Controversial golf course development 

in Lake Andrew 

Township can proceed 

By Brett Blocker

Lakes Area Review/

New London-Spicer

Finding “no basis to void the sale,” Kandiyohi County Judge Stephen Wentzell has ruled that developers may move forward with the purchase of a parcel of land in the New London area, upon which they have proposed building a new golf course.

Judge Wentzell filed his decision Friday, March 17.

The ruling follows a lengthy legal battle between siblings Dean and Dan Thorson and Sherry Ulman, who share ownership of Cedar Hills Century Farm, a 187-acre parcel just south of Lake Andrew.

The property has been owned by the family for over a century, and passed down or sold to blood relatives from generation to generation. It consists of 111.6 acres of tillable land, enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, with the remaining 76 acres, according to Dean Thorson, consisting of a farm living site and pasture land, though no cattle or domestic animals are  being raised at this time.

In 2021, the three were approached by Mark Haugejorde, formerly of New London, representing Tepetonka Club LLC, seeking to purchase the property.

While Dan Thorson and Sherry Ulman, representing a two-thirds majority, voted in favor of the sale, in a Cedar Hills shareholder meeting October 17, 2021, Dean Thorson, declined to attend and opposed the sale.

A purchase agreement was established at $1.2 million.

Dean Thorson would file a lawsuit against his siblings, contending that the Century Farm’s bylaws stipulated the land could only be sold or passed down to relatives within the family, as per their parents’ wishes.

However, on May 6, 2022, Judge Wentzell dismissed counts asserting farm bylaws were violated, ruling that they did not apply to Century Hills Farm.

Dean Thorson responded by filing an additional lawsuit – an amendment to his initial complaint – contending that his siblings breached their fiduciary duties by moving forward with said purchase agreement, against his expectations of the bylaws’ stipulations, and without his inclusion in discussions surrounding the land sale.

A civil jury trial on the case was held in December 2022, in which Judge Wentzell had 90 days to make a ruling. That ruling, filed March 17, found that the court had no basis to void the sale as it was “authorized by a majority shareholder vote at a properly noticed special meeting.” In addition, the court documents state Dean Thorson was “informed and involved in the conversations regarding the potential land sale, and had an opportunity to voice his concern at the noticed meeting, or to purchase the land.

“The corporate bylaws cannot lawfully prohibit a third-party, non-family member, from purchasing the land in this case since the family farm requirements were not properly followed.” As such, Dean Thorson’s case has been dismissed. 

Although he did not respond to the Lakes Area Review’s request for comment as of press time Thursday, Haugejorde previously stated at a New London Chamber of Commerce meeting last May that construction could take place in 2023, if Tepetonka Club LLC acquires the land.

As initially proposed, Tepetonka aims to create a “private destination golf course,” with a membership cap of 100, and its founding members sharing equal ownership. In lieu of membership dues, members would commit to pre-paying for 100 days of golf, with suggested rates for these 100 days hovering in the $25,000 range (in addition to an initiation fee of around $100,000.)

While Haugejorde said the course would benefit the local community and its economy, and that Tepetonka would take measures to limit environmental impact to native vegetation and the Shakopee Creek watershed, the proposal has been met with pushback from some community members and environmentalists.

Last May, non-profit organization Clean Up the River Environment (CURE), circulated a petition calling for an environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) to be completed, and reviewed by the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners before the board approves a conditional use permit for the course.

Although Haugejorde said that an EAW has been in development since November 2021, Erik Hatlestad, CURE Program Director, said the development could set a precedent for future construction on increasingly rare natural landscapes.

Lake Andrew Township is located just northwest of New London and includes the southern portion of Sibley State park 

Background:  Mark Haugejorde first toured the 187 acres of CRP farmland in Lake Andrew Towhship in May of 2021, mesmerized by the beauty of the landscape, the prized native prairie grassland. He envisioned a fairway, a run astride a Shakopee Creek that surges in size during spring months. His specialty: golf courses… shaping their design to complement topography. To put it plainly in a case where nothing is simple, Tepetonka a Club is an ambitious development proposal to the tune of $20 million seeking to bring luxury golf to the Minnesota prairie, specifically amongst the groves of two-leaf grasses blanketing steep changes in elevation. 

And Tepetonka fits into wider trends within the world of golf: These would be the scattering of luxury courses that wear rugged looks and make use of undulating native habit for runs and tee-offs in reflection of the televised play on the Scottish heathland. Destination golf courses began to crop up around the country 25 years ago.  Many are found on the coasts, but a few are in the Midwest, including in Wisconsin’s ancient glacial lakes and in Nebraska’s sand hills.