With gloomy skies and light rain falling, Jeff MacDonald and Natalka Kramarczuk fired up the old South St. Paul firetruck Friday morning and set off in search of smiles. It didn’t take long.

Just four blocks away and waiting on the front steps of her home with her mom and three siblings was 3-year-old Lacey Meissner. It was her golden birthday.

As the vintage firetruck rumbled up to the home, MacDonald turned on the siren and lights. He yelled, “Happy Birthday, Lacey!” through the PA system. Kramarczuk jumped out from the passenger seat with a large Dalmatian stuffed animal named “Spot” and a red plastic firefighter’s helmet for Lacey.

The girl’s face lit up.

“That’s what this is all about,” said MacDonald.

The 1968 Pirsch pumper does that to people, MacDonald and Kramarczuk say. So earlier this week, the couple decided they should take the firetruck to neighborhood kids on their birthdays. Kids deserve something special during these uncertain times brought on by the coronavirus pandemic — even if it is a quick drive-by, they say.

“We feel bad for them. As a kid, your birthday and Christmas are very exciting,” MacDonald, 45, said. “With this crisis going on, kids can’t really comprehend. ‘I can’t have a party? I can’t have my buddies over?’ And this way, we can pull up to the house and brighten their day a little bit.”

A CHANGE OF PLANS

On Tuesday, Kramarczuk and MacDonald put out a request on Facebook under a page they set up for their side business, “Ashes Fire Truck Rental.” A few Facebook reposts and lots of “Likes” later, the couple found themselves with about 20 birthday parties booked over the next week alone.

Kramarczuk knows firsthand what it’s like to have a scaled-down birthday party. She turned 50 years old on March 22. MacDonald had planned to throw her a surprise party the night before at the Croatian Hall in South St. Paul. It was also going to be an emotional celebration with friends and family for Kramarczuk, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in August and underwent a double mastectomy.

“Then the coronavirus hit,” she said, “and changed the plans.”

But it got them thinking about others — all the young kids — who were going to have birthdays.

Like Leighla Arredondo Curren, who turned 6 years old on Friday. The girl’s grandpa, Leo Arredondo, arranged for the firetruck to surprise her in Inver Grove Heights.

Donning a tiara, Leighla held a balloon and a sign that read, “It’s My Birthday!” She smiled as her grandpa, mom and other family members gathered around her for pictures in front of the firetruck.

“This is really awesome,” Leo told MacDonald. “Thank you very much for doing this for her. You brightened her day.”

When MacDonald and Kramarczuk pulled away in the firetruck, the girl waved and yelled, “Bye!”

MacDonald leaned over to Kramarczuk in his seat and said, “That was a good stop right there. That was fun.” “It sure was,” she said.

BACK WHERE IT BELONGS

The firetruck has quite a history in South St. Paul.

The city bought the truck new in 1968, and for many years it served as its main pumper. When the truck was retired in 1999, longtime resident Henry Bruggemann bought it.

It changed hands several times over the years but always stayed in the South St. Paul, appearing in city events like the Kaposia Days parade.

Back in early 2010, South St. Paul resident Jimmy Francis and a group of friends heard the future of the firetruck was up in the air. So they pooled their money and bought it from a South St. Paul family.

A few years later, after the motor and transmission both went kaput, Francis sold the firetruck to a man in Maple Grove who collects them and fixes them up. The old South St. Paul truck remained there until Francis convinced MacDonald, his high school friend, to pay it a visit in 2016.

“I saw it and fell in love,” MacDonald said. “I told Jimmy, ‘I have to bring this back where it belongs.’ ”

MacDonald and Kramarczuk have continued the tradition of driving it in parades and bringing it to fundraisers and other community events. They also rent it out for bachelor parties, weddings, birthdays and other events.

But it nearly was a goner last August, when a vandal intentionally set a fire in the cab. MacDonald spent many months replacing the electrical wiring, gear shaft and other hard-to find vintage parts. But it could have been worse, Kramarczuk said.

“The cab holds the gas tank under the seat,” she said, adding that a man was charged with second-degree arson and is awaiting a court date. “He was lucky he didn’t blow it up.”

A SPECIAL SURPRISE

On Friday morning, the truck had a third and final stop — at the home of King Boreas LXXXIV, also known as Darrin Johnson.

So Kramarczuk and MacDonald set up a plan with Johnson to surprise his kids, Sydney, 5, and Theo, 2, at their Inver Grove Heights home. However, it wasn’t an easy thing, said Emily Gerbig, their mother and Johnson’s wife.

“I told the kids before the truck got here that they needed to get dressed, that we had a surprise outside,” she said, while watching her kids hug the Dalmatian stuffed animal. “They looked at me funny because we don’t get dressed anymore, especially this early. We’re mostly inside the house all day. So this is great.”

A 30-year-old man who broke into a random home in Inver Grove Heights and slit a woman’s throat and assaulted her teenage son in July has pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary and second-degree attempted murder.

Semaji Jamal Clemons, of Inver Grove Heights, entered the plea Friday before Dakota County District Judge Tracy Perzel, who ordered a pre-sentence investigation and set sentencing for June 15, when an assault charge will be dismissed, according to the county attorney’s office.

According to the criminal complaint, neither the woman nor her 13-year-old son had ever met Clemons before the attack.

The charges gave the following account:

Clemons broke into the home around 3 p.m. July 19 and immediately went into the boy’s room and told him it was “time to die.” He grabbed the boy from behind and took him into another room, where the boy’s mother was, and repeated “it’s time to die.” He punched her in the face.

When the boy tried to protect his mother, Clemons punched the boy in the head and face. The boy managed to escape and run to a neighbor, who called 911.

The boy then returned with a box cutter and tried to help his mother. Clemons took the box cutter away and as the boy tried to stop him, stabbed the woman in the back. He sat on the woman, told the boy to look away, and then cut her throat.

During the assault, Clemons told her several times that she was going to die, saying “be ready to die,” and “you’re going to die” and “you’re dying.”

Officers arrived shortly after and found blood all over the floor and heard the woman in a back bedroom crying for help. Clemons walked out of the back bedroom with blood all over his pants and shoes.

“It is hard to comprehend this type of violent attack upon a mother and her 13-year-old son in their home by a complete stranger,” Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said in a Friday statement. “The son was a true hero as he ran for help and returned to protect his mother. We are extremely thankful that the victims have recovered from their physical injuries and we wish them the best as they deal with the continuing emotional trauma of this serious and violent crime.”

Jill Lewis, who helped raise millions of dollars in scholarships for Inver Grove Heights students, died June 7 after battling pancreatic cancer for two years. She was 74

Lewis was a committed advocate of Inver Grove Heights schools, serving on the district’s board for 15 years, including seven as chair.

Beginning in 1995, she sat on the Intermediate School District 917 board and served as its chair from 1999 until her death. District 917 is a nine-member consortium of south metro schools, including Inver Grove Heights, that offer special education and other services.

Lewis also helped found the Inver Grove Heights BEST Foundation, which gives scholarships to Simley High School graduates.

From 1987 to 2018, the foundation awarded more than $3 million in scholarships under Lewis’ leadership.

“Her commitment to the school board and the students of the Intermediate School District 917 was really what kept her going for the last two years,” said Amy Nugent, Lewis’ daughter.

According to a statement from Inver Grove Heights Schools: “Ms. Lewis was an integral part of the Inver Grove Heights school community, devoted to students, learning, and service. She inspired others to get involved to support students so they could excel.”

In addition to her work for Inver Grove Heights Schools, Lewis was  involved in her local church, the Old Salem Shrine, or the “Little White Church” as locals call it. Lewis’ family has been caretakers for the church for generations since they came to the United States from Germany.

“She was devoted to the community. If she committed to something, you knew that she would be there for you. Everybody in the community knew her, loved her and appreciated her leadership and commitment to Inver Grove,” Nugent said.

When she wasn’t helping the community, Lewis was an avid traveler. She also played the organ at church services since she was 12.

Lewis was also a sentimental person, and when her son Mark was serving in the Marines, she saved copies of all the letters he sent her.

In addition to her son and daughter, Lewis is survived by her three siblings, Bartley Zehnder, David Zehnder and Laurie Dinger; six grandchildren; and three great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at a later date due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A Guatemalan woman, who was deported in 2016 after serving eight years in a Minnesota prison for causing a school bus crash that killed four children, was sentenced to two years in prison for illegally re-entering the United States, the U.S. attorney’s office announced Thursday.

Olga Marina Franco del Cid, 36, pleaded guilty on Feb. 3 while also admitting to a charge of falsely using a Social Security number on a Form I-9, which is meant to verify employment eligibility.

Acting on a tip, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Franco del Cid on Nov. 26 at a residence in Inver Grove Heights. A day earlier, a family member had reported her missing.

In February 2008, Franco del Cid was driving a minivan near rural Cottonwood in southwestern Minnesota when she drove through a stop sign and crashed into a school bus full of children, killing four and injuring 17 more.

After the crash, Franco del Cid gave police a false name and claimed to be a Puerto Rican citizen, but investigators determined that she was a Guatemalan national and in the U.S. illegally.

Franco del Cid was convicted on 24 separate charges, including four counts of criminal vehicular homicide, and sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. She served eight years at the women’s prison in Shakopee before being released and deported.

While she was in prison, Franco del Cid began corresponding with a Minnesota man. The couple married in 2009 and they have a child together, but he filed for divorce in October, according to a court document.

A 30-year-old repeat felon who broke into a random home in Inver Grove Heights and slit a woman’s throat with a box cutter and assaulted her teenage son has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Calling the July 2019 attack “shocking, terrorizing and depraved in a way that I could never imagine,” Dakota County District Court Judge Tracy Perzel on Monday gave Semaji Jamal Clemons the maximum sentence allowed under a plea agreement he reached with prosecutors this past April.

Under the agreement, Clemons, of Inver Grove Heights, could have been given between 183 and 240 months for pleading guilty to second-degree attempted murder (with intent) and first-degree burglary. A first-degree assault charge was dismissed.

Assistant Dakota County Attorney Cassandra Shepherd read a victim impact statement by mother Michelle Stinnett, who said she feels grateful to be alive and that the attack “has caused indescribable anguish and will affect me and my family for the rest of our lives.”

Despite knowing that Clemons is behind bars, Stinnett said she fears for her and her son’s safety and is “haunted by the thought that he may be released someday to assault my family again.” She asked for the maximum sentence.

After the impact statement was read, Clemons’ court-appointed attorney, Jennifer Rose Congdon, told Perzel that he had decided not to have Congdon argue for a lesser sentence and wanted the court to give him 20 years.

Perzel obliged, but before doing so said that even if Clemons had not requested the maximum sentence she would have given it to him anyway “based upon the extraordinarily depraved and terrorizing nature of this crime, as well as the grave risk that, in my opinion, you pose to public safety.”

Clemons has a significant criminal history in Minnesota, according to court records. He was convicted of first-degree aggravated robbery in 2010 and 2012 and of terroristic threats in 2014 and 2017.

At the time of the attack in Inver Grove Heights, Clemons was on “intensive supervised release” with Dakota County Community Corrections for a second-degree burglary conviction out of Washington County in March 2017. He had been given 45 months in prison, but was released in March 2019.

Clemons absconded from the supervision on June 6, 2019, court records show. Five days later, he was arrested by the Washington County sheriff’s office, and he was transferred to the Dakota County sheriff’s office. After a restructure of release terms by Dakota County Community Corrections, Clemons was released from the county jail on “intensive supervised release” on June 20, about a month before the attack in Inver Grove Heights.

Brian Kopperud, the county’s director of community corrections, declined to comment on the case Monday.

‘BE READY TO DIE’

Neither the woman nor her son had ever met Clemons before the attack.

The criminal charges give the following account:

Clemons broke into the home around 3 p.m. July 19 and immediately went into the boy’s room and told him it was “time to die.” He grabbed the 13-year-old from behind and took him into another room, where the boy’s mother was, and repeated “it’s time to die.” He punched her in the face.

When the boy tried to protect his mother, Clemons — listed in court records as being 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 215 pounds — punched the boy in the head and face. The boy managed to escape and run to a neighbor, who called 911.

The boy returned with a box cutter and tried to help his mother. Clemons took the box cutter away and as the boy tried to stop him, stabbed the woman in the back. He sat on the woman, told the boy to look away, and then cut her throat.

During the assault, Clemons told her several times that she was going to die, saying “be ready to die,” and “you’re going to die” and “you’re dying.”

When officers arrived, they saw blood on the floor and heard the woman in a back bedroom crying for help. Clemons walked out of the bedroom with blood on his pants and shoes.

Officers found the woman covered in blood with puncture wounds to her back and a deep cut to her throat. She received 10 stitches to her throat.

‘NOTHING BUT PURE EVIL’

Stinnett said in her impact statement that she and her son “fought so hard as we faced a man so full of evil, so full of nothing but pure evil.”

She said she forever will be haunted by the moment that Clemons “calmly looked at my son” and asked him to look away before sliding the box cutter across the front of her neck.

“In that moment I found myself wondering — how can a stranger, a person I don’t know, do this to me?” she said. “How is this happening?”

She said she will continue to “live and attempt to be happy” and that “we can only hope that he will not be allowed to harm us again. I will continue to work on my recovery while trying to keep my attacker from affecting my life more than he already has.”

Before Perzel handed down the sentence, she allowed Clemons to speak. Clemons, who stood with his arms behind his back and crossed for most of the hearing, apologized to the victim, saying that “I wish I could go back and take it back. I’m sorry.”

With good behavior, Clemons could be released from prison after 13 years and 4 months, with the remaining term on supervised release.

Court records show that on Feb. 25 Clemons was charged with fifth-degree assault and disorderly conduct after he allegedly assaulted an inmate at Dakota County jail.

“It was callously indifferent to human life,” she said. “It invaded not only the zone of privacy, which was the victim’s home, but it invaded that relationship with the victim with her child.”

If not for the “child’s bravery,” she said, “the circumstances could be markedly different here today. … I can’t imagine what that family went through that day and cannot imagine what they continue to go through. And I hope for them an ability to someday be able to move forward in a positive way, despite these really awful terrorizing events.”

The mother of a 19-year-old St. Paul man fatally shot outside a party bus in Inver Grove Heights has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the bus company and its driver.

In March 2018, Billy Robles, an aspiring rapper, was caught in crossfire in the parking lot of the AMC Showplace 16 movie theater after a fight broke out between two groups of teens who had been on the bus. Robles died of a gunshot wound to his chest.

Robles’ mother, Melissa Johnson, filed the lawsuit last month against Safeway Transit and its assumed name Rent My Party Bus in Dakota County District Court. Jody K. Lehr, who was the driver of the bus the night Robles was killed, is also named in the suit.

The civil complaint, which seeks in excess of $50,000 in damages, alleges that the defendants “knowingly or recklessly permitted” the teenagers to drink alcohol. Safeway and Rent My Party Bus are “vicariously liable” and negligent for all of Lehr’s actions that night, the suit claims.

Lehr permitted passengers to bring alcohol with them onto the bus and she “knew that several of the partygoers, including the ‘Offending Teenagers,’ were intoxicated, violent, and posed a real threat to other partygoers on the bus,” the suit alleges.

Lehr, 43, of Stillwater, could not be reached for comment Friday.

No attorney was listed for Rent My Party Bus in court records. A message left at the Farmington business Friday seeking comment was returned by a woman who declined to comment on the lawsuit. She declined to give her name, then ended the call.

Aleksey Silenko, director of Rent My Party Bus, did not respond to an email Friday seeking comment.

Robles grew up on St. Paul’s West Side and had attended Humboldt High School, where he played football. He was three months away from graduating from High School for Recording Arts, a charter school off University Avenue in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood.

In YouTube videos dating back to 2016, Robles can be seen rapping under the moniker “BillyThaKidd,” often about growing up in poverty in St. Paul, marijuana and gun violence.

THERE WAS NO PULSE

Court documents and Lehr’s March 24, 2018, statement to police help shed light on what led up to the shooting.

Up to 50 partygoers, who ranged in age from 16 to mid-20s, were on the bus as it drove around for several hours late March 23 and into early March 24. Alcohol was consumed and played a part in the “mayhem,” police said.

The pink-painted former school bus was rented for a 19-year-old woman’s birthday party. Lehr met the partygoers at the movie theater parking lot at approximately 10:30 p.m. March 23, and they boarded the bus, which Lehr told police was “packed” with people.

Lehr said that usually bus partiers are “excited and happy,” but the group that night was not loud and even “boring.” She said she texted her boyfriend and told him there’s “something wrong with them” and that she “might need a bouncer.”

At one point, while driving on an Interstate 94 near downtown Minneapolis, a girl who was drunk vomited and the partygoers wanted to kick her off the bus, according to Lehr’s statement. When she pulled off the interstate at 7th Street, two guys got off the bus and fought, she said. Then, they got back on the bus.

Lehr told police that she called 911 and that shots were fired in at least two different directions while she was talking to dispatch. She said she saw Robles lying on the ground just outside the door of the bus. People carried him back onto the bus.

Girls were crying and trying to get him to talk, Lehr said, and when she looked for a pulse, there was none.

10 YEARS IN PRISON

Police determined the Trashaun Morris, who was 17 at the time, fired the fatal shot that killed Robles. He was certified to stand trial as an adult in Dakota County District Court, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and in September was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

In 2018, two 16-year-old St. Paul teens were sentenced for their roles in the killing after pleading guilty to first-degree riot.

Samson Chu received a five-year stayed juvenile prison sentence. In exchange for the guilty plea, charges of attempted murder and second-degree assault were dismissed. Evidence shows that Chu fired a gun, but not the shot that killed Robles, according to prosecutors.

Daunte Martin was given a four-year sentence, which was stayed until age 21.

On Sept. 13, 2018, Taishawn Smith, then 18, of Crystal, pleaded guilty to one count of riot in the second degree and was sentenced to 13 months. Dakota County District Judge Tanya O’Brien gave him credit for 163 days in jail, probation for five years and stayed the execution of the sentence.

Just under three months later, on Dec. 9, Smith was shot while in a parked car in the Payne-Phalen area of St. Paul and died at Regions Hospital at age 19. A pregnant woman, also in the vehicle at the time, was struck and injured. A third passenger, also a woman, ran from the vehicle and escaped the bullets.

Authorities said the shooting was a gang-related.

In February, a jury acquitted a St. Paul man charged in connection with the shooting.

‘BILLY REPRESENTS THE WEST SIDE’

Reached this week, Johnson, Robles’ mother, said that her son was not part of any West Side street gang. She said he was “an amazing and unique individual” who brought joy to his seven siblings and “everyone around him.

He was buried at Riverview Cemetery, near her West Side home.

“It’s good for my other kids, because they can just go up there when they need to,” said Johnson, adding that she attends a support group through St. Paul police. “It’s good for them to have him so close.”

For the second anniversary of his death, Johnson asked people through Facebook to go to the movie theater parking lot and remember Robles. More than 100 people showed, including a few of the Inver Grove Heights police officers who were on scene the night he was killed.

“Billy represents the West Side,” Johnson said, “and there are kids out here that are breaking the law or whatever and calling themselves ‘Billy’s Gang. And so my 19-year-old, his little brother, he just let everybody know that if you’re doing anything in Billy’s name you can’t be out here committing crimes and that Billy was not about that stuff.”

Gertens Greenhouses and Garden Center continues to expand its operations in Washington County.

The Inver Grove Heights-based business plans to purchase Houle’s Feed Store, which has locations in Forest Lake and Grant, and keep them in operation.

The sale is expected to be finalized on or before Sept. 1, said Bob Muske, the agent at RE/MAX who has the listing.

The owners of Houle’s announced plans last year to sell the business, which was started as a feed mill by E.J. Houle in 1916. A development company wanted to purchase the property in Forest Lake and replace it with a 100-room hotel and convention center, but those plans fell through, Muske said.

“When Gertens came along, this checked a lot of the boxes and fulfilled a lot of needs for Houle’s,” he said. “The fact that someone wants to continue operation and keep the buildings intact — that carried a lot of weight. That was very important to (Gertens), and it was important to Houle’s.”

Forest Lake Mayor Mara Bain said residents were thrilled to hear the news this week. “They’re excited to have the iconic, historic buildings remain intact,” she said.

The Houle buildings, located on southwest corner of Broadway Avenue and Highway 61, are popular backdrops for senior, engagement and prom photos. The blackboard on the side of the original building often notes wedding dates and senior class years.

“We thank the Houle family for their stewardship of this historic corner of Forest Lake,” Bain said. “We welcome Gertens to Forest Lake and look forward to working with them.”

Gertens’ Gino Pitera said Friday that he could not comment on the possible sale until after the deal is closed.

Houle’s in Forest Lake sells almost every kind of feed imaginable, including dog, deer, horse, llama, chicken, hog, goat and turkey. It even sells food for gorillas, snakes, giraffes, monkeys, chinchillas and zebras; one of its biggest customers is the Como Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul.

“It’s a bittersweet time,” Gary Houle, the store’s general manager and grandson of E.J. Houle, told the Pioneer Press in 2019. “Our name has been on the building for a long time. It’s hard to think about not coming to work in the morning. My dad worked here until he was 81.”

In 2014, Gertens purchased a 52-acre growing site in Lake Elmo that belonged to Linder’s Greenhouses.

In February 2013, Gertens bought 80 acres from Buell’s Landscape and Design Center on Manning Avenue in Denmark Township.

Rachel Taylor was wearing white when she cradled an accident victim in her arms last Sunday, but it wasn’t the nurse uniform she’d just earned from Bethel University. It was her wedding dress.

Taylor, 22, and her husband Calvin, 23, had just left their wedding about 8:30 p.m. on Father’s Day, and were heading to their new town home in Inver Grove Heights, when they witnessed an accident on the Fifth Avenue bridge over Interstate 494 in South St. Paul.

A car and a van had crashed. While the occupants were sorting things out, a black Chevy Tahoe came through the intersection and ran into the other vehicles.

A woman, Tamara Peterson, of Inver Grove Heights, had been standing between the two vehicles when the second crash happened. She had just arrived at the scene, having been called by her son, who had been in one of the cars.

“I saw a couple of people dragging a woman over to the side of the road,” Taylor said. ” I could see a gash in her right leg. I think I saw her bone in it.”

Still in her wedding dress, Taylor ran over to the woman and helped her to the side of the road where she held her, keeping her calm until the paramedics arrived.

Taylor’s husband snapped a picture of her and posted it on Facebook, calling her “My rockstar of a bride” adding that she held Peterson that way for about 15 minutes.

In nursing school, Taylor had worked with women in labor and had learned a few techniques on how to keep them calm.

“I just talked to her. I said, ‘You’re so strong. You’re so brave. I’m so proud of you,'” Taylor said.

“She was awesome and helped save my life by keeping me focused, and calm,” Peterson said. “She certainly is a gifted angel and chose the right career path.”

When the paramedics arrived, she explained to Peterson what they were doing to her, translating their medical shorthand and reassuring her that she would be fine.

“I just went into nurse mode,” she said. “It seemed pretty natural. I was pretty surprised. I’ve always been lacking in confidence about my nursing abilities so it was nice to see that in a situation like that, I knew what to do.”

Peterson was put in the ambulance and Taylor was left standing on the side of the road “feeling frazzled” and amazed at how unexpected her wedding day had turned out.

The couple continued to their home and left the next morning for Montana where they would spend their honeymoon.

Peterson, who has a GoFundMe page to help with medical bills, is now home recovering, but said the healing will take time. She hopes to meet the Taylors again one day and “possibly become forever friends,” she said.

Taylor said she credits God for helping her keep her cool.

“Calvin and I have talked about it. We really feel like we were in the right place at the right time and we believe that was due to God,” she said. The couple met at a Christian camp in 2012 and both graduated from Bethel University in Arden Hills. “We feel like God led my hands and my voice.”

Tomas Settell considers the Inver Grove Heights community center the ideal spot to run his gymnastics school.

Over the past 14 years, Settell and his staff have taught more than 1,800 kids and adults through Bee Elite Gymnastics Academy, which takes up about 1,900 square feet of the city’s Veterans Memorial Community Center. His youngest student was 2 years old, his oldest 90.

“I’m the only gymnastics gym or trampoline club in Inver Grove Heights,” said Settell, a resident of the city for a dozen years.

The arrangement — made only verbally in 2006 — has worked out great for everyone, he said. Parents like the location because they can work out in the fitness center or swim while Settell teaches their kids. Settell gets to make a living as he teaches a sport he loves, while the city gets added community center revenue.

But now Settell’s future at the community center is up in the air. The city has told him they’d like him out, citing a need for more room for other community center programs because of the coronavirus pandemic and also that they want to bring in more income.

The threat of eviction came in mid-May during a phone conversation with Parks and Recreation director Eric Carlson, who told Settell he wanted him to move his gymnastics equipment out to make room for social distancing for other programs.

“I was quite shocked and surprised,” Settell told the city council at its meeting last week.

CITY TOUTS PROGRAM

Speaking during the council’s citizen comment period, Settell said he went to them for help. And he was prepared, showing up with documented proof to back up his claims and several parents who had his back.

Settell gave each council member a binder that included copies of the city’s summer parks and recreation programming booklet, which shows the gymnastics school as a program running through May 2021; copies of emails between him and Carlson and other city staff; copies of estimates from companies to move and store his gymnastics equipment; and a copy of the transcribed May 15 phone conversation with Carlson that Settell recorded.

“The whole city knows that I’m going to be there until May (2021), according to this brochure,” he said. “So I would like some consideration and your help in solving this problem. I’m a tenant, and do plan on opening on July 6” when the community center reopens.

City administrator Joe Lynch responded by saying the city council has “challenged” city staff to come up with additional revenue-generating space at the community center so that the city can cover at least 86 percent of operating costs.

‘HE HAS BEEN A GOOD TENANT’

Lynch said that Settell’s agreement with the city is not in writing and that Settell calculates the revenue that he generates and gives the city a check.

“So we rely completely on Tomas to give us that revenue,” Lynch said. “He has been a good tenant and we have enjoyed that benefit. But we are looking at the continued use of that space, which originally … was handball and racquetball courts.”

Lynch said they would like the gymnastics space in order to grow the city’s fitness center membership.

“It’s not immediate, but it is something that we would like to talk to Tomas about,” he said.

“I guess it’s pretty final when you say we want you out of there,” Tourville said.

City council member Brenda Dietrich chimed in, saying this was the first they were hearing of the plan.

“None of us knew about it,” she said. “That’s a business leaving our community.”

20 PERCENT OF HIS REVENUE

In an interview last week, Carlson said he did indeed tell Settell that the space could be used for multiple recreation programs and that because “his program and the equipment he needs is hard to move and can only be used for gymnastics, I wanted to explore with him not being in that space any longer.”

Carlson said Settell pointed out “some good information” that the city already has advertised his programming through May 2021. “So I think the city has an obligation to honor that with him at a minimum and consider some extension potentially,” he said. “But only under the guise of a lease agreement that has a fixed rate that is consistent with what the market is.”

Carlson said that under the verbal agreement — which was made before he started working for the city — Settell gives the city 20 percent of his revenue. He said that from 2016 through 2019, the city has received an average of about $7,100 in revenue annually from Settell.

When asked about that number, Carlson said, “that’s not a lot” and added “this isn’t (Settell’s) fault. I’m the park and recreation director, so I will be responsible for the fact that we have not put an agreement in writing that had the city’s best interest in mind. And we now need to do that.”

A meeting between Settell and city staff is scheduled for this week.

“I don’t have any preconceived notions of what the outcome of that is going to be specifically,” Carlson said, “other than we’re going to have to have some type of an agreement in writing, because that’s what the city council directed us to do.”

‘KIDS ARE TRYING TO GROW UP’

A group of parents who spoke in support of Settell at last week’s city council meeting or sent council members emails urged them to keep him around for years down the road.

One of them was Amy Kaiser, whose son Garrett was on the Bee Elite Gymnastics team for many years before going on to be a member of the Simley High School swim and dive team. He broke school and pool records, placed in the top three at state in 2019 and 2020 and is a recruited college athlete for next year.

The decision should go beyond money, said parent Samuel Adedeji, of Eagan. His son Ibukun excelled on Bee Elite’s Junior Olympics team before tragically dying of complications of a congenital defect while swimming in 2010. He was 11 years old.

“As much as the city is trying to make money, kids are trying to grow up, and this is part of their development,” Adedeji said. “And the opportunity that they have here, they might not be able to have somewhere else. My son had opportunity here.”

With waste-to-energy facilities running at full capacity, Minnesota pollution officials will allow metro-area landfills to start taking on more trash for the first time in 17 years.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on Friday solicited certificates of need from landfills. The certificates are required before adding volume, expanding acreage or establishing new landfills.

That hasn’t happened since 2003, when the 340-acre Waste Management landfill in Burnsville expanded. The other household-waste landfill in the metro, Pine Bend Landfill in Inver Grove Heights, was expanded in 2002.

Peder Sandhei, principal planner for the MPCA, said Friday it’s unlikely a new landfill would be created in the metro area. That’s because the state, counties, cities and even townships have regulations that restrict them.

More likely, Sandhei said, is that industrial waste landfills in the area would seek permission to begin accepting household garbage.

Whatever happens, landfills are only to be considered after other garbage-reduction options, such as incineration, recycling, composting and reuse, have been exhausted.

“Landfills are the last resort,” said PCA Assistant Commissioner Kirk Koudelka.

The move is welcome news for Waste Management, which handles garbage removal for much of the metro area and has lobbied for years for landfill expansions.

“It’s a very good thing,” company spokeswoman Julie Ketchum said.

Currently, she said, the metro’s garbage is hauled to Lake Mills, Iowa; Eau Claire, Wis.; and greater Minnesota landfills, including one in Worthington.

That hurts the environment and wastes money, Ketchum said.

The MPCA said waste-to-energy facilities reached their operating capacity in the first quarter of this year.

They include both a garbage processing plant in Newport, which shreds all household trash from Ramsey and Washington counties, and the Red Wing incinerator that burns that trash for electricity. The Hennepin County Recovery Center, an electricity-generating incinerator adjacent Target Field in Minneapolis, also runs at capacity.

Landfill operators have 180 days to apply for permission to take on more trash.

They could begin taking the overflow from incinerators as soon as next spring, Waste Management’s Ketchum said.

An ongoing investigation at Inver Grove Heights City Hall revolves around whether personnel information was leaked to a council member by a human resources official, who says the inquiry is retaliation against her.

The inquiry involving Human Resources Manager Janet Shefchik follows another investigation in recent years involving City Administrator Joe Lynch. The latest came to light at a city council meeting earlier this week when Scott Lepak, the city’s labor and employment counsel, asked council members how he should proceed with a draft report.

It remains unclear who filed the complaint that resulted in the investigation. Neither Lepak nor Lynch returned calls or emails this week for comment.

Lepak said the draft report could be considered “incomplete” because Council Member Brenda Dietrich, who obtained an email written by another city employee, declined to identify who gave it to her. The email was a communication between Lynch and another employee that related to other employees.

According to Lepak, Dietrich’s reason for being silent was because the investigation was not authorized by the full council, but rather the mayor.

At Monday’s meeting, it was alleged that Shefchik was Dietrich’s source of the email — a conclusion that according to Lepak was made by taking a “roundabout approach using indirect evidence as to what happened.”

Dietrich presented the email last year during a job performance review of Lynch, who has been the city administrator since 2006. Ultimately, the email was not included as part of Lynch’s performance evaluation, Lepak noted.

MAYOR APPROVED LATEST INQUIRY

Lepak gave council members a copy of the draft report for them to read on the spot, which they did for nearly a half-hour. Because the report is still a draft, it is not public beyond the council members, he said.

Lepak noted that the investigation, which began last October, was not authorized by the city council as a whole but rather by Mayor George Tourville. When Dietrich asked Lepak why that was the case, he said because Lynch, the city’s top staff person, could not authorize an investigation that involves himself and that the mayor is the “individual when the city administrator can’t take action.”

Tourville said he spoke with City Attorney Tim Kuntz at the time and that he decided the matter should be looked at by Lepak. The mayor said the city has a “responsibility” to look into a possible data breach.

“Everybody on the council was notified that we were taking a look at this item, in numerous emails that went out to city council members over the last period of time,” Tourville said. … “And that employee has rights, too … you send an email and all of a sudden it ends up in a place it shouldn’t be.”

SHEFCHIK A WITNESS INTO LYNCH PROBE

With several supporters seated behind her Monday, Shefchik stepped to the podium and read a prepared statement. She noted that she has over 30 years of private and public human resources experience, and how she served on the human resources and data practices legislative committee at the League of Minnesota Cities.

“I’m an expert in understanding data practices laws,” said Shefchik, who’s been Inver Grove’s head of human resources since 2014 and a resident of the city for 32 years.

She noted that in 2018 and 2019 she was interviewed as a witness into an investigation of a “sexual innuendo” and other offensive remarks that Lynch made to a then-city employee, later identified as former City Clerk Michelle Tesser.

“This is a protected activity under state human rights and federal equal employment opportunity commissions laws,” Shefchik said of her cooperating in the investigation.

LYNCH SUSPENDED, KEPT JOB

Lynch ultimately was suspended three days without pay after a law firm hired by the city concluded that he twice had violated the city’s respectful workplace policy. Their 65-page report detailed name-calling and a sexually suggestive remark Lynch made to Tesser.

Shefchik noted Monday how Lynch then made a counter complaint against Tesser, who was placed on paid leave in April 2019 while the matter was investigated.

Shefchik said that at the time she wrote an email to the city council and city attorney Kuntz “to explain that not only was retaliation prohibited under the city’s own policy, but it was an illegal activity. I also explained that I feared for my own safety and retribution for participating in the investigation and calling the illegal activities to your attention. No protection was offered to me or the others involved.”

The investigation into Lynch’s complaint against Tesser resulted in no disciplinary action against her. A few months later, Tesser and the city parted ways, with Tesser agreeing to withdraw a discrimination complaint she filed with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights over how she was treated by Lynch. As part of the separation agreement, Tesser was given $89,600 for “non wages.”

Shefchik said this week that she was informed this past November that she was part of an investigation into a data breach and that she would be interviewed in order to determine her possible involvement.

“The insinuation was that I had done something wrong,” Shefchik said. She said she believes Lynch filed the complaint that led to the data breach inquiry as retaliation for her cooperating in the investigation that led to his discipline.

WAS IT REALLY A BREACH?

Shefchik’s attorney, Sarah McEllistrem, told the city council the investigation and report is presumptive that there was a data breach.

“If there was a data breach, tell us what it was,” she said. “Specifically inform us what it was because I see no data breach in anything that was provided or any information that has been shared with me.”

“It doesn’t look like that happened in this instance,” he said. “So, is there a breach or not? I didn’t say there was a breach, there was a possible breach. I don’t know, that’s why we had to take a look at it legally.”

At the conclusion of Monday’s discussion, the city council voted 3-1 (Dietrich abstained) to ask Dietrich again for additional information that then would then be added to the report. The document will return to the council for possible approval Aug. 10.

Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the reported kidnapping of a 19-year-old woman in Inver Grove Heights.

Inver Grove Heights police were notified at 10:43 p.m. Wednesday that someone was being held against their will. The officers were sent to the 5400 block of Blackberry Trail.

Shortly after, several people began to come out of the location and three of them were taken into custody. The woman was able to leave the location and tell officers what happened.

The three suspects were booked into the Dakota County Jail after officers searched the scene and conducted interviews, according to a statement by Inver Grove Heights police.

According to county jail records:

• Ilmi Yusuf, 36 of Minneapolis, was being held on suspicion of a felony drug charge.
• Abdifatah Abdi, 24 of Inver Grove Heights, was arrested on suspicion of making terroristic threats, false imprisonment and interfering with a 911 call.
• Hassan Hussein, 36 of Inver Grove Heights, was arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment and aiding and abetting an offender.

All three were being held in the Dakota County jail Thursday evening.

A state legislator will face off against a former one for a seat on the Dakota County Board of Commissioners.

A pool of six candidates vying to represent District 3 on the board was cut down to two on Tuesday. Laurie Halverson had the most votes, with 47 percent in the unofficial results. Halverson is a DFL state representative from Eagan who is opting to retire from the Capitol to seek the County Board seat. She will likely face off with former state Rep. Diane Anderson, who served as a Republican in the Legislature. Anderson got 18 percent of the vote.

Other candidates include Seema Maddali, who received 12 percent of the vote; Scott D. Johnson, who received 8 percent; Janine Hudson, who got 5 percent; and Gary Huusko, who got 7 percent.

The district represents Lilydale, Mendota, Mendota Heights and portions of Eagan. The eventual winner will replace Tom Egan, who opted not to seek a fifth term on the County Board.

The results of Tuesday’s primary are unofficial as votes were still being counted. Dakota County officials must count mail-in ballots that arrive as late as Thursday under safety rules imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

HASTINGS

Current Hastings City Council Member Joe Balsanek will likely face Jen Fox on the November ballot. He received 31 percent of the vote. Fox, who owns the Spiral Brewery in Hastings, got 61 percent of the vote.

Also running Tuesday was Philip Beirmaier, who got 7 percent of the vote in unofficial results, with both of two precincts reporting.

INVER GROVE HEIGHTS

In a close Inver Grove Heights mayoral primary, Tom Bartholomew came in as the top vote-getter with 41.3 percent of the vote. He will likely face Brenda Dietrich, who received 41.1 percent of the vote in the unofficial results Tuesday. Both candidates are current City Council members, but only Bartholomew’s term expires this December.

Inver Grove Heights Planning Commissioner Jonathan Weber got 11 percent of the vote, and Greg Grover got 7 percent.

The field of eight candidates running for two seats on the City Council was narrowed to four. The top vote-getters were Kara Perry and Annette Maggi, who each received 19.7 percent of the vote. The other candidates on the November ballot will likely be Susan Gliva and John K Murphy, who got 18 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

Four other candidates split the remaining votes. Rachelle McCord and Kurt Rechtzigel each garnered 6 percent of the vote, Jarid Friese got 9 percent, and Brian Barner received 5 percent.

WEST ST. PAUL

Current Mayor Dave Napier will likely face off against Kimetha (KaeJae) Johnson in November in an effort to keep his seat. He was the top vote getter Tuesday with 62 percent of the vote. Johnson, a community and labor organizer, garnered 31 percent of the vote in unofficial results, with all of six precincts reporting.

The other candidates running were Jonathan Diamond, who received 3 percent of votes, and Jeramie Torkelson, who had 2 percent. Torkelson’s name appeared on the ballot, though he reportedly dropped out of the race earlier.

An Inver Grove Heights woman is being charged in connection with a robbery that led to a man being critically injured.

Marissa Brittney Walker, 29, is charged with first-degree assault and aggravated robbery, according to the criminal complaint filed Thursday in Ramsey County District Court.

Officers responded to the 1700 block of Thomas Avenue in St. Paul on July 28 on reports of a shooting, according to the criminal complaint. There, they found a 22-year-old with a gunshot wound. The man was taken to Regions Hospital where he underwent surgery for a life-threatening injury, the charges said. He later recovered and was released from the hospital.

Officers recovered an empty .40 caliber casing from the scene, the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Walker arrived at the address in a gray Pontiac to purchase marijuana. Walker got out of the vehicle and then two masked men with handguns approached the 22-year-old and two others who were there and yelled that it was a robbery, according to the complaint. One of the masked men then shot the 22-year-old.

The men also took $60, a small amount of drugs and an iPhone 11, and Walker drove them way in the vehicle, the complaint said. The man who was shot identified Walker in a photo line-up, according to the complaint.

The two others that were there with the man during the incident said they had known Walker for years, and that she had arranged to buy marijuana from one of them, the complaint said.

On Aug. 26, officers found Walker and stopped her driving near County Road E and Willow Lake Boulevard in Vadnais Heights. A passenger was in the vehicle with her, the complaint said.

Walker got out of the vehicle and officers located IDs with Walkers name on them, numerous small bags of drugs and .40 caliber handgun with five rounds of ammunition, according to the complaint.

Walker has a previous felony terroristic threats conviction that forbids her to possess firearms or ammunition.

Dakota County is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the historic Rock Island Swing Bridge on Saturday as part of the “Inver Grove Heights Days” festival.

The bridge once spanned the Mississippi River from Inver Grove Heights to St. Paul, linking Dakota and Washington counties. It has been repurposed as a recreational pier.

Bicyclists participating in the “Bike the Bridges” event will depart from Swing Bridge Park at 3 p.m. and follow the Mississippi River Greenway to the Wakota Bridge in South St. Paul.

“While most civic celebrations succumbed to COVID and canceled, the organizers of IGH Days got creative, figuring out new events and approaches,” Dakota County Commissioner Joe Atkins said on Twitter.

Along with the citywide garage sale, the pickle ball tourney and a house decorating contest, the festival will feature the bridge and its long history with the county.

The bridge was completed in 1895 and opened first to wagons and trains, providing a connection between stockyards in South St. Paul and main rail lines across the river. Its unusual double-decker design later served motor vehicles on the lower deck while trains rumbled across on the upper deck.

As local legend goes, the bridge served as an escape route for John Dillinger as the Depression-era bank robber eluded the FBI.

The bridge closed to rail traffic in 1980 and closed to vehicle traffic in 1999. In 2008, a 200-foot segment of the eastern span of the bridge collapsed into the riverbank and the remaining bridge spans were scheduled for demolition. State legislation in 2009 spared the western section and in 2010, it was turned into a recreational pier and city park.

In 2015, Dakota County opened the Swing Bridge Trailhead, providing another point of access to the Mississippi River Greenway.

Participants at the festival must follow COVID-19 safety precautions.

INVER GROVE HEIGHTS MAYOR

Tom Bartholomew

• Age: 65

• What qualifies you to hold this position? I am a 37 year resident of Inver Grove Heights with 42 years in finance, operations, business development and quality assurance. As a past member and chairperson of the Inver Grove Heights Planning Commission for 9 years 5 as chair I have a historical understanding of the city. Served Last 8 years on Council.
• What would your top priorities be if elected? Top priorities facing the City will be complicated by the Covid Pandemic. Priorities are full funding of Public safety, infrastructure, streets, utilities, promotion of commerce and open space. A balanced approach to spending most aimed for these priorities. All stakeholders must have a voice in the direction and approach to be successful.
• What do you think is the primary role of government? Public safety, infrastructure, streets, utilities, promotion of sustainable growth through commerce and residential growth. A valued use of all public resources tax dollars and revenue. As a fiscal conservative, I will continually seek efficiencies, new technologies and a common-sense approach to the spending of our tax dollars.
• How would you rate Minnesota’s response to the coronavirus? What would you do differently? In general I would rate it as a good response. I see the problem as very fluid and demanding constant review of approach to the problem. More attention to public education and reliable information is needed. Our City has made a strong response including increased resources for public safety, fire and medical response. All agencies can improve.
• Website or contact: Follow on Facebook @ElectTomBartholomew

Brenda Dietrich

• Age: 50

• What qualifies you to hold this position? I have been fortunate to have had great leaders around me, mentors in the community, business owners and local & state leaders. I learned to be a good listener, to ask questions & hear the things that are not spoken. I am a local business owner, City Council member, High school mentor & past Chairman of the board at the Chamber of Commerce.
• What would your top priorities be if elected? Improved communication between residents, business owners and city leaders, a sustainable plan with resident input on pavement management, bringing and expanding business to empty storefronts by improved process at the city level.
• What do you think is the primary role of government? The primary roles of Government are to protect residents’ natural rights, provide a safe community and manage infrastructure and economic prosperity.
• How would you rate Minnesota’s response to the coronavirus? What would you do differently? I think the states need to align with and collaborate with legislation at the federal level so as to not pit state against state. Having a plan that follows the directive but can be tailored to the rural as well as inner-city needs.
• Website or contact: brendadietrich4mayor@gmail.com

INVER GROVE HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL

Susan Gliva

• Age: 54

• What qualifies you to hold this position? As a 30-year resident and active community member, I recently served on the IGH Schools Board of Education focusing on Finance, Policy, and Personnel committees. I’m an owner in an IGH small business and a River Heights Chamber member. I have a CPA license with 25+ years in various finance/accounting roles for both large & small business.
• What would your top priorities be if elected? Smart, intentional, business development across the city. Consistent/timely street repair and proactive maintenance plans for infrastructure to avoid future costly surprises. Promote fiscal responsibility by providing a fresh look at the City’s budget to explore areas for potential savings while prioritizing appropriate funding for public safety.
• What do you think is the primary role of government? The role of City government is to serve the needs of the residents by maintaining the city’s streets and infrastructure, facilities, and parks. Equally as important is providing police and fire protection, promoting economic development, and attending to housing needs.
• How would you rate Minnesota’s response to the coronavirus? What would you do differently? Understandably MN went into full lockdown to “flatten the curve” to prevent the overrun of hospitals. Now that the situation appears more manageable with hospitals having appropriate capacity and with safety measures in place, at a minimum we need to allow businesses to operate at an even higher capacity now & working towards being fully open.
• Website or contact: https://www.facebook.com/SueGforIGH

Annette Maggi

• Age: 55

• What qualifies you to hold this position? I am a 22-year resident of IGH and am a member of the Planning Commission. I’ve been on Planning Commission for 8 years; the past 4 as the first female Chair. In this role, I’ve learned how to balance decisions between the vision for the city and residents’ interests, experience that will be valuable as a City Councilor.
• What would your top priorities be if elected?  My top 4 priorities as a City Councilor will be proactive citizen engagement, fiscal responsibility, housing for all and development of strong commercial centers, including the Cahill corridor, waterfront economy, and attraction of new businesses. We must accelerate pavement management projects and responsibly develop open land within the city.
• What do you think is the primary role of government? The primary role of government is to create an infrastructure where all individuals can live, work, and play safely and healthfully. Creation of this environment is only possible when government is responsive to citizens’ needs.
• How would you rate Minnesota’s response to the coronavirus? What would you do differently? I am proud of the response, open communication, and strong leadership from the Governor down to IGH city officials during the pandemic. The “dials” visual communicated the current science and a gradual approach to reopening. From start to finish, the health and safety of the people of Minnesota has been the priority, an approach I support.
• Website or contact: https://www.facebook.com/annette4igh

John K. Murphy

• Age: 56
• What qualifies you to hold this position? I am a current member and past president of the WSP-Mendota Hts. Rotary Club, a member of the River Heights Chamber, a past member of the YMCA Advisory Board, and served as a Guardian Ad Litem in Dakota County. I am a 1982 graduate of Simley High School, I have a Bachelor of Arts degree and I enjoyed coaching little league for 10 years in IGH.

• What would your top priorities be if elected? I would advocate for responsive and transparent government, parks and trails with convenient access for our residents, vibrant business centers balanced with diverse housing, and a long-term approach to fiscal responsibility.
• What do you think is the primary role of government? I believe the primary role government, at any level, is to represent the best interest of the communities they serve. We are after all a republic. This representation, this work, should start with ensuring safe, clean communities.
• How would you rate Minnesota’s response to the coronavirus? What would you do differently? I believe our response to date has worked. I also believe we should continue the process of opening at 100% capacity, continue to encourage local spending and allow businesses to temporarily adapt their business model during the Covid-19 crisis.
• Website or contact: Facebook: John K Murphy or @votemurphy

Kara Perry

• Age: 40

• What qualifies you to hold this position? I have lived in Inver Grove Heights for 15 years. I have been involved in many different things within the community from being on my HOA Board, PTA at the kids schools, and am a current Inver Grove Heights Council Member. I volunteer when I can and also go to as many events within the city so that I can interact with residents as much as possible.
• What would your top priorities be if elected?  My Top priorities are to work on the PMP (Pavement Management Plan) and continue to find ways to fund doing more road projects in our city. To work on getting parks in the Northwest Area which were promised to those residents long before I was originally elected to council. Work to bring in new businesses and more diverse housing in the city.
• What do you think is the primary role of government? The Primary role of local government is to work collaboratively with goals in mind to do what is best for our city as a whole. It means engaging with residents, developers, staff, and anyone who might have ideas on projects for our city. Then determining which ideas will work, which might not, or might fit better elsewhere within IGH.
• How would you rate Minnesota’s response to the coronavirus? What would you do differently? My Rating of MN’s COVID response was favorable in the beginning and not so much now as we are 6 months in. I can only speculate on what I would do differently without all of the data that the state has but I think we closed down to flatten the curve and it worked. It’s time to move that dial farther up the line on the Gov’s meter.
• Website or contact: https://www.facebook.com/KaraPerryIGHCityCouncil/

Georgia May Adkins of Inver Grove Heights died of a stroke Sept. 28 at United Hospital in St. Paul. She was 93.

Her obituaries published in the Pioneer Press included details of how she wanted to be cremated and then honored with an Oct. 16 service at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in West St. Paul under COVID-19 protocols.

Adkins also had one other request: shun Donald Trump. “In lieu of flowers, Georgia preferred that you do not vote for Trump,” the obit read.

Her Oct. 11 obit has now gone viral on social media, with thousands of people sharing it on Facebook — and causing supporters of both presidential candidates to comment that they will either honor her plea or reject it.

“We got you covered Georgia!” read one Facebook comment.

“What a peach!” another commenter wrote.

On Reddit, Adkins was called a “wise, wonderful woman” by one user and a nasty name by another, who added “Just shows you that while in death taxes may end (at some point), politics don’t.”

Her Legacy.com page is full of tributes from acquaintances and strangers alike from New York, Tennessee, Iowa and elsewhere.

In lieu of flowers… from minnesota

A more complete Oct. 4 obituary highlighted Adkins’ full life. She was born in St. Paul and graduated from Johnson High School. She worked as a linotypist for 32 years at West Publishing Co.

In her later years, Adkins was a Sunday brunch regular at Downtowner Woodfire Grill in St. Paul and a resident of Timber Hills Senior Independent Living Apartments in Inver Grove Heights.

Adkins was also an ardent contributor to the Pioneer Press’ Bulletin Board page who went under the name, “ET’s Wife.” In August 2015, she shared a story about hummingbirds and what they can symbolize.

“I recently celebrated my #@#$% birthday (Much Older Than Dirt),” she wrote, “and among my cards was this great story about hummingbirds; I thought it would be appreciated by BBers, after the many entries I have seen lately: ‘Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration. The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation.’”

Adkins was preceded in death by her husband, Eldon Thomas Adkins, and her first husband, Edward Donald Wille, as well as a sister, son, daughter and stepdaughter. She is survived by three daughters, a son, two step-daughters, 17 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

A call for comment made to the family Tuesday was not returned.

On Facebook, a grandchild, Amber Westman, joined in on one of the conversations and said that her grandmother was “fierce everyday and remains so through her legacy!”

“I appreciate all the lovely things being said about her and will make sure to share this with the whole family!” Westman wrote.

Authorities are investigating a townhouse fire Sunday that killed a person in Inver Grove Heights.

Firefighters were called to the home on Conroy Trail south of 75th Street around 8:50 p.m. Sunday and saw heavy fire and smoke inside a unit. Early reports were that someone could be inside, Inver Grove Heights Fire Chief Judy Smith Thill said in a statement Monday.

Firefighters knocked down the fire and then found a person dead inside the home, Thill said.

Identifying information about the victim has not been released.

Fire damage was contained to the one unit, and no one else was hurt, Thill said.

The state Fire Marshal’s Office and Inver Grove Heights Fire Department are investigating the cause of the fire.

The Inver Grove Heights townhouse where a resident was found dead after a fire Sunday night was not equipped with sprinklers, the city’s fire chief said Tuesday.

The resident, identified Tuesday as 64-year-old Timothy Wagner, was found in the home on Conroy Trail south of 75th Street shortly after firefighters arrived and knocked down flames in order to get inside, Fire Chief Judy Thill said.

The six-unit townhouse was built in the 1970s before the state began requiring sprinklers for new construction, Thill said.

“If there would have been sprinklers, then obviously the fire would not have spread as it did,” she said. “We don’t know yet what killed him, but he would have had a higher chance to survive.”

An autopsy has not yet been performed on Wagner’s body.

Fire damage was contained to the one unit, and no one else was hurt.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Rakyia Kennedy-Marshall finally feels a sense of relief for the first time in three years.

Times have been tough for the 36-year-old, her husband, Marcello, and their children. The family became homeless in October 2017 and has stayed wherever they could land on any given night — in a car, a music recording studio and more recently at temporary shelters in Dakota County.

This past spring, Marcello was laid off from his job because of the pandemic. Six months ago, the couple welcomed their fourth daughter while staying at the Dakota Woodlands shelter in Eagan.

“It’s been very, very hard for us,” Rakyia said.

Then the family got the break they needed. On Oct. 1, they became the first residents of Cahill Place, a new 40-unit apartment building in Inver Grove Heights that’s unique to the county because it provides permanent supportive housing for families who are experiencing homelessness.

And its opening could not have come at a better time, according to county officials who say the COVID-19 pandemic has brought on an increase in homelessness.

Last week, Cahill Place housed eight families, and another two are to move in this week. By January, the building should be at capacity with up to 200 people living in its two- and three-room apartments. Rent for families will be covered through a combination of a third of their monthly income and Section 8 vouchers.

Cahill Place is a partnership between Duluth-based Center City Housing Corp., which owns the building and provides the supportive services; River Heights Vineyard Church, which sold land to Center City at 75 percent of the appraised value; and several governmental and nonprofit agencies.

Construction and project financing for the $13 million apartment building — located on Cahill Avenue north of 78th Street — came from the Dakota County Community Development Agency, Minnesota Housing, Minnesota Equity Fund and the Metropolitan Council.

Dakota County Social Services will pay for the 24-hour on-site support services, which are estimated to total $650,000 annually for residents.

Supportive housing developments like Cahill Place are the single greatest housing resource need for families experiencing homelessness in Dakota County, said Evan Henspeter, social services director.

“Services include things like on-site child care and early childhood learning experiences, job search assistance, connection to case management and a whole range of support that is really intended to help families not just find stability in their new home, but also to thrive,” he said.

ADDRESSING A GROWING PROBLEM

Dakota County is seeing a steady increase in people experiencing homelessness since the start of the pandemic.

In the first quarter of 2020, the county’s street outreach team had contacts with 296 people living outside. In quarter three — July, August and September — the number rose 83 percent, to 459.

“That’s a big uptick, and that’s a concern,” said Madeline Kastler, the county’s deputy director of housing and community resources. “In addition, we’ve seen a parallel increase in the number of families requesting to get onto our family shelter wait list.”

Kastler said the pandemic-induced homelessness can be blamed largely on the competitive housing market, which has resulted in a shortage in vacant apartment units, and a decrease in shelter capacity across the metro area as congregate shelters have had to reduce the number of people they help for safety reasons.

Emergency shelter is an extremely important resource to get people off the streets, Kastler said. During the winters of 2017 through 2019, the county worked with a group of four churches that hosted 24-hour temporary shelters on a rotating schedule.

But in April the county transitioned to a hotel-based shelter due to safety concerns of the congregate shelter approach during a public health emergency. The county now has 104 hotel rooms throughout Dakota County that serve as temporary shelter space.

The county will use its $1.6 million in CARES Act funds to pay for the hotel rooms and connect them with additional help such as mental health and chemical dependency services. When that federal coronavirus relief funding expires Dec. 1, the county plans to use a combination of levy dollars, federal COVID-19 response dollars and state grant money with the goal of getting through 2021.

Eviction prevention is a big piece of the housing continuum puzzle, Kastler said. Due to the economic impacts of COVID-19, she said, there is a significant risk of housing loss when the statewide and federal eviction moratoriums expire.

So in late July, in order to help people stay in their housing, the county started a program and with county and state CARES Act funding to make more than 500 rent and utility payments — totaling $850,000 — for people in need.

“Eviction prevention services are the cheapest and least traumatic part of our homeless response system and one that we are putting a tremendous amount of emphasis on right now,” Kastler said.

CHANGING THE WORLD

The idea for Cahill Place first came to Peter Benedict, a pastor at River Heights Vineyard Church, five years ago while he was on a run on church property.

“I felt like God said, ‘You could use this land to serve the community and change the world.’ So I brought it up with our council, staff and volunteers, and everybody loved the idea of trying to figure out a way where we could sell it,” Benedict said. “We’re not in the business of making money; we’re in the business of serving.”

Benedict reached out to the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing and told them River Heights would like to sell three acres at below value to someone who would carry out the church’s mission of serving the community. MICAH connected Benedict with Center City Housing Corp., which was already in discussions with Dakota County on creating a place that would offer permanent supportive housing for families.

Standing in the lobby of Cahill Place this past Wednesday, Benedict said he nearly cried a few times earlier in the day during a virtual grand opening of the apartment building.

“And I’m not a crier,” he said, “but it feels pretty amazing. It’s tremendous to be here and see the lights on and people moving in.”

People like Rakyia Kennedy-Marshall, who said she is “so thankful and appreciative” that she now has a stable home for her family and that they can take advantage of everything that Cahill Place has to offer.

“This next journal of my life being at Cahill is going to be so much better because we have the workers on site, we have the daycare on site and the girls can play on site,” she said. “It’s just all this help that I’m going to take advantage of.

“I’m trying to be a better me. I just don’t want to look at the place. I want to feel like the place — new, too.”