Bradley Hillstrom, Sr.

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Dr. Bradley Hillstrom, Sr. of Minnetonka Beach, MN, is a physician and major donor to Republican politicians. He (or his son Bradley Jr.) is listed as the executive producer for the movie Michael Moore Hates America [1].

Dr. Hillstrom is married to the interior designer Tina O. Hillstrom, who often calls herself simply 'Tina O' [2] [3]. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Film and TV Board [4], which is "a non-profit professional service organization designated by the State of Minnesota to develop the Minnesota film/video production industry as a force for economic and creative growth" [5]. Tina Hillstrom is also a reviewer for the Minneapolis-St Paul movie magazine Cinestar [6].

The website for 'Michael Moore Hates America' also credits Hillstrom Entertainment Inc., a company which is registered to the same address as a previous business venture of Dr Hillstrom's. It is not clear if Tina Hillstrom or Bradley Jr. are also involved in running the company.

The other executive producer of the movie is Brian R. Cartmell, who was given the role after he donated a large sum of money to the movie's production.

Bradley Hillstrom - political donor, executive producer

A combination of information from opensecrets.org and the website of the Minnesota Secretary of State [7] makes it possible to identify the 'Brad Hillstrom' mentioned on the MMHA website as either Dr. Bradley Hillstrom, Sr. or his son.

As of August 2004, the website for Michael Moore Hates America lists the following credits - "Executive Producers - Brian Cartmell, Brad Hillstrom" and "Additional Production Services - Hillstrom Entertainment" [8].

According to opensecrets.org, a Bradley Hillstrom of Minnetonka Beach, MN 55361, is a major political donor, with all but one of his contributions going to Republican politicians. His son Bradley Jr. appears in the same list as having made one donation to George W. Bush [9].

The website of the Minnesota Secretary of State says that Hillstrom Entertainment Inc. was registered on the 28th March 2003 to an address in Minnetonka Beach, MN, 55361 [10].

In the listing of donations on opensecrets.org, the political donor Bradley Hillstrom Sr. is a physician. For some donations, he also appears as the chairman of Longenu Medical Inc [11]. According to its entry on the Minnesota Secretary of State's website, Longenu Medical Inc. was registered to the same address in Minnetonka Beach as that for Hillstrom Entertainment Inc [12].

The political donor Bradley Hillstrom (or his son Bradley Jr) and the Brad Hillstrom of Hillstrom Entertainment Inc are therefore established as being the same person. Bradley Hillstrom Jr. is a United States Marine.

Political donations by Bradley Hillstrom and his family

A list of the political donations made by 'Bradley Hillstrom, MN' for the election cycles 2000, 2002, and 2004 shows that [13]:

  • Dr. Bradley Hillstrom Sr. donated a total of $11,560. Nearly all of it (91%) went to Republican politicians.
  • Bradley Hillstrom Jr. made one donation of $2000 to George W. Bush, in August 2003.

A search for those made by Tina Hillstrom shows that she donated a total of $7000 to exclusively Republican politicians in the same election cycles [14].

In his filing, Bradley Hillstrom Jr. is listed as being a United States Marine, and his address is given as the same address in Minnetonka Beach as his father.

A Dec 2003 gossip item in the Minneapolis Star Tribune hints that the Hillstroms are well-connected politically. It describes how the Hillstroms played host to a delegation of South Africans who were in Minnesota "on an idea-exchanging trip with members of our state Legislature". According to the article, Tina Hillstrom said of the delegation "They were down at the Mayo Clinic. They had been in Washington, D.C., they had been in Atlanta, but they hadn't been in anybody's home. They said of their whole trip, that this was the most enjoyable evening they had - in Minnesota meeting the hospitable Tina O. and Brad Hillstrom" [15].

Medical career

Dr. Bradley Hillstrom Sr is a specialist in rehabilitation medicine, and is a former physician at the up-market Mayo Clinic [16]. Among the clinic's more famous former patients are President Ronald Reagan [17] and President Bush Sr. [18]. The clinic is run by the Mayo Foundation. The Foundation's President and CEO is Bob Waller, who is also Chairman of the Healthcare Leadership Council [19].

In 2002, Hillstrom ventured into the anti-ageing business with the launch of Longenu Medical Inc [20]. Hillstrom is listed as being chairman of Longenu in the filings for some of his political donations [21].

According to a August 2002 article in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, the Longenu group was "working to establish a chain of clinics offering a slate of 'longevity medicine' to baby boomers seeking longer, healthier lives... the group is determined to establish a sort of one-stop anti-aging boutique, incorporating medical services with spa treatments." [22]

The current status of Longenu Medical Inc. is not entirely clear. Its website longenu.com is no longer available, and the last copy of it in the Internet Archive dates from August 2003 [23]. However, Longenu's filing with the Minnesota Secretary of State lists its "Entity Status" as "Active" [24].

Dr. "Brad" Hillstrom's appearance as a witness in Brain Cartmell's defamation Lawsuit against Justin La Plante

On August 8th 2005 Dr. Brad Hillstrom was named as a witness for Brian Cartmell’s defamation lawsuit against Wisconsin state resident Justin La Plante. https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Brian_R._Cartmell#Brian_Cartmell.27s_lawsuit_against_Justin_La_Plante It is unclear if the "Brad" hillstrom named as a witness is Bradley Sr. or Bradley Jr. The appropriate suffix was left out of the documentation. The lawsuit is case number is 04-2-17647-6 SEA and is being heard in the King county superior court of the state of Washington. Hilstrom is appearing as a witness in this case in order to testify regarding the defendant Justin La Plante’s alleged defamatory statements and their alleged effect on Brian Cartmell’s reputation, business relationships, and prospective business relationships. Brian Cartmell is also an executive producer of the movie "Michael Moore hates America". https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Michael_Moore_Hates_America



SourceWatch resources

External links

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