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1)
St. Louis County charged Mary Luomanen with criminal sexual conduct on June 8, 2012.
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2)
St. Louis County Sheriff's Department report.
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3) Hennepin County officials became concerned when a child placed at Mesabi through Hennepin County's Social Services appeared in court in handcuffs. The issue raised concerns among county officials and judges over how Mesabi handles children placed in the facility. County officials also didn't know Mesabi, which is licensed by the Minnesota Department of Corrections,
allows the use of restraints on social services children. The issue prompted a
meeting and a
letter outlining Hennepin County's expectations that social service placements will not be allowed to be in restraints in Hennepin County buildings.
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4) APM Reports requested Mesabi Academy contracts from St. Louis County. The county supplied contracts between 2003 through 2015.
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5)
Mesabi Academy PREA Audit.
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6)
KidsPeace CEO William Isemann testimony in federal bankruptcy court.
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7) A detailed analysis of
Mesabi Academy's tax returns between 2002 and 2014 show the company lost $30 million during that time period. Source: Mesabi Academy 990 tax returns.
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8) KidsPeace CEO wrote a
letter to Buhl Mayor Ray Battaglia outlining the support for the Mesabi Academy project. Source: IRRRB.
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9) KidsPeace presented two business plans to the IRRRB when it was considering the proposal. The
first, dated Oct. 6, 1997, noted "Recent changes in the $30 billion At Risk Youth Industry are reflections of harsher societal attitudes regarding youth." Source: IRRRB.
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10) IRRRB Program Manager Phil Bakken
outlined the IRRRB incentive package it was putting forward to convince KidsPeace to renovate the Martin Hughes School in Buhl. Source: IRRRB.
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11) Two members, Rep. Irv Anderson, DFL-International Falls, and Sen. Don Samuelson, DFL-Brainerd, voted against giving two loans to KidsPeace to renovate the school. After the vote, DFL Sen. Jerry Janezich, DFL-Chisholm, quipped that funding for no other projects would pass until the KidsPeace project was approved.
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12) The IRRRB vote authorized the board to give KidsPeace a $500,000 direct loan that would be paid back through the city of Buhl. Another $500,000 forgivable loan was issued and based on hiring goals. The funding, along with $130,000 from St. Louis County and money from the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development, was used to do a $6 million renovation to convert the school into a correctional facility, licensed by the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
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13) Mesabi Academy had an annual lease of $5,000 with the city, did not pay $40,000 in property taxes in 2000 and pursued litigation to become tax exempt. At the time, the facility amounted to a quarter of Buhl's tax capacity. In 2002, Minnesota Tax Court Judge Raymond R. Krause agreed with KidsPeace and granted the company an exemption from property taxes. Records show that KidsPeace eventually entered into a separate lease agreement with the city of Buhl increasing the annual lease from $5,000 to $35,000. In 2001, a board member of Mesabi Academy's charter school raised concerns about the school's finances. The school briefly became private. In 2003, Mountain Iron-Buhl Public Schools took responsibility for providing education to the kids at Mesabi Academy.
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14) On Oct. 20, 2005, the IRRRB changed its loan terms with KidsPeace to forgive the final portion of the loan despite KidsPeace not meeting the hiring threshold. KidsPeace sought the loan forgiveness because they said the closing of a charter school linked to the school was a reason they didn't hit the hiring target.
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15)
Contract between Mesabi Academy and Minnesota Department of Corrections. Source: Minnesota Department of Corrections.
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16) Mesabi Academy's Karen Moller sent a
letter to the Minnesota Department of Corrections outlining changes to the facility. Source: Minnesota Department of Corrections.
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17) KidsPeace
filed for bankruptcy on May 21, 2013.
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18) Jim Oberstar wrote letters to two powerful committee chairs in 2001 requesting federal funds for Mesabi Academy. He
requested funds from the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary and the Subcommittee on VA, HUD and Independent Agencies. Source: James L. Oberstar Congressional Files, Minnesota Historical Society.
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19) Oberstar's legislative liaison, Kate Troy, wrote the
memo on Jan. 27, 2003. She raised concerns about several issues surrounding Mesabi Academy. Source: James L. Oberstar Congressional Files, Minnesota Historical Society.
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20) The Duluth News Tribune
wrote in 2007 that Oberstar secured
funding for Mesabi Academy.
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1) Jacob Torblaa's diagnosis, his actions in the facility and his drug regimen were documented in monthly case plans, which were provided to APM Reports by his mother.
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2) The St. Louis County sheriff's office received the call Jan. 24, 2015, from Mesabi Academy. In the
police report, APM Reports has blacked out the names of the employees named by Jacob Torblaa because they were not charged with a crime.
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3) Hennepin County
letter to Mesabi Academy Executive Director Paul Jacobson, 12/10/2015.
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4)
Dr. Juice USA.
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5)
Gregory Bambenek at IMDb.
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1) KidsPeace's training website for managers includes
this page regarding the reporting of incidents to authorities.
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2) On Dec. 9, 2015, Busche told KidsPeace executives in Pennsylvania that she decided to end the county's longstanding contract with Mesabi Academy. The move caught KidsPeace off guard and immediately put its Minnesota business in jeopardy. Within 30 minutes, KidsPeace lawyer Andrew Burke sent an
email to Busche asking for an explanation.
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3) Busche attached a
document in an email to county officials notifying them of her decision to end the home county contract with Mesabi Academy.
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4) Hennepin County Corrections Unit Supervisor Janine Wischnack sent an
email saying Mesabi Academy Executive Director Paul Jacobson called her to see if the county would be willing to take over the contract.
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5) "We appreciate your willingness to continue as our lead county," KidsPeace lawyer Andrew Burke wrote in an
email to assistant county attorney Ben Stromberg. Busche said she met privately with county commissioners and decided to renew the contract. She said commissioners expressed concerns that they weren't informed of the decision. "I did not feel pressure to reverse my decision," Busche said in an interview. "It became really clear to me that this had gotten more complicated and more political but ultimately it was my decision to renew the host county contract."
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6) In a
letter to a guardian of one of the boys, St. Louis County Child Protection notified guardians that a boy related to them "may have been sexually abused by having sexual contact with Mesabi Academy KidsPeace staff." The letter notes that the county did not determine maltreatment occurred. The boy's mother eventually appealed the determination.
