Solventum, the massive health care spin-off from Maplewood-based 3M, made minor headway Tuesday night in its quest to move to the former Blue Cross Blue Shield campus in Eagan.

On Tuesday night the Eagan City Council approved a resolution of support for applications to the Minnesota Investment Fund and the state’s Job Creation Fund to renovate “from what was a call center facility into a high-tech medical research and development facility,” according to the MIF resolution.

The council also approved $100,000 of MIF loan forgiveness at the meeting, which would have otherwise been paid to the city’s revolving MIF fund.

The requested loan amounts were not disclosed in the resolution documents, but the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) will be responsible for reviewing and administering the loans.

The Minnesota Investment Fund provides financing “to help add new workers and retain high-quality jobs on a statewide basis,” according to DEED. The Job Creation Fund, which provides financial incentives to new and expanding businesses, requires applicants create at least 10 new permanent full-time equivalent jobs within two years of approval.

The project would provide over 1,000 “high wage jobs in Eagan” and some 600 to 800 employees are expected to be on site daily, according to the resolutions.

Depending on state assistance and other approvals, Solventum would relocate upward of 1,100 workers from Maplewood to Eagan.

Solventum is the latest company to take an interest in the 55-acre Blue Cross Blue Shield site, which became available last year after the insurance company’s employees opted for the hybrid work model.

Earlier this year, Johnson Bros. Liquor Company, the third-largest wine distributor in the nation, was considering the site at 3535 Blue Cross Road for a new distribution facility.

After scrutiny from residents and the Eagan City Council, Johnson Bros. withdrew its application in March.

Solventum officially became its own company in March and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on April 1. It could qualify as Minnesota’s latest Fortune 500 company once the new rankings are published in 2025.

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A 15-year-old boy is missing after he didn’t return home Monday evening, according to Woodbury police.

Angel Lynn has been missing since 6:30 p.m. Monday after going to Jerry’s Foods or on a run around Ojibway Park, Woodbury Public Safety said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

Angel Lynn is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 128 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. (Courtesy of the Woodbury Police Department)

Police are requesting the public’s help in finding him.

Lynn was last seen wearing a grey T-shirt, black zip-up sweatshirt, black sweatpants and glasses.

He is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 128 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Police ask that if you see Lynn or have any information about his whereabouts, call 911.

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After meeting in a closed session to discuss “the preliminary consideration of allegations or charges against an individual subject to its authority,” the Forest Lake City Council voted on Monday night to part ways with interim city administrator Kristina Handt.

Kristina Handt (Courtesy photo).

City officials would not confirm that Handt was the subject of a complaint, and a Data Practices Act request to determine if any complaints have been filed against Handt was not completed prior to deadline.

But the council voted 5-0 at a special council meeting on Monday night not to renew Handt’s interim agreement and exercised its 30-day notice. Handt’s last day would be Nov. 1, unless she decides to leave earlier. She did not return a phone call or email seeking comment.

City Clerk Jolleen Chaika, who has been with the city since April, was named acting city administrator until a permanent city administrator is hired. The council also appointed a subcommittee, consisting of Mayor Mara Bain and council member Leif Erickson, to oversee and guide Chaika in her appointment as acting city administrator.

Chaika, who has 24 years of experience in county and local government, previously served as city clerk in Lino Lakes and as a victim/witness coordinator for Washington County.

Handt also withdrew her name from the search for a permanent city administrator. She was one of three finalists for the position.

The other two finalists are Jon Radermacher, former city administrator in Little Falls, and Shawn Metcalf, former city administrator in Hastings, Neb.

Radermacher, the former city administrator in Madison, Minn., served as the city administrator in Little Falls until June, according to his LinkedIn profile. The Little Falls City Council placed Radermacher on an unpaid suspension in May “following his performance review that took place in closed session for about two hours as part of the May 6 City Council meeting,” according to an article published May 17 in the Morrison County, Minn., Record.

Metcalf was placed on paid administrative leave in September because of “a confidential personnel matter” and was terminated by the Hastings City Council on Sept. 23, according to the Hastings Tribune.

City Attorney Amanda Johnson said at the meeting that the consultant hired by the city to lead the search, Karl Amlie of Stillwater-based Specialized Recruiting Group, would search for additional candidates.

“Hopefully, Karl can find a few more candidates within the next two weeks,” she said. “The two current finalists that you have already selected would also be invited to just sort of reconfirm their intention to their desire to be considered, and then, hopefully, before the end of October, we would have a meeting where council could reselect finalists.”

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Handt, who previously served as city administrator in Lake Elmo and Scandia, did not attend the special meeting. Bain praised Handt during the open session portion of the meeting for helping the city “make nice progress in a number of important areas.”

Among her accomplishments: helping reorganized the city’s administration department by hiring a city clerk and creating an administrative services director position, incorporating parks into the city’s public works department, making progress on code enforcement and helping improve the city’s long-term budgeting tools.

“We are substantially through our 2025 budgeting cycle,” Bain said during the meeting. “We still have fourth quarter to go, and we’ve made nice progress.”

Bain said Tuesday that she could not comment further.

It was a strange feeling inside the visitors’ locker room Sunday at Lambeau Field. As excited as the Vikings were to be celebrating a 31-29 win over the Green Bay Packers, there was an underlying tone of frustration that the score was even that close.

No player embodied it more than cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. He wasn’t all that interested in talking about his interception or his forced fumble that earned him a game ball from head coach Kevin O’Connell. He was hung up on the feelings shared by pretty much everybody on the defense.

“That wasn’t the standard,” Murphy said. “We all know that.”

After the Vikings managed to rattle quarterback Jordan Love and the Packers throughout the game, a disastrous final 15 minutes spoiled what would have, could have, should have been the latest coronation for defensive coordinator Brian Flores and his players.

“We found out that it’s hard to win in this league,” Flores said. “Everything can change on a dime. That happened. There was a lot to learn from that standpoint.”

Maybe it was for the best considering the way the Vikings had dominated the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans in their first three games.

Eventually, the Vikings were going to have to prove they can win a close game, and while it looked like they were well on their way to blowing out their biggest rivals, the Packers provided a teachable moment by scoring 22 points in the final period.

“It’s human nature to kind of take that foot off the gas a little bit,” Flores said. “We can’t do that against an opponent like that.”

A seemingly insurmountable lead for the Vikings had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The comeback for the Packers started when receiver Dontayvion Wicks caught a touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 28-14. After a turnover by the Vikings on the next possession, the Packers immediately made them pay with tight end Tucker Kraft catching a touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 28-22.

Though the Vikings increased the lead to 31-22 after veteran quarterback Sam Darnold led a drive that ended in a field goal, the Packers made it 31-29 in the final minute when Love hooked up with Wicks for another touchdown pass.

“We got tested there late in the game,” edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel said. “We’ve got to come together and figure out how to not let it snowball.”

Truthfully, the Vikings might have been lamenting a loss if Murphy hadn’t intercepted a pass in the end zone, then forced a fumble with a perfectly placed punch along the sideline. Those turnovers helped the Vikings stop the bleeding when the Packers were making their push.

“Thankfully we were able to come out of there with a win,” Flores said. “We talked about the ebbs and flows in the game and the momentum shifts. The power of that momentum almost got us. We were able to take it back with some big plays.”

As he reflected on the struggles for the defense, Flores briefly got into the psychology of playing from ahead. He has been around long enough to understand how hard it can be to stay aggressive when the game starts to get out of hand.

“It’s good to be able to talk about it, because it’s not really something we talk about that often,” Flores said. “It’s good to go through it and know that we have the strength to push through it. I think our guys felt that. They did a good job from that standpoint.”

To his credit, Flores also took accountability for the role he played in the Vikings letting their guard down.

“I’ve looked at myself and said, ‘Hey I could’ve done a better job putting them in better positions,’ ” Flores said. “Nobody is harder on themselves than I am. I’ve got to do a better job from that standpoint. I think I could’ve called it a little bit better and put them in some better positions.”

Meanwhile, his players were equally as hard on themselves, vowing to be better for Flores moving forward.

“The standard is the standard,” safety Cam Bynum said. “We have to come back next week and be ready to play.”

Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores watches his players prior to an NFL preseason football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, in Minneapolis. Flores has exceeded even head coach Kevin O’Connell’s expectations for what he could accomplish in his first season as defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn, File)

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