The case in summary: Three brothers removed the statue “Småbrukerkjæringa” that their late father had financed, in a money dispute with the municipality and the association Den Norske Småbrukerkjæringa. The brothers claim that the municipality promised to contribute NOK 500,000 to the statue, which the municipality rejects. The brothers’ father took out a private loan of NOK 1.4 million to finance the statue, and the sons inherited the debt after his death. The association believes that the brothers have committed theft by removing the statue, and have engaged a lawyer to get it back. According to the association, the invoices for casting the statue and the artist’s salary are in the association’s name, and there are no agreements about the private loan between the association and the former leader. The brothers and their representative did not want to comment on the allegations of theft. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. To much fanfare, the sons of the firebrand brought the statue with them last weekend. The brothers believe they have the right to remove the “Småbrukerkjæringa” statue, since it was their late father who financed it. – It is not with a light heart or any kind of joy that we do this, said one of the brothers to Stangeavisa. The bolts were cut to remove the statue from the plinth. Photo: Frode Meskau / news They claim that the municipality has promised to contribute NOK 500,000, and demand that the municipality pay this. The municipality rejects this demand. Did you notice when the much talked about Haaland statue was stolen? Watch the video here. In 2015, the dream of the smallholder charity Ildsjelen formed an association: The Norske Småbrukerkjæringa. The purpose was to erect a statue to honor the women who made small farming life go round. Although the politicians in Stange have always been positive about the idea of a statue, the association was refused four different funding applications over the years, according to what news can see. That is why the zealot took out a private loan of a total of NOK 1.4 million to get the statue in place, it appears in one of the documents. The statue was unveiled by then Minister of Culture Anette Trettebergstuen (Ap) in 2022. Photo: Kurt Evert Stenbakk Should have acted in good faith The father died on New Year’s Eve 2023. With that, the sons inherited the debt. The sons do not want to speak to news about the case, but show through a representative the latest money application to the municipality, sent in November last year. Here, the zealot wrote that he acted in good faith in the belief that if he managed to fulfill certain conditions, the municipality would support the project: “This is what I believed in and aligned myself with. Without that, I wouldn’t have put so much of my own money into the project.” PHOTO: Kurt Evert Stenbakk/Frode Meskau Mayor: – We refused Mayor Truls Gihlemoen (Frp) is clear that Stange municipality has no role in the matter and that no one has made any promises. – The municipal board has several times refused to support the purchase of the statue. The claims from the brothers, that the father should have received promises that the municipality would cover half a million, are not true. – This is a private statue that stands on private property, so Stange municipality has nothing to do with it, says mayor Truls Gihlemoen (Frp). Photo: Frode Meskau / news – I am critical of the whole process where you have first decided to buy, and then advance the entire amount and expect the municipality to cover the cost. A few years ago, a work of art in Kvam in Gudbrandsdalen created a lot of commotion. Read why here. – The Theft Statue was put up through an association, Den Norske Småbrukerkjæringa. The big question is who owns the statue: the heirs, or the team. Olav Maagaard is the current leader of the association. He believes what the brothers have done is theft. – It is terribly sad. Because it became a symbol in Romedal, this here, sighs Olav Maagaard. Photo: Frode Meskau / news According to him, the invoices for the casting of the statue and the artist’s salary, totaling NOK 470,000, are in the association’s name. There must also be no other papers on the agreement between the association and the former manager, on the private loan. Maagaard points out that the firebrand has always said that the statue should stand in Romedal. The artist behind the statue thinks the same. – So it belongs here, and the association owns it. They have engaged a lawyer, and sent the brothers a letter in which they must document ownership by 15 August. – If not, we want the old woman back! The town’s pride – There is no doubt that he has spent money, but the big question is whether he thought he would get the money back, or whether he took a wild chance, says Bjørn Gundesen about the whole case. He owns the place the statue stood on. – We are proud of this lady, and we are proud that he had got her. But not the way it has come about, says Bjørn Gundersen. Photo: Frode Meskau / news Gundersen goes on to say that they had hoped for a solution where, given time, the association would be able to raise money. – If they are going to honor their father after 35 years of work, then they should put an end to the whole thing. They should be happy that he was born and raised in Romedal and could give a statue. Inheritance is one of the worst things you can come across, whether it concerns a lot of money or a lot of debt, he believes. news has submitted the allegations of theft to the brothers and their representative. They do not wish to comment. The idea behind “Småbrukerkjæringa” was to honor Romedal and the women who stood up and took care of everything in the home so that the man could work on the farms. Photo: Kurt Evert Stenbakk Published 19.07.2024, at 18.06
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Heirs cut down the statue in Romedal and took it home – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
