After more than eight years, and countless delays, a Rice County jury convicted Paul Scott Seeman, of Cannon City Township, yesterday, of 29 felonies, including 19 counts of receiving stolen property and one count of racketeering for running a business in which he would steal property and then resell it.
The jury found Seeman guilty of buying junk vehicles, transferring their VIN number plates onto stolen vehicles and then selling the stolen vehicles.
This case has been delayed for several reasons. Seeman has changed lawyers several times over the years, and filed a litany of appeals seeking, among other things, a change of venue, looking to have the charges dropped, and one to disqualify the judge.
Of the guilty counts, the Racketeering count is the most serious. That verdict alone could result in a sentence of eight-12 years in prison.
“It has been a long road and Mr. Seeman has done his best to delay justice, but he could not stop it,” said Rice County Attorney John Fossum. “We will be seeking the maximum sentence available under the guidelines.”
All told, Seeman has previously been convicted of four prior felonies, including one for cattle rustling in 2016. After these 29 felonies, Seeman still faces three more felony charges, one each in Rice, and Dakota counties, and one in Steele County where he will be tried for assault.
Following the verdict, Judge Christine Long revoked Seeman’s bail and ordered he be held until sentencing, which is set for May 18.
City considering options, public engagement, for 5th & Water Street Redevelopment
Last month the City of Northfield announced it had signed agreements to purchase the McGuire Building and the Northfield News Building
in Downtown Northfield, for the express intent of redeveloping the Northeast Corner of 5th and Water Streets. Yesterday Mayor Rhonda Pownell and Interim Director of Community Development Teresa Jensen said the form that redevelopment will take is still very much up in the air.
In vague terms, the city plans to demolish the McGuire Building, the Municipal Liquor Store, and assumedly the offices of Reese Winter accounting, with whom the city has a six-month negotiating option. The Municipal Liquor Store operations will be temporarily relocated to the Northfield News Building while the new construction takes place. A new liquor store space will be a part of that new construction, but the city would like to build a multi-use building on the site.
Outside of those plans, there are not many details yet. In fact, said Jensen, while the city waits to close on the two properties and negotiates for the third, there really are no plans, and the city will be asking the public for input throughout the design process.
“We’re really trying to get an idea of what might happen and who might be interested in helping us. And public engagement is gigantic in this process. There will be public engagement about what Northfielders feel should be in this space, and that will happen all along, I would expect.”
Another factor that will come into play in the process will be development of the Riverfront. Mayor Pownell has advocated throughout her tenure for more civic use of the Riverfront area, and she said not working that into this process would be a missed opportunity.
The plans are to close on the two properties in June and July. Jensen said there are tenants in the McGuire Building, most notably Ameriprise Financial, who will stay there until the city determines when it will be appropriate to vacate the building. Equipment such as coolers and shelving, along with inventory will have to be transferred to the Northfield News building before any demolition can take place. Jensen said, realistically, it will be 2024 before construction on a new facility will begin.
Sullivan to be new Activities Director, Knutson Technology Services Director
When former Northfield Head Football Coach Bubba Sullivan announced that he would be retiring from his coaching duties a year ago, he
said that he did not know what would come next, but he intended to keep working at the High School for several more years, and he was unsure if he would remain connected to football in a reduced role.
Earlier this week, the “reduced role” took clear shape, when it was announced that Sulivan will become the new Northfield High School Director of Student Activities on July 1st.
Sullivan is a Northfield High School graduate who became Head Football Coach and took an English teaching position in 1989. During his tenure, he has also coached track and field, hockey, and golf. Earlier this year, he was inducted into the Minnesota High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame.
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Matt Hillmann said Sullivan’s teaching and coaching philosophies will make him a perfect fit for his new role.
“I think Bubba is one of the icons of understanding that we run an educational based athletics and activities program. Our activities are designed to help students grow and become the adults and leaders and do big things for us in the coming years, and we all know that we’re going to need that. Bubba’s commitment to the development of the student first – that is the way that he is able to really help see kids achieve their dreams.”
Coach Sullivan will fill the role vacated by Joel Olson. It was announced earlier this month that Olson, a Faribault native, has accepted the Faribault High School principal position.
Hillmann also announced that Nate Knutson is the new Director of Technology Services.
Knutson has worked for the Northfield School District since 2004 as a technology specialist and as the district’s network manager since 2010. During that time, Hillmann said, he has played a significant role in every technology equipment implementation and upgrade that the district has undertaken.
As a component of the budget reduction process the district is currently undergoing, Knutson will be appointed to a position that combines his current responsibilities as Network Manager with the Director of Technology Services position, formerly held by Kim Briske. Briske accepted a new job with the Learning Network of Minnesota in March.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann can be heard here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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