Category: News & Events
When the Government Goes Out of Business
April 11, 2019 | Scott M. LepakThe North Suburban Hospital District, a political subdivision representing the citizens of Blaine, Fridley, Hilltop, Mounds View and Spring Lake Park, quietly and gracefully ended its long existence on April 10, 2019. The Hospital District was formed in 1960 for the primary purpose of building and initially operating Unity Hospital in Fridley. At the time it was formed and for the next 50 plus years, the Hospital District provided its citizens with a locally focused and stand-alone hospital providing a broad range of services. In meeting its obligation to the citizens of the five cities, the Hospital District contracted with service providers who operated the hospital. In recent years, the Hospital District weaned Unity from relying on tax dollars and did not levy taxes on its citizens. With the advancement and consolidation of health care in the metro area, the Hospital District board determined that it accomplished its mission. Unity is a facility that has been significantly updated. The area is now served by two hospitals as well as multiple clinics providing a broad array of services. Health care is a regional rather than local issue and is less centralized. An individual can now go into their local clinic and receive care that was only provided in hospitals as recently as a decade…
Read More2019 Annual Minnesota Public Employers Labor Relations Association Winter Conference
December 18, 2018 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.BGS Shareholder Scott Lepak will be giving the closing address at the annual Minnesota Public Employers Labor Relations Association Winter Conference in Plymouth MN on February 14, 2019. Scott’s presentation will be ‘Public Safety Update – Could 2018 Have Gotten Any Weirder?’ Scott said that his presentation will cover the various public safety shenanigans from 2018. He said this will include the court decision overturning an arbitration ruling that reinstated a police officer, an arbitration award that overturned a termination for an officer who dragged an individual about 100 feet by the handcuffs and a court ruling that denied the City its ability to restructure a fire department. In his 30+ years of practice representing local government on law enforcement matters, Scott said that this was one of the more unusual years for law enforcement cases. MPELRA members who would like to sign up can do so at https://www.statenpelra.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3539
Read MoreBGS Attorney Scott Lepak Participates at Champlin's Heartsafe Community Training
December 12, 2018 | Scott M. LepakBGS Shareholder and Champlin City Attorney Scott Lepak participated in the City of Champlin’s Heartsafe Community CPR training during the November 13, 2018 City Council Meeting. The City of Champlin began its HEARTSafe Initiative to educate the community about Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and increase the survivability of a person who has an SCA. HEARTSafe Champlin is a partnership between the Champlin Police Department, Anoka-Champlin Fire and Allina Health Services to provide training in CPR, access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and instruction in how to use them, as well as an outlet for purchasing these lifesaving devices. This is the third time Scott has been through CPR training. “When I had my first CPR class in high school, we learned the method of alternating chest compressions and mouth to mouth”, Scott said, “the mouth to mouth component always generated the most conversation and reluctance during the training. Now that we are taught to focus on chest compressions, this training is much easier and no longer contains the mouth to mouth element that many people hesitated to do.” Scott had his second training as part of our law firm’s commitment to this program. Scott said, “the AED equipment we have now is very user friendly – even for folks that have not done…
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