Connect with us

Minnesota

Two Minnesota carriers shut down, idling 200 drivers

Published

on

Two Minnesota carriers shut down, idling 200 drivers


Over the weekend, two Minnesota-based carriers under the True North Equity Partners umbrella ceased operations overnight, putting approximately 200 drivers out of work.

MinStar Transport and Transport Design Inc., each operating fleets of around 100 trucks, announced their immediate closures in communications to employees and partners, according to multiple reports circulating in trucking communities on social media. The sudden shutdowns are the latest in a string of carrier failures amid the ongoing Great Freight Recession, now approaching its fourth year since starting in March 2022.

“2 Minnesota Companies overnight are Shutting Down. 200 more Truckers out of work,” read a widely shared post from the TalkCDL Facebook group that has drawn significant attention among drivers and industry insiders. Similar alerts appeared across other trucking forums, underscoring the abrupt loss of jobs in an already challenging market.

Both companies were part of True North Equity Partners’ portfolio of transportation assets. True North, a Minneapolis-based private equity firm focused on lower-middle-market investments, acquired Transport Design in March 2020. The Burnsville, Minnesota-headquartered firm specialized in refrigerated and dry van services, serving food and consumer goods shippers across the Midwest. True North expanded its holdings in October 2022 by purchasing MinStar Transport of Eagan, along with affiliated entities MinStar Logistics, Transport21, and North Star Transport. MinStar focused on temperature-controlled logistics, with a network supporting regional and national distribution.

Advertisement
Data: SearchCarriers portal in SONAR (GoSONAR.com)

At the time of the MinStar acquisition—eight months into the freight downturn—the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported that True North Equity Partners’ trucking portfolio was expected to generate $220 million in annual revenue.

True North Transportation Holding Company, a key entity in the group’s structure, was named in a September 2025 lawsuit filed by American National Bank in Scott County District Court. The suit, involving defendants including Norsemen Holdings, Norsemen Trucking, and principals Brian Slipka and Eric Valder, alleges breach of loan agreements and seeks repayment of outstanding debts. While details remain limited due to the case’s early stage, such financial pressures often precede operational wind-downs in the sector.

This is not an isolated incident. The trucking industry has seen a wave of closures and bankruptcies throughout 2025. FreightWaves has covered several high-profile failures in recent months, including:

-10 Roads Express, the largest trucking bankruptcy since Yellow Corp., with 2,500 trucks and 5,000 employees;

– Montgomery Transport, which shuttered after its owner, One Equity Partners, exited the industry, idling over 1,000 employees.

According to a 2022 Sioux Falls Business article, True North Equity Partners owns several other trucking assets, including Contact Cartage (Minneapolis), D&A Truckline Inc. and Viking Land Transportation (both New Ulm, Minnesota), J-Mar Enterprises (West Fargo, North Dakota), Norsemen (Lake Mills, Iowa), and Transport Designs (Burnsville, Minnesota). The current status of these operations remains uncertain.

Advertisement

While trucking bankruptcies carry significant personal impacts for affected families, they also serve a structural role in an industry plagued by excess capacity for the past several years. Bankruptcies are a natural mechanism for eliminating surplus trucks and drivers from the market.



Source link

Minnesota

Shorthanded Clippers can’t keep pace with Anthony Edwards and Minnesota

Published

on

Shorthanded Clippers can’t keep pace with Anthony Edwards and Minnesota


Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, Donte DiVincenzo added 18 and the surging Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Clippers 94-88 on Thursday night.

Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 12 points and Rudy Gobert had 13 rebounds to help the Timberwolves improve to 5-1 since Feb. 9 and 3-1 since the All-Star break.

Edwards, returning to the site of the All-Star Game, where he was the MVP, was 12 for 24 from the floor and sealed the victory with a step-back three-pointer over two defenders for a 92-88 lead with 42.9 seconds left.

Advertisement

Minnesota improved to 2-0 on a three-game trip.

Derrick Jones Jr. scored 18 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 for the Clippers, who struggled from the outset with a season-low 38 points in the first half. Kris Dunn had 11 points for the Clippers (27-31), who have lost three consecutive games for the first time since December.

The Clippers struggled on offense without star Kawhi Leonard, out because of ankle soreness. The Clippers shot 40.5% from the floor, including 18.2% (four for 22) in the second quarter. Minnesota shot 43.4% in the game.

The Timberwolves (37-23) scored just 15 points in the second quarter and still topped the Clippers, who had 11. Minnesota led 44-38 at halftime behind 12 points from DiVincenzo and 11 from Edwards.

Advertisement

The Clippers led by six in the third quarter and were up 68-63 heading into the fourth. Edwards’ drive and reverse layup put the Timberwolves up for good at 76-74 with 7:40 remaining.

The Clippers pulled within one three times in the last 2½ minutes, but Edwards answered each time. He scored the Timberwolves’ last nine points.

Up next for Clippers: vs. New Orleans on Sunday night.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Minnesota

Church congregant filed lawsuit against alleged Minnesota church protesters

Published

on

Church congregant filed lawsuit against alleged Minnesota church protesters


A St. Paul church member has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a group of individuals, including journalist Don Lemon and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, unlawfully disrupted service last month as part of a coordinated political demonstration.

The complaint, filed by Ann Doucette in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, alleges that a Jan. 18 demonstration at Cities Church interfered with her ability to worship and caused her to suffer damages, including emotional distress and trauma.

In addition to the former CNN anchor and Armstrong, the complaint names journalist Georgia Fort and activists Will Kelly, Jerome Richardson, Trahern Crews and Jamael Lundy. It also names St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen.

Doucette and seven of the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Doucette filed the complaint without the representation of an attorney. In an emailed statement to NBC News, Crews denied the lawsuit’s allegations “with empathy and compassion.”

Advertisement

The lawsuit accuses the group of civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with religious exercise and trespassing.

“As a result of Defendants’ actions, the worship service was disrupted, congregants experienced fear and distress, and Plaintiff’s ability to freely exercise her religion in a private place of worship was unlawfully interfered with,” the lawsuit states.

All eight defendants are also facing federal charges for conspiracy against the rights of religious freedom at a place of worship and for interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom. Lemon has pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying outside the court, “I wanted to say this isn’t just about me, this is about all journalists, especially in the United States.”

Fort, Crews and Lundy were released on bond and entered not guilty pleas, according to The Associated Press.

Don Lemon reporting from an anti-ICE demonstration at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn.@TheDonLemonShow via YouTube

This is the latest legal action tied to protests in the Twin Cities, where tensions remain over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Advertisement

According to the lawsuit, the demonstrators engaged in “coordinated conduct” by organizing meetings ahead of the “Operation Pullup” protest and promoting it on social media.

The lawsuit alleges that on the morning of Jan. 18, a coordinated group of individuals entered Cities Church, halting the worship service, and chanting “‘ICE Out!’ and ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!’” while obstructing aisles. Protesters could allegedly be seen “confronting the pastor and congregants in a menacing manner,” the lawsuit says, noting that their chanting and “aggressive gestures” caused “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma” and caused children “terror.”

Demonstrators gathered at the church because they said its pastor, David Easterwood, was the acting director of an ICE field office in the city, the lawsuit says.

Lemon was arrested in January in California and accused of violating federal civil rights law after covering the protest on Jan. 18. He was released on a personal recognizance bond before a federal grand jury in Minnesota returned the indictment against Lemon and eight co-defendants, all of whom are also named in Doucette’s lawsuit.

Nekima Levy Armstrong, Cities Church protest arraignment, St. Paul, Minn., February 2026
Nekima Levy Armstrong in St. Paul, Minn., on Feb. 13.Carlos Gonzalez / Star Tribune via Getty Images

In the lawsuit, Doucette alleges that Lemon specifically livestreamed the protest, “noting congregants’ fear and distress, and appeared to take satisfaction in the disruption.”

Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis-based civil rights attorney and activist, was also arrested for her participation in the St. Paul protest. Her arrest drew national attention after the White House shared on social media doctored photos where she appeared to be crying.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Minnesota

Man arrested, charged with threatening to kill a state senator

Published

on

Man arrested, charged with threatening to kill a state senator



A Hubbard County man was arrested and charged after threatening to kill a Minnesota state senator on Facebook. 

Advertisement

Court documents filed on Wednesday state the Minnesota State Patrol were investigating a threat posted by John Tobias saying that he would “kill every one of you treasonous [expletive] immediately” if he did not get money back that he claims he lost during the 2020 COVID shutdown. 

Court documents go on to say that Tobias then called the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office asking for something to be done about “Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ‘unconstitutionally’ shutting down the state due to COVID-19. 

The Minnesota State Patrol contacted Hubbard County deputies regarding Tobias. Court documents state Hubbard County investigators were already familiar with Tobais after speaking with him regarding similar threats he made in Jan. 

The charging documents state that investigators searched Tobias’ residence on Tuesday and found an arsenal of guns and 45 boxes of ammunition. 

Tobias was taken into custody. During an interview with law enforcement, Tobias admitted to making the threat on Facebook. He also told investigators that “he did not have any intention of killing anyone, but admitted he was trying to get people’s attention,” according to court records. 

Advertisement

In late 2025, Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol, who oversees Capitol security, told a panel of lawmakers that threats to lawmakers had doubled between 2024 and 2025. 

Tobias made his first court appearance Wednesday morning and is expected back in court early next month.  



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending