North Star Electric’s civil suit for electricity theft settled out of court
A civil lawsuit filed in November 2023 by North Star Electric Cooperative in Lake of the Woods County against two individuals and several of their companies for electricity theft has been dismissed in District Court, according to official documents. The suit was dismissed with prejudice on April 10, 2024, by 9th District Court Judge Donna Dixon. Outside of court, North Star Electric Cooperative did receive a financial settlement from the parties. A statement issued Monday by North Star Electric Cooperative to the Northern Light Region states: “North Star Electric Cooperative has entered into a confidential settlement agreement relating to its theft of energy lawsuit against numerous defendants. The specific terms of the settlement cannot be discussed. The Cooperative can affirmatively say to its membership that the resulting terms of the settlement ensure that its membership has been made whole. With this successful outcome, we look forward to putting this legal matter behind us and focusing on our core mission of delivering safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to our members.” North Star Electric Cooperative, based in Baudette, was represented by Brandt Doerr, lead attorney, and Joel Fremstad. Ian McLean was the lead attorney representing Tina Fehlhaber of Badger, along with TiMar LLC. Cash Aaland was lead attorney representing Ryan Jaenicke, Ryan Jaenicke Trust, Northland Tire, Inc., Icebox LLC, and FJ Properties, LLC. Background: (from Northern Light Region reporting in November 2023) Attorneys for North Star Electric Cooperative, based in Baudette, filed a Civil lawsuit in Lake of the Woods County on November 21, 2023. The suit alleges that a man from Roseau and a woman from Badger, along with several entities the two own/operate, were involved in a scheme to steal thousands of dollars in electricity from North Star over several years. Named in the suit are Ryan Jaenicke, Tina Fehlhaber, Northland Tire, Inc., TiMar LLC, FJ Properties, LLC, Icebox LLC, Ryan Jaenicke as a Trustee of the Ryan L. Jaenicke Trust, and John Doe Persons and Entities as Defendants. The suit outlines the process by which North Star Electric officials discovered what they believe to be a “massive” theft of services. During a routine data review, North Star noticed a significant loss of electric power (also known as line loss) along its assets. In early May of 2023, North Star employees were performing inspections of distribution lines just outside of Roosevelt as part of its quest to determine the source of the line loss. During the inspections, they noticed a transformer hooked up at an address that had been disconnected from North Star’s Electric Cooperative’s services in 2018. Roseau County Law Enforcement was called. The Civil Complaint filed in court last week explains in detail the process of investigation that North Star employees and law enforcement undertook. They found “at least 26 Cryptocurrency mining units along with associated fans and other devices, that were connected to the unauthorized Conductor running directly from the two unauthorized 50KVA padmount transformers and which were clearly drawing massive amounts of unmetered electrical power. The source of the Line Loss had been found,” the complaint states. Later, in May 2023, law enforcement and North Star returned to the property with a search warrant and discovered the cryptocurrency mining units had been removed. The complaint further explains how the defendants had secured the transformers and restated a Facebook message thread from Jaenicke to an employee of North Star. The conversation allegedly shows Jaenicke offering money to the employee for technical information and to “not say a word.” YouTube Channel The complaint also points to a YouTube channel known as “Degenerate Passive Income,” where Ryan Jaenicke promotes his cryptocurrency activities. It featured numerous videos of Ryan Jaenicke talking about cryptocurrency. Mining cryptocurrency isn’t illegal in and of itself. It does require massive amounts of electricity. A sub-note to the Civil complaint filed in court explains, “Ultimately, this is a simple case about the theft of electricity, and one should not get distracted by the fact that cryptocurrency is involved, or that Defendants have worked to hide their bad acts and ill-gotten gains. That said, compared to most other uses of electricity, cryptocurrency mining takes an enormous amount of energy, with one study stating that mining for Bitcoin consumes more energy than used by many countries, including Norway. In this case, the mining units, which are essentially sophisticated computers, consume large amounts of energy and also generate lots of heat, which requires the running of fans. All of this appears to have been done 24 hours a day to solve the complicated algorithms that generate cryptocurrency.” North Star Electric’s Statement November 22, 2023, BAUDETTE, MINN. – North Star Electric Cooperative announced today its filing of a civil action for damages related to tampering with its electrical infrastructure and the related theft of electricity by numerous individuals and entities. North Star is in full cooperation with the proper authorities regarding a criminal investigation into the matter. “The activities under investigation impacted our ability to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to our membership,” said Kevin Holen, North Star Electric General Manager. “North Star is deeply committed to the integrity and resilience of our electrical infrastructure. Today, we take a decisive stand against those who seek to compromise the safety and stability of our critical systems. This matter impacts all North Star members and it’s important they know we’re doing everything possible to reach a just resolution.” The nature of the active investigation is confidential, and as such specific details cannot be provided at this time. North Star will keep the membership and public informed of any significant developments that can be shared without compromising the integrity of the active litigation and ongoing investigation. About North Star Electric Cooperative North Star Electric Cooperative is a member-owned, non-profit cooperative that was formed in 1940 for the sole purpose of providing electricity to rural north central Minnesota, including areas of Lake of the Woods, Koochiching, Roseau and St. Louis counties. The cooperative serves 5,590 members (more than 6,800 accounts) with over 1,467 miles of power lines between Warroad and Orr and employs 21 people. Everyone who purchases electricity from the cooperative is a member. We were created to efficiently deliver affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy to our homes, businesses, farms, and schools. North Star is a community-focused organization, providing jobs and investing in the communities we serve.
Smart Sitter Babysitting Class
Krista Pietruszewski
Kbpiet@gmail.com
The group of energetic young ladies that came out of the Tri-County School gymnasium doors on Saturday afternoon were well-informed and ready to take on their next babysitting jobs. The consensus of the group to take the course was that “we love children, it’s fun to babysit, and we get a course completion certificate at the end of the class.” They all seemed happy to be there and to take what they’ve learned and use it soon. The Smart Sitter Babysitting Class was on Saturday, May 11th. Instructor Jacey Spaeth of Grand Forks, ND says she “loves teaching this class, and it is so fun to be with younger youth, they have the greatest questions.” Spaeth works for Safe Kids of Grand Forks which has partnered with Kittson Healthcare to put this program on. This six-and-a-half-hour-long class consisted of topics that ranged from how to make a bottle to basic CPR. Issues of safe sleep to interacting with different age groups in your care. Also how to advocate for yourself as a babysitter to changing a diaper. The list goes on, but Spaeth said, “It is all about situational awareness, and knowing what to do in an emergency.” Spaeth also went through the importance of what to do in a situation of stranger danger, knowing emergency contacts, and the address that you are currently at. The job of babysitting has many perks, it can be fun. But also comes with some big responsibilities, like caring for another human being. This class helps bridge the gap between the basic fun responsibilities of babysitting and knowing what to do if an emergency does arise. This class seems to benefit everyone involved. The babysitter, the parents, and the children in care. Spaeth said, “I am willing to travel and build the capacity if needed for other communities.” She will be doing a class in Hallock on Saturday, June 8th. Sign-up is available!