Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels who has mounted a primary challenge for the second time against Rep. Omar in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District addresses a press conference at his campaign headquarters on Thursday, June 6, 2024. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels who has mounted a primary challenge for the second time against Rep. Omar in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District addresses a press conference at his campaign headquarters on Thursday, June 6, 2024. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
The business dealings of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s husband are the latest flashpoint in the contest between Rep. Omar and her challenger former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels.
Mr. Samuels is running against Rep. Omar in the August 13 Democratic primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. On Thursday, he held a press conference to draw attention to a Minnesota Reformer investigative story that detailed the failed business ventures, and ensuing legal troubles of Messrs. William Hailer and Timothy Mynette, the latter being Rep. Omar’s husband.
Mr. Samuels called on Rep. Omar to address the issues highlighted in the Minnesota Reformer story, in particular, the lawsuit Mr. Mynette’s company is facing saying “we deserve honesty, transparency, and we deserve answers.”
He also accused Rep. Omar of going on foreign trips funded by foreign governments, an accusation the congresswoman has previously denied, most recently at the DFL endorsing convention during a question and answer session featuring the two candidates.
Mr. Samuels told reporters that Rep. Omar’s personal issues are becoming a distraction to the main issues facing the district.
“Representative Omar has used her time, three terms in Congress, what many would consider the honor of a lifetime, to divide our community and enrich herself,” Mr. Samuels said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and husband Tim Mynett arrive to attend a state dinner in honor of Kenya’s president William Ruto hosted by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, May 23, 2024. This was the sixth state dinner during the Biden Administration, and the first for an African leader since George W. Bush welcomed Ghanaian President John Kufuor to the White House in 2008. Rep. Omar is Chair of Congress’s US-Africa Policy Working Group. Photo: Tierney L. Cross/UPI
Mr. Samuels was asked why the business dealings of a candidate’s spouse should matter and he said “when the funds are from a family source, especially when they are from the public and then when the funds are deployed (and) are not reported.”
He pushed back against comparisons between Rep. Omar’s current situation and the FBI investigation of the PEACE Foundation that was headed by his wife, while he was a council member and running for mayor. Council members had feared he was using his influence to secure city funds for his wife’s foundation. At the time, he accused political opponents of being behind the FBI investigation, a claim he repeated on Tuesday and added that he was cleared by the FBI.
“I would like to see the FBI investigate and give Congresswoman Omar a letter of clearance that would be equal to that,” said Mr. Samuels, referencing his clearance by the FBI.
This is Mr. Samuel’s second attempt at ousting Rep. Omar after he narrowly lost to her in 2022. Rep. Omar’s campaign spokesperson Ms. Jackie Rogers, in an emailed response to Mshale when we sought a response, dismissed the Thursday presser as “politically motivated,” because Mr. Samuels campaign was “struggling to gain momentum.”
“Since Rep. Omar secured the DFL endorsement on the first ballot our campaign continues to see a groundswell of support and enthusiasm. Rep. Omar has no involvement in any business ventures. While our opponent is focused on a personal smear campaign, Congresswoman Omar’s campaign is focused on the issues that matter most to the voters of the Fifth District and improving their daily lives,” said Ms. Rogers.
Mr. Wynfred Russell, flanked by supporters and campaign staff, officially filed the required paperwork to run in the August 13, 2024 Democratic primary to represent District 38A in the Minnesota House of Representatives on Monday, June 3, 2024 at the Veterans Service Building in St. Paul. Photo: Courtesy of Wynfred for MN House Campaign
Mr. Wynfred Russell, flanked by supporters and campaign staff, officially filed the required paperwork to run in the August 13, 2024 Democratic primary to represent District 38A in the Minnesota House of Representatives on Monday, June 3, 2024 at the Veterans Service Building in St. Paul. Photo: Courtesy of Wynfred for MN House Campaign
Former Brooklyn Park City Council member Wynfred Russell on Monday formally filed to run in the August 13 Democratic primary for State Representative in Minnesota’s 38A House District. Mr. Russell hopes to replace Rep. Michael Nelson (DFL) who announced his retirement in January. The heavily Democratic district encompasses the southern half of Brooklyn Park and the entire city of Osseo.
Mr. Russell was the first Liberian-born person elected to the Brooklyn Park City Council where he served for one term. His challenger for the Democratic nomination is another fellow immigrant, Kenyan-born Huldah Hiltsley who filed last week. The two are the only candidates in the August 13 Democratic primary which sets the stage for history to be made in November, as the winner of that primary is highly favored to win in the general election.
A win in November by either Mr. Russell or Ms. Hiltsley will mark the first time a Liberian-born or Kenyan-born legislator has been elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives.
The GOP did not field a candidate to challenge Rep. Nelson in 2022, but Mr. Brad Olson filed last week and will face off with either Ms. Hiltsley or Mr. Russell in November.
A day after his filing, an ebullient Mr. Russell told Mshale that he believes his deep roots in the district will serve his candidacy well. He said he has lived in the area for over 20 years.
“The campaign has been riding a wave of optimism, engaging each resident and reminding them that I am the most qualified candidate in the race with the experience to deliver for them at the state capitol,” Mr. Russell said. “The voters of District 38A trust me, I have roots in the district, I am their neighbor, I know the issues firsthand, so they can expect to see an energized campaign where their issues are put front and center.”
July 23: The last day to register in advance to be able to vote on Primary Election Day on August 13 and save time at the polls (you can still register on Primary Election Day at the polling site, just plan on extra time).
Under Minnesota's Summer-EBT program families will receive $120 per eligible school-aged child in funds loaded on EBT cards. Photo: AP File
Under Minnesota's Summer-EBT program families will receive $120 per eligible school-aged child in funds loaded on EBT cards. Photo: AP File
Thousands of low-income Minnesota families with school-aged children will get assistance from the state to purchase food during the summer when school is out.
Gov. Walz on Thursday announced the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program aimed at combating food insecurity. Under the program families will receive $120 per eligible school-aged child in funds loaded on EBT cards.
“The end of the school year should not mark the start of food scarcity,” Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement announcing the program. “This program, which has been a major priority of our administration, provides a boost for families, allowing them to ensure that their children have enough food to keep them going all summer and ready to learn come fall.”
The Minnesota Department of Human Services on its website says most families that already receive other benefits or public assistance such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Foster Care, or Medical Assistance (MA) will automatically be enrolled in the Summer EBT program, but some might need to apply for it.
Families that are not sure if they are eligible are encouraged to call the Summer EBT help line at 651-431-4608. They can also contact their school district or children’s school to check on eligibility.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in the same statement as Gov. Walz said she had first-hand experience of food insecurity while growing up and used the free and reduced lunch program at school.
“Our kids shouldn’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from. I also know that when the school year ends, kids can fall through the cracks,” Lt. Gov. Flanagan said, adding that the program will ensure that children can stay healthy and fed “all year long.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that more than 400,000 children in Minnesota could benefit from the program, bringing in an estimated $100 million in food benefits for families between the summers of 2024 and 2025.
Ms. Huldah Hiltsley officially filed the required paperwork to run in the August 13, 2024 Democratic primary to represent District 38A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Ms. Huldah Hiltsley officially filed the required paperwork to run in the August 13, 2024 Democratic primary to represent District 38A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
First-generation Kenyan immigrant and data privacy manager, Ms. Huldah Hiltsley, on Friday officially filed paperwork to run in the August 13 Democratic primary in the 38A Minnesota House District.
In the 2022 general election, the GOP did not field a candidate to challenge Rep. Nelson. This time around, Mr. Brad Olson of Brooklyn Park has filed to run in the Republican primary.
Ms. Hiltsley’s expected challenger for the Democratic nomination is Liberian American Mr. Wynfred Russell, a former Brooklyn Park City Council member. Mr. Russell told Mshale earlier this week that he expects to formally file by the June 4 deadline.
The two African immigrants battled for the Democratic endorsement in April but none could garner the required 60% threshold to win it. Barring any unexcepted filing by another Democrat by Tuesday, either Ms. Hiltsley or Mr. Russell is expected to be the next state representative for 38A after one of them wins the August 13 primary. The August Democratic primary is the defacto general election if the district votes Democratic in November as expected.
“I am very excited that I have filed as I want to ensure we have a community that is safe. That will ensure our businesses thrive. Our healthcare system is thriving.
Ms. Huldah Hiltsley arrives with family and supporters at the Veterans Service building in St. Paul on Friday, May 31, 2024 to formally file paperwork for her candidacy in the August 13, 2024 Democratic primary to represent District 38A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
“As a first-generation immigrant to be able to file for office and run to represent my constituents is an honor and privilege that I don’t take lightly,” Ms. Hiltsley told Mshale as she left the Veterans Service building in St. Paul after filing.
“Most of all, my message to Brooklyn Park and Osseo is that they look for a candidate like me that is going to care for all of us a collective, as we are stronger together,” she said.
July 23: The last day to register in advance to be able to vote on Primary Election Day on August 13 and save time at the polls (you can still register on Primary Election Day at the polling site, just plan on extra time).
Kenyans at a previous community picnic in Brooklyn Center, Minn. catered by George “Jojo” Ndege of Tamu Grill and Catering. Kenyans will again gather on Saturday, June 1, 2024 for Kenya Fest at Centennial Park in Brooklyn Center to celebrate Madaraka Day organized by Mr. Ndege and other community groups. Mshale Staff Photo by Jasmine Webber
Kenyans at a previous community picnic in Brooklyn Center, Minn. catered by George “Jojo” Ndege of Tamu Grill and Catering. Kenyans will again gather on Saturday, June 1, 2024 for Kenya Fest at Centennial Park in Brooklyn Center to celebrate Madaraka Day organized by Mr. Ndege and other community groups. Mshale Staff Photo by Jasmine Webber
Kenyans from across Minnesota will gather in Brooklyn Center on Saturday for a festival to celebrate Madaraka Day, the day in 1963 when Kenya attained self-rule and ceased to be a British colony.
Madaraka, which in Kiswahili means “self-governance,” is a Kenyan national holiday celebrated every year on June 1.
The first half of the new festival known as Kenya Fest will take place in Centennial Park from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m, will in its essence be reminiscent of Madaraka Day festivities back in Kenya, according to George “Jojo” Ndege, who organized the event, along with several Kenyan businesses, churches, and community organizations like Association of Kenyans in America (AKIA), Mwanyagetinge and the Global Fatherhood Foundation. Ndege, who is the chef and owner of Tamu Grill and Catering, a Kenya-fusion restaurant located in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, said that the roughly 300 people who are expected to attend the festival will be treated to a day of games and traditional Kenyan cuisine.
“It’s an excuse for people to come out,” Ndege said. “They’ll have a chance to see how the community has changed in terms of generations, and a lot of the people will have a chance to meet people they have not [seen] for years, and we all live in Minnesota, but we don’t meet.”
Vendors selling Kenya themed merchandise like bracelets and T-shirts will also be at the festival, and there will be a children’s area, where kids can get faces painted and play while their parents unwind. Multiple deejays will be playing different music throughout the day, and there may also be a talent show.
The second half of the festival, which will be at the Palm Grove Event Center, just across the road from the park from 9 p.m. to 2 p.m., will be an indoor party separated by two rooms for younger generations and older folks to choose from, also spotlighting different deejays.
“There’s a lot more Kenyans who came here when they were young, really young, and there’s a lot of Kenyans who have been born including my kids, and there’s the [older generation],” Ndege said. “There has not been an event that really brought them together as a community, so I’m aiming to do that.”
George “Jojo” Ndege, owner of Tamu Grill and Catering, is the brain behind Kenya Fest which will be held on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at Centennial Park in Brooklyn Center to mark Kenya’s Madaraka Day. Mshale Staff Photo by Panashe Matemba-Mutasa/FILE
Ndege has been in the entertainment industry for 20 years, bringing Kenyan artists to Minnesota as a concert promoter and hosting various events for both the Kenyan community and African community at large. The event will be Tamu’s first and will mark the end of a five-year pause of event planning for Ndege, who decided in 2019 to focus on opening and running Tamu Grill.
“After I opened the restaurant, I stopped that for a while and I’ve been wanting to come back because nobody really filled that spot,” said Ndege. “There’s different organizations that do different events within the community, but nobody has really done an event level that pulls Kenyans from all walks of life together to one place, so I wanted to come back and do that.”
With a little bit of something for everyone, the Kenyan Fest celebration will bring a much needed piece of Kenya to the Twin Cities, and will encourage people from all walks of life to interact.
“There’s about 10 to 15 thousand Kenyans in Minnesota, but we don’t have a community center where people can meet,” said Ndege. “With this [event], people from across the spectrum — from the different churches, different organizations, different tribes, different communities — will be able to mingle.”
U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, addresses supporters and the media minutes before she filed for reelection at the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office the morning of Tuesday, May 28, 2024. On her right is the DFL state party chair Mr. Ken Martin. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga
U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, addresses supporters and the media minutes before she filed for reelection at the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office the morning of Tuesday, May 28, 2024. On her right is the DFL state party chair Mr. Ken Martin. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga
St. Paul, Minn. – U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, filed for re-election Monday morning accompanied by supporters and DFL state chair Ken Martin.
This will be Rep. Omar’s fourth time running for Minnesota’s fifth congressional district.
” I am excited to file for reelection to continue building on the progress and to continue to deliver for the Fifth,” said Rep. Omar.
The congresswoman said she has delivered on many of the promises she made to her constituents, including the Meals Act that fed 22 million children across the United States and her championing of student debt cancelation which has led President Biden to cancel the debts of millions of Americans.
Rep. Omar said she has worked with President Biden in addressing the effects of climate change with the introduction of the Geen New Deal “on implementing the most historic investments in addressing our climate crisis with the Inflation reduction Act.”
U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, looks on as an official at the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office goes through her filing papers for reelection the morning of Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga
“We have so much more we can do,” Rep. Omar said.
U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, speaks to members of the press after filing for reelection for a fourth term at the Minnesota Secretary of State Office the morning of Tuesday, May 28, 20924. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga
The congresswoman is facing a primary challenge from former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels on August 13, with the winner virtually assured of winning the November election in the overwhelmingly Democratic district. This is Mr. Samuel’s second time challenging the congresswoman in a primary.
The congresswoman won the Democratic Party endorsement on May 11 and the party’s chair Ken Martin in comments at Rep. Omar’s filing on Monday said “the DFL party is unified and ready to do everything we can to make sure Ilhan’s return to congress.”
“There is no one in our party that does more to organize and mobilize voters and turn them out, and in such a critical year we need everyone standing behind Ilhan and continue to support and lift her up,” Mr. Martin said. “She has not only been a great congresswoman, she has been a great leader in this party helping get new voices in and supporting Democrats up and down the ballot and glad to join her today as she files.”
Biden thanks Kenya’s Ruto for sending police to Haiti and defends keeping US forces from the mission
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday expressed deep appreciation to Kenyan President William Ruto for the coming deployment of Kenyan police forces to help quell gang violence in Haiti and he defended his decision to withhold American forces from the mission in the beleaguered Caribbean nation.
The United States has agreed to contribute $300 million to a multinational force that will include 1,000 Kenyan police officers, but Biden argued that an American troop presence in Haiti would raise “all kinds of questions that can easily be misrepresented.”
The Democrat came into office in 2021 pledging to end U.S. involvement in so-called endless wars in the aftermath of 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Haiti is in an area of the Caribbean that is a very volatile,” Biden said at a news conference with Ruto, who was in Washington for the first state visit to the U.S. by an African leader since 2008. “There’s a lot going on in this hemisphere. So we’re in a situation where we want to do all we can without us looking like America once again is stepping over and deciding this is what must be done.”
Ruto, who will be honored by Biden with a state dinner on the White House grounds in the evening, also gave a climate policy address and met with former President Barack Obama.
Ruto is facing legal challenges in Nairobi over the decision to commit Kenyan forces to a conflict thousands of miles from home when his own country has no shortage of economic and security challenges. He said that Kenya, as a democracy, has a duty to help.
“Kenya believes that the responsibility of peace and security anywhere in the world, including in Haiti, is the collective responsibility of all nations and all people who believe in freedom, self-determination, democracy and justice,” Ruto said. “And it is the reason why Kenya took up this responsibility.”
Some analysts say his move could run afoul of a Kenyan High Court ruling in January that found the deployment unconstitutional because of a lack of reciprocal agreements between Kenya and Haiti. A deal was signed in March, before Ariel Henry resigned as Haiti’s prime minister, to try to salvage the plan.
Kenya’s moving ahead “gives the impression that the country is lawless and does not believe in the rule of law,” said Macharia Munene, an international relations professor at United States International University-Africa.
A difficult assignment is ahead for the Kenyan officers.
Haiti has endured poverty, political instability and natural disasters for decades. International intervention in Haiti has a complicated history. A U.N.-approved stabilization mission to Haiti that started in June 2004 was marred by a sexual abuse scandal and the introduction of cholera, which killed nearly 10,000 people. The mission ended in October 2017.
Biden and Ruto also called on economies around the globe to take action to reduce the enormous debt burden crushing Kenya and other developing nations.
The call to action, termed the Nairobi-Washington Vision, comes as Biden presses his appeal to African nations that the U.S. can be a better partner than economic rival China. Beijing has been deepening its investment on the continent — often with high-interest loans and other difficult financing terms.
Biden and Ruto want creditor nations to reduce financing barriers for developing nations that have been constrained by high debt burdens. They also called on international financial institutions to coordinate debt relief and support through multilateral banks and institutions providing better financing terms.
The White House announced $250 million in grants for the International Development Association, part of the World Bank, to assist poor countries facing crises.
Separately, a $1.2 trillion government funding bill passed by Congress in March allows the U.S. to lend up to $21 billion to an International Monetary Fund trust that provides zero-interest loans to support low-income countries.
“Too many nations are forced to make a choice between development and debt, between investing in their people and paying back their creditors,” Biden said.
An Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Kenya — found the debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of tax revenue needed to keep schools open, provide electricity and pay for food and fuel.
Behind the scenes is China’s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help.
Kenya’s debt-to-GDP ratio tops 70%, with the bulk of it owed to China. Credit ratings agency Fitch estimates the Kenya will spend almost one-third of its government revenues just on interest payments this year.
The Biden administration has praised Kenya for stepping up in Haiti when so few other countries have agreed to do so. Biden also announced his intention to designate Kenya as a major non-NATO ally, an acknowledgment of the growing security partnership between the countries.
The designation, while largely symbolic, reflects how Kenya has grown from a regional partner that has long cooperated with U.S. counterterrorism operations on the continent to a major global influence — even extending its reach into the Western Hemisphere. Kenya will be the first sub-Saharan African country to receive the status.
Ruto arrived in Washington on Wednesday and began the visit by meeting with Biden and tech executives from Silicon Valley and Kenya’s growing tech sector.
The White House announced it was working with Congress to make Kenya the first country in Africa to benefit from funding through the CHIPS and Science Act, a 2022 law that aims to reinvigorate the computer chip sector within the United States through tens of billions of dollars in targeted government support.
“I think we have a historic moment to explore investment opportunities between Kenya and the United States,” Ruto said.
Despite the optimistic outlook, Kenya has seen a sharp decline in foreign investment since 2017. Net investment for foreign companies has fallen from $1.35 billion in 2017 to $394 million in 2022, according to the World Bank.
—
Associated Press writers Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, and Josh Boak and Sagar Meghani contributed to this report.
Rwanda’s envoy to the United States, Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana, speaks during the annual Books for Africa Luncheon in Roseville, Minnesota on Friday, May 10, 2024. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga
Rwanda’s envoy to the United States, Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana, speaks during the annual Books for Africa Luncheon in Roseville, Minnesota on Friday, May 10, 2024. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga
For children caught in the middle of the 1994 Rwanda genocide that killed over 800,000 people, a book in their hands made a world of difference. For the Rwandan ambassador to the United States, Mathilde Mukantabana, there were instances in her life during the genocide that the few books she could get hold of as she moved between countries as a refugee helped her see the light through the darkness. This was a reality for many, especially children, she said.
It is for that reason why she thanked the hundreds that attended a Friday May 10 luncheon, for their support and commitment to sending books to Africa. Ambassador Mukantabana, who serves as the deputy dean of the African Diplomatic Corps in Washington and one of about 30 women that are ambassadors in Washington, was addressing the annual Books for Africa fundraising luncheon.
“I always say Books for Africa is better than any kind of diplomacy you can build anywhere in the world,” she said. “When you bring someone a book it shows you care. It is better than any material good you can bring, give me a book as a gift and I will never forget, as you can always find happiness in a book. One thing that kept me alive as I went from one country to another (as a refugee), was always having a good book with you. It takes you to another universe away from the reality of war.”
Attendees listen as Books for Africa’s board president Tammie Follett gives an update on Books for Africa during the organization’s annual luncheon in Roseville, Minnesota keynoted by Rwanda’s ambassador to the United States on Friday, May 10, 2024. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga
The St. Paul, Minn.- based Books for Africa organization has shipped over 60 million donated text books to all African countries since its founding, with over 3 million of those being sent last year. Computers and e-readers are now also routinely sent alongside the text books with BFA pointing out the donated electronics it sent to the continent in 2023 were loaded with over one million digital books.
“When you see those kids jumping, it is because when you see books it’s like seeing gold,” said Ambassador Mukantabana, referencing a BFA video showing joyful schoolchildren with boxes of books.
The World Population Review reports that 9 out of 10 least literate countries in the world are in the African continent. Only 67% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa can read and write, according to the World Bank.
Books for Africa founder Mr. Tom Warth embraces Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana as Ms. Bonnette Ishimwe of the Rwanda Embassy looks on during the organization’s annual luncheon in Roseville, Minnesota that the ambassador keynoted on Friday, May 10, 2024. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga
The post genocide outlook in Rwanda in terms of education has been one that has trended positive, but Ambassador Mukantabana, who addressed the crowd without written notes, said despite great investments in the sector by her government, more needs to be done and organizations such as Books for Africa are crucial in addressing unmet needs.
“One of the choices we have taken is what we call the strategy for transformation which is one of the visions we have for the country, and that strategy places literacy and education at the center and most of our budget is directed at that” she said. “So, Books for Africa has been a huge and fundamental, and I would say, critical partner in what we have been trying to do in our country.”
While the organization is known more for the shipment of books and computers for primary, secondary and college institutions, it has another high-profile mission of establishing law libraries in Africa. Known as the Law and Democracy Initiative, its inaugural co-chairs were the late U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Thomson Reuters, one of the world’s largest legal book publishers, provides the books for the law libraries and since its launch has established 147 law libraries in 25 African countries. Books for Africa executive director Mr. Patrick Plonski announced at the luncheon that the American Bar Association (ABA) will be joining Thomson Reuters in sending law books through the initiative.
Mr. Bryan Kay, ABA’s director for publishing editorial and licensing, was at the luncheon representing his organization. Sitting at the same table with Mr. Kay was Ms. Dana Mitchell, representing the Minnesota Attorney General’s office. Ms. Mitchell is also the board president at the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers.
Ms. Diane Moukouri, owner of B’Beri Desserts and originally from Cameroon, listens as Ambassador Mukantabana of Rwanda speaks during the annual Books for Africa Luncheon in Roseville, Minnesota on Friday, May 10, 2024. The Twin Cities businesswoman was attending her first Books for Africa event. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga
Ambassador Mukantabana while extolling the law and democracy initiative shared a light moment to demonstrate how in-demand the law books are, saying “my minister of justice said bring them to my office before you take them to the law school.”
In the audience sat Ms. Diane Moukouri, a Twin Cities businesswoman that owns B’beri Desserts. Ms. Moukouri, who is originally from Cameroon, was attending her first Books for Africa event. She was introduced to the organization during a recent Books for Africa warehouse visit by Zambia’s ambassador.
“I learnt during the visit that they do great work sending books and computers to Africa and I made up my mind that I need to get involved,” she said. “I got invited by Mark Ritchie (former Minnesota Secretary of State) to the luncheon and this is my opportunity to learn more.”
Mr. Bill Moran listens to speakers during the annual Books for Africa Luncheon in Roseville, Minnesota on Friday, May 10, 2024. Mr. Moran, a Twin Cities attorney, said his family has become a big supporter of the organization since being introduced to it by his daughter-in-law. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga
Unlike Ms. Moukouri, Mr. Bill Moran can no longer remember the number of times he has been to a Books for Africa event. A Twin Cities attorney, he was first introduced to the organization by his daughter-in-law who is the development director at Books for Africa.
His family has since become big supporters of charities operating in Africa.
“Since then, we have become big supporters of Books for Africa, and events like this give us an opportunity to learn of the progress it is making in addressing the need for books in the continent,” Mr. Moran said.
The organization said it raised over $170,000 at the luncheon.
House closes 2024 session in chaotic fashion, trading bonding for budget boosts
It was a session of modest ambitions.
After 2023 produced a record $72 billion in biennial funding, Minnesota’s legislative leaders were dampening expectations for anything resembling an encore. Tweaks and bonding seemed to be the chief items on the agenda.
Before the session started, House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) said, “The state’s borrowing bill will be the biggest order of business.” House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) said early in the session that fixing an issue with potential use of force by school resource officers was a top Republican priority, and a bill was signed into law relatively early in the session to address that issue.
On Sunday, both chambers of the Legislature finished their business for the year by the midnight deadline, and bonding bills fell by the wayside in the closing hours as DFL priorities in the House shifted toward getting a state equal rights amendment on the 2026 statewide ballot, cutting a deal for drivers with the companies that run rideshare services Lyft and Uber, and approving more than $450 million in supplemental funding for the current biennium.
House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth and House Majority Leader Jamie Long engage in a tense discussion on the House Floor following the introduction of the tax bill, HF5247, amended to include eight other bills that had previously been tabled. (Photo by Michele Jokinen)
As for bonding, Gov. Tim Walz proposed a $982 million capital investment plan, but the only 2024 bonding bill the House approved wasn’t passed by the Senate before midnight adjournment. While even-numbered years are generally called “bonding years” and the odd-numbered ones “budget years,” legislators stepped outside convention with a $2.6 billion infrastructure investment signed into law in 2023.
As for those tweaks, should they be signed into law, here are some of the changes coming Minnesota’s way.
Cannabis
One area subject to updates will be the landmark 2023 legislation legalizing adult-use recreational cannabis. The Office of Cannabis Management will now be allowed to issue licenses to potential retailers without first requiring they obtain a physical space to conduct business. The idea is to speed up the path for retail operations to begin in the state.
Another change would allow “social equity applicants” — defined as people harmed by over-prosecution of cannabis laws in the past — to get earlier approval of retail licenses.
Commerce
Consumer protections loomed large with legislation that will protect minors appearing in online content, restrict how collection agencies can collect medical debt, and require insurance coverage for medically necessary gender-affirming care.
A high-profile bill to expand the rights of online ticket buyers will become law, effective Jan. 1, 2025, requiring online bulk ticket resellers such as Ticketmaster to display “all-in pricing” to ensure ticket buyers know the total cost of a ticket up front.
The “Prohibiting Social Media Manipulation Act” will require a social media platform to allow users to indicate what content they do or do not want and requiring a platform’s algorithm to abide by those preferences.
Rideshare drivers celebrate early Monday morning after House and Senate passage of a bill that would set minimum pay for Uber and Lyft drivers and keep the companies operating in Minnesota. (Photo by Andrew VonBank)
Education
The education finance bill will increase education spending by $43 million in fiscal year 2025, including $37 million in additional funding for the Read Act, paying student teachers a stipend for their work, and creating an attendance and truancy pilot program.
Energy
The Renewable Development Account was created to fund alternative energy projects, and this year’s legislation will send $6 million to Minneapolis’ Sabathani Community Center for a geothermal energy system and $5 million to an anaerobic digester system for Ramsey and Washington counties. The “Solar Rewards” program will be extended by 10 years. And several permitting reform measures will be implemented that are designed to speed up adding renewable energy sources to the electrical grid.
Environment
Between the end of session last year and the beginning of session this year, the State of Minnesota was directed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to address elevated nitrate levels in drinking water in eight southeastern counties. Lawmakers approved $2.8 million to make grants available for approximately 9,000 households for them to get nitrate treatment equipment.
Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul) said it’s possible the most important thing the Legislature did this year is providing a framework for royalties and regulations to extract helium and possible hydrogen. A reservoir of helium discovered in northern Minnesota could potentially make the state a leader in clean energy raw materials.
Health
Health plans and medical assistance programs will be required to cover abortions and abortion-related services. Eligible employers will be allowed to forgo providing insurance coverage of contraception and abortions through a religious objection provision.
Medical assistance programs will be required to cover gender-affirming care, as of Jan. 1, 2025. Insurance plans will also be required to cover orthotics and prosthetics — including wigs for people with cancer.
House and Senate DFL Media Availability 5/20/24
An Office of Emergency Medical Services will replace the Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board.
Higher Education
A scholarship program for college students who have been in foster care will receive a $5 million boost, while $500,000 will go toward Head Start child care and early learning centers on Minnesota State campuses.
Housing
The tenant-landlord bill will allow crime victims to terminate their rental lease without penalty if they fear imminent violence and need to find a living situation after experiencing domestic or sexual abuse or harassment.
The Minnesota Supreme Court will be asked to retroactively expunge rental evictions.
A study on the emergency shelter needs for transgender individuals will be launched.
Human Services
The state will apply to the federal government for a Medicaid waiver to allow incarcerated individuals eligible for medical assistance to enroll prior to their release. This will allow each person to identify medical providers and support mechanisms before their release so that their re-entry into their community could be successful.
Critical access nursing facilities will receive $576,000 in fiscal year 2025 and $1.33 million in the 2026-27 biennium.
Payment rates will be increased for substance use disorder providers by 20% for services with opioid use disorder medications. And recovery community organizations will be prohibited from classifying or treating recovery peers hired on or after July 1, 2024, as independent contractors.
Labor
A House provision in the labor finance bill will ensure a business does not classify, represent, treat, report, disclose, document, or enter into an agreement with an employee, or require employees to agree to be misclassified or treated as something other than an employee — such as an independent contractor.
House and Senate Republican Media Availability 5/20/24
The bill will add air flight crews to employees who can earn sick and safe time, while excluding volunteer or paid on-call firefighters, ambulance service personnel, elected officials and farm laborers.
Legacy Finance
Money from the Legacy Fund will provide $239.6 million for the Outdoor Heritage Fund, the Clean Water Fund, the Parks and Trails Fund, the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, which includes a $100,000 grant for the return of the Wizard of Oz ruby slippers to Minnesota.
Public Safety
New legislation will increase criminal penalties for swatting — making a fictitious emergency call that a serious crime is underway.
The penalty for making a straw firearm purchase — buying a firearm for someone ineligible to purchase or possess them — will be raised from a gross misdemeanor to a felony. Legislators also passed a measure that will ban binary trigger devices that enable a semiautomatic gun to fire more than one shot with a single pull and release of a trigger.
Other changes will:
prohibit a peace officer from using the perception of the odor of cannabis as the sole basis to search a motor vehicle;
make it a misdemeanor to interfere with a mandatory reporter making a report on child abuse;
make inadmissible in court any confession by a juvenile obtained using deception; and
prevent a peace officer making a traffic stop for a secondary offense of the motor vehicle code from asking if the driver can identify the reason for the stop. Instead, an officer must first inform the driver of the reason for the stop before engaging in questioning related to the suspected violation.
A $53.9 million public safety and judiciary supplemental budget bill had several big-ticket items, including $9.5 million for organizations and programs providing services to crime victims. Another $7.9 million will go to hire more staff at the state’s 11 prisons and boost their salaries, and $7 million from the 911 emergency telecommunications services account will create a digital geographic information system mapping data of school facilities.
Taxes
The state’s child tax credit will be available in periodic advance payments. Language is also changed on tax forfeited property. And $2 million will be allocated to grants for tax credit outreach and taxpayer assistance grants.
Transportation
“Roadable aircraft” (or flying cars) will be allowed to use state roads. And there will be red light and speed camera pilot programs in Minneapolis and Mendota Heights.
Uber and Lyft
And finally, on the final day of the session, the House approved the Uber Lyft bill, giving rideshare drivers a raise of $1.28 per mile and 31 cents per minute. There are provisions to mandate rideshare companies provide drivers with vehicle insurance and compensation for injuries occurring while driving to pick up passengers or when transporting them.
— Session Daily writers Brian Basham, Miranda Bryant, Margaret Stevens and Tim Walker contributed to this story.
Rep. Esther Agbaje and Sen. Zaynab Mohamed on Monday, May 13, 2024 when they became the first Black women to chair a conference committee at the Minnesota Legislature. Photo: Courtesy Minnesota Legislature
Rep. Esther Agbaje and Sen. Zaynab Mohamed on Monday, May 13, 2024 when they became the first Black women to chair a conference committee at the Minnesota Legislature. Photo: Courtesy Minnesota Legislature
History was made on Monday when a conference committee to iron out differences between the Minnesota House and Senate versions of a bill to modify residential housing tenant and landlord provisions met. For the first time it was being chaired by two Black women, one of Nigerian descent and the other Somali.
Before a bill can be sent to the governor for his signature, the House and Senate must reconcile any differences, so that only one bill emerges from the legislature. The process of accomplishing the reconciling is referred to as sending the bill to conference, hence conference committee. The two chambers choose their own representatives (conferees) to represent them at the conference committee. Typically, the chair of each chamber’s conferees being sent to conference on a bill tend to be one of the authors. The conference committee meeting is then co-chaired by the chairs of each chamber’s conferees’ chair.
So, it came to be that for the Tenant-Landlord bill referred to as HF3591 in the Minnesota House and SF3492 in the Senate, the authors for each were a Black woman. The Senate, which since its existence never had a Black woman sit in its chairs as a lawmaker until January 2023, tasked Sen. Zaynab Mohamed (DFL – Minneapolis) to chair their group, while the House selected Esther Agbaje (DFL – Minneapolis), a former Foreign Affairs Officer with the U.S. Department of State born to Nigerian immigrants, as the chair of its conferees.
Mshale has an earlier story on the far-reaching effects of the Tenant-Landlord bill that the conference committee met to discuss on Monday, which you can read at this link.
The conference committee met for just under 30 minutes in public. Both co-chairs issued a joint written press statement after the meeting.
Sen. Mohamed, who came to the United States from Somalia at age nine, described the historic moment as a milestone for Black women in Minnesota, adding “Representation matters, and the diversity of backgrounds we bring to the legislature makes us stronger. I am honored to be part of this historic conference committee to show other Minnesotans that they too can lead.”
Rep. Agbaje on her part said the two of them are “breaking ceilings and shattering the status quo of leadership in the Minnesota Legislature.”
“We stand on the shoulders of giants – phenomenal Black women who paved the way. But today, we’re not just following their path, we’re widening it for generations to come,” said Rep. Agbaje. “This is Minnesota’s future, a vibrant reflection of the diversity that defines our communities.”
Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten was one of the conferees from the Senate side and one of the first three Black women – along with Sen. Mohamed – elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2022. After making remarks on the substance of the Tenan-Landlord bill, she took a moment to reflect on historic moment.
“I just want to say how much I enjoy seeing the two of you chair a conference committee, it’s just lovely and thank you for inviting me to be a part of it,” said Sen. Oumou Verbeten.
On Monday, May 13, 2024, Senator Zaynab Mohamed and Representative Esther Agbaje became the first Black women to chair a conference committee at the Minnesota Legislature. Photo: Courtesy Minnesota Legislature
The conference committee on a bill to modify residential housing tenant and landlord provisions reached an agreement Monday.
The proposed legislation would, among other things, protect victims of domestic and sexual violence from housing discrimination and further limit other forms of tenant discrimination.
Rep. Esther Agbaje (DFL-Mpls) and Sen. Zaynab Mohamed (DFL-Mpls) sponsor HF3591/SF3492* that would allow tenants to organize, seek remedies if construction delays prevent them from moving into their unit, seek assistance for mental health or health crises, and allow individuals to use a taxpayer identification number on rental applications.
The bill no longer includes a House provision that would have prohibited landlords from discriminating against tenants who receive rental assistance, such as housing vouchers. Some Republicans voiced their concern about this provision earlier in the session. However, this provision is contained in HF5242, the transportation/housing/labor supplemental budget bill.
“At the end of the day, I’m glad to present a bill that encompasses the needs of tenants,” Agbaje said.
The bill is meant to bring Minnesota in line with other states’ housing policies and could allow more tenants to be stable in their homes.
“This is a really, really big deal,” said Rep. Michael Howard (DFL-Richfield), chair of the House Housing Finance and Policy Committee.
The bill would:
allow tenants to ask the court to erase their eviction notice from official records if the tenant has been evicted for fearing imminent violence after experiencing domestic abuse, sexual extortion, rape, harassment, or stalking;
allow tenants to create tenant associations and organize without landlord retaliation;
declare that when a tenant abandons their dwelling, their lease is terminated when a new tenant begins a new lease for the dwelling unit, and defines the amount of rent the original tenant can owe if their lease was at-will or periodic; and
require landlords to only charge an additional fee for a pet when that policy is stated in the housing lease; accept a taxpayer identification number as a form of identification on a rental application, thereby allowing undocumented workers to apply for housing; and mitigate delays in new housing construction by providing the tenant alternate and equivalent housing, paying the tenant’s rent at an alternate location the tenant secured until the construction is complete, or allowing the tenant to break the lease.
Landlords would be prohibited from:
barring a tenant’s right to call for policy or emergency assistance in response to a mental health or heath crises;
denying a rental application based on a pending eviction action;
collecting rent or a security deposit from a tenant after the premises have been ordered to be vacated due to housing, health, or fire codes violations; and
evicting a tenant who has terminated their lease.
The agreement would establish statutory damages of $2,000 for landlords who disclose tenant information about the tenant’s fears of imminent violence from a person or the tenant’s new address or location.
Agbaje and Rep. Andrew Myers (R-Tonka Bay) successfully made oral amendments to push back the effective date of several sections of the bill to Jan. 1, 2025. This would allow landlords and housing leasing agencies to educate their staff on bill provisions.
Conferees agreed to another oral amendment by Agbaje that would delete a section that would have required landlords to disclose all mandatory fees, as well as optional fees for tenant-choice amenities such as pet and parking amenities, in the lease.
Agbaje said the provision was based on stakeholder language but is “too premature at this point.”
