By KATE PAYNE

A Florida judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the planned transfer of prime downtown Miami land for Donald Trump’s future presidential library.

Related Articles

US revokes visas for 6 foreigners over Charlie Kirk-related speech

Trump threatens to yank World Cup games from Boston though it’s up to FIFA to choose sites

House Republicans seek testimony from ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith

Trump honoring Charlie Kirk with Presidential Medal of Freedom on what would be his 32nd birthday

Trump and budget chief Vought are making this a government shutdown unlike any other

The move by Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz came after a Miami activist alleged that officials at a local college violated Florida’s open government law when they gifted the sizable plot of real estate to the state, which then voted to transfer it to the foundation for the planned presidential library.

The nearly 3-acre property is valued at more than $67 million, according to a 2025 assessment by the Miami-Dade County property appraiser. One of the last undeveloped lots on an iconic stretch of palm tree-lined Biscayne Boulevard, one real estate expert wagered that the parcel could sell for hundreds of millions of dollars more.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing that President Donald Trump’s presidential library be built in a parking lot that is currently used by Miami-Dade College staff and faculty and is adjacent to the Freedom Tower, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Marvin Dunn, an activist and chronicler of local Black history, filed a lawsuit this month in a Miami-Dade County court against the Board of Trustees for Miami Dade College, a state-run school that owned the property. He alleges that the board violated Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law by not providing sufficient notice for its special meeting on Sept. 23, when it voted to give up the land, and he’s seeking to block the land transfer.

Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

After finding that an unlicensed company was selling “unauthorized and deceptive health coverage” to Minnesotans, the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s Enforcement Division has settled with the company, requiring it to leave the state’s insurance market.

The settlement agreement with Strategic Limited Partners LP requires the company to “cease all insurance-related operations in Minnesota” by the end of the year and pay all outstanding claims to its consumers in the state.

The Commerce Department, in a Tuesday news release, said the company sold unauthorized health plans to more than 1,700 Minnesotans, some of whom believed they had been speaking with a MNsure representative.

“Later, consumers discovered that health care providers wouldn’t accept the coverage, and the company often denied or failed to pay claims, leaving consumers with unexpected and sometimes significant medical bills,” the news release states.

In addition to exiting Minnesota’s health insurance market and paying claims, the settlement requires Strategic Limited Partners LP to pay a $290,000 penalty. However, $250,000 of that fine is stayed unless the company violates the settlement, the department said.

Those who purchased coverage through Strategic Limited Partners LP can contact the Commerce Department if they believe they are owed money. Consumers can also verify if a company is licensed to sell insurance through the Commerce Department’s online License Lookup tool.

“This is a cautionary tale,” said Jacqueline Olson, the department’s assistant commissioner of enforcement. “As open enrollment begins, Minnesotans should be extremely careful when selecting health coverage. If it sounds too good to be true, or if the company isn’t licensed in Minnesota, that’s a red flag.”

Open enrollment through Minnesota’s health insurance marketplace, MNsure.org, begins Nov. 1.

A man has been sentenced to six years in prison for shooting and wounding three people in St. Paul — his girlfriend, her cousin and a 64-year-old man out for a walk with his dog — before climbing onto a roof to get away from officers.

Jaleel Jackson-Bey, 36, was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty in Ramsey County District Court to two counts of second-degree assault in connection with the 2023 incident in the area of Cliff and Superior streets, off West Seventh Street.

Jaleel Jackson-Bey (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Officers were called to the area about 9:15 p.m. June 21, 2023, on reports of gunfire and found three people shot. A 25-year-old woman, Jackson-Bey’s girlfriend, was wounded in her leg, knee and wrist. A 22-year-old man, who the girlfriend said is her cousin, was shot through his foot. A man who lives in the area had substantial bleeding from his leg and a dog leash was being used as a tourniquet.

The man said he was walking his dog when he noticed several people come out of a home and yell “in what appeared to be a domestic argument,” the charges said. He kept walking, heard “two firecracker sounds” and then realized he’d been shot in the leg.

Jackson-Bey’s girlfriend’s sister said Jackson-Bey was visiting them. She saw her sister and Jackson-Bey arguing outside and then Jackson-Bey fired rounds at her sister and the rest of the family. She said he continued to fire even as the family ran into the home for safety.

Jackson-Bey had run from the scene and was later found a half-mile away on top of the Salvation Army’s roof. Police used “less lethal munitions” to take him into custody about 2:30 a.m. A gun was in his pocket, with a single live round in the magazine.

Related Articles

New allegations surface against 22-year-old who posed as White Bear Lake student

200+ DWI breath tests at issue after ‘human error’ on machines in various counties

BCA orders immediate statewide inspection of DWI testing instruments after data entry errors

Ex-Minnesota State Patrol Trooper admits to creating pornography involving toddler

Lawsuit alleges Eagan police mistook man’s fatal stroke for possible drug use

The city of Woodbury is launching a new speaker series in partnership with the South Washington Watershed District this week, connecting community members to climate scientists.

Beginning Thursday at Eagle Valley Golf Course in Woodbury, climate scientists will present discussions “through the lens of facts and numbers, people and community, and how to create practical change,” according to the city’s Facebook post. The event is free and open to the public.

“Hear from top professionals in the field of climate sciences about local issues impacting water quality and the environment,” the post stated.

The two presenters featured on Thursday include Jen Kader, administrator of the Clean Water Council at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and Kenneth Blumenfeld, senior climatologist at the Minnesota State Climate Office.

Community members are encouraged to come curious and bring questions surrounding climate-related topics as a “snack and chat” mingling opportunity will take place before the presentations begin. A public Q&A and networking opportunities will follow the presentation.

The community discussion will be held 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, at Eagle Valley Golf Course, 2600 Double Eagle Lane in Woodbury.

Free tickets can be reserved at eventbrite.com using the search term “Woodbury Green Talks.”

Related Articles

Woodbury’s new city administrator plans to lead with positivity and relationship building

Girls Soccer: Fedunok, Mattes lead Woodbury into state tournament contention

Woodbury: Kids paint ‘Peanuts’ mural at Shriners Children’s hospital between visits

Woodbury Central Park to reopen this month in phases

Former DFL lawmaker Nicole Mitchell sentenced to 6 months in jail for burglary