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Christian Wealth Grift Turns Out to Be a Christian Wealth Grift
Something already felt suspicious back in 2023 when Racket's Jay Boller spent the day at a Life Surge seminar, a 10-hour, Christian celebrity-filled “faith and finance” fest geared toward signing people up for expensive real estate classes—just like Jesus did. (Life Surge would return to the Twin Cities last year, that time at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center instead of Eden Prairie's Grace Church.)
In an investigative Mother Jones story published Thursday, reporter Kiera Butler checks in with Life Surge attendees who went all in on the pitch at this country-crossing event. There are no success stories here, just tales of high-interest loans, crash courses in house flipping, and allegedly predatory business practices.
“It gets people thinking, if they can do it with no experience, I can do it,” an employee tells Butler. “I have this amount in my 401(k) at work, or I have this much in the bank. Why don’t I just sign up for these classes? And, you know, it’s for god’s kingdom.”
While Jay only spent around $27 for a full-day of godly get-rich blather, the goal of these things is to sign wealth-seeking worshippers up for SurgeU, a series of "impact classes" that can set you back between $10–$40K. (One in-debt attendee tells Butler she wised up halfway through after she realized she would never be able to raise the equity to buy properties anyway.) Meanwhile, Butler estimates that the celeb speakers selling this system–former footballer Tim Tebow is a fixture—are probably pulling in around $100K a gig. Now that is how you get rich quick.
ACLU Sues Becker County Over Rainbows
Last July, the Detroit Lakes Public School Board passed a "rainbow ban," forbidding rainbow pride stickers or "safe space" stickers from its schools. According to reports from the Strib and MPR News, the policy change blindsided students, teachers, and parents—the proposal was not placed on the meeting agenda, so opponents were never given the chance to speak out.
Now the Minnesota ACLU has filed a lawsuit, arguing that prohibiting stickers, tees, and other rainbowed items is a violation of students’ right to free speech. The suit also alleges that the ban “constitutes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,” a violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
“These school board members are banning expression, in this case rainbows, because of their anti-LGBTQ bias, and that's unlawful,” Catherine Ahlin-Halverson, MN ACLU’s deputy legal director, tells Harshawn Ratanpal at MPR.
“We can go back over old ground, you know, like a farmer that spreads manure on the field,” says (presumably) anti-LGBTQ board member Sanford Nelson at a meeting this week. “A farmer that spreads manure on ground and then plows it up and plows it up just raises a stink, and that's what it seems like we're doing.”
Nicollet Island Renters Rally to Save Their Homes
When the owner of six Minneapolis properties on the north side of Nicollet Island announced plans to sell, a group of longtime tenants, some having lived there for over 40 years, formed a cooperative. Now, with the help of lawyers, historians, and advocates, they’re aiming to purchase the homes, together.
“Clearly, shared ownership is more complicated,” Gretchen Nicholls, senior program officer of LISC, tells Susan Du at the Strib. “You have to work with other people as owners of the building, so it’s not for the faint of heart. But it is an opportunity for people to have more destiny over their housing conditions.”
Property owners are currently asking about $500K per building, and raising funds will be no easy feat. But Du notes that these types of ownership models can actually lead to affordable housing since the market appreciation stays with the collective, and anyone who cashes out of the investment is contracted to do so at a low amount.
The Fate of the U of M Tailgating Hearse Has Been Decided
When Cynnthia Verbrugge came across a Facebook Marketplace listing for a Goldy the Gopher-emblazoned hearse, the very one you read about in Racket, she knew she had to have it. Her brother is a PA announcer for the Golden Gophers’ football, basketball, and wrestling games, while her father was a longtime U of M campus police officer.
“Gophers run in the family blood as it were and this was just destiny,” she tells WCCO in the fun segment below.
In other U of M car news, this Minnesota Daily photo series from Henry Creel featuring a Subaru Forester being rescued after falling into a deep construction hole on University Avenue is pretty wild. Thankfully no injuries were reported.
And in less fun U of M news: On Thursday via a word salad email to students, President Rebecca Cunningham announced $225 million in budget cuts. That could buy a lot of old tailgating hearses.
