Stay updated with breaking news from Brian Lipschultz. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Around the Twin Cities, executives and board members at for-profit and nonprofits alike for years marveled and muttered over the audacious makeover of one of Minnesota's largest charities.
Junior Achievement North recently decided to return a $1.2 million grant from Otto Bremer Trust after being asked to support trustees in their legal battle with the state and Bremer Financial.
BMO Harris made a non-binding offer for Bremer in August 2019. Trustees also discussed a possible sale with Old National Bank and Huntington Bancshares.
In opening salvos, state attorneys say Bremer trustees put themselves over the charity they lead. Their attorney says their attempt to sell Bremer Financial to benefit the charity is "reasonable."
The decision to remove Otto Bremer Trust trustees Brian Lipschultz and Daniel Reardon follows months of legal fighting over the fate of the Bremer Financial Corp. and its major asset, St. Paul-based Bremer Bank, a $13 billion financial institution and one of Minnesota’s largest farm lenders.