Star Tribune
Why Erin Fitzgerald stopped selling downtown Minneapolis commercial real state and started buying instead
Eventually, it moved from valuing the buildings for owners to valuing the buildings for the lenders of those properties. I spent a lot of time researching the loan maturities for buildings. And the conclusion that I came to was that a lot of these buildings were going to be facing loan maturity — or the debt was going to be coming due — in ‘23, ‘24, ‘25, ‘26. And because of the interest rate environment, they wouldn’t be able to refinance — and would more than likely be handing the keys back to the bank.
Finally, I just decided I couldn’t sit on the sidelines any more and watch this opportunity pass me by. Because I just realized that we were heading into the greatest buying opportunity of our lifetime.
How does Willow Peak operate, and who are your investors?
We have lots of partners that we outsource a lot of things to. I would say that founding Willow Peak was about taking my experience in transforming properties and creating vibrant spaces, and applying it on a larger scale.
For this building [300 First Ave. N], some of it’s really just our own money, and then we have a couple partners on the deal with us. Willow Peak represents the general partnership of the building, and [Minnetonka-based] Onward Investors is the limited partner or the equity partner. Willow Peak is really the one who is in charge of the repositioning strategy, the lease-up — making sure that the building performs as an investment.
It’s very ambitious to say this, but our goal in 2025 is to raise a $100 million fund. There’s a lot of challenges in doing that, especially for a new firm like ours. But I think the opportunity is there — for family offices or high-net-worth individuals or financial advisors that are looking for alternative investments with a high return. With Willow Peak, investors are part of a mission-driven effort to support urban renewal while achieving meaningful returns.
Iowa law enforcement officials last month searched a property in Winsted, Minn., as part of the investigation into the 1995 disappearance of TV news anchor Jodi Huisentruit.
It’s not known publicly what brought investigators to the city of 2,200 about 40 miles west of Minneapolis, or whether the search represents a significant development in the case.
But Caroline Lowe, a veteran TV journalist who has followed the case closely for FindJodi.com, said it’s the first known law enforcement activity surrounding the case since 2017.
Lowe said she’s unaware of any connections Huisentruit had with Winsted, and added that it’s a development she and others did not see coming.
“It’s intriguing people,” Lowe said of the search. “Why Winsted?”
Huisentruit, a 27-year-old native of Long Prairie, Minn., and a graduate of St. Cloud State University, was an anchor at KIMT in Mason City, Iowa, when she disappeared on June 27, 1995, as she was heading to work.
She is believed to have been abducted, though her body has never been found. No one has been held accountable in the case.
For several days in mid-October, officers with the Mason City Police Department followed up on a lead and searched a property in Winsted, according to Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley and Winsted Police Chief Justin Heldt.
Hegseth has been married three times, according to court records. He married his first wife, Meredith, in his early 20s and they divorced in 2009, according to Minnesota court filings. The couple agreed that the reasons for the split were an “irretrievable breakdown” of the marriage and Hegseth’s “infidelity,” according to a filing in their divorce case. She declined to comment.
He married his second wife, Samantha, in 2010. Hegseth fathered a child with another woman, Jennifer Rauchet, then a Fox News producer, in August 2017, during that marriage. According to court records, Samantha Hegseth, who did not respond to a request for comment, filed for divorce in September – a month after the child was born. Following his second divorce, Hegseth married Rauchet.
Hegseth is one of several Trump Cabinet picks who could face resistance in the Senate. His selection caught many by surprise. The Fox News host, who served in the Army National Guard, has echoed Trump’s complaints that the military is too “woke” and, during Trump’s first term, successfully encouraged the president to pardon Army officers accused of war crimes over objections from the Pentagon.
Trump’s team began formally vetting Hegseth after Trump called him Nov. 7 to ask whether he was interested in becoming defense secretary, a person familiar with the conversations told The Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private meetings.
Trump’s pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, also faces renewed scrutiny of sexual misconduct allegations ahead of a potentially contentious confirmation fight. The Justice Department last year dropped an investigation into allegations that Gaetz violated sex trafficking laws in a case involving a 17-year-old girl, but the House Ethics Committee has been reviewing the matter more recently and was about to vote on releasing a report when Gaetz resigned from Congress this week – just after Trump’s decision to tap him for attorney general. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing.
The president-elect himself has also been accused over the years of sexual harassment and assault – allegations he denies. A jury in a civil trial last year found Trump liable for sexual abuse of the writer E. Jean Carroll and ordered him to pay damages.
Star Tribune
E. coli infections traced back to Red Cow restaurants and Hen House Eatery in Minnesota
Ten cases of E. coli have been identified from customers who ate hamburgers at several locations of the Red Cow restaurant chain and at Hen House Eatery in downtown Minneapolis, the Minnesota Department of Health announced Friday.
The ground beef product connected to those infections was also distributed to other unidentified establishments, according to the Health Department. Additional cases from other locations could be identified, and other potential cases were already under investigation.
The confirmed cases involve meal dates from Oct. 31 through Nov. 7, and illness onset dates from Nov. 4 through Nov. 9, according to the department. Those affected range in age from 9 to 70 years, and two of them have been hospitalized.
Red Cow and Hen House Eatery owners are fully cooperating with the investigation and have already made product changes to prevent further illness, the department said. Red Cow has a total of six locations in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Wayzata and Rochester.
Symptoms of E. coli typically include stomach cramps and diarrhea, often with bloody stools. Illness can set in anywhere from one to eight days after exposure. About 5% of cases can lead to severe complications such as acute kidney failure.
