North St. Paul council member asking Mayor Kuehn to resign

Long time mayor of North St. Paul Mike Kuehn is being asked to resign after physically threatening another council member at a workshop meeting Tuesday night.

Council member Scott Thorsen is worried this might get swept under the rug, so he spoke with us exclusively about what happened.

As mayor Kuehn and council member Thorsen were sitting across from each other, a discussion about liquor licenses turned ugly quickly.

"Apparently he hit a boiling point and blew up at me," Thorsen said.  "He threatened me and said 'I'm going to kick your ass' and then he said 'you want to take this outside?' And then he stood up. That's when I thought well this is getting out of control and I stood up and said 'ok let's go outside' not acknowledging I wanted to get him out of the room.  There were residents in the room including a small child."

The two then went down the stairs of city hall near the police counter with the city manager and city attorney following -- the situation de-escalated before any punches were thrown.

In the past, both have frequently disagreed on various issues, but say they've worked well together until this.

Thorsen is now asking for the mayor's immediate resignation, or else he will step down from the city council, noting he doesn't see how the council can continue to work together. He's also made a police report and is considering a restraining order on the mayor.

Mayor Kuehn has apologized for losing his temper and said he will be apologizing to the council and the community. He said he does not intend to resign and wants to continue to serve the community.

Kuehn has served on the council for 25 years and the past 8 years as mayor. He's admitted he's lost his temper a few times in the past, but never to this level.