Jonathan Weinhagen resigned from the Mounds View school board on Friday amid allegations that he embezzled more than $200,000 from the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce during his time as its president and CEO.

Jonathan Weinhagen in a photo submitted for a Mounds View school board candidate profile. (Courtesy of Jonathan Weinhagen)

Weinhagen, 42, of Shoreview, stepped down from the elected school board seat effective immediately, Mounds View Public Schools said in a notice to district families and staff Friday afternoon. He had been on the seven-member board since June 2014.

The board will need to discuss steps to fill the rest of his term, which ends Jan. 3, 2028, the notice said.

Board chair Diane Glasheen and school district superintendent Chris Lennox did not respond Friday to requests from the Pioneer Press asking for comment.

The five-count indictment alleges Weinhagen ran a fraud scheme between December 2019 and June 2024 — when he abruptly left the chamber — by setting sham contracts with a consulting company that he made up. He allegedly deposited money from the contracts into a bank account he opened under the phony company’s name and used it for personal expenses.

A grand jury on Wednesday indicted Weinhagen on one count each of wire fraud, mail fraud, attempted bank fraud and providing a false statement on a loan application. He made an initial court appearance on the charges Thursday, and was released from custody on an unsecured $25,000 bond.

The indictment also alleges Weinhagen stole $30,000 that the chamber had given to Crime Stoppers for reward money following the shootings of three children in Minneapolis in May 2021. After the cases went unsolved, Weinhagen asked Crime Stoppers to return the money in May 2022 and directed the nonprofit to send the refund check to his home, claiming it was the chamber’s new address. He allegedly used the money for personal expenses.

Weinhagen is also accused of using a chamber credit card for personal expenses, including for first-class airfare and a two-bedroom oceanfront room in Honolulu. He created fake documents to make it appear as though the expenses were for legitimate chamber business, the indictment alleges.

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After leaving the chamber, prosecutors say, Weinhagen tried to defraud a bank of $54,661 by falsely claiming on a loan application that he worked for a Minnesota-based restaurant holding company and providing a phony bank stub showing a $425,000 annual salary. The bank denied the loan.

Weinhagen worked at the St. Paul Area Regional Chamber of Commerce for about six and a half years, including more than two years as vice president, before departing in October 2016 for the Minneapolis chamber. His resignation from the Minneapolis organization followed an internal investigation that projected a $500,000 deficit in 2024.

An attorney for Weinhagen is not listed in the federal court file, and he has not responded to a message left for him asking to respond to the allegations.

Class 2A

Unseeded entering the week, the doubles duo of Sedona Stumpf and Brooke Gabel ran the table through an upset-filled bracket in Bloomington to win the Class 2A crown.

Stumpf and Gabel dropped the opening set of the title bout to Holy Angels’ Josie Brown and Katie Jung 4-6, but rallied to win the final two sets 6-1, 6-0.

Holy Angels’ Elizabeth Payne won the singles title via a thrilling victory in the final, where she edged Mankato East’s Sam Williams in a third-set tiebreaker.

Class 3A

Mounds View sisters Rory and Reese Wahlstrand reached the finals in their attempt to defend their state doubles title, but fell 6-1, 6-0 to Edina’s Raya Hou and Lauryn Schenk in the championship match Friday at Baseline Tennis Center.

Rochester Mayo’s Aoife Loftus defeated her teammate, Malea Diehn, 6-1, 6-3 to win the singles title. Loftus upset top-seeded Cassandra Li of Eagan in the semifinals in three sets.

Class A

Minnehaha Academy’s Chloe Alley defended her singles title with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Leah Maddock of Osakis, while Breck’s Addie Berman and Abbey Perry won the doubles title in straight sets over Litchfield’s Isla Dille and Molly Patten.

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By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and LISA MASCARO, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon confirmed Friday that it has accepted an anonymous $130 million gift to help pay members of the military during the government shutdown, raising ethical questions after President Donald Trump had announced that a friend had offered the gift to defray any shortfalls.

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While large and unusual, the gift amounts to a small contribution toward the billions needed to cover service member paychecks. The Trump administration told Congress last week that it used $6.5 billion to make payroll. The next payday is coming within the week, and it is unclear if the administration will again move money around to ensure the military does not go without compensation.

“That’s what I call a patriot,” Trump said during a White House event Thursday when he disclosed the payment from the donor.

The president declined to name the person, whom he called “a friend of mine,” saying the man didn’t want the recognition.

The Pentagon confirmed it had accepted the donation on Thursday “under its general gift acceptance authority.”

“The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of Service members’ salaries and benefits,” said Sean Parnell, chief spokesman for the Pentagon. “We are grateful for this donor’s assistance after Democrats opted to withhold pay from troops.”

Congress is at a stalemate over the government shutdown, now on track to become one of the longest federal closures ever, in its 24th day. Neither Republicans, who have control of the House and Senate, nor Democrats, in the minority, are willing to budge in their broader standoff over health care funding.

Payment for service members is a key concern among lawmakers of both parties as well as a point of political leverage. The Trump administration shifted $8 billion from military research and development funds to make payroll last week, ensuring that military compensation did not lapse.

But it is unclear if the Trump administration will be willing — or able — to shift money again next week as tensions rise over the protracted shutdown.

While the $130 million is a hefty sum, it would cover just a fraction of the billions needed for military paychecks. Trump said the donation was to cover any “shortfall.”

What’s unclear, however, is the regulations around such a donation.

Pentagon policy says authorities “must consult with their appropriate Ethics Official before accepting such a gift valued in excess of $10,000 to determine whether the donor is involved in any claims, procurement actions, litigation, or other particular matters involving the Department that must be considered prior to gift acceptance.”

BALTIMORE (AP) — The U.S. government plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, and could do so as early as Oct. 31, according to a Friday court filing.

The Salvadoran national’s case has become a magnet for opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies since he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, in violation of a settlement agreement. He was returned to the U.S. in June after the U.S. Supreme Court said the administration had to work to bring him back. Since he cannot be re-deported to El Salvador, ICE has been seeking to deport him to a series of African countries.

Meanwhile, a federal judge in Maryland has previously barred his immediate deportation. Abrego Garcia’s lawsuit there claims the Trump administration is illegally using the deportation process to punish him for the embarrassment of his earlier mistaken deportation.

A Friday court filing from the Department of Homeland Security notes that “Liberia is a thriving democracy and one of the United States’s closest partners on the African continent.” Its national language is English; its constitution “provides robust protections for human rights;” and Liberia is “committed to the humane treatment of refugees,” the filing reads. It concludes that Abrego Garcia could be deported as soon as Oct. 31.

“After failed attempts with Uganda, Eswatini, and Ghana, ICE now seeks to deport our client, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, to Liberia, a country with which he has no connection, thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland,” a statement from attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg reads. “Costa Rica stands ready to accept him as a refugee, a viable and lawful option. Yet the government has chosen a course calculated to inflict maximum hardship. These actions are punitive, cruel, and unconstitutional.”

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Abrego Garcia has an American wife and child and lived in Maryland for years, but he immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from being deported back to El Salvador, where he faces a “well-founded fear” of violence from a gang that targeted his family, according to court filings. In a separate action in immigration court, Abrego Garcia has applied for asylum in the United States.

Additionally, Abrego Garcia is facing criminal charges in federal court in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling. He has filed a motion to dismiss the charges, claiming the prosecution is vindictive.