Chester J. Mirocha, a plant pathology professor at the University of Minnesota, complained that the newspaper unfairly damaged his reputation and caused him personal grief by falsely implying that he knowingly conducted secret biological warfare research for the State Department despite a University ban on such research.
Jon Belisle of St. Paul complained that the newspaper had denied him fair access to its letters-to-the-editor column.
Mary Peek, a longtime DFL activist, complained that the newspaper was irresponsible and unfair when it used her for publicity purposes without prior permission, and when it reneged on commitments made to her without first consulting with her.
Doug Elwood, et al., acting on behalf of 14 area gay rights groups, complained that an entertainment column contained inaccuracies and descriptive words offensive to local gay rights groups. Even though a second column by the same writer admitted and corrected the errors, Elwood complained that it didn’t sufficiently remedy the original inaccuracies and that defamatory language was used in both columns.