Star Tribune
Hagedorn campaign money transferred to charity led by his widow, Jennifer Carnahan
WASHINGTON — Almost a year after U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn died following a battle with kidney cancer, around $125,000 of his campaign’s remaining money was quietly given to a charity bearing the Republican’s name.
And while there are only scant mentions online of James L Hagedorn Cancer Charities, filings show the late lawmaker’s widow, Jennifer Carnahan, is the president of the organization.
Carnahan is the former chair of the Minnesota Republican Party who was forced out nearly two years ago amid scandal. She ran for her late husband’s congressional seat and finished third in a special GOP primary last year. She is also in a legal dispute with some of Hagedorn’s family members, who sued her over money they put toward the late congressman’s medical expenses.
Carnahan declined an interview request and did not answer a list of detailed questions. In an email, she wrote that “the charity is still in the formation phase, so there is not much to share (at this point) other than this charity was created to honor my husband’s memory and help others fighting cancer.”
In a Facebook post Friday, Carnahan blasted the Star Tribune for asking questions about the charity, accusing it of writing a “false and hateful article.”
Documents submitted to the Internal Revenue Service, which has recognized the organization as a 501c3 public charity, show Carnahan is listed as president and treasurer.
Jennifer Larson, who has been involved in Minnesota GOP politics, is its vice president, and Carnahan’s mother, Cindra Carnahan, is its secretary. All three are listed on the cancer charity’s board of directors in recent state filings reviewed by the Star Tribune.
Federal campaign committees are allowed to make donations to charities. However, a campaign guide from the Federal Election Commission states “using campaign funds for personal use is prohibited.”
The FEC guide notes that donations to a charity “are not considered personal use expenses as long as neither the candidate nor any member of the candidate’s family receives compensation from the charitable organization before it has expended the entire amount donated.”
Financial data included in the IRS documents shows that in 2023, the charity projected to bring in $237,000 in gifts, grants and contributions along with $126,000 in “unusual grants.” For its planned expenses, the charity listed $119,000 for fundraising, $115,000 in “contributions, gifts, grants, and similar amounts paid out,” and $67,000 in “compensation of officers, directors, and trustees.”
The charity projected $429,300 in revenue for 2024, with no money coming from unusual grants; an estimated $157,000 in fundraising expenses, and $160,000 in the “contributions, gifts, grants, and similar amounts paid out” category. The form lists an estimate of $72,000 for “compensation of officers, directors, and trustees” that year.
Carnahan would not say whether the charity had raised any money outside of the campaign donation, nor whether the organization would be using the campaign funds to pay salaries or compensation.
A conflict of interest policy signed by Carnahan, her mother and Larson states that “a voting member of the governing board who receives compensation, directly or indirectly, from the Organization for services is precluded from voting on matters pertaining to that member’s compensation.”
An outline submitted to the IRS about the charity’s planned activities states that 70% of its time would be spent on fundraising. Other planned activities include supporting people and families facing cancer and donating to “established cancer non-profits/charities.” The document states those plans will be initially funded with the money donated by the late congressman’s campaign.
“It seems to be critical because it’s the seed money for the charity,” said Lloyd Mayer, a professor at Notre Dame Law School who focuses on nonprofit and election law.
In her Friday Facebook post, Carnahan said she hopes to give financial support to families fighting cancer.
“Outside of treatment and regular doctor’s visits, there are so many other unexpected costs that arise — ranging from hotel night stays to purchasing oxygen and much more; or in our case also renting an apartment in Scottsdale during the height of the snowbird season and me dwindling my savings account to keep my husband alive to fight another day,” Carnahan wrote.
Heidi Hagedorn Katz, a sister of the late congressman who is not among the family members suing Carnahan, said the Hagedorn family was not told about the new charity.
“I can state with confidence that Jim’s family was not informed of the creation of the James L. Hagedorn Cancer Charities organization and has no involvement in it,” Hagedorn Katz said in a text message.
Hagedorn’s mother, stepfather and one of his sisters sued Carnahan last year around a week before polls closed in a special primary for the late congressman’s seat. In December, a Faribault County district judge ordered Carnahan to reimburse the family members for the more than $20,000 they spent on Hagedorn’s medical expenses. Carnahan has appealed.
At the end of September 2022, Hagedorn’s campaign still had around $140,000 in cash on hand left, federal records show. It then donated $126,684 to James L. Hagedorn Cancer Charities in October. The donation was refunded back to the campaign about a month later. Then in January, the campaign sent around $125,000 to the charity.
The treasurer for Hagedorn’s campaign did not respond to an email with questions about the decision.
Northern State 35, Concordia (St. Paul) 34: Wyatt Block’s 2-yard TD run and the PAT with 10 seconds remaining lifted the Wolves past the host Golden Bears. Block’s touchdown capped an 11-play, 72-yard drive by the Wolves, who trailed 24-7 in the second quarter. Jeff Isotalo-McGuire’s 34-yard field goal with three minutes, 32 seconds remaining gave the Golden Bears a 34-28 lead.
Winona State 31, Bemidji State 28: Cade Stenstrom rushed for two TDs and passed for 150 yards and a TD to help the host Warriors outlast the Beavers. Stenstrom’s 1-yard TD run and the PAT with two minutes, 10 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a 31-21 lead. The Beavers responded with an 11-play, 93-yard drive to pull within 31-28 with 18 seconds remaining but the Warriors recovered the ensuing kickoff.
Div. I-AA
North Dakota State 59, Murray State 6: The top-ranked Bison built a 42-3 lead in the first half and went on to defeat the host Racers in Murray, Ken. CharMar Brown ran for 97 yards and three TDs for the Bison.
South Dakota State 20, South Dakota 17 (OT): Amar Johnson’s 3-yard TD run in overtime lifted the host Jackrabbits to the victory. The Coyotes opened the OT with a 40-yard field goal.
Youngstown State 41, North Dakota 40 (OT): The host Penguins went first in OT and scored and then stopped North Dakota’s two-point conversion to hold on for the victory. The Penguins sent the game into OT on a 35-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining.
Div. III
Augsburg 35, St. Olaf 34 (OT): The host Auggies stopped a two-point conversion in overtime to outlast the Oles. The Auggies went first in the overtime and scored on a 25-yard pass from Ryan Harvey to Tyrone Wilson. It was Harvey’s fifth TD pass — the fourth to Wilson. After the Auggies’ PAT, the Oles scored on a 25-yard TD pass from Theo Doran to Braden Menz. But the Oles’ pass attempt for the conversion failed.
After splitting their two-game West Coast trip to begin the season, the Wolves improved to 2-1 with a 112-101 win over Toronto in their home opener. It was a wire-to-wire win that featured some strong bursts of play from the Wolves and other times when their decision-making was suspect. But those moments when they were on, specifically the start of the game and most of the third quarter, were enough to carry them against a shorthanded Raptors team that was without RJ Barrett, Bruce Brown and Immanuel Quickley.
Julius Randle had 24 points while Anthony Edwards had 24 on 21 shot attempts. Donte DiVincenzo had 16 off the bench. Nickeil Alexander-Walker left the game in the fourth quarter and did not return, though he was in the bench area for the final minutes after going to the locker room briefly.
The Wolves’ starting lineup had its best stretch of basketball on the season after that unit started off sluggish in the first two games. Mike Conley, who was 3-for-16 to open the year, hit two early threes to set the tone, though Conley would finish 2-for-8.
Donte DiVincenzo replaced him at point guard halfway through the quarter and continued the hot shooting from the point guard slot with three threes of his own. The Wolves forced five Toronto turnovers and had a 32-18 lead after one.
Coach Chris Finch toyed with some different lineup combinations in the first half as he had Conley and DiVincenzo begin the quarter together while having Joe Ingles run the point later in the quarter. It led to an uneven second, and the Wolves led 56-44 at halftime.
But the Wolves played inspired coming out of the break. Jaden McDaniels, who didn’t take a shot in the first half, had nine points in the opening minutes of the third. Edwards hit a pair of threes as they pushed their lead to 22. The Wolves weren’t sharp closing the night, and the Raptors had the game within right inside of two minutes, but the Wolves had built enough of a cushion.
Rudy Gobert. Gobert had 15 points and 13 rebounds and was the beneficiary of some lobs from his teammates like Edwards, Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Joe Ingles. Gobert also finished with four blocks.
Gobert had two blocks on one possession in the fourth quarter that got the crowd off its feet and Gobert pounding his chest. Gobert blocked D.J. Carton and Jamison Battle.
Star Tribune
Trump denigrates Detroit while appealing for votes in a suburb of Michigan’s largest city
NOVI, Mich. — Donald Trump further denigrated Detroit while appealing for votes Saturday in a suburb of the largest city in swing state Michigan.
”I think Detroit and some of our areas makes us a developing nation,” the former president told supporters in Novi. He said people want him to say Detroit is ”great,” but he thinks it ”needs help.”
The Republican nominee for the White House had told an economic group in Detroit earlier this month that the ”whole country will end up being like Detroit” if Democrat Kamala Harris wins the presidency. That comment drew harsh criticism from Democrats who praised the city for its recent drop in crime and growing population.
Trump’s stop in Novi, after an event Friday night in Traverse City, is a sign of Michigan’s importance in the tight race. Harris is scheduled for a rally in Kalamazoo later Saturday with former first lady Michelle Obama on the first day that early in-person voting becomes available across Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots have already been submitted, representing 20% of registered voters. Trump won the state in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden carried it four years later.
Michigan is home to major car companies and the nation’s largest concentration of members of the United Auto Workers. It also has a significant Arab American population, and many have been frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza after the attack by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
During his rally, Trump spotlighted local Muslim and Arab American leaders who joined him on stage. These voters ”could turn the election one way or the other,” Trump said, adding that he was banking on ”overwhelming support” from those voters in Michigan.
“When President Trump was president, it was peace,” said one of those leaders, Mayor Bill Bazzi of Dearborn Heights. ”We didn’t have any issues. There was no wars.”
While Trump is trying to capitalize on the community’s frustration with the Democratic administration, he has a history of policies hostile to this group, including a travel ban targeting Muslim countries while in office and a pledge to expand it to include refugees from Gaza if he wins on Nov. 5.
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