PARK RAPIDS, Minn. — A portion of 3M’s former corporate retreat in northern Minnesota has been sold for $4 million.

Billion Real Estate Holdings LLC of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, acquired 154.25 of 187.2 acres at 3M Wonewok, on Big Mantrap and Petit lakes north of Park Rapids, according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.

The $4 million deal closed on Nov. 13, according to the Journal. The title was recorded on Dec. 8, according to the Hubbard County Property Records Department. The county’s total estimated value of the four parcels and commercial buildings was $10,056,800.

Originally a 680-acre executive getaway, the property was first placed on the market in 2023.

The sale includes 15 primary buildings dispersed throughout the property, with a gross combined building area of 58,622 square feet. According to Colliers, where the property was listed, this includes 36 fully appointed guest rooms, six cottages and numerous activity facilities, such as a trap-shooting range, tennis courts, lodge, restaurant, driving range and putting green.

In February 2025, Minnesota Land Trust and Northern Waters Land Trust purchased 431 acres from 3M. The 16 parcels have been donated to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to create a new Mantrap Lake Wildlife Management Area.

3M, a Minnesota-based Fortune 500 company, relisted the remaining property in July 2025.

Related Articles

He left a smoldering campfire to buy fishing supplies, igniting the Camp House Fire

Letters: Rage rear-ended by hope in the middle of a St. Paul intersection

After helium discovery, hunt for Minnesota hydrogen ramps up

Minnesota county pays $3.25M to settle sisters’ civil rights suit

Duluth teen sentenced for randomly assaulting homeless man with rock

After missing practice this week with the Vikings preparing to play the New York Giants, star left tackle Christian Darrisaw has been placed on injured reserve. He is officially out for the season as a result.

It had been trending in this direction for Darrisaw as he’s been dealing with the lingering effects of a significant knee injury. He has missed games here and there while trying to navigate a recovery process that has extended longer than anybody saw coming.

Asked about Darrisaw earlier this week, head coach Kevin O’Connell said he doesn’t think this will be an issue long term. He added that they have tried to put together a plan to manage the ups and downs short term.

“I don’t think this is going to be anything that will be a part of his future,” O’Connell said. “I do think we’re going to be able to put this in the rear view mirror here.”

The fact that Darrisaw is out for the season means the Vikings will have backup left tackle Justin Skule starting in his place. That will at least provide some certainty for the Vikings when constructing a game plan, even if it comes at a cost of losing a premier player at the position.

“The most challenging times are when there’s some uncertainty about whether he’s going to be able to go,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “That’s the nature of going into a game plan saying, ‘OK. We may have him. We may not have him.’”

A big part of the game plan without Darrisaw available has been having tight end T.J. Hockenson chip on the edge before going out to run a route. It’s the most he’s been asked to chip on the edge it in his career and it likely be much of the same moving forward.

“We’ve had some injuries on the offensive line so I’ve been asked to do some protection stuff,” Hockenson said. “I’m going to do whatever I can do to help this team win.”

The decision to place Darrisaw on injured reserve came after a lot of dialogue with everybody involved. As he addressed the situation, O’Connell emphasized that the Vikings are 100% behind Darrisaw as he continues to work through the recovery process.

“I’ve admired the way the way that Christian has attacked this,” O’Connell said. “He’s wanted to be out there for every possible snap he could be with his teammates.”

Briefly

The injury report for the Vikings isn’t very lengthy heading into the game against the Giants on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium. It includes defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (thigh) being ruled out and right tackle Brian O’Neill (heel) being listed as questionable.

Related Articles

The Loop NFL Picks: Week 16

Vikings fan injured in hit-and-run outside Cowboys stadium in suburban Dallas

How comments from Kirk Cousins help explain J.J. McCarthy’s struggles

Vikings star safety Josh Metellus out for the season

‘A pretty impressive performance’: J.J. McCarthy praised by The QB School

The Scandia City Council voted unanimously this week to extend the popular Gateway State Trail into downtown Scandia.

The new two-mile trail will connect the city with William O’Brien State Park in Marine on St. Croix. But it could do a lot more than that for Scandia, the mayor says.

Scandia Mayor Steve Kronmiller (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

“This will, ultimately, have a very large impact on the community,” said Mayor Steve Kronmiller. “Scandia has looked at itself for a long time to be a tourist and recreational destination, and completing this trail will allow us to take a step in the right direction to achieving that objective.”

The council voted Tuesday to award the first phase of the two-part project to Chisago City-based Peterson Cos., which submitted the lowest bid of $3.6 million.

That one-mile section of trail will be built next year. It will start at a trailhead on city-owned land northwest of Meister’s Bar & Grill and run to a realigned Oakhill Road, where a tunnel will be built underneath the road.

Plans call for trail sections on both sides of Oakhill to accommodate bicycles, pedestrians and horseback riders. The tunnel crossing is designed for pedestrians and bicyclists. Horseback riders will be directed to a dirt trail section on the south side of the road, so horses do not have to go through the tunnel; they will use an at-grade crossing farther northwest on Oakhill Road.

A map shows the Gateway Trail route between Scandia and William O’Brien State Park, including a tunnel under Oakhill Road. (Kathryn Kovalenko / Pioneer Press)

The second phase — the remaining mile of trail from the tunnel at Oakhill to the north side of William O’Brien State Park — is currently being designed. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials are seeking funding to build that section, which is expected to be completed in 2028 or 2029.

Funding sources

The city got a $2.68 million grant from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources to extend the trail from Scandia to the Oakhill Road tunnel. The money also will cover a realignment of 2,000 feet of Oakhill Road and the raising of the road by 6 feet to accommodate the tunnel, said City Administrator Kyle Morell.

Washington County and the DNR also are contributing to the project.

The county is providing $800,000 for work related to the tunnel and the realignment of Oakhill. While horses will cross the road without a tunnel, county officials will not allow the bike and pedestrian trail to cross Oakhill, also known as Washington County Road 52, at grade. To support a grade separation, county officials agreed to contribute financially toward a tunnel option, County Engineer Wayne Sandberg said.

The DNR is contributing $650,000 to the first phase of the project.

Growing in segments

The Gateway Trail is one of the state’s most heavily used trails, attracting an estimated 314,000 users in 2024. It currently runs 19 miles from St. Paul to Pine Point Park in Stillwater Township.

Related Articles

Newport Recycling & Energy Center to medical facilities: Enough with the infectious waste

A key character in Ballet Minnesota’s ‘Nutcracker’? Clara’s dress — for 37 years and counting

Which county has the lowest levy increase in the metro area? Washington County at 6.95%

Woodbury school among many impacted by influenza outbreaks, will switch to online classes

Tuesday special primary will pick DFL candidates for vacant MN House seats

Eventually, the trail will connect from Pine Point Park to William O’Brien State Park, but that could take years, officials said.

The trail is being built in segments as money and land become available, said Kent Skaar, the senior development project manager for the DNR’s parks and trails division.

All long trails in the state are built in phases, and it makes sense to do the Scandia segment first, Skaar said.

“It is really a circumstance of funding and the interest of local communities,” he said. “When it comes to state trails, we are building incrementally when funding and the corridor is available.”

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sided with immigration judges on Friday, rebuffing the Trump administration for now in a case with possible implications for federal workers as the justices weigh expanding presidential firing power.

The decision is a technical step in a long-running case, but it touches on the effects of a series of high-profile firings under President Donald Trump. The justices let stand a ruling that raised questions about the Trump administration’s handling of the federal workforce, though they also signaled that lower courts should move cautiously.

Immigration judges are federal employees, and the question at the center of the case is about whether they can sue to challenge a policy restricting their public speeches or if they are required to use a separate complaint system for the federal workforce.

Related Articles

Rubio fields questions on Russia-Ukraine, Gaza and Venezuela at wide-ranging news conference

States faces a choice on whether to embrace Trump’s tax cuts on tips, overtime and more

Mystery as YouTube creator’s finance livestream appears on White House website

Young conservative women find a home in Turning Point with Charlie Kirk’s widow at the helm

Federal judge weighs Trump’s claim he is immune from civil litigation over Capitol attack

Trump’s Republican administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene after an appeals court found that Trump’s firings of top complaint system officials had raised questions about whether it’s still working as intended.

The Justice Department said the firings are within the president’s power and the lower court had no grounds to raise questions. The solicitor general asked the Supreme Court to quickly freeze the ruling as he pushes to have the immigration judges’ case removed from federal court.

The justices declined, though they also said the Trump administration could return if the lower courts moved too fast. The justices have allowed most of Trump’s firings for now and are weighing whether to formally expand his legal power to fire independent agency officials by overturning job protections enshrined in a 90-year-old decision.

A union formerly representing immigration judges, who work for the Justice Department, first sued in 2020 to challenge a policy restricting what the judges can speak about in public. They say the case is a free-speech issue that belongs in federal court.

In recent months, Trump’s administration has fired dozens of immigration judges seen by his allies as too lenient.

While the order is not a final decision, the case could eventually have implications for other federal workers who want to challenge firings in court rather than the employee complaint system now largely overseen by Trump appointees.

The decision comes after a series of wins for the Justice Department on the high court’s emergency docket. The court has sided with the Trump administration about two dozen times on issues ranging from immigration to federal funding.