Cat Sanctuary Agrees To Improve Business Practices

SANDSTONE (AP) — The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone has reached an agreement with the Minnesota attorney general's office to improve its business practices.

The sanctuary's board announced the agreement Tuesday. It comes after an attorney general's investigation into allegations of misuse of funds at the sanctuary.

Under the agreement, the sanctuary will hire an outside monitor to help the nonprofit improve the way it does business. The sanctuary already was outsourcing its bookkeeping to an accounting firm and had in place new policies clarifying how sanctuary funds are used for expenses.

The sanctuary about 90 miles northeast of Minneapolis cares for more than 100 lions, tigers and other big cats.

In a statement, sanctuary executive director Tammy Thies says donors have stayed with the organization "even as we have stumbled and made mistakes."