Custody battle over pieces of war memorial heats up between Minneapolis parks, Minnetonka schools

A battle is brewing over military artifacts that once stood at a Minneapolis memorial but now grace the halls of a suburban high school.

Minneapolis Park and Recreation officials have made repeated unheeded requests for Minnetonka Public Schools to return the items. Now they are hinting at war.

"We're starting to exhaust diplomatic means here," Commissioner Brad Bourn said during the March 3 Park Board meeting. "It looks like the olive branches may have fallen off the vine at this point, and so I think the board should start taking some more proactive steps."

The wheel from the USS Minnesota, a World War I battleship, has been missing since 1975 from the memorial for war dead at Bde Maka Ska. Then, in 2014, a bell from the USS Minneapolis armored cruiser disappeared as well.

Both artifacts were found at Minnetonka High School by Southwest Journal reporters Karen Cooper and Zac Farber last spring.

District officials maintain that the artifacts were given to the school and now rightfully belong there. The wheel had been hanging on the wall of the school atrium, and the bell was stored in the weight room, where students would ding it when they accomplished personal records. The bell was also dragged out to football games and rung for touchdowns. Recently, it was relocated to the student commons.

After the Southwest Journal story came out, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board President Jono Cowgill tweeted, "Hey @TonkaSkippers could you please return our bell and wheel?" Park Superintendent Al Bangoura sent Minnetonka schools Superintendent Dennis Peterson letters in September and January, detailing the history of the war memorial and the theft of the two artifacts.

"The MPRB is asking that Minnetonka High School return the bell and ship's wheel to us immediately," Bangoura wrote.

"Time is of the essence not only because the bell and wheel are important artifacts, particularly to the citizens of Minneapolis to whose Navy dead they were dedicated, but because the new USS Minneapolis St. Paul will be commissioned in Duluth in 2021, and the MPRB has been asked to allow them to be on display during the dedication ceremony."

The Minnetonka school district didn't respond, so Bourn proposed deploying park police after the missing items.

State lawmakers are now involved.

Rep. Laurie Pryor, DFL-Minnetonka, sent an e-mail on March 5, copying a bipartisan group of legislators, asking Minnetonka schools officials to communicate with the Park Board.

Rep. Jim Davnie, DFL-Minneapolis, chairman of the Education Finance Division Committee in the state House, also e-mailed Peterson and Minnetonka school board Chairman Chris Vitale, saying, "I believe that children watch what adults do to learn how to behave. Knowingly retaining possession of illegally secured historical artifacts sends the wrong message to students in your district."

Reached by phone, Peterson told the Star Tribune that he asked the Navy to determine custody of the bell and wheel several months ago, but hasn't heard back. Peterson declined to produce documentation, but he said he had proof that an American Legion member had permission from the Park Board to take the artifacts into his possession before giving them to Minnetonka Public Schools.

Letters from the member bestowing the wheel and the bell upon Minnetonka High School do not describe how he acquired the items.

The bell has been "polished up and looks better than it ever probably has. Minneapolis treated it very badly when they had it. And you know, we've really honored and revered it as part of our student life," Peterson said.

"They're not easy to communicate with, the Minneapolis Park Board," he added, declining to elaborate on why he ignored Bangoura's letters.

Minnetonka High School Principal Jeff Erickson did not respond to a request seeking comment.

American Legion Minneapolis Post 1 community relations representative Mike Krogan also declined to provide evidence that Legionnaires had the Park Board's permission to dismantle the war memorial.

"It's kind of privileged information between us and them," Krogan said. "We keep records and stuff like that, of course, and that has been made available to the people that are authorized to see it within the American Legion."

Under federal law, the secretary of the Navy may convey, by donation, artifacts for use "as a museum or memorial for public display."

Minnetonka Public Schools did not permit the Star Tribune to visit the wheel and bell at high school, which has returned to in-person learning, because of COVID-19.

Bella Bennett, a 2019 graduate who created a Change.org petition calling on Peterson to return the artifacts to Minneapolis, said she and other Minnetonka alumni "can't have pride in having stolen property."

"It was moved from an area that wasn't predominantly white and wealthy to a community that is white and wealthy. It's supposed to be owned by the public, and instead, the wheel is hanging on the wall. … All students do is walk by it and think it's just another decoration," Bennett said. "It would be great press for Tonka if they just willingly cooperated, which is why I'm confused as to why they aren't. When I first talked about it, my grade's student body president was sending [the petition] to people, and my grade was like, 'This is really messed up.' "