We actually did this on Monday, but with all of the Alerus news coming out I didn’t get a chance to post this until now. 

Steve Hyman
Executive Director Alerus Center

Dear Mr. Hyman:

This is an open records request for financial information from 2008.  It was reported in the media that the “Event Fund” had significant losses.  The fund began with a positive balance of $250,000 and ended the year with large negative.

The actual amount of the losses seems to be in dispute.  The Grand Forks Herald reported a loss of $719,000.  The Alerus Commission ran an ad in the Herald that claimed a loss of $630,892.  An October 31st story in the Herald said that the loss was $499,000.

When the Alerus Center’s financial results were released late February of this year said that the Neil Diamond concert lost about $250,000 out of the event fund.

We should know how much of our money was actually lost out of that fund and we should know exactly where our money went.

To this end we are asking for an accounting of the losses in the event fund for 2008.  We want to know what specific events (name of the events and dates)  lost the money in that fund and what amount of money that they lost.  We’d like the cost accounting for each of those events that you prepare after those events are completed.

We’d also like an accounting of any and all benefits that members of the Alerus commission may have received in 2008.  That includes free admission and or tickets to members of the commission and their families.  That also would include any food, beverages and merchandise that they may have received.  Basically we want an accounting of anything of value that they may have received.

If you have a policy on that we’d like that as well.

As you are aware North Dakota is an open records state.  You can review the law yourself.  It’s in section 44-04.  If we don’t receive this information in two weeks we will be exercising our rights under the law. 

Signed, The Moronic Whistler. (Actually Rob signed it, but that’s how I signed the draft.)

CC:  Curt Kruen, Alerus Commission Chairman

I think it’s really important for us to find out just how they lost the money in the concert fund last year.  The fact that they’re reporting three different numbers really makes me think that there’s something just wrong there.  The Grand Forks Herald is fully aware of the discrepancy but they don’t care.  I guess that leaves it up to us to be the blog of record when it comes to events at the Alerus. 

How much do you want to bet that the Alerus hands it off to the Herald so they can report it before they give it to us?