’t right.”
According to court documents, John Charais contacted MCCL in January 2022 after seeing news coverage of the group’s March for Life at the State Capitol. He said that it reminded him of his late wife’s deep commitment to causes opposed to abortion and that he wished to make a donation in her honor.
However, Nick Charais said his mother had no connection to MCCL and was not active in such causes. What’s more, he added, his father had informed MCCL “he was going to commit suicide,” the son said. “They knew.”
The deal quickly came together. On Feb. 10, 2022, John Charais met with MCCL officials, including Executive Director Scott Fischbach, and signed two letters affirming his donation of nearly $842,000. The next day, he died by suicide.
Fischbach is the husband of U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach, a two-term Republican whose district covers nearly all of the western half of Minnesota and who co-chairs the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.
The gift was nearly as much as the organization receives in donations in a typical year. During the five years from 2016 to 2020, MCCL and its education fund took in $900,000 to $1.2 million in donations annually, according to federal tax filings.
The Lynx are in the hot seat.
The team lost Game 3 of the WNBA Finals series against the New York Liberty on Wednesday night 77-80, setting the stage for a decisive match at Target Center on Friday night. Fans in the arena reacted with resounding disappointment after Sabrina Ionescu sunk a three-pointer to break away from the tie game and dashed the Lynx’s chance at forcing overtime.
Before we get to the reactions, first things first: The Lynx set an attendance record, filling Target Center with 19,521 spectators for the first time in franchise history. That’s nearly 500 more than when Caitlin Clark was in town with the Indiana Fever earlier this year.
Despite leading by double digits for much of the game, the Lynx began the fourth quarter with a one-point lead over the Liberty and struggled to stay more than two or three points ahead throughout.
The Liberty took the lead with minutes to go in the fourth quarter and folks were practically despondent.
Of course, there were people who were in it solely for the spectacle. Nothing more.
The Lynx took a commanding lead early in the first quarter and ended the first half in winning position, setting a particularly jovial mood among the fanbase to start the game.
Inside Target Center, arena announcers spent a few minutes before the game harassing Lynx fans — and Liberty fans — who had not yet donned the complementary T-shirts draped over every seat.
DULUTH – The Minnesota and Wisconsin transportation departments will make upgrades to the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge in the summer of 2025, in preparation for the structure to become the premiere route between this city and Superior during reconstruction of the Blatnik Bridge.
Built in 1961, the Blatnik Bridge carries 33,000 vehicles per day along Interstate 535 and Hwy. 53. It will be entirely rebuilt, starting in 2027, with the help of $1 billion in federal funding announced earlier this year. MnDOT and WisDOT are splitting the remaining costs of the project, about $4 million each.
According to MnDOT, projects on the Bong Bridge will include spot painting, concrete surface repairs to the bridge abutments, concrete sealer on the deck, replacing rubber strip seal membranes on the main span’s joints and replacing light poles on the bridge and its points of entry. It’s expected to take two months, transportation officials said during a recent meeting at the Superior Public Library.
During this time there will be occasional lane closures, detours at the off-ramps, and for about three weeks the sidewalk path alongside the bridge will be closed.
The Bong Bridge, which crosses the St. Louis River, opened to traffic in 1985 and is the lesser-used of the two bridges. Officials said they want to keep maintenance to a minimum on the span during the Blatnik project, which is expected to take four years.
Red Wing will celebrate the grand opening of its first permanent set of pickleball courts next week with an “inaugural play” on the six courts at Colvill Park on the banks of the Mississippi, between a couple of marinas and next to the aquatic center.
Among the first to get to play on the new courts will be David Anderson, who brought pickleball to the local YMCA in 2008, before the nationwide pickleball craze took hold, and Denny Yecke, at 92 the oldest pickleball player in Red Wing.
The inaugural play begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday, with a rain date of the next day. Afterward will be food and celebration at the Colvill Park Courtyard building.
Tim Sletten, the city’s former police chief, discovered America’s fastest-growing sport a decade ago after he retired. With fellow members of the Red Wing Pickleball Group, he’d play indoors at the local YMCA or outdoors at a local school, on courts made for other sports. But they didn’t have a permanent place, so they approached the city about building one.
When a city feasibility study came up with a high cost, about $350,000, Sletten’s group got together to raise money.
The courts are even opening ahead of schedule, originally set for 2025.
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