Ellis Olkon is the lawyer-husband of Nancy Olkon, a candidate for Hennepin County Board of Commissioners in 1994. The Twin Cities Reader published a story in August 1994, just before the primary election, that characterized her tenure on the Board in the late ’70s as tumultuous and brought up her husband’s conviction (now expunged) and temporary disbarment. Mr. Olkon complains that the Reader was unfair in relying upon sources hostile to him and by not contacting him for comment on the story, although at least half of the story was about him and not about his wife, the candidate. Additionally, he claims the Reader defamed him by reporting that federal officials had accused him of having a financial interest in the Bunny Hutch, “a notorious St. Louis Park whorehouse,” and reporting that he “had” a witness testify to something in a court case, unfairly implying that he had induced false testimony. He says he was not charged with any crimes related to the Bunny Hutch. Finally Olkon felt the Reader story inaccurately characterized the results of a lawsuit the Olkons filed against Mark Andrew, another county commissioner, alleging unfair campaign practices.

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McCauley, a county commissioner in Winona, complains that the newspaper was unfair by not asking for his comment when it printed a story in which another commissioner quoted a constituent who asked if McCauley was “on the take” or was just stupid, and a second story in which the other commissioner said he believed McCauley had cut a deal with a private company seeking a waste-disposal contract.

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Reiva complained that the Northwest News, a free paper, was unfair in publishing a letter on the eve of a primary election that misled readers to believe he was an atheist, and that the newspaper’s coverage showed a pattern of bias against him. In alleging bias, Reiva pointed to several examples: an editor’s note attached to his campaign manager’s rebuttal letter, which Reiva characterized as “hostile;” the lack of publication of his and his supporters’ rebuttal letters to a letter attacking him by a former mayor; failure to edit out incorrect references to him in a letter by Ron Christensen, although it was brought to the editor’s attention that the information was incorrect and she edited out references to other politicians; and finally, editing of one of his letters to remove information critical of Dean Nyquist (who once worked as the paper’s legal representative.)

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Former Washington County commissioner Sally Evert complained that the Gazette was unfair to her re-election campaign by running a front-page article under a four-column headline promoting her opponent’s candidacy, with a byline of a writer who was a campaign worker for him, but who was not so identified. It also ran her opponent’s thank-you to his supporters as a guest column, with his picture, but ran her thank-you as a letter to the editor with no picture. FInally, it ran a critical letter to the editor without saying that the writer was her opponent’s campaign manager.

Raymond Ploetz, the complainant, appeared on his own behalf; Andrew and Grace Gibas, co-publishers and editors, appeared for the Circulating Pines.

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Veda Ponikvar, publisher of the Chisholm Free Press-Tribune Press, did not attend but responded to complainant and to the Council in writing and met with the Council’s executive director in Chisholm on March 2, 1988. Complainant Edward Tekautz attended the hearing.

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Present at the hearing were Bill Batcher, the grievant, and Douglas Hennes, Metro Editor for the St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch.

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The grievance arises out of the news coverage afforded by the three newspapers of the 1984 election campaign for state representative of District 35B, between K. J. McDonald (I-R), the incumbent, and Jim Hoese (DFL), the challenger. McDonald won the strenuous campaign. The Hoese DFL House Campaign Committee raises the following issues …

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Complainant John Meiners claims the Delano Eagle should apologize for choosing to run an advertisement in which false information was written about him. He claims the news source should have known the facts or at least contacted him about the ad. 

Grievant, an unsuccessful candidate for a state representative seat, claims that the newspaper wrongly accused him of “dirty tricks” in an editorial published after the election.

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