Garrison Keillor

Keillor saga deepens. The Star Tribune’s Jeffrey Meitrodt and Neal Justin report: “The person who first accused Garrison Keillor of inappropriate behavior wasn’t a woman — it was an angry man. … Dan Rowles, a close associate of Keillor’s and a 16-year employee of ‘A Prairie Home Companion,’ spoke up after he was dumped from the show last summer and rejected a severance offer from Minnesota Public Radio, according to seven people who have worked on the show. … Rowles’ disclosure triggered internal and external investigations by MPR that concluded Keillor had engaged in ‘dozens of sexually inappropriate incidents … over a period of years,’ including ‘unwanted sexual touching,’ according to MPR.”

Policy change for the St. Paul police. MPR’s Matt Sepic reports: “The St. Paul Police Department is overhauling its use-of-force guidelines using a new framework that spells out how officers should react to potentially violent suspects, and includes much more detail than the old policy. Before the department implements the policy, Chief Todd Axtell is gathering public input in a series of meetings this month. … At the first meeting on the east side of St. Paul, Sgt. Troy Greene, who trains rookies at the St. Paul Police Academy, told a small audience that officers in the city rarely do anything any more aggressive than handcuff a person. ”

Details emerge on new St. Paul teacher contract. The Pioneer Press’ Josh Verges reports: “Members of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers gave up some of their salary increases and accepted larger class sizes in exchange for dozens of new hires in special education and English language instruction, according to contract agreement details made public Thursday. … Laurin Cathey, the district’s human resources director and lead negotiator, said the teacher agreement stayed within the two-year, $4.1 million budget the district had set last fall. That amount would have been enough to raise teacher pay by 1 percent this school year and next. … However, to help pay for other priorities, union negotiators agreed to make their first 1 percent increase effective Jan. 6 instead of the start of the current school year, Cathey said.”

Uh oh. The Star Tribune’s James Walsh and Kelly Wakefield report: “St. Paul’s newly appointed city attorney is suing state Rep. John Lesch, claiming that he defamed her in a letter he wrote to Mayor Melvin Carter questioning the selection process for the job and Olson’s professional reputation. … In a lawsuit filed Friday in Ramsey County District Court, City Attorney Lyndsey Olson alleges that, soon after Carter announced in December that he was appointing her to the job, the mayor-elect received a letter marked confidential from Lesch, a DFL representative from St. Paul.”

In other news…

Be careful out there: “‘He was to the point of giving up.’ Behind the numbers, trends emerge in MN ice fatalities” [Brainerd Dispatch]

Good to see wealthy fans will be able to have a good time: “Minnesota United unveils first seating plans for new Allianz Field stadium” [Star Tribune]

Cool: “Herbivorous Butcher is bringing a vegan food truck to Minneapolis-St. Paul streets” [City Pages]

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2 Comments

  1. Revenge is Bitter?

    Now what happens if it turns out the accusations were all about getting revenge on Keillor?

    1. What About it?

      Does that make the findings of the MPR investigation any less correct?

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