Star Tribune
Jeremiah Ellison not running for re-election to Minneapolis City Council
Minneapolis City Council Member Jeremiah Ellison announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election next year to represent the Fifth Ward in north Minneapolis.
Ellison is a mural artist who rose to prominence during protests over police killings of Black men. Elected to the council in 2017, the progressive was one of the architects of a 2020 pledge by nine council members to “begin the process of ending the Minneapolis Police Department.”
That led to a failed ballot question the following year that would have restructured public safety, but Ellison was narrowly re-elected that year and again last year, becoming the most senior member of a majority coalition on the council that sits to the political left of Mayor Jacob Frey and often clashes with him.
“The Northside has never lacked brilliant, caring, studious leaders ready to step up and perform this job,” Ellison said in a three-page statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. “I feel it is time to take a step back and allow these leaders the honor and opportunity of getting to know their neighbors’ needs.”
Ellison is the son of Attorney General Keith Ellison.
All 13 city council seats and the mayor will be on the ballot next year.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
On the Ramsey County Board, Miller will represent District 7, comprising Maplewood, North St. Paul and White Bear Lake. She will fill the seat of outgoing Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt, who has been on the board for 28 years.
Miller, a Maplewood resident, works as the director of Interfaith Action of Greater St. Paul’s Department of Indian Work.
On Election Day, Miller held a 28-vote lead over Sarah Yang. After the recount, she still came out ahead: Miller received 15,435 votes, while Yang received 15,404. The county canvassing board will certify the results Dec. 4.
Miller is one of two new members elected to the board this month. Tara Jebens-Singh was elected to represent District 1, covering Arden Hills, Gem Lake, Mounds View, North Oaks, Shoreview, Vadnais Heights, White Bear Township, plus parts of Spring Lake Park and Blaine.
A special election to fill the vacant District 3 seat, representing Falcon Heights and parts of St. Paul, will be held Feb. 11.
Gatlin, 36, pleaded guilty to five counts of felony-level sexual conduct earlier this month after a handful of women accused him of sexual assault dating back to when they were school-aged and he was in his 20s and in a position of authority within the Duluth church. At the time, his parents — reportedly aware of his actions — served as pastors. They resigned from their positions in early 2023, unwilling to cooperate in an internal investigation. Jackson Gatlin was fired.
His parents, Michael and Brenda Gatlin, are subject of nine civil lawsuits, alongside Jackson Gatlin, Duluth Vineyard and Vineyard USA.
Tuesday’s sentencing, which took about 10 minutes and, as has been the case throughout, drew a packed courtroom. It centered on the final three victims whose claims against Gatlin are all similar. According to criminal complaints, the women told authorities about invitations to Gatlin’s home under false pretense, being assaulted in his bedroom, his parents’ bedroom or his car. One of the three victims told investigators that he restrained her.
Victim 1′s mother told authorities that she called Gatlin’s mother, but that Brenda Gatlin told her that “We know your daughter has issues.”
One victim came forward to Vineyard leadership in late 2022 and more followed. The incidents were reported to Duluth police, along with Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE), a nonprofit organization that conducts independent investigations. In early 2023, some of the victims took to social media with their stories.
Gatlin, who had worked with youth between 2006 and 2023, was charged in October 2023. He was briefly held in the St. Louis County jail, where he returned after pleading guilty Nov. 6.
None of Gatlin’s new sentences exceed the 13 years he will serve, followed by a lifetime of conditions — including registering as a sex offender. Dressed in an oversized orange jumpsuit, he declined to speak in the courtroom.
Star Tribune
Biden proposes Medicare and Medicaid cover costly weight-loss drugs for millions of obese Americans
The anti-obesity drug market has expanded significantly in recent years, with the Food and Drug Administration approving a new class of weekly injectables like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound to treat obesity.
People can lose as much as 15% to 25% of their body weight on the drugs, which imitate the hormones that regulate appetites by communicating fullness between the gut and brain when people eat.
The cost of the drugs has largely limited them to the wealthy, including celebrities who boast of their benefits. A monthly supply of Wegovy rings up at $1,300 and Zepbound will put you out $1,000. Shortages of the drugs have also limited the supplies.
Kennedy, who as Trump’s nominee for HHS secretary is subject to Senate confirmation, has railed against the drugs’ popularity. In speeches and on social media, he’s said the U.S. should not cover the drugs through Medicaid or Medicare. Instead, he supports a broad expansion of coverage for healthier foods and gym memberships.
”For half the price of Ozempic, we could purchase regeneratively raised, organic food for every American, three meals a day and a gym membership, for every obese American,” Kennedy said to a group of federal lawmakers during a roundtable earlier this year. Ozempic is a diabetes drug that can stimulate weight loss.
