The Strib’s Liz Navratil reports, “University of Minnesota regents on Monday decided to bring in an outside person — former Hormel CEO and DFL congressional candidate Jeff Ettinger — to serve as interim president. Regents who supported Ettinger’s selection said they believed the university would benefit from bringing in someone with a fresh perspective but also leaving some of its other senior leaders in place as the university prepares for a major transition this summer.”
For MPR Hannah Yang says, “A bear was euthanized after it was spotted wandering in a north Minneapolis neighborhood on Sunday, and it’s part of a larger trend of more bear sightings in the area, officials said. … Researchers are seeing more bear sightings around the metro area within the last 15 years. Andrew Tri, bear project leader for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources based in Grand Rapids, Minn., said that it’s hard to know exactly where the animals are traveling from, but there are more regular sightings in the northern part of the metro near Anoka, Washington and Chisago counties.”
Says Stribber Christopher Snowbeck, “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and North Memorial Health are unwinding their three-year-old partnership to jointly operate 25 clinics in the Twin Cities. Effective May 31, Robbinsdale-based North Memorial will regain a 49% ownership stake in the facilities, currently held by the parent company of Eagan-based Blue Cross. Financial terms were not disclosed.”
A KSTP-TV story says, “The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) said logs and other obstacles are being placed at ‘various locations’ to deter vehicles from driving through Folwell Park. A news release from the MPRB reminds people that driving through the park is illegal and unsafe. The obstacles are meant to be temporary in order to prevent people from doing so. Late Friday night, a suspect driving what appears to be a stolen car reportedly jumped the curb, drove across part of the green space, and abandoned the car shortly before police arrived. No one was hurt and no arrests were made, but there has been an uptick in cases like this recently at Folwell Park.”
For inforum.com Robin Huebner says, “A standout Minnesota high school athlete and rising star in mixed martial arts was killed in a two-vehicle crash on the Interstate 94 bridge that links Moorhead and Fargo. Fargo native Shalie Lipp, 21, raised in Breckenridge and Perham and most recently living in Fargo, died as a result of the crash in the eastbound lanes of the interstate, reported at about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 7.”
Bring Me the News’ Adam Uren reports, Minneapolis IT company Atomic Data has announced “with utter shock and grief” that its co-founder and co-owner Jim Wolford died on Friday. The company confirmed Wolford “passed away suddenly at his home,” with Wolford survived by his wife and two sons, ‘whom he loved above all else.'”
I just have to say; people die every day, and almost all of those deaths leave grief stricken friends and family behind. I don’t know why the media, reporters, whatever seem to think that the death of an athlete or sport related person of some kind is more tragic than any other deaths that happened that day? Nor do I see why a CEO’s sudden death rises to the level of note more so than anyone else?
You should remember that among those who read these pages on any given day, will be people who also lost someone yesterday, or the day before, and are not seeing their loss reported; nor are they recognizing the loss your reporting at more significant. My sympathies go out to anyone who’s dealing with such a loss, but I’m not sure how the media has classified itself as the arbiter of significance when deciding which deaths are significant enough to report, while others are invisible?
“I’m not sure how the media has classified itself as the arbiter of significance when deciding which deaths are significant enough to report, while others are invisible?”
I’m guessing that rather than putting all the names of recent deaths into a hat and drawing one for a feature story, our news organizations try to reflect the magnitude of news coverage generated by this person over the course of their life. Possibly soon to be demonstrated by Jimmy Carter coverage. Unless he emerges from hospice and builds a few more houses…
RIP Joe Kapp:
https://www.startribune.com/joe-kapp-vikings-quarterback-super-bowl-dies/600273444/
Jeff Ettinger seems a fine selection for this job. Let’s hope that he and the search committee are not wowed by another celebrity hire like Gabel. Hasselmo and Bruniks were the best of all recent Presidents and internal hires. That should be the preference.
Mr. Ettinger built an excellent civic reputation from the unlikely background of a former CEO in a town that survived a divisive labor action.
In the years that followed, he showed by his involvement his loyalties to the community and the betterment of Austin. His loss in his bid to represent the 1st Congressional district was to a conservative farmer whose goal was to go to DC and fix all the corruption– or something like that…
The chance to serve the public as temporary U of M prez will help his name recognition across the state. I hope he does a good job and MN voters get to know him.