× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

The closure of a men’s homeless shelter in Bismarck follows financial management problems at Ruth Meiers Hospitality House that includes owing more than $200,000 in back taxes, wage claims from employees and a loss of funding sources due to a lack of compliance.

The Ruth Meiers board of directors decided in late April to sell the facility at 305 N. 23rd St., with the men’s emergency shelter losing the organization more than $125,000 each year, said board President Rae Ann Kelsch.

“Ruth Meiers’ overall financial position made it impossible to continue this annual loss,” Kelsch said in an emailed response to questions from the Bismarck Tribune.

Ruth Meiers Hospitality House, a nonprofit that began in 1987, has a mission to provide meals, temporary housing and supportive services to the homeless or those at risk of being homeless.

Documents show the decision to sell the emergency shelter came the same month that several employees complained to the North Dakota Department of Labor that Ruth Meiers withheld money from their paychecks for retirement but didn’t deposit the funds into their accounts.