MINNEAPOLIS (OPC) — With its infamously brutal winter approaching, Minnesota’s ongoing foreclosure crisis is one of the most dangerous in the country. That makes OccupyMN’s latest victory against foreclosures that much sweeter.
On Tuesday occupiers in Minneapolis marched on the U.S. Bank tower. Their demand: delay the eviction of Ruth Murman, a small business owner whose home was foreclosed on earlier this year. Having previously refused to negotiate, U.S. Bank promptly agreed to delay Murman’s foreclosure, which will allow her to make new living arrangements for her and her father, a Korean War veteran struggling with cancer and heart disease. The bank will also be helping Murman with the cost of the move.
“It’s amazing how desperate they were to get in touch with me all of a sudden, after they have ignored my calls and refused to help my father and me for months,” Murman said in an interview with #OccupyMN.
Murman, owner of a pet care facility in nearby Minnetonka, contacted OccupyMN for help with her foreclosure earlier this week. In lieu of laying off her staff, Murman has worked without pay since the 2008 financial collapse. Hers is one of over 75,000 Minnesotan homes foreclosed on in the last three years. Meanwhile, Richard Davis, CEO of U.S. Bank, saw his pay double to $18.8 million in 2011.
By Bennett Hartz