MANKATO, Minn. — A wrongful death suit alleges the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources failed to warn visitors about landslide risks at Minneopa State Park before a 19-year-old’s death in 2023.
Filed on behalf of the family of Jack Robert Loso, a Robbinsdale teen who was attending Minnesota State University at the time of the Dec. 2, 2023, landslide, the lawsuit seeks multiple monetary judgments in excess of $50,000. The suit was filed Wednesday in Blue Earth County District Court.
Minneopa State Park
A statement from the Storms Dworak law firm described Loso’s death as tragic and preventable.
“This was an easily preventable tragedy,” said Storms Dworak partner Jeffrey Storms, who filed the lawsuit along with Storms Dworak attorney Joseph Heegaard. “The State knowingly directed families like the Losos to a foreseeable and deadly danger without warning.”
The DNR provided a statement in response to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
“Our thoughts and condolences continue to be with the family and loved ones of Jack Loso following this tragic loss,” the statement read. “Given the active litigation, we cannot comment further at this time.”
The lawsuit accuses the DNR of directing and encouraging visitors to go beneath Minneopa Falls despite knowing there were landslide risks in the area. As evidence it includes:
• Overlaid slides from the U.S. Geological Survey showing high confidence levels in landslides at the falls
• A picture from the DNR website reportedly showing a September 2023 photo of a rockslide in the same area where Loso died
• Pictures of stairs and signs leading and pointing toward the falls
Loso was with his sister, Bailey Loso, and cousin, Mary Hart, at the time of the landslide. His relatives came to Mankato to visit him, and the three followed paths and signs to the falls before debris crushed Jack.
Count one of the lawsuit alleges the DNR had a duty to exercise care in managing and maintaining the lower falls area. By constructing and maintaining artificial features to encourage visitor access to the area, and not warning about known dangers, the lawsuit argues the DNR breached that duty.
The two women with Jack suffered significant emotional distress as a result of witnessing the incident, according to count two in the lawsuit.
“Minnesotans should be able to enjoy the outdoors without the fear of being led into a known hazard,” Heegaard stated in the release. “When the State is aware of such dangerous conditions, folks trust that the State will not actively guide them into harm’s way. Here, that trust was betrayed.”
Requests for relief in the lawsuit include in excess of $50,000 for Loso’s sister and cousin, along with the same request for Jack’s next of kin, his mother Patricia Loso.
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