Latest Minnesota Headlines

All the headlines from our Minnesota Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Minnesota Supreme Court to Hear University’s Appeal of $1M Award

Dec 26 2011 // The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to hear the University of Minnesota’s appeal of a $1 million civil verdict against the school and men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith over the hiring of an assistant...

Liquidation of Minnesota-Based Insurance and Trust Company Underway

Dec 14 2011 // Minnesota is in the process of liquidating an Austin, Minn.-based insurance and trust company that regulators say has a long history of financial problems, administrative incompetence, coercive and dishonest business...

Experts: Little Oversight of Science Class Labs in Minnesota

Dec 14 2011 // A recent science demonstration that went bad in a Maple Grove, Minn., middle school has drawn attention to the fact that there’s little official oversight of experiments in classroom labs.Four students were burned,...

Minnesota Workers’ Comp Insurer Joins Big ‘I’ Trusted Choice Program

Dec 6 2011 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) announced that Minnesota-based workers’ compensation insurer, SFM, is the newest member of the Trusted Choice consumer...

AIPSO Central Region Closing East Wacker Drive Office in Chicago

Dec 5 2011 // AIPSO, a management organization and service provider for various insurance industry groups responsible for administering the residual market, announced that the central region is closing its East Wacker Drive office in...

Business Moves

Dec 5 2011 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Trissel Graham & TooleItasca, Ill.-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Trissel Graham & Toole Inc., headquartered in Davenport, Iowa. With roots dating back to 1896,...

80% of Claims from May Tornado in Minneapolis Have Been Resolved

Nov 28 2011 // The Minnesota Department of Commerce has reported that insurance companies have resolved about 80 percent of the claims generated after a tornado swept through north Minneapolis in May.The agency said that policyholders...

Insurance Too Pricey for Anti-Wall Street Protesters in Duluth, Minnesota

Nov 23 2011 // Anti-Wall Street protesters ignored police orders to get a permit and limit their encampment to one tent in downtown Duluth, Minn. The protesters said the cost of insurance needed for the permit is too high.On Nov. 22...

Minnesota-based Medical Liability Insurer OK’d to Become a Mutual Company

Nov 16 2011 // Medical liability insurer MMIC Group Inc. (MMIC), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., has received final regulatory approval to change from a stock holding company to a mutual insurance holding company.The move...

Man Shot During Minnesota Drug Bust Gets $350K from County Insurance

Oct 14 2011 // Minnesota’s Stearns County’s insurance trust has paid $350,000 to a man who was shot in the back by a sheriff’s lieutenant during a drug bust.John Albert Sorensen had sued the county and now-retired Lt....

Business Moves

Oct 3 2011 // USI, First Place InsuranceNew York-based USI Insurance Services has acquired substantially all of the assets of First Place Insurance Agency Ltd. (First Place Insurance) of Youngstown, Ohio, from First Place Financial...

Supermarket Recalls Chicken Sold in Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin

Sep 23 2011 // Milwaukee, Wis.-based Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. is recalling about 360 pounds of breaded chicken breast that may have been undercooked.The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the products were sold after Sept. 13 at...

North Dakota, Minnesota Leaders Ask Obama for River Diversion Money

Sep 23 2011 // Members of Congress from both sides of the Red River in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota are asking President Barack Obama to include $30 million in his next budget for work on a river diversion project in...

Calmer Winds to Slow Growth of Minnesota Wildfire

Sep 15 2011 // Calmer winds were expected to slow the growth of a huge wildfire that has engulfed woodland in northeastern Minnesota and blanketed cities hundreds of miles away with a smoky haze, the U.S. Forest Service said.The blaze...

The Main Street America Group Adds New Minnesota Affiliate

Sep 13 2011 // The Main Street America Group announced that Minnesota-domiciled Spring Valley Mutual Insurance Co. has agreed to become an affiliate of super regional property/casualty insurance carrier Main Street America.Spring Valley...

Workers’ Comp Ombudsman Program Launched in Minnesota

Sep 8 2011 // The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) has established a new Office of Workers’ Compensation Ombudsman to provide advice and assistance to employees and small businesses.“Our goal is to help...

Minn. Supreme Court: No Dismissal in Negligence Case Against Agent

Sep 5 2011 // The Minnesota Supreme Court has refused to dismiss a lawsuit against an insurance agent over “negligent procurement of insurance coverage.”Robert M. Swendra of the Robert M. Swendra Agency Inc. representing...

Minnesota Seeks to Bolster Insurance Regulation with Commerce Dept. Changes

Sep 5 2011 // A reorganized Minnesota Department of Commerce includes a new Division of Insurance aimed at unifying and strengthening insurance regulation in that state.The Minnesota Division of Insurance houses the commerce...

Insurance Firm Owner Sentenced for Wire Fraud in Minnesota

Sep 1 2011 // A federal judge in Minneapolis has sentenced an insurance company’s owner to more than three years in prison for stealing nearly $2 million from two associations his firm served. Judge Joan Ericksen sentenced...

Element22 Insurance Services Names Langdon to Lead Minnesota Office

Sep 1 2011 // Element22 Insurance Services has hired Reggie Langdon to head its new office in Minnesota. Langdon has more than 20 years’ experience as a commercial underwriter/wholesale broker and territorial marketing. Langdon...