North Shore reporter digs into story of Lutsen Lodge fire in new podcast
A North Shore reporter is digging into the twists and turns of the story for a forthcoming project: "The Fire: A Lutsen Podcast."
"I've been here for 13 years, and in my opinion, it's the biggest story that's happened up here," said Joe Friedrichs, an independent North Shore journalist.
He was the first reporter on scene the morning of Feb. 6, 2024, as the Lutsen Lodge burned.
By the time WCCO arrived hours later, only two chimneys were left standing.
The next day, WCCO learned Lutsen Lodge's most recent fire safety inspection found seven violations, three of which were unresolved.
"That's when the speculation really started," explained Friedrichs.
Speculation around the resort's owner, Bryce Campbell.
Multiple lawsuits from contractors, former employees, and rental property owners accused Campbell of owing them thousands of dollars. Except for a strongly worded email sent to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Campbell refused interviews for a year until he sat down with Friedrichs.
"I ask him point blank if he started the fire," said Friedrichs.
"Pretty straight forward question. I can also answer no, of course not," explained Campbell in a clip from "The Fire: A Lutsen Podcast."
Campbell has not been charged, and the fire investigation is still active.
Friedrichs and podcast editor Julie Censullo plan to tell the complete story of what happened before, during and after the fire.
"This is really sad. What had happened there under his ownership, too. A lot of people felt pushed out," said Friedrichs.
While the unanswered questions are an important piece to "The Fire: A Lutsen Podcast," Friedrichs says at its heart it focuses on the toll it took on many in the community.
"Ours is about the history of this cherished place, and this mournful, sad, tragic feeling that the state of Minnesota now has around that place," said Friedrichs. "Very, very personal experiences with the place, and then to see it go down in the way that it did with the fire and these changes that I think the easiest way to sum it up . . . is that it people are really sad about what happened there."
A Kickstarter campaign is underway to raise $5,000 by Sept. 1 to fund the production and distribution of the podcast.
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