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Health Dept. Closes Schmidtke’s Trent Assisted Living Center

Sad news from Trent: Jon Walker and Jonathan Ellis report that the state Department of Health shut down the Trent Assisted Living Facility last month. Secretary Doneen Hollingsworth says her people are still investigating, but a complaint led the department to discover "conditions jeopardizing the health and safety of residents" of sufficient gravity to warrant immediate suspension of the facility's license. On top of not receiving the care they'd paid for, the residents of the facility had to be relocated.

This story also firmly and mercilessly punctuates Clark Schmidtke Sr.'s professional and political careers. Schmidtke ran for District 8 Senate last year. Senator Russell Olson gave him one of the hardest thrashings in the state, in no small part due to the October surprise of Schmidtke's previous malfeasance in providing adult health care and following campaign finance rules in Minnesota.

Schmidtke stood no chance of mounting another serious political campaign. Walker and Ellis report Schmidtke has resigned from his position as an officer of the Moody County Democrats. And just to make matters worse, I hear through the grapevine that Schmidtke is facing serious health problems of his own... not that that excuses whatever collapse in quality of care took place in Trent.

7 Comments

  1. Stace Nelson 2011.10.17

    Takes a big person to print this story in light of your previous blogging history on the subject. Good for you.

  2. caheidelberger Post author | 2011.10.17

    My bigness or smallness is the least part of this story... but thanks for the note, Stace. I mention the story since it was a significant part of the blog narrative last year; narrative completeness thus requires some mention of this last turn.

  3. Troy Jones 2011.10.18

    I agree with Stace. Always there is something more important that stands on the issues- personal character.

  4. Douglas Wiken 2011.10.18

    Larry K, according to Vince Gill cussers are everywhere and don't warrant much pay. Anyway, David Newquist suggests that Obama put the jobs in his jobs bill and he will go to work since as a former drill instructor, he is perhaps nearly overly qualified in the cussing skills.

  5. Roger Elgersma 2011.10.18

    Must have been real bad to be shut down in a no regulation state.

Comments are closed.