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AG Ellison reveals details from historic Juul, Altria settlement
In a press conference, Ellison laid out the four major provisions of the settlement, including a $60.5 million payout — the largest settlement per capita in the U.S.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison gathered with Governor Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and other officials at the Capitol Wednesday to reveal details from the historic settlement between the state and two e-cigarette companies, Juul and Altria, in April.
The announcement comes just 30 days after the settlement was reached.
In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Ellison announced that the state will receive $60.5 million in the settlement. More than $17.5 million of will be used to pay legal fees for the case, but the decision to take the case to court still paid off. Ellison said that the remaining $43 million still represents the largest Juul settlement, per capita, in the United States.
“The amount of our settlement is larger than all of the money Juul made in Minnesota between 2015 and 2021,” Ellison said. “If they got paid by selling deceptive and harmful products to our kids, we got all our money back. In other words, we have disgorged and extracted all the money they never should have earned in the first place.”
Ellison said the payment will occur over seven years, the first installment of which — about $20 million — will be available to the state within the next 30 days. Ellison said two-thirds will be paid out by the tobacco companies within the year, which will be dedicated to tobacco mitigation and prevention, now and in the future.
The second major provision calls for more transparency in data surrounding tobacco use. Ellison said not only will Minnesota release millions of documents, but also Altria will disclose its internal documents as well. According to Ellison, Altria dumped upward of $12 billion into Juul’s business and marketing with the intention to up its sales throughout Minnesota and the rest of the country.
“We believe in putting the sunshine on this — and that’s what we’re doing right now,” he said.
In its third major provision, the agreement requires Juul to accurately disclose the nicotine content in its tobacco products and prohibits the company from intentionally marketing and selling products to children and young adults.
“This is a notice to all companies looking to addict kids,” Ellison said. “If you try to do this in Minnesota, not only will we sue you, we’ll take you to court and hold you accountable and make you pay.”
Money for Tobacco and Vaping Prevention and Education
Bipartisan legislation working currently pending at the Capitol would direct the remaining $43 million in settlement money to the Minnesota Department of Health with a targeted focus on tobacco use and vaping.
“We are close to wrapping up that bill and it is specifically dedicated to education and prevention,” said Representative Kaohly Vang Her, DFL- “And as we’ve been working with advocates, this is just the first step.”
“It’s got to be passed by the legislature or it’s not going to go to prevention,” said Jeanne Weigum, President of the Minnesota Association of Non-Smokers. “We saw that in 1998.”
Weigum is referencing Minnesota’s whopping $6.5 billion settlement with big tobacco in 1998.
“If you ask most legislators, ‘Was the settlement money from the original tobacco settlement, 25 years ago did that go to prevention?’ Most of them will say, ‘Yes, it did,'” Weigum said. “It didn’t and it doesn’t, even though every year more money comes in. Every year we still get over $100M in tobacco settlement payments that go straight to the general fund.”
More than $200 million of that 1998 settlement did fund the work of Clearway Minnesota, but that ended in 2021 and Weigum says other promises gave way to politics.
“The promise was that it was going to be an endowment that would put about $20M a year into tobacco prevention,” she said. “But the first time there was a budget shortfall, the money in the endowment was taken to fill the budget shortfall.”
Minnesota is currently spending more than $11 million a year on tobacco prevention, according to the non-profit TobaccoFreeKids.org. But that’s about half the amount the state spent just six years ago.
“We’re way, way below what CDC guidelines are for prevention spending,” Weigum said. “And we’re way, way below what comes into this state from tobacco.”
But she is hopeful, and confident that the new legislation will direct the new money to the right place.
“Nobody opposed (the legislation),” Weigum said. “This is something that everybody said makes sense, and that’s what it takes. It can’t just be people with good intentions. This has to be a law.”
The lawsuit, which was settled one day before the state was scheduled to deliver its closing arguments at trial, accused Juul and Altria of marketing their vaping products in a way that made them attractive to Minnesota teens, developing sleek devices and flavors that were appealing to youth.
After the settlement was reached, Juul released a statement, saying:
“Resolution of issues from the company’s past and its historical legal challenges has remained a critical priority to secure certainty for our future,” reads the statement from JUUL. “While we appreciate the court and jury’s time, attention, and professionalism throughout the trial, we are pleased to have reached a settlement with the state and will work to finalize this agreement over the coming weeks. We have now settled with 48 states and territories, providing over $1 billion to participating states to further combat underage use and develop cessation programs.”
Speaking from the capitol Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan reflected on that work being done, using her self-described “Momma Bear” energy.
“To put it simply, our children and our young people deserve better,” she said. “As adults, we have a responsibility to keep our children safe. Allowing deceptive and harmful marketing to target young children is unacceptable and we are not going to allow it in Minnesota.”
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Synchronize your watches! The award-winning best new musical sets its destination to the Orpheum.
MINNEAPOLIS — You don’t need to build a flux capacitator to travel back in time and relive an ’80s phenomenon.
“Back to the Future the Musical,” which won the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, is coming to the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis at the beginning of fall.
The London’s West End and Broadway show is based on the 1985 blockbuster film that spawned two sequels: “Back to the Future Part II” in 1989 and “Back to the Future Part III” in 1990. All three films combined grossed nearly a billion dollars.
The award-winning musical stars Caden Brauch as Marty McFly, Don Stephenson as Doc Brown and Ethan Rogers as Biff Tannen.
“Back to the Future the Musical” officially premiered at the Manchester Opera House on March 11, 2020. It then had a huge run at London’s West End beginning in 2021 and hit Broadway in August of 2023.
The musical is directed by Tony Award-winner John Rando with original music by multi-Grammy-winners Alan Silvestri (“Avengers: Endgame”) and Glen Ballard (Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”), alongside songs from the movie including “The Power of Love,” “Johnny B. Goode” and “Back in Time.”
“Back to the Future the Musical” will play at the Orpheum from Tuesday, Sept. 10 to Sunday, Sept. 22.
Tickets, which start at $50, will go on sale at HennepinTheatreTrust.org on Friday, June 14, 2024, at 10 a.m.
The production contains flashing lights, strobe effects, pyrotechnics and is recommended for ages 6 and up.
Its run time is 2 hours and 35 minutes and includes one intermission.
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Marina Dougall, 36, was last seen in Minneapolis in September of last year but wasn’t reported missing until May 2024.
ANOKA COUNTY, Minn. — The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public to help find a missing Anoka County woman who they believe is without critical medication.
Marina Dougall, 36, was last seen in Minneapolis in September of last year but wasn’t reported missing until May 2024. Police said her family hasn’t heard from her since she was last seen.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension released a statement Wednesday, saying Dougall was known to frequent the Franklin Avenue North area of Minneapolis as well as places throughout Anoka County and across the Twin Cities metro. Investigators said she may have been in the area of Burnett County, Wisconsin last September, before being dropped off at the Norwoood Inn in Roseville.
MISSING: Investigators believe Marina Dougall may have been in the in the Burnett County, Wisconsin, area Sept. 20-22, 2023, and then dropped off at the Norwood Inn in Roseville. Anyone with information on Marina Dougall’s whereabouts is urged to call 911. pic.twitter.com/HhfAeFGiJZ
— Minnesota BCA (@MnDPS_BCA) September 11, 2024
The BCA said Dougall has a medical condition that requires medication, and that she also has a history of mental health and substance abuse issues.
Dougall is described as 5’9 and 140 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. She also has a chipped front tooth, flower tattoos on her right hand and left shoulder, a snowflake tattoo on her right abdomen and a large tattoo on her back.
The BCA added Dougall was born in Russia and speaks with a slight accent.
If you’ve seen Dougall or know any information about her whereabouts, you’re urged to call 911 or contact the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office at 763-324-5209.
A judge handed 25-year-old Damarean Bible a 367-month sentence – 30 and 1/2 years – for killing 37-year-old Savannah Williams in November of 2023.
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis man will serve more than 20 years in prison after being convicted of second-degree intentional murder in the death of a transgender woman in November of 2023.
A Hennepin County district judge sentenced Damarean Kaylon Bible to 367 months – or 30 and 1/2 years – for fatally shooting Savannah Ryan Williams, a woman who was well-known in the Twin Cities trans community. He will serve two-thirds of that sentence behind bars.
“This senseless act of violence against a Native and Cuban transgender woman has left a family without a daughter, a partner without their person, and a community without the vibrant light that Savannah uniquely brought to every room she was in,” said Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty following the sentencing. “Savannah deserved safety.”
Moriarty said investigators in her office conducted a thorough review to determine whether the killing was motivated by bias, but concluded they could not prove bias beyond a reasonable doubt. The county attorney did say Williams’ murder is part of a pattern of escalating attacks against trans women, particularly those who are of color. She said since 2013, 286 trans women have been killed, with 85% of those victims being Bipoc women.
Two state legislators who are members of the Queer Caucus vowed to continue work at the State Capitol to protect Minnesota’s transgender community and increase penalties against those who harm them.
“Savannah Ryan Williams was a beloved member of the trans and Two Spirit community, and she should be alive today,” said Minnesota Rep. Leigh Finke (DFL-66A). “The data is clear that trans people, especially trans people of color, suffer violence at rates far greater than our cisgender neighbors. The Queer Caucus will continue do everything in our power at the Capitol to solve this crisis, and I thank the County Attorney’s Office for sharing this commitment.”
Minneapolis police were dispatched to the 3000 block of 4th Ave. S. around 9 a.m. Nov. 29, 2023 on reports of someone not breathing. Witnesses told officers they heard a gunshot just before 6 a.m.
Investigators used surveillance video to track the shooting suspect to an apartment building where they arrested Bible.
A criminal complaint says Bible admitted to shooting Williams in the head. He told police she approached him for a sexual encounter but he began to feel “suspicious.” After the act, he shot and killed her, according to court documents. Bible reportedly confessed after police found surveillance video of him at the scene near the Lake Street light rail station.
The complaint said while in jail, Bible told his dad he “just murdered someone.” It reads that he felt sorry for killing the victim and knew he wasn’t God, but he “had to do it.”
He was convicted of second-degree intentional murder on Aug. 27, 2024.
Following her death, friends remembered Williams as a big personality who was “full of life.”
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