MINNEAPOLIS — It’s been nearly a week since Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that he officially shut down a Minneapolis city councilor’s wife’s food charity tied to Feeding Our Future.

The couple, Councilor Jamal Osman and Ilo Amba, has yet to answer any questions about the nearly half a million dollars they allegedly received in federal funding.

Experts say it’s unlikely that money will ever be recovered, given some of the violations in this case accuse Amba of poor record keeping and never filing taxes. 

And while she, nor her husband, aren’t facing any charges, and don’t have to answer to anything, this saga isn’t over yet. 

“Once the entity sees the writing on the wall that they’re not going to win this one, they’ll say, OK, we’re done, and pack it up and agree to do that,” said former federal prosecutor and current law professor at the University of St. Thomas Mark Osler. 

Ellison and Amba agreed to dissolve the charity called Urban Advantage Services (UAS) in October, but documents show it ceased operations in January of 2022. 

Osman was at Wednesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, but left and came back. The second time he left for good before the meeting was over and we couldn’t ask him any questions. 

KARE 11 has reached out to Osman by phone, email and at his city office several times. He was also a no-show at the city’s same meeting on Tuesday. 

The offices of UAS are also long abandoned in downtown Minneapolis. Failing to maintain a registered address is one of several violations Ellison says UAS racked up not long after it was started in 2020. He also claims it didn’t register with the Attorney General’s Office and its board of directors failed to meet.

He called the charity a fraudulent shell company that was created to perpetuate and tied to Feeding Our Future. That scheme exploited a federal program to feed hungry children during the pandemic that has since led to about 70 people facing charges, many of whom are already convicted. 

Ellison says Ambo directed federal funding to herself, her family members and co-conspirators. 

“Regardless of how it’s structured or perceived as cultural differences, that’s something that’s wrong and the government has to act on,” said Osler. “I know to some people it might seem about money, but it’s about the trust in government, it’s about the trust in charitable instincts and there was a real loss there.”

Documents show UAS was one of about two dozen related charities Ellison sued last year.

But dissolutions like these don’t preclude people from still facing consequences, depending on what, if any, evidence there is. 

Some of which will play out next year as several more people already criminally charged in the Feeding our Future case are expected to start standing trial in February.

“This was a time when kids were hungry, there was a great need there, and there’s a really big moral wrong and there is a need to address that,” said Osler.

ST PAUL, Minn. — It’s the Thursday of MEA weekend and St. Paul’s Union Depot is packed.  

Bel and I are in line with 277 other people waiting to board the Borealis, Amtrak’s latest line that offers daily service from St. Paul to Chicago.

Shortly before noon, the conductor calls, “all aboard,” and the crowd starts making its way to the platform eager to claim their seats, which are first-come, first-served. 

Every seat on this trip is taken, partly because it’s MEA weekend, but also because the popularity of the new line is “gangbusters,” according to Amtrak’s spokesperson, Marc Magliari.

Magliari says since Borealis launched in May, ridership has exceeded even Amtrak’s expectations, hitting 100,000 riders in just five months.

“If we could add more cars, we would,” Magliari said.

Bel and I are taking the train all the way to its final destination: Chicago’s Union Station. But there are 11 other stops along the way from Red Wing to La Crosse, the Wisconsin Dells and Milwaukee.

As we get underway and people settle into their seats, first-time riders are pleasantly surprised by the size of the seats and the amount of legroom they have. Also worth noting, on Amtrak, there are no middle seats.

Comfort is important because if you’re riding the Borealis all the way to Chicago, you’ll be in these seats for seven-and-a-half hours — about the same amount of time as driving.  

So, why ride when you could fly or drive? Most passengers we spoke to said it was about the experience. Several fellow riders enjoyed the atmosphere, saying it was laid back and friendly. Other riders appreciated the price, which is typically lower than flying.

One-way tickets on the Borealis from St. Paul to Chicago start at $41, but like airlines, the pricing is dynamic so the higher the demand, the higher the price. 

During peak travel times fares can go as high as $179, but for kids 2 to 12 years old, tickets are always half-price.

For members of the Beegle family, this trip is all about the kids. There are, after all, 17 kids in their group of 24.  

When making plans for their family reunion in Wisconsin Dells, they chose the train because they have fond memories of a train ride with their grandparents 25 years ago.

A couple of cars over, Rhea and Dave Miller are making those same memories with their grandchildren, Cooper and Brooks. The Millers wanted to give the boys a taste of train travel to see what they think, so they booked tickets to Red Wing.  

We stopped in Red Wing first, just 45 minutes into the journey. Each stop takes only about five to 10 minutes before we’re on our way again. 

The snack bar is a popular site on board, where you can buy standard fare like a burger and chips as well as some adult beverages.

But if you’re looking for a full dining car with tablecloths and a menu, you’re on the wrong train. 

You can find that — as well as a second-story observation deck and private sleeping — on the Empire Builder. It, too, travels daily from St. Paul to Chicago, but it originates on the West Coast and is more frequently delayed.

Back on the Borealis, Bel and I are pleasantly surprised by how fast the time has flown and how relaxed the ride has been.

We pull into Union Station at 7:15 p.m., all of us filing off the train and ready to start the next part of our adventure.

SHAKOPEE, Minn. — A recount has officially been requested for the closest election in any Minnesota legislative district this cycle after the Scott County Canvassing Board certified the election results Wednesday afternoon. Democratic Representative Brad Rabke leads Republican challenger Aaron Paul by only 14 votes in Shakopee’s District 54A race. 

This Scott County Canvassing Board meeting garnered a lot of attention not only because of how close the 54A race is, but because of 20 ballots in Shakopee precinct 10, that would directly impact the 54A race. 

“We had 329 people check in to absentee vote, we received 309 ballots back,” said Scott County election official Julie Hanson.

Hanson says they will continue to audit and investigate the situation, but at the end of the day, the canvassing board’s job is to certify the ballots that they have received. Now that results have been certified by the county canvassing board, they will be sent to the Secretary of States Office to be certified there on Nov. 21.

“This is the system working the way it’s supposed to work,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. “The public and the political parties and the candidates can look and see and touch and feel and ask questions, and that’s exactly what we want.”

The state will cover the recount since the margin of victory is lower than .5%. That recount of 22,000 ballots will begin also on Nov. 21.

“There’s high degrees of transparency, and high degrees in terms of security in this process here,” said Hamline University Political Science Professor David Schultz. 

Although Schultz feels recounts are important, he acknowledges they don’t have a history of actually changing the outcome. 

With Democrats and Republicans tied at 67 seats a piece in the State House, if the recount were to flip the district 54A race in Republican Aaron Paul’s favor, it would change the entire balance of power in the State Legislature.

The House District 14B race is Sherburne County is also headed for a recount. Democratic incumbent Dan Wolgamott leads Republican Sue Ek by 191 votes. Due to an issue with results on election night, Sherburne County says they will cover the cost and hand recount the voters so there is complete transparency.