Jean Marie (Bee) Sumner died Friday, October 24, 2025 at her home in Rockport, Texas. After facing chronic lymphocytic leukemia for many years, her body is finally at peace.

Jean was born December 21, 1952 in Plum City, Wisconsin to Kenny and Pat Bee. She grew up in Embarrass, Minnesota and graduated from Virginia High School in 1971. 

She married Steve Sumner on February 14, 1987 in Duluth. Jean received her B.Acc. from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1981 and worked at Wells Fargo until her retirement in 2006 when she moved to The Villages, FL.

Jean and Steve loved to travel and spent many weeks in Mexico and the Caribbean. Most recently she spent her winters in Yuma, AZ and last winter bought a home in Rockport, TX. In the summer, she would return to Embarrass. 

She is survived by her daughters Leslie (Brad) Brunfelt, Duluth, MN; Kristen (John) Peek, Orlando, FL; Amy (Dennis) Christopherson, Arkansaw, WI; stepson Jason Sumner; bonus daughter Julie Sumner. Grandchildren Emily and Sydney Hanna, Ben and Aaron Fulford, Tabitha (Cody) Strzyzykowski, Matthew Sumner, Miranda, Robert, and Alice Christopherson. Great Grandchildren, Elizabeth and Mackenzie Strzyzykowski. Siblings Linda (Duane) Henry, Lacey, WA; Ann Lamppa, Virginia, MN; Jodi (Perry) Kronenbush, Rochester, MN; Chuck (Patty) Bee, Tower, MN. Many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends who loved her dearly. Partner, Bob Schroeder and dog, Sassy. 

She is preceded in death by her parents and parents in-law, her husband of 34 years, Steve Sumner; son Travis Nevala, and brother-in-law, Lon Lamppa.

A celebration of life will be held at Timber Hall in Embarrass, MN on Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. Please share online condolences and photos at charliemarshallfuneralhomes.com.

Security changes at the Minnesota State Capitol are underway, but it will still be a couple of months before an advisory committee’s comprehensive recommendations are forwarded to the legislature.

The most notable change in the short term will be more uniform security personnel on the job, following the recent hiring of 20 new security officers.

RELATED: State Capitol security changes now in effect with more to come

“Mid to late November is when they will start their training and then be put into their own classification and be out there in the field, so to speak, and functioning as Capitol security officers and our eyes and ears that are out there,” says Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol.

Geiger says more state troopers will also be assigned to the Capitol complex, along with a new captain to help oversee security, as well as an existing captain.

RELATED: State Patrol finalizing third-party Capitol security review after ‘naked man’ incident 

Additionally, a trooper will be assigned to work with the BCA investigating threats involving the Capitol complex. There have been 50 threats investigated so far in 2025 — compared to 19 in all of 2024. 13 cases this year have been referred for prosecution.

The Advisory Committee on Capitol Security also learned more about the consulting firm hired to study Capitol complex security and to make recommendations for improvements. The Axtell Group is headed by former St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell. He addressed the committee to outline the work that will be done, but says it’s too soon to report any findings.

One lawmaker was concerned that the contract with the consulting firm only calls for studying four of 14 buildings that make up the Capitol complex, including the Capitol itself, the Senate Office Building, the Centennial Office Building (where House members are temporarily officing) and the Judicial Building.

“There are other buildings on the campus that obviously the public interacts with,” said Rep. Jim Nash, R-Waconia. “People who actually perhaps serve in these buildings will walk over to for a number of different reasons, and I’m wondering why have those buildings been excluded from the comprehensive, I believe it was called a comprehensive security assessment,  because without those buildings in my estimation it is not comprehensive.”

Axtell said his firm’s contract only calls for a review of those four buildings, and Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson explained why. He says they are the most heavily visited buildings, and all that could be budgeted for at this point.

“This assessment, once it’s completed, does not preclude us from coming back to the legislature and asking for more funds to complete the rest of the Capitol area completely,” he said. “I think that actually would be a wise idea.”

The committee, chaired by DFL Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, includes House and Senate members, law enforcement, and sergeant-at-arms staff from the House and Senate. They will continue meeting until they come up with recommendations for the legislature when it reconvenes in February.

RELATED: State committee discusses Capitol security in wake of attack on lawmakers