A Ramsey County District Court judge has ordered the city of St. Paul to pay $30,000 in exemplary damages to an opponent of a long-planned bikeway along Summit Avenue.

Robert Cattanach, a prominent attorney and resident of Summit Avenue, filed suit against the city in March 2023, alleging violations of the state Data Practices Act after making a series of information requests for internal emails and studies, which he maintained were only partially fulfilled.

Judge Patrick Diamond ruled in favor of Cattanach last July, resolving most issues in the case except for the size of damages. Diamond noted that the city could be forced to pay between $1,000 and $15,000 per violation for up to 14 violations of the Data Practices Act.

A five-day trial had been scheduled for June 23 to June 27. Instead, both sides agreed to “avoid a protracted trial on a limited issue,” while reserving their rights to appeal “all other issues,” wrote Judge Stacy Deery Stennes, who entered the judgment on June 3 holding the city liable for $30,000, as well as $750 in court costs.

— Frederick Melo

Veterans offered help at Thursday event

Local veterans can learn more about benefits and health care options at a Veterans Resource Fair and Claims Clinic on Thursday.

The event, held by the Department of Veteran Affairs and the Ramsey County Veterans Service Offices, will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at the Rondo Community Library, 461 N. Dale St., in St. Paul.

Veterans can speak to representatives from the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, St. Paul Veterans Benefits Administration Regional Office and the Ramsey County Veterans Service.

In addition, veterans can work with Veterans Affairs claim processors on disability compensation claims and benefit questions.

Walk-ins are welcome but appointments can also be made online at va.gov/minneapolis-health-care/events. Veterans are asked to bring a copy of their DD214 and any recent VA claim correspondence they may have.

Officials say there are nearly 20,000 veterans in Ramsey County. Officials say that 11,000 of them are not using benefits or health care they are entitled to have.

— Kristi Miller

2 campers found dead on Isle Royale N.P.

Two unidentified campers were found dead Sunday on Isle Royale National Park.

Park rangers received two reports at approximately 4 p.m. Sunday of two people dead at a backcountry campground on the Lake Superior island about 15 miles east of Grand Portage, Minn., the Michigan park said in a news release Tuesday morning.

Two rangers hiked 11 miles overnight, arriving Monday morning at the campground, where they confirmed the two people were dead.

The causes of death were unknown, the news release said.

Additional ground and aviation resources responded Monday. The deaths are under investigation.

Isle Royale National Park consists of Isle Royale and approximately 400 adjacent islands. It is accessible by ferry, floatplane and boat.

— Forum News Service

Satanic group sues state over religious bias

The Satanic Temple Iowa on Tuesday filed a complaint accusing state officials of discriminating against the group because of its members’ religion, having denied them access to the state Capitol building for a December holiday display and event.

The group’s holiday observances garnered national attention in 2023 after a Mississippi man destroyed their Iowa Statehouse display depicting the horned deity Baphomet, which was permitted in the rotunda along with a Christmas tree and other religious holiday installations.

The Satanic Temple Iowa’s application for a display and event in December 2024 was denied, a decision that the organization says violated its members’ constitutional rights and Iowa civil rights law.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement that state Capitol policies reflect the potential impact on children and families, given that they routinely visit the public building and spaces around it.

“This satanic event, which specifically targeted children, would have been harmful to minors and so it was denied,” Reynolds said.

A message seeking comment was left with the state’s Department of Administrative Services, which oversees the use of public space in the Iowa Capitol, and whose director, Adam Steen, is named on the complaint.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa filed the complaint with Iowa’s civil rights office Tuesday on behalf of Mortimer Adramelech, minister of Satan for the Iowa Satanic Temple congregation. Rita Bettis Austen, ACLU Iowa’s legal director, said the complaint with the civil rights office is the first step required before a legal claim of discrimination under Iowa civil rights law can be filed in court. The state’s ACLU chapter hopes the complaint will be enough for state officials to reverse course.

The ACLU of Iowa also filed a lawsuit in April after Reynolds’ office withheld or redacted requested records related to the Satanic Temple’s display and event, citing executive privilege.

Founded in 2013, the Salem, Mass.-based Satanic Temple says it doesn’t believe in Satan but describes itself as a “non-theistic religious organization” that advocates for secularism. It is separate from the Church of Satan, which was founded in the 1960s.

The complaint references a decision by Steen to deny the group’s application because obscene materials and gratuitous violence are not permitted in the building that regularly hosts children of all ages. Steen told the group the costumes they proposed for the event included sticks that could be “used as weapons on children” and “positions the event to be harmful to minors.”

The Satanic Temple alleges that was an “absurd, unfounded concern” used to justify the denial and that their application specified the event would be family friendly. The complaint cites open records that the organization says make it clear the governor’s office and Steen were meeting at the time to prepare a response.

“The simple truth is the State of Iowa does not want to allow Satanists to enjoy the same access to the Iowa State Capitol as other ‘mainstream’ religions, in particular Christianity, and in particular during the Christmas holiday season,” the complaint reads.

— Associated Press