Star Tribune
Winona LaDuke denies allegations following Attorney General’s investigation of Honor the Earth
Winona LaDuke is denying allegations that she made unauthorized loans to family members for non-business purposes while executive director of Honor the Earth, an environmental nonprofit investigated by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
In a Jan. 31 court petition for an “assurance of discontinuance” order, Ellison alleged that LaDuke frequently authorized transactions between Honor the Earth and family members who worked for the nonprofit “for purposes that did not benefit the corporation.” The petition alleges several interest-free loans were made without board approval, and often without proper documentation, to family members for “large purchases” such as vehicles and to pay for rent and bills.
The petition also alleges that LaDuke and the organization mishandled claims of sexual harassment by employees, and notes that the nonprofit admitted it lacked a systematic recordkeeping procedure.
Ellison said in a statement last week that the investigation found that Honor the Earth “did not meet the expectations that Minnesotans have for all charitable organizations.”
LaDuke denied many of the allegations in a statement Wednesday to the Star Tribune, as did her attorney Bruce D. Nestor in a letter to the Attorney General’s Office.
“There are some inaccuracies in the Attorney General’s notice regarding Honor the Earth, which should be corrected,” LaDuke said — inaccuracies which, according to Nestor, “harm Ms. LaDuke’s reputation.”
According to LaDuke’s statement, any loans given to her biological children were the same loans that went to other employees, and were repaid with payroll deductions.
“I did not approve any loans to my children nor did I supervise their employment,” she stated.
Nestor rejected the allegation that the loans did not benefit the program, saying they were necessary for employees to do their jobs.
“Many employees of Honor the Earth were low-income and would encounter unexpected expenses which would limit their ability to perform their jobs or travel to meetings,” he said, adding that LaDuke’s children qualified for the program.
Ellison’s petition states that LaDuke’s daughter, two sons and a sister worked for the nonprofit, but LaDuke said her sister was never associated with the nonprofit or received a loan. LaDuke said about 15 payroll advances went to employees in the last two years, and that two of her children received loans.
Spokesman Brian Evans said that that Attorney General’s Office stands by the allegations in the petition.
LaDuke co-founded Honor the Earth, along with Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, in 1993. She resigned as executive director in April 2023, shortly after Honor the Earth lost a sexual harassment case in which a Becker County jury awarded former employee Margaret Campbell $750,000 for lost wages and emotional distress.
Ellison’s petition says that documents show LaDuke issued memoranda to the group’s board dismissing additional complaints of sexual harassment and misconduct without investigating. But in her statement, she denied allegations that she failed to properly handle internal complaints of sexual harassment and misconduct.
Nestor said Honor the Earth was a “relatively small organization which did not have the internal structures or capacity to deal with human resource issues which may be considered standard in larger corporations.” LaDuke said in Nestor’s letter that the complaints were “appropriately investigated in light of the information known to her and Honor the Earth at the time.”
Honor the Earth officials declined to comment on LaDuke’s response. They issued a statement last week noting that none of LaDuke’s family members were still employed there.
“We welcome this assurance as it signifies a new phase in Honor [the Earth]’s development, one that allows us to redirect our focus to the important issues at hand — fighting for our rights as Indigenous peoples, while continuing to develop ways to repair harm within our community,” Executive Director Krystal Two Bulls said.
LaDuke was paid an annual salary of $88,500 in 2021, and Honor the Earth received more than $7 million in contributions and grants that year, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Honor the Earth’s tax filing for 2017 reported a loan approved by the board of $4,999 from the nonprofit to assist someone with “short-term emergency need,” and listed LaDuke as an “interested person.” The filing reported that the nonprofit had a “board-approved policy” at the time so that loans under $5,000 did not need board approval.
The 2019 tax filing reported three “employee advance” loans of $4,000, $1,100 and $700, the last of which listed LaDuke’s daughter as an “interested person.” Those loans were not approved by a board or committee, according to the filing, though the $4,000 loan had a written agreement.
LaDuke acknowledged there were times when Honor the Earth failed to maintain all required filings with the state and complete financial records. But in his letter, Nestor said those issues were due to circumstances “beyond the control” of LaDuke and the nonprofit, including an accountant passing away and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The “assurance of discontinuance” from Ellison includes a number of changes the nonprofit is required to make, some of which have already happened. One was that the nonprofit must fully separate from Anishinaabe Agricultural Institute and Akiing 8th Fire, which LaDuke founded and with which Honor the Earth partnered before 2023.
Nestor said that Honor the Earth’s protests against the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline in 2020 and 2021 “substantially” expanded demands on the nonprofit. “For over thirty years, Honor the Earth has done good work for the communities of Indigenous people with which it works,” he wrote.
Star Tribune
Former Medtronic consultant gets 18 months federal prison for insider trading
A former Medtronic consultant received an 18-month prison sentence this week for his role in a scheme linked to the $1.6 billion acquisition of an Israeli medical device company in 2018.
A federal jury in February convicted Doron “Ron” Tavlin, 69, of Minneapolis, of one count of conspiracy to engage in insider trading and 10 additional counts related to securities fraud. That same jury found David Jay Gantman, 58, of Mendota Heights, not guilty of all charges against him. A third defendant — Afshin “Alex” Farahan, 57, of Los Angeles — pleaded guilty in 2022 and has yet to be sentenced.
“His crime was cynical and brazen. It was also reckless,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ebert wrote in a memo calling for a 3-year prison term. “Tavlin’s conduct had the potential to blow up a deal that a team of executives and financial advisers had been diligently negotiating for months.”
Tavlin is now scheduled to self-surrender Jan. 5 to begin his prison term, which will be followed by 320 hours of community service.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Tavlin learned about a secret, pending acquisition by Medtronic of Mazor Robotics, where he worked as vice president of business development, in 2018. Tavlin also previously worked as a consultant to the Ireland-based Medtronic, which also has a headquarters in Fridley.
Tavlin illegally tipped off Farahan, his friend, about news of the imminent acquisition and told him to keep the news secret. Farahan knew the deal would likely result in a boost to Mazor’s stock price and quickly bought more than $1 million of the company’s stock throughout August and September 2018. Medtronic announced plans to acquire Mazor, which specialized in robotics for spinal procedures, in September 2018 and the deal closed three months later.
Prosecutors said Farahan netted more than $245,000, and Gantman made $255,000 in profit by selling the securities quickly after the deal was publicized. Farahan paid Tavlin for the secret information about the pending deal — including a $25,000 kickback about a year later —according to prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank, who sentenced Tavlin Monday, also ordered Tavlin to pay a special assessment fee of $1,100 – or $100 per each count. Frank did not impose a fine.
Star Tribune
Charges detail assault in Minneapolis that led to shooting rampage, killing one in Kandiyohi County
Another friend of the ex-girlfriend arrived to help. He pulled up in a car as the group exited the apartment and Matariyeh immediately pointed a gun at him before pounding on the windshield with the gun. Everyone fled as Matariyeh ran back inside the apartment.
The two men met in a parking lot before attempting to return to the apartment. That’s when they looked up and saw Matariyeh on the balcony. Matariyeh immediately began firing multiple shots at them as they took cover behind parked cars.
It was around this time that Minneapolis police officers arrived and made contact with Matariyeh’s ex-girlfriend. She believed he was still inside the apartment, but officers later learned that he had fled. They reached him on the phone. He told officers he was going to kill innocent people if he couldn’t speak with his ex-girlfriend or see his daughter, who was at daycare at the time. He later told police negotiators that “he wanted to go out by ‘suicide by cop.’”
All the while, Matariyeh was speeding westbound.
Police officers pursued him near Cosmos in Meeker County after being alerted that Matariyeh might have stolen another vehicle at gunpoint in Carver County.
Around 2 p.m. he pulled into the rural driveway of Peter Mayerchak in Lake Lillian. Mayerchak, who was in his yard placing hay over his septic mound, went and greeted Matariyeh, who shot him in the chest.
Star Tribune
DFL’s last-minute push to keep their trifecta
Mixing progressive dreams with dire warnings, a group of DFL leaders riled up a group of volunteers in St. Paul on Thursday morning, urging them to push on through the day’s freezing rain and fatigue in the remaining days before the election.
Several elected officials including Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar told the group of about 150 campaign staffers, volunteers and union members about how meaningful their work is to keeping DFL control of the Legislature, as the electeds start a statewide bus tour to turn out votes.
“We are here to keep our trifecta here in Minnesota,” U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar told volunteers on Thursday. “We’ve got five days, people!”
On the Republican side, House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said earlier this month that the House Republican Campaign Committee had raised a record $2.7 million ahead of the election and she said Republicans have also set records in volunteering and door-knocking as they work to break DFL control.
Minnesota Democrats hold a rally before starting a bus tour around the state to get voters excited, including Rep Ilhan Omar, Sen Amy Klobuchar, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, House Speaker Melissa Hortman, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, Rep Betty McCollum and Sen Tina Smith on Thursday. (Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
“Republicans have the momentum and resources heading into the final stretch to win the majority and restore balance to Minnesota,” Demuth said in a statement. “Minnesotans are ready to move on from the expensive two years of Democrat one-party rule.”
House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said she thought voters preferred action to the gridlock of divided government. “They’re looking for people who can get things done,” she said.
These last-minute get-out-the-vote efforts come as Democrats around the country push to keep control of state legislative chambers and try to flip a few statehouses that Republicans hold by just a few seats.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the arm of the national Democratic party that works on statehouse races across the country, has spent $500,000 on Minnesota races this year, including House races and the state Senate contest.