KENNETH E. TILSEN: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society

Manuscript Collections

KENNETH E. TILSEN:

An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society


OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION
	Creator:	Tilsen, Kenneth E., 1927-.
	Title:	Kenneth E. Tilsen papers.
	Date:	1964-1988, 1991.
	Abstract:	Legal files for selected cases and personal papers documenting Tilsen's career as an attorney in St. Paul, Minnesota.
	Quantity:	22.5 cu. ft. (23 boxes).
	Location:	See Detailed Description for shelf locations

Return to the Table of Contents

BIOGRAPHY OF KENNETH E. TILSEN

Kenneth Earl Tilsen was born on 4 November 1927 in New Leipzig, North Dakota, one of five children in the family. Tilsen's family lived briefly in Michigan, then moved to St. Paul, Minnesota when Tilsen was in the first grade.

Tilsen's awareness of social inequities and the disenfranchised began early in life. Tilsen's father founded Tilsen Homes, the Twin Cities' first builder of integrated housing. Tilsen spent his formative years in St. Paul's Selby-Dale neighborhood, at the time the most integrated in the Twin Cities and later attended integrated Marshall High School. After serving briefly in the navy, Tilsen went on to the University of Minnesota where he completed law school, graduating at the top of his class in 1950.

Tilsen began his legal career with the firm of Robbins, Davis & Lyons where he practiced for fourteen years before becoming an independent practitioner. Throughout his life Tilsen has been an active supporter of what he described as "political and social movements for change." Areas of particular interest during his legal career included draft resistance, civil rights, student protests, and other issues relating to social activism. In 1964 Tilsen was investigated by the House Committee on un-American Activities for alleged activities as president of a Marxist-Socialist club during 1948-1950 at the University of Minnesota. He made news headlines when he staunchly refused to answer the committee's questions regarding activities before September 1950, when the Internal Security and Subversive Activities Control Acts were passed, giving the committee its authority. After successfully thwarting the committee's attack on himself, Tilsen became known as a "protest" attorney, taking public interest cases, often pro bono, and defending other "anti-establishment" protesters, such as members of the Honeywell Project and the students involved in the 1969 takeover of the University of Minnesota's Morrill Hall. Tilsen also represented members of the famed "Minnesota Eight" accused of a 1970 draft office break-in. Following the 71-day Indian occupation of the village of Wounded Knee (S.D.) in 1973, Tilsen gained national prominence as chief legal coordinator for the Wounded Knee Legal Defense/Offense Committee and attorney for American Indian Movement leaders Dennis Banks and Russell Means.

In 1947 Tilsen married Rachel Le Sueur, daughter of Minnesota writer, feminist, and activist Meridel Le Sueur. The two had met earlier that year at St. Paul's Prom Ballroom at a protest over its policy not to admit blacks. The couple had five children. Following his retirement from legal practice in 1993, Tilsen joined the faculty at Hamline University Law School, specializing in teaching litigation skills and running a clinic through which students learned to handle public interest lawsuits.

Return to the Table of Contents

SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE PAPERS

Legal files for selected cases documenting Tilsen's career as an attorney in St. Paul, Minnesota, including press releases and clippings, correspondence, pleadings, briefs, orders, affidavits, interrogatories, depositions, trial and hearing transcripts, exhibits, reports, research files, notes, and other related documents.

The largest portion of the collection concerns the fight against the installation of a high voltage power line in southern Minnesota known as the Wilmarth line. Led by a citizen's organization known as SLAM (Southern Minnesota Landowners Alliance), the case was a continuation of the larger battle begun in the mid-1970s when the United Power Association and Cooperative Power Association first announced a joint plan to install the main section of the power line across central Minnesota.

Issues of particular prominence addressed in the cases include black student activism at the University of Minnesota (the Morrill Hall trial); condemnation of privately owned, non-blighted property for urban renewal (Coleman v. St. Paul HRDA); FBI harassment of individuals protesting the weapons industry (Honeywell Project v. Honeywell Inc.); foreclosure of family farms; the legal aftermath of the 1985-1986 Hormel meatpackers strike (Hansen v. Guyette and the Austin Labor Center case); and the protection of Indian lands (Warledo and Cowboy and Indian Alliance cases).

Return to the Table of Contents


ORGANIZATION OF THE PAPERS
	These documents are organized into the following sections:
	Personal Papers.

	Legal Case Files:
		Thomas Coleman v. St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRDA).
		William Irish, et al. v. Minnesota D.F.L.
		State of Minnesota v. Rose Mary Freeman, et al.
		USA v. Warledo, et al.
		Honeywell Project v. Honeywell Inc., et al.
		State of Minnesota v. Paul Sobocinski.
		State of Minnesota v. Randolph Staten.
		Minnesota 33%, et al. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture.
		United Food and Commercial Workers Local P-9 Cases.
		Cowboy and Indian Alliance, et al. v. Honeywell, Inc., et al. (Honeywell Ordnance Proving Ground or HOPG II).
		Southern Landowners Alliance of Minnesota (SLAM) Cases.

Return to the Table of Contents


RELATED MATERIALS
	Additional background and materials related to the SLAM (Southern Landowners Alliance of Minnesota) cases may be found in the following: The Minnesota Powerline Oral History Project, separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society oral history collections; the Consolidated Powerline Litigation Files, 1974-1978, of the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, State Planning Division, separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society state archives collections; and the United Power Association Records, separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.
	A taped interview with Paul Sobocinski as part of the Minnesota Farm Advocate Oral History Project may be found separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society oral history collection.
	A copy of the Portrait interview with Ken Tilsen is separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society audiovisual collections.
	Tilsen represented Francis Xavier Kroncke, one of the "Minnesota Eight" accused in a 1970 draft office break-in. The papers of Francis Xavier Kroncke, which include descriptions of Tilsen's legal defense tactics, are separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.
	Records of the Wounded Knee Legal Defense/Offense Committee (1966-1990), on which Tilsen was one of the major attorneys, are separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.
	Additional information about Tilsen and his family, including a taped interview with Tilsen on the topic of the Wounded Knee trials, may be found in the Meridel Le Sueur papers, cataloged separately in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.

Return to the Table of Contents


INDEX TERMS
	This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics should search the catalog using these headings.
	Topics:
		Urban renewal -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
		Political conventions -- Law and legislation -- Minnesota.
		Apportionment (Election law) -- Minnesota.
		Afro-American student movements -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
		Farm foreclosure -- Minnesota.
		Legislators -- Professional ethics -- Minnesota.
		Voter registration -- Minnesota.
		Electric power distribution -- Environmental aspects -- Minnesota.
		Electric lines -- Law and legislation -- Minnesota.
		Electric lines -- Health aspects -- Minnesota.
		Electric power consumption -- Minnesota.
		City planning and redevelopment law -- Minnesota.
		Peace movements -- Minnesota.
		Land use -- Law and legislation.
		Afro-American legislators -- Minnesota.
		Geo. A. Hormel & Company Strike, Austin, Minn., 1985-1986.
		High voltages -- Environmental aspects -- Minnesota.
		Land tenure -- Black Hills (S.D. and Wyo.).
		Strikes and lockouts -- Meat industry -- Minnesota -- Austin.
		Labor unions -- Rules and practice.
		United States. Freedom of Information Act.
	Persons:
		Ahaisse, Thomas Lee.
		Coleman, Thomas.
		Davidov, Marv.
		Duranske, George.
		Freeman, Rose Mary.
		Guyette, James V.
		Hansen, Joseph T.
		Huntley, Horace.
		Quinn, Meridith Malcolm.
		Sobocinski, Paul.
		Staten, Randolph.
		Tilsen, Rachel.
		Tucker, Warren.
		Warledo, Jack.
		Warledo, Johnson.
		Wellstone, Paul David.
	Organizations:
		Austin Labor Center, Inc. (Minn.).
		Clergy and Laity Concerned (U.S.).
		Cooperative Power Association (Minn.).
		Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
		Groundswell (Organization).
		Honeywell Inc.
		Honeywell Project (Minneapolis, Minn.).
		Minnesota 33%.
		Minnesota Energy Agency.
		Minnesota Environmental Quality Council.
		New Democratic Coalition (U.S.).
		Seminole Nation.
		Seminole Nation Treaty People.
		SLAM (Organization).
		United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. Local P-9 (Austin, Minn.).
		United Power Association.
		United States. Dept. of Agriculture.
		United States. Food and Nutrition Service. Food Distribution Division.
		University of Minnesota.
	Places:
		Saint Paul (Minn.) -- Areas, districts, sections, etc. -- Downtown.
	Document Types:
		Photographs.
		Briefs (legal documents).
		Affidavits.
		audio cassettes.
		videocassettes.
	Occupations:
		Lawyers.

Return to the Table of Contents


ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
	Preferred Citation:
		[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Kenneth E. Tilsen Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
		See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples
	Accession Information:
		Accession number: 15,026; 15,511
	Processing Information:
		Processed by: Lara D. Friedman-Shedlov, April 1997; May 2000
		Catalog ID number: 09-00042825

Return to the Table of Contents

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Note to Researchers: To request materials, please note both the location and box numbers shown below.

Personal Papers

Comprising only a small portion of the collection, the series of personal papers include Tilsen's Freedom of Information Act requests for information from the FBI on its investigations of him during the 1950s-1970s, as well as several files concerning the New Democratic Coalition. The former files include correspondence with various FBI offices and officials as well as documents released over the years as he continued to pursue the requests. Materials released by the FBI document the organization's investigation of him for alleged involvement with the Communist Party and other "socialist" causes and actions. Most were requested as part of Tilsen's efforts to confirm that he was the target of COINTELPRO, an FBI program he believed was used to discredit him and interfere with the trial of three black students he was representing (see the Rose Mary Freeman et al. case below). Many of these documents were heavily censored by the FBI.

The New Democratic Coalition files include primarily correspondence and minutes documenting the formation and early activities of the group, the Minnesota branch of which was formed in early 1969 in an effort to restructure and "democratize the practices, policies, and proceedings within the DFL party of Minnesota."

Location

Box

151.I.10.7B

FBI Freedom of Information Act Requests:

Correspondence and documents released, 1975.

Correspondence, 1977, 1979-1983.

Documents released (materials dating 1979-1978). 4 folders

New Democratic Coalition:

Correspondence, agendas, minutes, and miscellaneous materials, undated and 1968-1969. 3 folders

Location

Box

151.F.9.10F

Portrait (KTCA television program), featuring an interview with Tilsen, June 20, 1991. 1 videocassette.

NOTE: An additional copy of this tape is available, separately cataloged, in the Minnesota Historical Society audiovisual collections.

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Organization of the Collection Section

Legal Case Files:

The bulk of the Kenneth Tilsen papers consists of legal files for selected cases documenting Tilsen's career as an attorney in St. Paul, Minnesota. The files include press releases and clippings, correspondence, pleadings, briefs, orders, affidavits, interrogatories, depositions, trial and hearing transcripts, exhibits, reports, research files, notes, and other related documents. Case files are arranged chronologically with the exception of the SLAM files, which are located at the end of the collection. Note that unless otherwise noted, file dates refer to the dates that materials were gathered and/or created by Tilsen as part of his legal proceedings. Occasionally these dates differ from the dates the materials in the files were originally created (for example, documents gathered as evidence or as part of research for a case).

Files included in the collection were chosen by Tilsen as representative of the cases he took and the causes he supported in his legal career (see also the Related Materials note for additional materials).

Location

Box

151.I.10.7B

Thomas Coleman v. St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRDA):

Tilsen represented Thomas Coleman, the owner of a parking lot on a block in downtown St. Paul slated for condemnation as part of the Capital Centre urban renewal project (Project R-20) in the late 1960s. The case revolved around whether the city exceeded its authority in seeking to condemn a blighted area that was not a slum. The files include press clippings, pleadings, and an extensive series of both petitioner's and respondent's exhibits. The exhibits provide a detailed picture of the area at the time, including numerous photographs, plans, charts, and reports on the conditions of buildings on the blocks in the proposed development area.

Location

Box

151.I.10.7B

Press clippings, 1967.

Notes, memoranda, correspondence, and miscellaneous materials, 1964-1968. 2 folders

Pleadings and other court documents, 1967-1968. 2 folders

Decision, 1968.

Research Materials:

Condemnation.

Market data.

Income data.

First National Bank.

Northwestern Bell site.

YWCA.

Degree of Honor.

Hilton Hotel.

Exhibits:

Exhibit indexes and related materials.

Location

Box

151.I.10.8F

Petitioner's exhibits: A-Q. 13 folders

Petitioner's exhibits: Z-Z14. 21 photographs.

Petitioner's exhibit BB. 3 folders

Location

Box

151.I.10.9B

Respondent's exhibits 1-20 and 24-37. 7 folders

Miscellaneous trial documents not introduced (materials dated 1961-1967). 10 folders

William Irish, et al. v. Minnesota D.F.L.:

In this case the plaintiffs, represented by Tilsen, alleged that their right to participate in the 1968 presidential nominating process was infringed by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party. The plaintiffs argued that the DFL's geographic-, rather than population-based ("one man--one vote") system of apportioning delegates unfairly weighted the vote in favor of rural districts. Materials in the files include press clippings, pleadings, and a hearing transcript.

Location

Box

151.I.10.9B

Press clippings and notes, 1968.

Hearing, August 1968.

Pleadings, briefs, and related materials, 1968.

Location

Box

151.I.10.10F

State of Minnesota v. Rose Mary Freeman, et al.:

This trial, also known as the Morrill Hall case, accused three students involved in a January 1969 protest at the University of Minnesota in which Morrill Hall, an administration building, was the scene of a sit-in by members of the University's Afro-American Action Committee. The students demanded a black studies department, financial support for a black conference, and black control of the University's Martin Luther King Scholarship Fund. The University attempted to charge three black student leaders with responsibility for the damage which occurred during the student occupation.

Records relating to Tilsen's defense of these students are less complete than many of the other cases in the collection, but do include correspondence, pleadings, instructions to the jury, and trial notes. Also included is a report prepared by a University committee formed immediately after the incident and charged with pulling together a factual account of the demonstration and the events which led to it. This report includes useful background information on the organizations involved and the context in which the protest took place.

Location

Box

151.I.10.10F

Miscellaneous correspondence, 1969.

Grand jury, 1969.

Pleadings, 1969. 2 folders

Evidentiary matters, 1969.

University summary and proposal, 1969.

Instructions to the jury, 1969.

Trial notes, 1969.

USA v. Warledo, et al.:

Tilsen represented members of the Seminole Nation Treaty People, a group of Seminole Indians who attempted to demand payment from three railroads for use of right-of-way through land they believed ceded to the Seminole Nation by several 19th century treaties. Following the delivery of a written ultimatum demanding $217,580 in November of 1975 and a subsequent suspicious fire on a Santa Fe Railroad bridge, Johnson Warledo and five other individuals were accused of conspiracy, extortion, and possession of firearms.

Location

Box

151.I.10.10F

Press clippings, 1974-1977.

Correspondence pre-mandate, May 1976 - August 1977.

Correspondence post-mandate, August 1977 - January 1978, September 1980.

Expenses, 1977-1978.

Discovery and investigation.

Briefs, pleadings, and other court documents, 1976-1977. 2 folders

Bond material, 1976-1977.

Warledo motions, post appeal, 1977.

Orders, August - December 1977.

Miscellaneous trial documents, 1975-1976.

Jury matters, 1976-1977.

Trial transcript, volumes I-V (missing pages 85-234, 402-454). 3 folders

Photographs, undated. 33 photographs.

Sentencing, 1977-1978.

Research:

Related cases and pleadings.

Location

Box

151.I.10.11B

"The Five Tribes: An Analysis of the Legal Status of the Seminole Nation," undated.

Seminole, Oklahoma, 1975-1976.

Seminole Treaty Nation, 1977.

Post appeal research.

Miscellaneous research.

Honeywell Project v. Honeywell Inc., et al.:

This case focused on the Honeywell Project, an anti-war group organized to protest the production of anti-personnel mines and other weapons headed for Vietnam by Honeywell. Tilsen, representing the Honeywell Project, attempted to prove that Honeywell and the FBI had conspired to violate the constitutional rights of the protesters by infiltrating the Honeywell Project, keeping dossiers on its members, and disrupting their activities. After an eight-year legal battle, a settlement favorable to the Honeywell Project was reached in 1985.

One of the more extensively documented cases in the collection, files include press clippings, correspondence, a comprehensive series of pleadings, briefs, orders, and other court documents from throughout the eight-year span of the case, several depositions by key Honeywell and FBI executives, and a large series of discovery materials containing information gathered by Honeywell and the FBI on the Honeywell Project during the 1960s and 1970s. The files also include two videos of 1970 Honeywell meetings at which the Honeywell Project members protested.

Location

Box

151.I.10.11B

Press clippings, 1984-1985.

Correspondence, 1981-1985. 2 folders

Summary memoranda.

Motions, pleadings, briefs, complaints, interrogatories, and related materials, 1977-1979. 9 folders

Location

Box

151.I.10.12F

Motions, pleadings, briefs, complaints, interrogatories, and related materials, undated and 1979-1985. 13 folders

Court orders, 1977-1985.

Honeywell sanctions, etc., undated and 1984-1985.

Depositions and Related Documents:

William P. Effertz transcript and related documents, April 1981. 2 folders

Location

Box

151.I.10.13B

James H. Binger transcript, April 1981.

Richard H. Held transcript, April 1981.

Stephen F. Keating transcript, April 1981.

Frederick Cary transcript and related documents, June 1981. 4 folders

John Manning transcript and related documents, June 1981. 2 folders

Statement proposals, undated.

Discovery Documents:

"Special" discovery documents. 3 folders

Honeywell Discovery:

Honeywell Project, 1969.

Honeywell Project and CALC (Clergy and Laity concerned), 1970-1974. 2 folders

CALC (Phoenix, Ariz.), Tempe Peace Center (Ariz.), 1972.

Miscellaneous documents of interest, undated.

FBI Discovery:

Honeywell Project, 1969-1977. 5 folders

CALC, 1970-1971.

Location

Box

151.I.10.14F

CALC: Louisville, Ky.; Greenville, S.C.; Chicago, Ill.; and Denver, Colo..

Evan Stark, 1968-1973. 2 folders

Davidov Freedom of Information Act request files (materials dated 1965-1976). 3 folders

Selected significant documents dated 1968-1976.

1970 Stockholders meeting. 1 videocassette ( 3/4", 17 minutes).

1970 newsreel footage of annual meeting (4 min.); "Demonstration in Front of G.O." (5 min.), 1 videocassette (3/4").

Research notecards. 2 boxes of 3x5" cards.

Location

Box

151.F.8.10F

Research notecards. 2 boxes of 3x5" cards.

Materials found with notecards.

Miscellaneous memos and documents, undated and 1970s-1980s. 2 folders

Miscellaneous working papers, [1970s?].

State of Minnesota v. Paul Sobocinski:

Tilsen defended Paul Sobocinski, a leader of the farm activist group Groundswell, when he was arrested during a farm foreclosure sale protest. Sobocinski was accused of obstructing a legal process after he and other members of Groundswell attempted to prevent the auctioning of a foreclosed farm at the Otter Tail County (Minnesota) courthouse in July 1985. Tilsen won the case on appeal, but materials in the collection document only the first trial, during which Sobocinski was convicted.

Location

Box

151.F.8.10F

Newspaper clippings, articles, May - December 1985.

Correspondence and related materials, 1985-1986.

Pleadings, orders, and other court documents, 1985.

Memorandums to the court, December 1985.

Appeal motions, briefs, opinions, and other related documents, December 1985 - October 1986. 2 folders

Petition for release from custody, December 1985.

Conditions of release, January 1986.

Exhibits, 1985.

Police reports, investigation, 1985.

Jury Matters:

Jury selection, 1985.

Instructions to the jury, 1985.

Location

Box

151.F.8.11B

Trial notes, December 1985.

Attorney General's instructions to sheriffs.

Groundswell information.

Marshall, Minnesota matters.

Research:

Character evidence.

Cases and citations.

State of Minnesota v. Randoph Staten:

This case concerns the attempt by the Minnesota House of Representatives to expel Representative Randolph ("Randy") Staten, then the state's only black legislator. Following a misdemeanor conviction for writing bad checks and censure by the Ethical Practices Board of failing to comply with the state's campaign reporting law, in March of 1986 the Rules Committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives recommended that Staten be expelled. Tilsen provided counsel for Staten in connection with matters before the legislature, successfully preventing the expulsion on condition that Staten refrain from running in the next election. Tilsen also represented him in an (unsuccessful) appeal by the State to change his misdemeanor to a felony conviction.

Materials in these files concern both Staten's criminal convictions and the subsequent hearings and repercussions in the House of Representatives, though neither are documented extensively. The proceedings of the Select Committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives are the most thoroughly documented aspect of this case. Press clippings on this case refer almost exclusively to this event. Transcripts, as well as carefully indexed audio tapes, of Staten's hearing before the Select Committee are also included.

Location

Box

151.F.8.11B

Press clippings, February - March 1986.

Correspondence, undated and 1985-1988.

Miscellaneous court documents, 1985-1986.

Staten exhibits and lists.

Select Committee:

Correspondence, reports, and miscellaneous documents, undated and 1986.

Tapes and indexes, 1986. 1 folder including 5 audio cassette tapes.

Transcript of Select Committee hearings, February - March 1986.

Ethical Practices Board, 1984-1986. 1 folder including 1 audio cassette tape.

Research:

Legal research.

Statutes and laws.

Minnesota 33%, et al. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture:

Minnesota 33% filed suit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1986 when members were refused permission to set up non-partisan voter registration tables at a surplus commodity distribution center in Anoka County, Minnesota. The case revolved around interpretation of USDA regulations that are meant to prohibit any activities that may lead the recipients of goods to believe that registering to vote, voting, or being eligible to vote are preconditions to receiving food or commodities. Tilsen represented Minnesota 33%, Paul Wellstone, and Boyd Shepard Lebow in the case, which was eventually resolved by the parties involved. Files include pleadings and orders, unused affidavits, materials relating to Paul Wellstone's voter registration-related activities, legal research, and a small amount of correspondence.

Location

Box

151.F.8.11B

Correspondence and miscellaneous related papers, October - November 1986.

Pleadings and orders, October 1986.

Notes on conversations; unused affidavit by Fehner of Anoka County Community Action Program (ACCAP), 1986.

Notes: Paul Wellstone.

Legal research.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local P-9 Cases:

These cases were just a few of many legal disputes that erupted when United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local P-9 members, all employees of the Hormel meat-packing plant in Austin, Minnesota, were ordered by the UFCW International to cease a strike that had initially been authorized. When the Local refused to end its strike as ordered, the International placed the Local in trusteeship.

Tilsen's cases concern a dispute between the Local P-9 and Joseph Hansen, the trustee appointed for the Local P-9 by the International in May 1986. Much of the dispute focused on control of the Local P-9's headquarters, the Austin Labor Center, which was run by a separate corporation, the Austin Labor Center, Inc., and the corporation's assets. The trustee also brought suit against James Guyette and other former officers of the Local P-9, accusing them of violating court orders by obstructing the trustee from taking control of assets. Tilsen represented the Austin Labor Center, Inc. and the Local P-9 members in these cases, which were eventually dismissed or settled after more than two years of legal wrangling. Files consist primarily of a chronological series of pleadings, affidavits, orders, and other court documents. In addition the series includes correspondence, interrogatories, and research files. The correspondence files include color snapshots of the Austin Labor Center mural, which was destroyed by vandals during the legal dispute.

Location

Box

151.F.8.11B

Austin Labor Center v. John Anker, et al.:

Correspondence and miscellaneous related papers, 1985-1987.

Pleadings, court orders, and other court documents, June - July 1986, January 1987.

Location

Box

151.F.8.12F

Austin Labor Center minutes, articles of incorporation, and bylaws.

Joseph Hansen, et al. v. James Guyette, et al.:

Correspondence and miscellaneous related papers, 1986-1988.

Pleadings, affidavits, and other court documents, 1986.

Pleadings, affidavits and other court documents, undated and 1987-1988. 4 folders

Interrogatories and discovery matters, 1987-1988. 2 folders

Research and memoranda. 2 folders

Cowboy and Indian Alliance, et al. v. Honeywell, Inc., et al. (Honeywell Ordnance Proving Ground or HOPG II):

In this case Tilsen represented a group of Native Americans and ranchers in a 1987 fight against plans by Honeywell, Inc. to build a test range for weapons in the Black Hills area of South Dakota. The proposed munitions site was known as Honeywell Ordnance Proving Ground II, or HOPG II. The protesting group, known as the Cowboy and Indian Alliance, argued that the weapons testing would harm the fragile canyon environment, threaten land values, usurp prime grazing land, and desecrate an area held holy by the Dakota. Files include press clippings, correspondence, pleadings, orders, and other court documents. Although never officially used, the affidavits provide a helpful insight into the type of testimony presented by witnesses. The materials on this case also include a fairly extensive series of research files which document the varying grounds on which the plaintiffs protested the installation of HOPG II.

Location

Box

151.F.8.12F

Press clippings, February - August 1987.

Correspondence and miscellaneous related papers, June - October 1987.

Complaint, July 1987.

Pleadings, orders, and other court documents, July - August 1987.

Miscellaneous affidavits prepared by never used, August 1987.

Attorney's fees issue, 1987.

Concerned Citizen correspondence with U.S. Forest Serivce, 1987.

Research and Background Information:

Religious use.

Archaeology/cultural.

Endangered mammals; endangered plants; endangered fish; air quality; water resources and quality; Bald Eagle Protection Act, 1987.

Honeywell Minnesota Munitions & Manufacturing facility pollution; corporate info; mineral entry withdrawal; Forest Service Reg'l [sic] Office FOIA response; U.S. Forest Service land management plan; USFS mailing list; Department of Defense mailing list; scheduling material; miscellaneous, 1987.

Southern Landowners Alliance of Minnesota (SLAM) Cases:

Representing almost half the collection, the SLAM cases were one of the most extensive and significant of Tilsen's career. The conflict had its beginnings in 1974 when the United Power Association (UPA) and Cooperative Power Association (CPA) announced plans to jointly construct a new electricity generation complex, known as the Coal Creek Project, near Underwood, North Dakota and to run a 436-mile transmission line across the state of Minnesota to a converter station near Delano. Over the course of nearly a decade concerned citizens fought the planned construction, both in the courts and in the fields, arguing that the power line would endanger animal and human health, unfairly take away productive agricultural land, and interfere with the farming of adjacent land. Despite a 1977 Minnesota Supreme Court ruling in favor of the power cooperatives, many opponents continued to protest the power line, resulting in continued legal challenges, protests, and even vandalism. UPA reported sixteen towers were toppled and thousands of insulators were shot out during the course of construction.

The Southern Landowners Alliance of Minnesota was formed in 1979 to fight the "Wilmarth" branch of the power line, extending from Delano to Mankato, Minnesota. Tilsen represented SLAM in a series of legal battles from 1979 to 1982 which argued that the 75-mile extension was essentially unnecessary and illegal. Unlike the earlier cases, which focused on proving the potential negative impact of the power lines on the local economy, environment, people, and livestock, Tilsen took a different tack, focusing on flaws in the process by which the power cooperatives gained approval for the project. Tilsen contended that the need for the power line had never been properly demonstrated, that the citizens affected were not properly informed about hearings, and that Minnesota Energy Agency and other agencies ignored key evidence and acted arbitrarily in granting approval to the project.

SLAM-related materials are organized into four major groups reflecting the stages of the dispute in which Tilsen was involved. The Pre-SLAM files, created and given to Tilsen by attorney George Duranske II, concern the construction of the central line and the protests and legal action, primarily in Pope and Stearns counties, that ensued. These materials, dating from 1974, when the protest first erupted, through 1979, provide background and context for the later SLAM cases. Included in this group are press clippings, correspondence, reports, and court documents from the District Court and Supreme Court cases.

Materials grouped under the title SLAM I document the legal battle against the Wilmarth line. The three major series of files within this group chronicle the first appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court (Supreme Court I), the subsequent hearing before a three-judge panel, and the final Minnesota Supreme Court appeal (Supreme Court II), ultimately requiring the Minnesota Energy Agency (MEA) to conduct new hearings (after giving proper notice) to determine the need for the power line. Also included are the pleadings and appellant proceedings from the original District Court cases in each of the counties affected. Newspaper clippings, dating from 1979 to 1980, provide a particularly helpful outline of events.

The SLAM II files document the new hearing ordered by the Minnesota Supreme Court, held in late October 1981. As a result of testimony presented at these hearings the state hearing examiner ruled that the Wilmarth line would not be needed to forestall an electricity shortage. Following this decision, the power cooperatives voted to withdraw their motion for construction and plans for the extension were subsequently abandoned. These hearings are the most comprehensively documented stage of the case in the collection. In addition to correspondence, pleadings, and other related court documents, the materials include an extensive collection of testimony filed by the power cooperatives, including a great deal of demographic and energy demand forecast data on the period from the 1970s to the 1990s.

SLAM III files concern (ultimately successful) efforts by Tilsen to claim attorney's fees from the power cooperatives. SLAM members represented by Tilsen during the fight to prevent construction of the Wilmarth line sought reimbursement under a statute which allows a landowner to recover attorney's fees and costs when land condemnation proceedings are dismissed or discontinued. Materials include press clippings, miscellaneous court documents, trial transcripts, and documentation of Tilsen's costs and hours spent on the litigation.

Location

Box

151.F.8.13B

Pre-SLAM (George L. Duranske III Files):

Press clippings, 1974-1975.