Minnesota
Natalie Darwitz is out as GM of Minnesota after building PWHL's first championship team
Natalie Darwitz’s tenure is over as general manager of the PWHL champion Minnesota franchise following an internal and external review, vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said Saturday.
Without going into detail on the findings, which included input from players and staff, Hefford called the decision a difficult but eventually necessary one for the betterment of the PWHL.
“The feedback to us was pretty direct and pretty clear that there wasn’t a path forward with the current personnel in place,” Hefford said during a Zoom interview with select members of the media. “It was with the work we did throughout the year, and it was clear that a change needed to be made.”
Hefford said the decision involved more than one person and was part of a year-long process, when asked whether a rift escalated over the season between Darwitz and coach Ken Klee.
The decision to part ways with Darwitz is solely the PWHL’s because it operates all six franchises and employs its staff and coaches.
A person familiar with the situation confirmed a report by The Athletic of a rift between Darwitz and Klee, while adding team captain Kendall Coyne Schofield had sided with the coach. The person also said members of the PWHL’s human resources department met with Minnesota players last month regarding Darwitz’s managing style.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the league did not reveal those details.
Minnesota coach Ken Klee watches a video screen during a challenge in the second period of Game 2 of a PWHL hockey championship series against Boston, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Lowell, Mass. Credit: AP/Mark Stockwell
Klee declined to comment in a text to The AP. He will continue his role as coach, and serve as interim GM in overseeing Minnesota’s selections in the draft on Monday.
The decision to remove Darwitz is both stunning in timing and significance following the completion of the PWHL’s first season.
Darwitz assembled the team that won the PWHL’s first championship with a 3-0 win over Boston in a decisive Game 5 on May 29. Minnesota reached the final by rallying from a 2-0 first-round series deficit to beat regular-season champion Toronto in a best-of-five playoff final. Darwitz’s dismissal also comes days before Minnesota hosts the PWHL’s second draft on Monday.
The 40-year-old Darwitz is one of the more recognized faces of Minnesota hockey. From St. Paul, she’s a three-time U.S. Olympian, three-time world champion and was part of a University of Minnesota team that won consecutive NCAA titles in 2004 and ’05.
This year, she was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation’s hall of fame.
“We completely recognize the iconic status of Natalie Darwitz in the state of Minnesota. Her incredible contributions, to the PWHL, to building a championship team,” Hefford said. “And this is certainly not something that we could have foreseen happening or wanted to happen. But it has led to us and Natalie parting ways.”
Klee is a former NHL defenseman who had experience coaching U.S. national women’s teams. He took over as Minnesota coach in late December to replace Charlie Burggraf, who stepped down citing family reasons.
Klee had previously been a finalist for both a PWHL coaching and GM position.
Darwitz was hired in September and signed a one-year contract, which was standard for each of the centralized league’s six GMs and coaches. She then stocked her lineup with a distinct local flavor and representative of Minnesota’s hockey-rich roots.
A man suffered serious injuries on Sunday when he hit two cows in the road while driving in central Minnesota, authorities said.
The man was on Kandiyohi County Road 29 near 13th Street Northwest in Lake Andrew Township when he struck the animals just before 11 p.m., the sheriff’s office there said.
The 22-year-old from Pennock, Minnesota, then went into the ditch and hit a tree before his vehicle rolled onto its side. He was treated at the scene and then taken to a hospital. The sheriff’s office said his injuries were not life-threatening.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Sunday was the deadline for Minnesota to complete the revalidation of thousands of Medicaid providers in “high-risk” programs as the state fights with the federal government over about $2 billion in funding.
What is Minnesota Revalidate?
The backstory:
Earlier this year, state leaders announced an effort to revalidate more than 5,500 providers in Minnesota’s Health Care Programs. The revalidation was part of an effort to combat fraud and to satisfy demands from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which has withheld up to $2 billion in Medicaid funds from Minnesota.
The deadline to finish the revalidation was on Sunday, May 31.
What we know:
As of last month, state officials said only 550 providers have had applications approved, site inspections completed and been re-enrolled.
At that point, 1,510 applications were incomplete, and 160 providers had been disenrolled. State officials said mostly because they had failed to respond to state inquiries.
There were an additional 990 who had been submitting claims but failed to respond to state notices.
Medicaid funding lawsuit
Local perspective:
In January, Medicaid Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would withhold $2 billion in Medicaid funding for Minnesota.
The decision followed an audit by the centers of Minnesota’s Medicaid programs. The funding suspension also followed a new batch of federal Medicaid fraud charges that came down in December. During a news conference, as prosecutors announced new charges and guilty pleas related to fraud, federal prosecutors estimated that fraud in Minnesota’s Medicaid programs could total as high as $9 billion since 2018.
The other side:
Since that press conference, the $9 billion figure has been heavily disputed by state leaders who say there is currently no evidence that fraud in Minnesota is that rampant. Gov. Walz and other state leaders say that while fraud is an issue, President Trump has weaponized it to commit political retribution against the state.
What’s next:
FOX 9 has reached out to state officials to see how many providers are facing disenrollment as the deadline hits on Sunday.
Earlier this year, Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit over the pulled Medicaid funds. This month, a judge granted a mutual motion for a stay in the case – a 120 pause – to give the federal government and Minnesota time to resolve the funding issue. An update is due to the court by early September.
A 29-year-old man drowned at a lake in northern Minnesota on Saturday, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office said the man drowned at the swimming area at Little Emily Lake Park. The man was at the park with family and friends at the time.
First responders arrived at the scene to try and rescue him, but he was pronounced dead, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time,” the sheriff’s office said.
Little Emily Lake is about 40 miles north of Brainerd.
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