MPR outlines allegations against Keillor

MPR’s Lara Yuen, Matt Sepic and Euan Kerr write: “An investigation by MPR News … has learned of a years-long pattern of behavior that left several women who worked for Keillor feeling mistreated, sexualized or belittled. None of those incidents figure in the ‘inappropriate behavior’ cited by MPR when it severed business ties. … The revelations create a portrait of Keillor more complicated than that of the folksy, avuncular storyteller whose brand of humor appealed to millions of listeners. They suggest a star who seemed heedless of the power imbalance that gave him an advantage in his relationships with younger women. They also raise questions about whether the company knew enough — or should have known enough — to stop the behavior of the personality who drove much of its success.”

From Constance Grady at Vox:  “To critics of the #MeToo movement who fear that we are in the midst of a witch hunt and that blameless men are being publicly destroyed, Keillor’s story became exhibit A. … But in MPR’s letter to its members, reproduced by Ryan on Twitter, the allegations against Keillor look very different. … MPR says it never received a complaint about Keillor accidentally touching a woman’s bare back — but it does say that one of its two complainants reported receiving unwanted sexual touches and written sexual messages from Keillor over a period of years; so many, in fact, that her written complaint contained 12 pages of documentation.”

For The New York Times, Maya Salam writes, “[MPR] also said that its lawyers tried multiple times to access Mr. Keillor’s computer, emails and text messages to aid in the investigation, but were unable to do so. ‘To date, all requests to review Garrison’s emails and texts related to this matter have been refused by Garrison or his attorneys,’ Mr. McTaggart said. Mr. Keillor, 75, in a statement emailed to The New York Times late Tuesday, painted a far different picture of the allegations and MPR’s investigation of them. He said that MPR’s letter to listeners ‘was in response to a blizzard of anger, all of it richly deserved, after MPR expunged shows that people loved.’”

You think? The Pipress’ Josh Verges reports that the St. Paul district has apologized for failing to call off classes Monday. “‘Knowing what I know now … we definitely would have made a different decision,’ St. Paul schools superintendent Joe Gothard said. … All told, more than 300 St. Paul students, from preschool to eighth grade, were stuck at school or on buses after 10 p.m. Monday, Burr said. The last didn’t arrive home till five minutes after midnight. An additional 50 to 75 special-needs students got home as late at 10 p.m.”

What this cold, snowy world needs now. City Pages’ Jerard Fagerberg reports, “At 949 E. Hennepin Ave. in northeast Minneapolis, there hangs a spray-painted drop cloth advertising Minnesota-made beer, wine, and spirits. No, it’s not an enterprising moonshiner’s take on the lemonade stand. The bootstrapped advertising belongs to Ombibulous, the Twin Cities’ first Minnesota-only liquor store. … Ombibulous caters to those drinkers who walk in a liquor store and make a beeline for the “Minnesota Made” section of the cooler, selling only libations brewed in the North Star State.”

Eighth District congressional candidate Leah Phifer gets some attention from Amanda Terkel at The Huffington Post. “An employee with the Department of Homeland Security, Phifer had second thoughts about her dream of pursuing a career in public service. She was in the process of buying her first house when the [2013] shutdown hit, and she didn’t know how long it would continue ― and when she would finally get paid again. She had to retract her mortgage application and lost the house that she really wanted. … ‘I firmly believe that I wouldn’t be running right now if it had gone a different way. If Hillary Clinton had been elected president, I would still be with the FBI,’ she added. ‘But I feel so strongly that the policies that President Trump is pushing, like travel bans and border walls, are not what keeps us safe.’”

You knew this was coming. Ross Raihala from the PiPress reports: “Nomadic Entertainment Group filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday alleging that Mystic Lake Casino canceled a planned temporary concert venue for the Super Bowl without notice after the company spent $2.4 million building the structure. The New York-based, NFL-affiliated promotion company is spending another $1 million to tear down the 65,000-square-foot nightclub in the casino’s parking lot and is also looking for a share of the casino’s revenues from the concerts as well as a declaratory judgment that extinguishes Nomadic’s liability for a $5 million performance bond tied to the project.”

A very strange story. KMSP-TV has this: “Washington County opened its trial against Stephen Allwine Monday, a case with a plot stripped from the pages of a murder mystery—sex, lies, murder and a hit-man for hire. A criminal complaint from January 2017 details an unsuccessful attempt by the 44-year-old to hire a hitman to kill his wife, Amy Allwine, alleging that as the plan unraveled he personally carried out the act by shooting her and staging it as a suicide. Prosecutors are now alleging that Allwine, a deeply religious man who served as a deacon and church elder, had at least three affairs with women he met on the website Ashley Madison that served as the impetus to kill his wife.” 

And a strange way to retire. The Pioneer Press’ Mike Berardino says: “Glen Perkins’ expected retirement after 12 big-league seasons went public in a most unexpected way Tuesday. Twins general manager Thad Levine, speaking Monday in St. Cloud on a Twins caravan stop, reportedly referenced the three-time all-star closer’s intention to stop playing while answering a question during a fan forum. According to 1390-AM Granite City Sports, which reported the news late Tuesday morning, Levine suggested the club would have interest in hiring Perkins, 34, in a front-office role down the road.”