FIRED OWAT. MANAGER SUES TUMA, CITY

For nearly five years, she helped the city convey its message to the public. Now, the former communications manager for the City of Owatonna is communicating in a different way—through a major lawsuit targeted at her former bosses.

Deanna Sheely, 62, is claiming age discrimination and workplace harassment under the Minnesota Human Rights Act and unlawful retaliation under the Minnesota Whistleblower Act. She filed a 38-page complaint Oct. 15 in Steele County District Court.

In her complaint, Sheely claims City Administrator Jenna Tuma and her administrative staff subjected her to “adverse employment actions because of her age.” It also maintains the city subjected her to a hostile work environment because of her age, including repeated verbal abuse, ridicule and ostracism.

The complaint targets Tuma and two of her other senior administrative officials. Tuma has come under fire this year for her handling of city employees. There has been excessive turnover within the city since Tuma took over in August 2025; dozens of employees have left, including six senior directors. Sheely was one of them.

Sheely alleges Tuma and her team showed a preference for younger employees, while older employees like Sheely, with decades of experience, were forced out because they would not simply fall in line without asking questions or suggesting alternatives.

“My commitment to community engagement and timely, open communications with the public regarding significant decisions seemed to threaten the new leadership team and their way of operating,” said Sheely, who had worked for the city from September 2021 until June 2026, when she was fired.

Sheely pointed to the city’s 2026 budget, which came up for discussion last fall prior to its approval in December. Sheely said she raised a good-faith concern about inaccuracies in the city’s public statements regarding the preliminary budget and property tax levy. She claims the city retaliated against her for wanting to promote the truth.

In March, Sheely was given one business day to respond to a notice of discharge, a similar tactic that multiple other employees told the Steele County Times had been used on them since Tuma took office.

Sheely turned around and requested a formal, independent investigation into age discrimination, harassment and retaliation. The city hired an investigator with ties to Steele County Administrator Renae Fry (see related story).

Sheely was terminated just one day after Tuma declared the investigation – which she herself had commissioned and controlled – had cleared the city of any wrongdoing.

Sheely said her success with Owatonna changed under Tuma’s leadership. She pointed out that Emily Thamert designed and managed the process to hire a new city administrator, instead of the more typical process of using a consultant.

One day after Tuma was given the job, Tuma promoted Thamert to assistant city administrator. Thamert then installed Rachel Boss, 28, as human resources director over older, more experienced applicants.

“In short order, every person in the chain of command above Sheely was younger than she is,” the complaint alleges.

Thamert and Boss are also individually named in the lawsuit.

In the complaint, Sheely describes the upheaval at city hall over the past year as “a purge.” In 10 months after Tuma became city administrator, dozens of positions turned over in a workforce of about 150, with the departures reportedly falling disproportionately on employees in theirs 40s, 50s and 60s.

“The playbook was consistent: pretextual performance allegations, the threat of termination and a pre-drafted exit, the city’s written reminder that the allegations remain private, but if the employee refuses, they become public,” the complaint said.

The alleged behavior outlined in the complaint resembles accusations made by other high-level directors and employees during a special investigative series, “O-Town Crisis” done by the Times earlier this year.

In August, the Times spoke to many former employees who spoke negatively about Tuma and the overall pervasive hostile work environment she allows at city hall. Many referred to it as “chaotic,” at best.

Sheely’s whistleblowing occurred during a particularly sensitive time for the city in regard to the 2026 budget and the $65 million public safety project.

Amid public accusations that the city was not being transparent about the budget, Sheely consulted multiple sources, found varying figures under consideration, and flagged in a draft communication submitted for approval, the levy figure she believed in good faith to be accurate. It was higher than the figure the city had already communicated to the public.

Sheely argues she was directed to use a different number because the higher number “would spark a red flag out in our community,” then was issued a written reprimand the same day – which omitted any mention of the levy amount.

After Sheely repeated her concern in writing, the adverse treatment escalated sharply, the complaint says.

The complaint outlines an incident in which Tuma gave Sheely a birthday card and wrote on the envelope, “OLD Lady Deanna,” revealing her own alleged bias toward Sheely’s age.

The incident involving a card with Sheely is not the only one that has surfaced. During the Times’ investigation in August, a former city worker shared that Tuma once gave a sympathy card to the department head of an employee who was going to be terminated later that day. The department head became disgusted and physically sick at Tuma’s behavior.

At one point in November 2025, Sheely asked Tuma for a minute of her time. Tuma responded, “Booked solid until February,” walked away and shut the door in Sheely’s face, after which Sheely heard laughter from inside the office.

Sheely outlined a concern about “coaching that backfired.” In November, Sheely completed coaching sessions with an acquaintance of Tuma’s. He told Sheely she was “an absolute delight” and recommended she share with Tuma how successfully she had adapted her communication style to build relationships.

A report was sent to Tuma, but was never provided to Sheely or cited in any subsequent discipline, which Sheely claims “supports the inference that it did not support Tuma’s characterization of her not meeting performance expectations.”

Sheely claims she was “trapped in an abusive relationship” with Tuma. Sheely outlined an incident in which Tuma angrily yelled at her for 15 minutes, at which point Tuma left and Sheely broke down crying.

Thamert encouraged Sheely to apologize to Tuma; she did, and said Tuma later acted as if nothing had happened. Others had commented to Sheely how badly Tuma was treating her.

“Deciding to take legal action was difficult,” Sheely said. “It was my last resort after trying to resolve these issues with my supervisors, by sharing my concerns with several City Council members and following city policies,” she added.

Sheely hopes the outcome leads to real organizational change for the city’s current and future employees, and those responsible will be held accountable for their actions.

“My only desire all along has been to contribute to creating a city government that serves the community effectively through transparent, accurate communication and proactive engagement,” Sheely said.

Daniel Wilcox, a Twin Cities attorney representing Sheely in the lawsuit, said public employees have the right to speak up about how they are treated and about matters of public concern without losing their jobs. He added older workers have the right to be judged on their actual performance rather than on their age.

Thamert said the city has no comment on the pending ligation. She referred inquiries to the city’s attorney, Susan Tindal of Iverson Reuvers in Bloomington, a firm hired by the League of Minnesota Cities.

In a response filed with the court, the city denies most allegations in Sheely’s lawsuit. While Sheely pointed out 150 employees work for the city, the city incorrectly argued the point in its response that “there were not 150 employees that left the city.” 

To read the full 38-page complaint, go to https://steelecountytimes.com/sheely-lawsuit.