St. Paul Park Police Chief Jessica Danberg sent a letter to city officials last week announcing she would resign on May 31, citing lack of support from the city council, gender inequity and a move to disband the city’s nine-member force.

The resignation of Danberg, who has been with the city since 2016, is the fourth of a city department head since January. Mayor Keith Franke said Monday that he did not believe the resignations were related.

As for Danberg’s assertion that city officials undervalue leadership by women, Franke said St. Paul Park was one of the first cities in the area to hire a female police chief.

The other St. Paul Park officials who’ve announced resignations are:

Melody Santana-Marty, St. Paul Park’s finance director, who earlier this month announced she would resign on April 21.
City Administrator Kevin Walsh, who has held the city’s top post since May 2008 and will resign on July 31.
Public Works Director Jeff Dionisopoulos, who’d been with the city for eight years and resigned Jan. 9.

“I think they’re all separate situations,” Franke said. “It’s just poor timing for us. … It’s going to be a challenge that I think we’ll be able to overcome.”

Chief questions city council support

Danberg’s resignation came after the St. Paul Park City Council on April 21 voted 3-1 to increase her pay rate to $63.50 an hour, a 6 percent increase. Council member Char Whitbred-Hemmingson pulled the pay increase from the consent agenda and voted against it; council member Tim Conrad was not in attendance.

“To be effective in a role as critical as the Chief of Police, one must have the support of both the City Council and the Mayor,” Danberg wrote in her resignation letter. “It has become increasingly clear that such support has not been extended to me. The council meeting … made that particularly evident.”

During the meeting, Whitbred-Hemmingson asked if the council had ever done a performance review of Danberg. “We have done one?” she asked. “Is there any way that we can see the performance review?”

City Administrator Walsh told Whitbred-Hemmingson and the other council members that the council “typically doesn’t supervise the department heads.”

“You only supervise my position, the city administrator’s position, so typically the council wouldn’t do performance reviews for anybody else besides myself,” Walsh said. “That’s common practice.”

St. Paul Park Police Chief Jessica Danberg outside St. Paul Park City Hall on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Danberg, who has been with the city since 2016, sent a letter to city officials last week announcing she would resign on May 31, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Danberg did not receive a 6 percent cost-of-living increase on Jan. 1, when other city employees did, but she did not request reimbursement for back pay to that time, Mayor Franke said.

“There’s three or four months of unpaid increase, so if we were to stretch that back out over the course of the year, it would technically be a significant percentage reduction, but either way, the approximate amount was budgeted last year,” Franke said during the meeting.

In her letter, Danberg wrote that she requested in August that the city conduct her first formal compensation review — a request that was neither acknowledged nor followed up on. “While I received a raise, the adjustment falls significantly below what is commensurate with my experience, responsibilities, and comparable roles in the region,” she wrote.

Danberg wrote that another police chief in Washington County was paid $2.40 more per hour despite Danberg “having a master’s degree, more years of leadership experience, and managing a department with higher call volume and complexity.”

“This, unfortunately, is not an isolated experience,” Danberg wrote. “It is one of several instances during my time with the City that speak to a larger issue of gender inequity and undervaluation of leadership by women.”

Keep police department or outsource to sheriff’s office?

Council member Tim Conrad, who could not attend the meeting, said Monday that he has asked city officials to explore the possibility of having the Washington County Sheriff’s Office provide public safety services for the city. He said he has talked with officials from the sheriff’s office and believes the city could save $400,000 annually if they were to make that move.

“I have asked questions to find out what it would take to do that,” Conrad said. “The City of Newport has done that, and it does seem to be working for them.”

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office began policing Newport, population 5,300, in 2016, and the city’s five-officer police force was disbanded.

The police department in St. Paul Park, which also has a population of 5,300, has nine full-time officers, according to the city’s website.

The mayor said he does not support giving up the city’s police department and questioned whether the city would save $400,000.

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“I think having a local department gives you that sense of continuity and gives us that identity,” Franke said. “That’s not to dispel any of the great work that the sheriff’s office does, but I believe St. Paul Park is a small community with a small-town feel, and having our own officers gives us that autonomy, and it gives us that identity, just like any other city.”

He said he does not believe that there is an “appetite” on the part of a majority of council members to make a switch. He also said that discussing a move like disbanding the department “honestly makes it hard to give our employees the security and the support that I think they deserve.

Chief has long career in policing

Danberg grew up in Newport and graduated from Woodbury High School in 1993. When she was 3, her father, Wesley Danberg, who was the fire chief in Newport, died in an explosion at the Ashland Oil Refinery in St. Paul Park.

She began her police career in July 1998 as a patrol officer with the Inver Grove Heights Police Department. She worked in the investigations unit from 2001 to 2004 and was promoted to sergeant of the patrol division in 2011.

During a phone interview on Tuesday, Danberg, 49, said she hoped to retire from St. Paul Park.

“It is tough. From Day 1, I’ve always tried to do what is best for the city,” she said. “But maybe my resignation can be a wake-up call to the council about what (they) should be doing with city staff. You should be showing them support and talking about them positively, and if you have any critiques or questions or concerns, those should be addressed with that person behind closed doors, out of public hearing.”

Suggesting that the department should be disbanded hurts morale and is done “with malice, rather than concern for the citizens,” she said. “… We are a busy police department for the population that we have.”

In her letter, Danberg recommended that the council promote Sgt. Craig Elgin to interim police chief after she leaves “to ensure continuity and stability during the transition,” she said.

Danberg said Tuesday that she does not yet have another job lined up. “I am looking forward to decompressing and taking some much-needed and overdue time off,” she said.

Lakers coach J.J. Redick told reporters Tuesday that Wednesday’s Game 5 in Los Angeles is a “Game 7” for the Lakers. That’s true the rest of the way for the Lakers, who need to win three straight games to advance to the second round.

Redick described his team as “on edge, as we should be.”

The same has to be true for Minnesota.

“We’re not done,” Wolves forward Julius Randle said. “We know we need one more, and it’s going to take everything we have to get that next win.”

Minnesota has an obvious insurance policy should Wednesday not go as it hopes — Game 6 on Friday in Minneapolis. But allowing the series to continue is dangerous for a couple of reasons. No. 1, the Wolves eked out a pair of home wins over the weekend. Evidence from Games 3 and 4 suggests Los Angeles could win a Game 6 at Target Center.

Come Friday, much of the pressure would be on Minnesota.

No. 2, it’s to Minnesota’s benefit to close out the series as soon as possible. The Timberwolves had a commanding 2-0 lead over Denver in last year’s West semifinals. And while they ultimately dispatched the Nuggets, it required a grueling seven games to do so. Ultimately, that proved harmful, as players hinted at fatigue as a reason for their West Finals loss to Dallas.

Rest is a major reward for finishing off a series early. Golden State could potentially bounce the Rockets with a Game 5 win on Wednesday in Houston. The last thing the Wolves would want is to spot the aging Warriors a couple of extra days off.

Wolves guard Mike Conley also noted it “adds a little bit more confidence” to your team moving forward when you can put a team away in your first opportunity.

“When you look back and you say, ‘Hey, we should have won this game and that game, we wouldn’t have to have a Game 6 or 7,’ it puts a lot of stress on you, puts a lot of doubt in certain situations,” Conley said. “(We need to) have … a business approach, to every situation, and find ways to win and take care of business when we need to.

“We took care of our home court. That was our goal these last two games, and now our new goal is to win one in LA. So, can we be grown ups and go out there and figure out a way to do it? That just builds our confidence and builds our leadership throughout our team, and hopefully builds more winning.”

It will not be easy. Anthony Edwards said after Game 4 that the Wolves’ next contest is “going to be the toughest game that we’ve played all season.”

“Back against the wall in enemy territory. These are the moments that we should live for — going on the road and trying to close a team out,” Edwards said. “It’s going to be tough, going to be a tough atmosphere, but it should be fun. If you like competing at the highest level, I told (my teammates) it should be fun. Get your rest and be ready to go.”

While Minnesota did struggle to lay the hammer down on the Nuggets a season ago, it was 2-0 in potential closeout games, downing Phoenix in Game 4 of its first-round series and Denver in Game 7 of the West semis.

But Conley noted this one is against Luka Doncic and LeBron James, who he suspects will do everything in their power to survive.

“As hard as it was (in Game 4), it’s going to be even harder to get the next one, so we’re going to have to fight through a lot,” Randle said. “Like we have done all year, we’ve got to rely on each other, play for one another, and we genuinely feel like if we do that, we give ourselves the best chance to win every night. So, it’s going to take all of us.”

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By BARBARA ORTUTAY, Associated Press

Congress has overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation to enact stricter penalties for the distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery, sometimes called “revenge porn.” Known as the Take It Down Act, the bill is now headed to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.

The measure was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and later gained the support of First Lady Melania Trump. Critics of the bill, which addresses both real and artificial intelligence-generated imagery, say the language is too broad and could lead to censorship and First Amendment issues.

FILE – Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., speaks during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee for Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

What is the Take It Down Act?

The bill makes it illegal to “knowingly publish” or threaten to publish intimate images without a person’s consent, including AI-created “deepfakes.” It also requires websites and social media companies to remove such material within 48 hours of notice from a victim. The platforms must also take steps to delete duplicate content. Many states have already banned the dissemination of sexually explicit deepfakes or revenge porn, but the Take It Down Act is a rare example of federal regulators imposing on internet companies.

Who supports it?

The Take It Down Act has garnered strong bipartisan support and has been championed by Melania Trump, who lobbied on Capitol Hill in March saying it was “heartbreaking” to see what teenagers, especially girls, go through after they are victimized by people who spread such content. President Trump is expected to sign it into law.

Cruz said the measure was inspired by Elliston Berry and her mother, who visited his office after Snapchat refused for nearly a year to remove an AI-generated “deepfake” of the then 14-year-old.

FILE – Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Meta, which owns and operates Facebook and Instagram, supports the legislation.

“Having an intimate image – real or AI-generated – shared without consent can be devastating and Meta developed and backs many efforts to help prevent it,” Meta spokesman Andy Stone said last month.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a tech industry-supported think tank, said in a statement Monday that the bill’s passage “is an important step forward that will help people pursue justice when they are victims of non-consensual intimate imagery, including deepfake images generated using AI.”

“We must provide victims of online abuse with the legal protections they need when intimate images are shared without their consent, especially now that deepfakes are creating horrifying new opportunities for abuse,” Klobuchar said in a statement after the bill’s passage late Monday. “These images can ruin lives and reputations, but now that our bipartisan legislation is becoming law, victims will be able to have this material removed from social media platforms and law enforcement can hold perpetrators accountable.”

What are the censorship concerns?

Free speech advocates and digital rights groups say the bill is too broad and could lead to the censorship of legitimate images including legal pornography and LGBTQ content, as well as government critics.

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“While the bill is meant to address a serious problem, good intentions alone are not enough to make good policy,” said the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group. “Lawmakers should be strengthening and enforcing existing legal protections for victims, rather than inventing new takedown regimes that are ripe for abuse.”

The takedown provision in the bill “applies to a much broader category of content — potentially any images involving intimate or sexual content” than the narrower definitions of non-consensual intimate imagery found elsewhere in the text, EFF said.

“The takedown provision also lacks critical safeguards against frivolous or bad-faith takedown requests. Services will rely on automated filters, which are infamously blunt tools,” EFF said. “They frequently flag legal content, from fair-use commentary to news reporting. The law’s tight time frame requires that apps and websites remove speech within 48 hours, rarely enough time to verify whether the speech is actually illegal.”

As a result, the group said online companies, especially smaller ones that lack the resources to wade through a lot of content, “will likely choose to avoid the onerous legal risk by simply depublishing the speech rather than even attempting to verify it.”

The measure, EFF said, also pressures platforms to “actively monitor speech, including speech that is presently encrypted” to address liability threats.

The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, a nonprofit that helps victims of online crimes and abuse, said it has “serious reservations” about the bill. It called its takedown provision unconstitutionally vague, unconstitutionally overbroad, and lacking adequate safeguards against misuse.”

For instance, the group said, platforms could be obligated to remove a journalist’s photographs of a topless protest on a public street, photos of a subway flasher distributed by law enforcement to locate the perpetrator, commercially produced sexually explicit content or sexually explicit material that is consensual but falsely reported as being nonconsensual.

By FERNANDA FIGUEROA and MATT BROWN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The only Black, all-female unit to serve in Europe during World War II, commonly known as the “Six Triple Eight,” were honored Tuesday with the Congressional Gold Medal, following a long-running campaign to recognize their efforts.

The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was credited with solving a growing mail crisis during its stint in England and, upon their return, serving as a role model to generations of Black women who joined the military.

They cleared out a backlog of about 17 million pieces of mail in three months, twice as fast as projected. The battalion would go on to serve in France before returning home. And like many Black units during World War II, their exploits never got the attention afforded their white counterparts — until now.

At a ceremony held in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol’s visitor center, House Speaker Mike Johnson presented the medal to the family of the unit commander, Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley. More than 300 descendants of the women who served in the battalion were present in the crowd.

“This ceremony reflects one of the highest and most cherished traditions of our republic, one that’s roots stretch back all the way to General George Washington,” Johnson said in remarks at the event.

“The Six Triple Eight are great American patriots, loyal to a nation that, for far too long, failed to return the favor. And I’m glad to say that’s changing, and we’re doing that here today,” the House speaker continued.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer delivered remarks alongside the lawmakers who co-sponsored the legislation enabling the medal. At least two dozen members of Congress were in attendance.

Kim Guise, senior curator and director of curatorial affairs at the National WWII Museum, said there are only two women living from the 855 who served in the unit.

“That really shows how long this recognition took,” Guise said. “It is really important to recognize the accomplishments of these women and what they went through to serve their country in war time.”

Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore, who co-sponsored the legislation to award the medal to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, called it a long overdue honor for the women in the unit.

“These heroes deserve their dues; and I am so glad their story is being told,” Moore told The Associated Press on Monday. “I am especially honored to ensure my constituent Ms. Anna Mae Robertson and the many others who served with her, are recognized for their selfless service.”

In 2022, Congress voted 422-0 to bestow its highest honor on the 6888th.

“It’s overwhelming,” retired Maj. Fannie Griffin McClendon, who lives in Arizona, told The AP after the vote. “It’s something I never even thought about it.”

FILE – World War II veteran Maj. Fannie Griffin McClendon, a member of the World War II 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, poses for a photo at her home on June 10, 2021, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

McClendon joined the Air Force after the military was integrated and retired in 1971. She was the first female to command an all-male squadron with the Strategic Air Command.

The 6888th was sent overseas in 1945, a time when there was growing pressure from African-American organizations to include Black women in what was called the Women’s Army Corps, and allow them to join their white counterparts overseas.

“They kept hollering about wanting us to go overseas so I guess they found something for us to do overseas: Take care of the mail,” McClendon said. “And there was an awful lot of mail. … They expected we were gonna be there about two or three months trying to get it straightened out. Well I think in about a month, in a month and a half, we had it all straightened out and going in the right direction.”

The 6888th toiled around the clock, processing about 65,000 pieces of mail in each of the three shifts. They created a system using locator cards with a service member’s name and unit number to ensure mail was delivered.

Over the years, the unit’s story started to gain wider recognition. A monument was erected in 2018 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to honor them, and the 6888th was given the Meritorious Unit Commendation in 2019. A documentary “The Six Triple Eight” was made about their exploits. In 2024, Tyler Perry directed a movie for Netflix about the unit, starring Kerry Washington.

Associated Press writer Michael Casey contributed to this report.