Kathy Cargill has relatives and neighbors who fear she will sue if they talk about her plans to buy 13 properties in the quiet Minnesota beach town

The controversial wife of a Minnesota billionaire who bought dozens of properties in a sleepy beach town has threatened to sue relatives and neighbors who talk about her in the media.

Kathy Cargill, 66, became the target of suspicion when she began buying homes on Park Point, a sandbar between Lake Superior and Duluth Harbor, in December 2022.

Fury grew when she lambasted the community and its mayor in a Wall Street Journal piece, calling them “small-minded” and claiming the mayor had “peeed in his Cheerios” by asking her to reveal her vision for the properties.

When reporters from Minneapolis Star-Tribune tried to dig into Cargill’s private life, sources close to her remained tight-lipped.

Dozens of relatives, neighbors, former colleagues and business associates declined to speak. Some told the publication they were afraid of being sued, while others claimed to have signed non-disclosure agreements.

When a Star-Tribune reporter managed to reach her for comment, Cargill ‘pointed an explosive device at the reporter before hanging up.’

The wife of billionaire heir James R. Cargill II began snapping up properties in Park Point, Minnesota last year and refused to reveal her plans

Amid a housing shortage in the city of Duluth, the move was not well received. Nine of the homes have already been demolished, while three others are slated for demolition

The Wisconsin native is married to James R. Cargill II, one of 12 heirs to the agricultural giant Cargill. At the time of writing, Forbes estimated his net worth at around $4.6 billion.

Before marrying into the fabulously wealthy family in 2012, Cargill worked as a real estate agent and trail manager for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

While the couple lead a private life, Cargill featured in a 2019 video showing off his expensive collection of McLaren supercars.

About four years ago, she made waves when a company called North Shore LS, LLC., began buying properties on her behalf for far more than their appraised value. Several of the homes, described by Cargill as ‘crap’, were knocked over.

Amid a housing shortage in the city of Duluth, the move was not well received. Mayor Roger Reinert wrote to the billionaire asking her to share her plans for the 13 homes and 22 parcels of land she had acquired.

Nine of the homes have been demolished, and three have been given permission for demolition.

“Any loss of housing is not helpful,” Reinert wrote in her appeal, requesting that she or her representatives meet with city staff and members of the Park Point Community Club.

Instead of enlightening him, Cargill unleashed sharp criticism of the mayor and the community at large in one The Wall Street Journal pieces last month.

Among the purchases is a piece of land at 1314 Minnesota Avenue. The home in that plot was bought in February 2023 and subsequently demolished

1239 Minnesota Avenue was purchased for $500,000, although it was appraised at only $239,500. Up the street, 1221 Minnesota Avenue was purchased for $300,000

Cargill was enraged when she referred to the community as ‘small minded’ and claimed Mayor Roger Reinert had ‘peeed in his Cheerios’ by questioning her motives.

In response to her remarks, local residents donated hundreds of boxes of grain to a food drive in the city. Reinert (far left, back) was photographed with a box of Cheerios at the drop-off location

Other locals have been more welcoming, including those who hung a banner reading “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice” along Minnesota Avenue

The 66-year-old claimed her original plans were to improve the neighborhood with pickleball courts and a coffee shop, but she had changed her mind.

“The good plans that I have down there to beautify, update and repair Park Point park or put up that sports field, forget it,” she said. ‘There is another society out there with more welcoming people than the small minded society.’

As for the mayor, Cargill stated that he was ‘kind of pissing in his Cheerios’ by questioning her motives, ‘and I’m certainly not going to do anything to benefit that community.’

In the days that followed, local people donated hundreds of boxes of the breakfast cereal for a city tour. Reinert himself was pictured posing with a box at the drop-off point.

The campaign, dubbed the ‘Cheerio Challenge,’ also raised an estimated $50,000 and contributions from states as far away as Florida and California.

Other members of the community were more forthcoming about their distaste for Cargill and her remarks.

A banner was strung along a fence on the 2900 block of Minnesota Avenue, where Cargill owns several properties, reading, “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” The protest piece was quickly removed.

Reinert declined to answer Cargill directly. But in a statement he said: ‘We need to pay attention to housing. We are talking every day about how we can add to the inventory and we will continue to be vigilant on that issue.’

Cargill has refused to communicate with the city, according to officials who have been advised to avoid inflaming her fury further.