The University of Minnesota’s board of regents is set to review a plan recommending the school seek donations to keep the Eastcliff property, a St. Paul mansion that has served as the university president’s residence for more than 60 years.

If the board approves the plan, it’ll end more than a year of uncertainty surrounding whether the U would hold on to the riverfront property, after a task force report in 2022 questioned its upkeep costs.

A group put together by the board to review options for keeping the property will recommend the school seek private donations to help cover operating and capital costs.

The Eastcliff Property Task Force is set to present its recommendations at the board’s meeting on Wednesday, July 10. Their study found it would be feasible to raise money for operating costs and repairs over the next five years. The plan would have the backing of the University of Minnesota Foundation.

Most of the costs would be covered by philanthropy, but the U would still support some of the operating costs, the school said.

“With the bulk of expenses transitioned out of the University’s operating budget, this proposal would free up additional funding to directly support students, faculty, researchers and community engagement programming,” the U said in a news release announcing the plan.

Eastcliff was built in 1922 on the east bank of the Mississippi River near the University of Minnesota for lumber magnate Edward Brooks Sr. His family donated the property to the U in 1958, and it became the home of university presidents in 1961.

The 10,000-square-foot mansion has served as a space for honoring students and faculty and has hosted visiting dignitaries, such as the Dalai Lama in 2011.

Since last summer, Eastcliff has been home to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his family as the official Governor’s Residence on Summit Avenue undergoes major renovations. Their lease was set to run through September 2024, but there are options for an extension if the renovations take too long.

In the meantime, new university president Rebecca Cunningham, who assumed her role July 1, is staying in an apartment near campus, according to a university spokesperson.

In recent years, UMN officials started to question the cost of keeping the mansion. The board at one point considered selling Eastcliff due to maintenance and operation costs.

In December 2022 a Board of Regents task force said money the school spends on Eastcliff would be better used for other school objectives.

At the time, Eastcliff only had three endowments totaling $1.3 million, and the U said it would need between $15 million and $20 million from donors to create an endowment to cover expenses.

The mansion cost about $377,000 a year to operate between 2012-2022, with costs supporting maintenance, grounds and custodial staff, the Pioneer Press previously reported.

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Thai Basil Restaurant, a Stillwater spot started by the original chef behind Pad Thai on Grand, is closing.

Its last day will be July 7, owner and chef Phouvanh Soderquist said. The restaurant, just off MN-36, opened in February 2015.

“We want to express our deepest gratitude to our loyal customers who have supported us the last 10 years,” she wrote on the restaurant’s website.

In a conversation Wednesday, she identified staffing as one of the biggest challenges the restaurant faced.

Soderquist and her husband own the building and have been looking to sell it for some time, she said Wednesday. They found a buyer who plans to lease the space to a new restaurant, she said, but more specific details have yet to be finalized.

Soderquist, who emigrated from Thailand, previously opened Pad Thai on Grand, near Macalester College, in 1999. She sold her stake to her business partner about five years ago, she said, and is no longer involved in the restaurant.

After Thai Basil closes, Soderquist said, she plans to pivot toward hosting private dinners and tastings from her home.

Thai Basil Restaurant: 1180 W Frontage Rd., Stillwater; 651-439-4033; thaibasilstillwater.com

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Once a staple event in the Twin Cities, Somali American Soccer Week had been canceled since 2015 until state Rep. Samakab Hussein and renowned coach Fartun Osman helped bring it back.

This year’s tournament, featuring adults and teens from as far as London and Sweden, ran June 22 through July 2 at Central High School and Macalester College. The 24 teams competed for a trophy and what Osman hopes is a chance to play in Somalia, pending arrangements.

The soccer finals also featured ethnic Karen soccer teams, as well as a presentation from Karen dancers and other artists.

“We don’t want our kids to forget where they come from, and that’s why we’re doing this. It’s so they know their roots and their culture,” said the tournament’s lead organizer Osman, who splits her time between the U.S. and Somalia and coaches the Somali women’s national basketball team. “It’s culture and sports.”

The event was peaceful overall, said Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, whose deputies were contracted to provide security.

On the last night, at the end of the championship game, there was a fight between two players, he said. Their teammates were around and some attendees came onto the field. Deputies used a chemical irritant to clear out the area, said Fletcher, adding that he was on the scene.

All in all, “it was an upbeat event” with 3,000 people attending the championship game, Fletcher said.

Pursued sports despite taunts

Born and raised in Mogadishu, Somalia, Osman grew up with soccer and a dream to be the female version of Pele, the legendary Brazilian player. She pursued her passion in sports with family support, despite taunting from peers unaccustomed to seeing women succeed in athletics.

Her hard work paid off when she was selected as a high schooler to join the Somali national track and field team, and later the national basketball team.

Osman recalls finding the passion to coach sports in her youth. A coach noticed her playing basketball and taught her how to improve her skills on the court. Afterward, Osman gathered a group of girls to play basketball and taught them what she learned. The next day, they scrimmaged against the boys team.

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“And we won. Then he said to me, not only can you be a good player, but you can be a good coach,” she said. “And that’s what I became.”

Osman moved to the U.S. in 1994 and continued to coach and play sports with her children. But she saw through her daughter that the same stigmas and resistance for Somali and Muslim girls still existed in America.

“I decided to take it upon myself to make the change I wanted to see. I have always wanted to break barriers and overcome stereotypes through my coaching,” Osman said. “I felt as though I jumped over many obstacles to reach this point.”

Girls Rock and the NCAA

Osman is the founder and chief executive officer of Girls Rock, formerly known as Somali Girls Rock. She created the nonprofit organization to help young Somali and Muslim girls succeed in sports and education. The organization later expanded its mission to serve young girls from all backgrounds.

Throughout her career, Osman has received numerous awards for her coaching and leadership skills, along with fighting for the rights of Muslim girls to wear a hijab in competition. Osman received the NCAA Legacy Award in 2022.

“I am proud to be a role model for girls and women all over who have never had someone look like me represent them, and I’m proud they are able to do the same,” she said.

Osman has coached basketball, soccer, swimming and track and field, and hopes to someday coach gymnastics. She has supported many in the community, including Hussein, the state representative said.

Tournament organizers Rep. Samakab Hussein, DFL-St. Paul, left, and Fartun Osman at Somali American Soccer Week on Wednesday. Once a staple event for the Twin Cities Somali community, Somali American Soccer Week had been canceled since 2015 until Hussein and Osman helped bring it back. (Gwynn Vang / Pioneer Press)

“She was my mentor growing up. She used to bring us, the young, underrepresented kids, to play basketball,” Hussein said. “Fartun Osman has been a pillar in our community, dedicating over 20 years to fostering youth sports.”

Abdelhakim Ismail, 29, has been playing soccer for about 16 years and played for MPLS United in the recent soccer tournament. Ismail was introduced to soccer by Osman at a young age and learned the game through her coaching.

“I think a lot of people don’t see the beautiful part of this community. It brings in many people from different countries and states, and you build unity, you build a family,” Ismail said.

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In light of what it described as a “structural deficit” driven by inflation and labor costs, the Minnesota Historical Society has laid off seven employees, at least three of them dedicated to creating visitor content for popular sites such as Historic Fort Snelling, the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis and the James J. Hill House in St. Paul. Five of the workers were represented by the MNHS Workers Union.

The St. Paul-based Historical Society, a private nonprofit, operates the Minnesota History Center and oversees tours of the Split Rock Lighthouse, the Minnesota State Capitol building and two dozen other historic locations statewide. The nonprofit has attributed the layoffs, in a written statement, to rising expenses related to “higher employee, maintenance, insurance, and other costs, which have risen due to inflation, the competitive employment marketplace, and the increased costs associated with the recent AFSCME Local 3173 contract.”

Officials with the nonprofit said Friday that their board recently approved an operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 with a $782,000 deficit, meaning expenses will outpace projected revenues.

The layoffs were announced June 30 by the union, which issued a written statement that said workers were given little notice and that demanded the society “rescind these layoffs and recall these employees immediately.”

Following the layoffs, the Historical Society said it maintains 419 positions.

The layoffs followed an “ongoing need to right-size our organization and address a structural deficit. … These difficult decisions were made through thoughtful and thorough analysis for the future of the institution,” reads a written statement attributed to Nicole Tuescher, Vice President of People & Culture for the Historical Society.

Even with a recent financial boost from the state and increases in earned income, “overall funding has not kept pace with expenses and MNHS has operated in a structural deficit since the pandemic,” reads a follow-up statement from the institution. “Staffing costs are the largest part of MNHS’s operating budget.”

It was not entirely clear from publicly available materials on Friday exactly when those deficits began. In 2022, the nonprofit had more than $65.7 million in expenses, according to the most recent tax return on file with Guidestar.org, up from $55.4 million the year before. Still, net revenues ($25.7 million) and fund balances were still in the black at the time, according to the Form 990 filing, and both revenues and balances had grown substantially from the year before.

‘It was a surprise’

Jacob Rorem, a member of the AFSCME Local 3173 executive board, said on Friday that many employees were not aware the Historical Society had entered financially troubled waters.

“For a lot of us, it was a surprise,” said Rorem, who works in public programming for the Historical Society. “We’ve seen this as a need within the organization for better transparency and communication. I don’t think of it as a malicious thing, but the realities they’re stating have not been clearly communicated to the employees. To say ‘well, we’ve been talking about this’ doesn’t ring true to us.”

Funding for the Historical Society comes from a mix of sources, including appropriations from the state, which increased last year, as well as program fees, memberships, philanthropic giving and certain restricted funds.

The nonprofit’s strategic plans calls for a variety of initiatives to balance future budgets, including taking a hard look at sites and facilities. MNHS’s leadership team has “embarked on a multi-year plan to create a sustainable future … by aligning income and expenses” by July 1, 2026, reads the statement.

Two days’ notice

The Minnesota History Center in St. Paul on Friday, July 5, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

According to the union, the three staff members dedicated to content creation have a combined 60 years of service experience with the Historical Society.

“All of these passionate and talented employees were given two days’ notice and were asked to sign away their recall rights in exchange for a few weeks of separation pay and job coaching,” reads the statement.

The union said the Historical Society has 14 active job postings, “some of which have substantial overlap with eliminated positions.”

As part of their collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME Local 3173, the five unionized employees who were laid off received vacation and sick time payouts, Tuescher wrote, and some eligible employees received six months of continued employer contributions to medical insurance.

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