Mississippi River Fishing in August is Unpredictable
August 15, 2025 | Scott M. Lepak2025 has been a strange year for fishing the Mississippi River in Minnesota. The water level has been unusually high in August, making it more challenging to find fish. The water this year is also unusually brown, with sediment from the frequent rain making the Big Muddy nickname a good fit this year even late in the fishing season. BGS fishing partners Bill Huefner and Scott Lepak added to the unpredictability by selecting a Saturday when rain was lurking to the south and a full moon was waiting to add chaos that evening. This was offset by the fact that the wildfire smoke was nonexistent for the day and Bill and Scott were coming off a lucky streak. Bill’s Friday attendance at the Lynx game produced a win and Scott’s attendance led to a win by the Twins. Adding to their optimism was their regular, late-season, ace Mississippi smallmouth bass guide Tommy Steffen, who indicated that the bite has been pretty good. “Pretty good” in guide speak means “run as fast as you can to the boat.” After a burger and beer strategy session at an undisclosed local watering hole (fishing veterans never give away their best fishing or bar locations), Bill and Scott met Tommy and jumped onto the river. Bill and Scott have been fishing…
Read MoreBarna, Guzy & Steffen, LTD. Announces New Shareholder
July 29, 2025 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.
The law firm of Barna, Guzy & Steffen, LTD. announces that Bobbi Hermanson-Albers was voted in as a Shareholder. Bobbi is a 2014 cum laude graduate of Hamline University School of Law. Before joining BGS, Bobbi worked as a family lawyer at a boutique Minneapolis area law firm and as a Judicial Law Clerk in the Tenth Judicial District with Judge B. William Ekstrum. Bobbi joined Barna, Guzy & Steffen in 2019 in our Estate Planning department. Today, Bobbi focuses her practice on estate planning, tax planning, long-term care planning, probate court proceedings, estate and trust administration, and guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. Actively involved in the community, Bobbi holds leadership roles on professional associations related to her practice. She is the Secretary for the Minnesota State Bar Association Elder Law Governing Council and active with the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys-Minnesota Chapter, Board of Directors as Secretary, Education Committee. The firm would like to congratulate Bobbi on her accomplishments and commitment to the mission of providing clients legal service with trust, dedication and professionalism. BGS believes these ingredients are the essence of integrity, and it strives to nurture these values within the firm. For more than 85 years, the attorneys at Barna, Guzy & Steffen have been committed to providing comprehensive legal…
Read MoreIs There a New Cellphone “Touch Law” for Minnesota Drivers?
July 14, 2025 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.
A rumor has been circulating on social media and across the internet that a new “touch law” went into effect on June 5, 2025, in 31 U.S. states, including Minnesota. The purported law bans handling or touching your phone while driving. This claim is misleading, however. Such a law did go into effect in Pennsylvania on June 5 and is known as “Paul Miller’s Law.” But the other states mentioned in the claim, including Minnesota, already have similar laws that have been in place for several years. In Minnesota’s case, the hands-free cell phone use law went into effect in 2019. So, while there is no new “touch law” in Minnesota, drivers should still act in accordance with the existing law. What is Minnesota’s Hands-Free Cell Phone Law? Minnesota’s hands-free law makes it illegal, in most cases, to use a handheld cell phone while driving. This includes when a driver’s vehicle is stopped at a traffic light or in a traffic jam. However, it is legal for drivers to use cell phones in hands-free mode. This means that drivers are permitted to use their phones through voice commands or with a single-touch activation. So, you are allowed to make or take phone calls, send or receive messages, listen to audio, and receive GPS…
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