The dismissal of a former northeastern Minnesota Department of Natural Resources director wasn't motivated by her report of neglect, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
Lori Hanson was fired in 2017 after an incident at Fortune Bay Resort Casino in Tower, Minn., where she reported possible child neglect and sex trafficking. She sued the DNR in 2018 for wrongful dismissal in violation of the state's whistleblower act, and a lower court granted summary judgment for the DNR, meaning the case was decided in the DNR's favor without a trial.
The state Supreme Court upheld that decision, with Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea writing Wednesday that "there is no genuine issue as to whether the DNR was motivated to terminate Hanson based on her whistleblowing, because there is no evidence that her reporting played any part in, much less was a motivating factor in, the DNR's decision."
According to court documents, Hanson, staying at the resort for a work conference, complained to hotel staff several times about a baby crying in a neighboring room. At one point amid her complaints, records show, she went into the hallway undressed for several seconds looking down the hallway. (She disputes she was undressed, claiming video footage was tampered with.)
She later complained about a potential "sex ring" when she noticed men approaching the room where the baby was crying. Security and a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer found nothing amiss in the neighboring room. The hotel is...
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