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Ice cream shop worker allegedly fired for accepting $100 tip as store claims some customers have ‘dementia’

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Ice cream shop worker allegedly fired for accepting 0 tip as store claims some customers have ‘dementia’


A Minnesota ice cream shop worker was allegedly fired after a customer tipped $100 in the tip jar as the store’s owners seemingly accused her of taking advantage of an elderly customer with “dementia.”

Seth and Lisa Swenson claim their adult daughter Emily, a five-season employee at The Freez in Moorhead, Minn., was canned after the tipping debacle at the roadside eatery last month.

Emily had finished serving a customer when the patron tried to leave the large bill behind even though the worker said she couldn’t accept it, according to the family’s Facebook post.

“Our daughter was offered a $100 tip and told the customer she couldn’t accept it. The customer put $100 in the tip jar and drove away,” the couple said.

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At the end of the worker’s shift, the management at The Freez was furious with Emily and allegedly accused her of “taking” the large tip.

An employee at The Freez in Moorhead, MN was fired after a customer left a $100 tip in the jar, a violation of the small business’ policies. FOX 5 Vegas

Two days later, on April 24, the business submitted an “Employee Warning Notice Form” to Emily for “corrective action.”

“Emily needs to understand that some of our customers are elderly and could be dealing with dementia or other illnesses that make it hard for them to understand their actions,” the shop said in the notice.

“No one in their right frame of mind tips $100 at a place where every menu item is under $12,” the notice shared by the Swensons continued.

The store questioned why a customer would leave a large tip to an employee when the most expensive menu item is under $12. FOX 5 Vegas

Ironically, the ice cream shop was concerned about its public image within their community if word got out that their employee accepted such a large gratuity.

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“As an employee of The Freez, it is your responsibility to protect the reputation of the establishment. If the customer is dealing with issues and the family finds out that she was allowed to put $100 in the tip jar, The Freez will be looked down on as a place that takes advantage of the elderly. Looking out for our customers should take priority over the opportunity to get a tip.”

Emily was fired a day later and her family claimed the generous gratuity was against the Moorhead Freez policy to accept bills over $20 as payment.

“There is nothing in the policy about tip amounts,” the Swenson’s argued.

The ice cream stand sent an “Employee Warning Notice Form” to Emily for “corrective action” on April 24, 2024. SethandLisa Swenson/Facebook

The store fired back the family’s social media post a day later, claiming Emily wasn’t dismissed over the tip and contradicting the warning notice they had handed out days earlier.

“We did not terminate the adult at-will employee of 5 years for accepting a tip. There’s more to the story,” the shop said in a Facebook post.

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It was not clear how old Emily is, but the roadside ice cream stand took exception to her parents sticking up for their “adult daughter.”

“We won’t go into details, it’s a personal matter. However, we believe that if parents are posting for an adult child- they haven’t asked the right questions of their adult daughter,” the store said.

“We are a small business built on a strong work ethic and Moorhead values. Our values and expectations reflect those of the community and our customers,” the post continued. “Ice cream makes people happy. Social media bullying- not so much.”

Emily doesn’t fault the customer for the firing, the family shared.

“Our daughter appreciates the generosity of the lady who tipped her and feels that this kind lady is no way responsible for what happened,” the couple said.

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In February, a Michigan cafe server was fired after she split a $10,000 tip with her fellow front-of-house workers, upsetting the kitchen staff that they didn’t get a share of the large gift.

Linsey Huff — who also goes by the last name Boyd — collected the enormous gratuity off a $32.43 bill from a customer at the Mason Jar Cafe in Benton Harbor while he was in the area for a friend’s funeral.

It was not clear how old Emily is, but the roadside ice cream stand took exception to her parents sticking up for their “adult daughter.” FOX 5 Vegas

The anonymous man, who left the now-viral tip in honor of his late friend, had requested the $10,000 be split among the service staff, as eight servers walked away with approximately $1,200 each.

The disgruntled back-of-house staffers had become angry with Huff for not getting a piece of the nearly 31,000% tip, and drama soon unfolded, causing problems within the staff.

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Hughes scores in debut for Wild, who defeat Bruins for 4th straight win | NHL.com

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Hughes scores in debut for Wild, who defeat Bruins for 4th straight win | NHL.com


The 26-year-old defenseman finished with three shots in 26:55 of ice time in his first game since being traded to Minnesota by the Vancouver Canucks on Friday for defenseman Zeev Buium, forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

“It’s been a whirlwind for sure,” Hughes said. “I’m just looking forward to kind of getting my feet on the ground and get with the team here and get in a day-to-day lifestyle here. But definitely the last 48 hours have been a lot, but I was excited to go play the game.”

Kirill Kaprizov had two goals and an assist, Hartman had a goal and two assists, and Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist for the Wild (19-9-5), who extended their winning streak to four games and home point streak to 12 games (10-0-2). Filip Gustavsson made 29 saves.

“The crowd was electric I think just from the … I would say warmups to the introduction and then throughout the game,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “So, it was great to see the building like that and the guys perform the way that they did. So, it was a great combo.”

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Alex Steeves and Andrew Peeke scored, and Swayman made 25 saves for the Bruins (19-14-0), who had won four straight.

“They’re a very good hockey team,” Boston coach Marco Sturm said. “They’re built pretty big, they play the right way, they play pretty hard, and they go to the net really hard, too. So, that’s something I mentioned, even between periods. That’s something we have to learn. And even if teams like that, we have to learn from that, and that shows we’re not there yet, and that’s a good thing, I think.

“Do we like the end results? No, but we had our chances in the first, even in the second period, and those are the chances that you have to use, otherwise it’s going to get hard against a team like that.”

Jared Spurgeon put Minnesota ahead 1-0 at 10:11 of the first period with a wrist shot through traffic as Swayman was screened by Marcus Johansson on a power play.

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Perennial candidate Kendall Qualls wins Minnesota GOP gubernatorial straw poll

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Perennial candidate Kendall Qualls wins Minnesota GOP gubernatorial straw poll


Kendall Qualls, Army veteran, former health care executive and anti-anti-racist activist, won the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial straw poll on Saturday, beating House Speaker Lisa Demuth, MyPillow guy Mike Lindell and a long list of other names. The poll of the party’s State Central Committee offers the first look at how the candidates in the 2026 […]



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Minnesota weather: How cold it got on Saturday

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Minnesota weather: How cold it got on Saturday


Temperatures dropped into the negative Saturday, with the coldest temperatures in the morning. 

How cold it got in Minnesota Saturday

By the numbers:

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Here is how cold the temperatures got in Minnesota: 

  • Hinckley: -20 degrees
  • Bemidji: -20 degrees
  • Ely: -18 degrees
  • Brainerd: -18 degrees
  • Detroit Lakes: -18 degrees
  • Hibbing: -17 degrees
  • International Falls: -17 degrees
  • Duluth: -16 degrees
  • Alexandria: -12 degrees
  • St. Cloud: -12 degrees
  • Cambridge: -11 degrees
  • Grand Marais: -10 degrees
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: -6 degrees
  • Red Wing: -6 degrees
  • Morris: -6 degrees
  • Hutchinson: -5 degrees
  • Rochester: -5 degrees
  • Mankato: -3 degrees
  • Windom: 0 degrees
  • Marshall: 0 degrees

Here are the lowest wind chills across Minnesota from Saturday: 

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  • Bemidji: -37 degrees
  • Ely: -35 degrees
  • Duluth: -34 degrees
  • Brainerd: -32 degrees
  • Detroit Lakes: -32 degrees
  • Hibbing: -31 degrees
  • Alexandria: -29 degrees
  • Hinckley: -27 degrees
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: -24 degrees
  • St. Cloud: -24 degrees
  • Willmar: -22 degrees
  • Cambridge-21 degrees
  • Grand Marais: -21 degrees
  • Hutchinson: -21 deegres
  • Morris: -20 degrees
  • Faribault: -18 degrees
  • Mankato: -18 degrees
  • Marshall: -17 degrees
  • Red Wing: -16 degrees
  • Owatonna: -16 degrees
  • Windom-12 degrees

Cold continues Sunday 

What’s next:

The Twin Cities are under a cold weather advisory that is expected to last through Sunday morning, so residents should prepare for frigid conditions if they have plans to be outdoors.

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Sunday will be slightly less frigid with temperatures climbing above zero. However, it will still feel like 10 below zero in the afternoon.

Milder and warmer temperatures are expected to return for the work week.

Winter WeatherMinnesota
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