Minnesota Democrat U.S. Senate nominee and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan beforehand claimed she graduated Phi Beta Kappa regardless of by no means belonging to the celebrated honor society, whereas her official state biography suggests she accomplished two faculty majors when she truly earned one main and a minor, in keeping with an unique report printed Wednesday by the Wall Road Journal.
The Journal reported October 21 that Flanagan made the Phi Beta Kappa declare throughout a March 2016 legislative listening to whereas advocating for laws aimed toward rising instructor variety in Minnesota public colleges.
On the time, Flanagan was serving within the Minnesota Home of Representatives and discussing how better variety amongst faculty instructors helped remodel her tutorial efficiency after she graduated from highschool with a 1.75 grade-point common.
“Every little thing modified, there was a change, one thing clicked,” Flanagan mentioned in the course of the listening to. “I graduated Phi Beta Kappa as a result of I noticed myself mirrored in my instructor and I noticed myself mirrored in my curriculum.”
Nonetheless, the Journal discovered {that a} graduation program from Flanagan’s 2002 graduating class on the College of Minnesota didn’t establish her as an honors scholar, regardless of recognizing graduates with grade-point averages of at the least 3.5.
The newspaper additionally reported that the college’s present GPA requirement for seniors searching for Phi Beta Kappa membership is 3.65.
On October 12, the Journal contacted Flanagan’s marketing campaign searching for documentation establishing her membership within the honor society, which the publication described because the nation’s oldest and amongst its most unique.
The newspaper additionally knowledgeable the marketing campaign that Phi Beta Kappa’s headquarters may launch any current membership information with Flanagan’s permission.
Eight days later, the marketing campaign acknowledged that Flanagan had by no means been a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
“The lieutenant governor was nominated for Phi Beta Kappa, however like too many different college students, she couldn’t afford the applying charges to grow to be part of the glory society,” marketing campaign spokeswoman Alexandra Fetissoff informed the Journal.
In accordance with the newspaper, the present lifetime membership price for Phi Beta Kappa on the College of Minnesota is $99, though the associated fee was probably considerably decrease when Flanagan attended faculty greater than twenty years in the past.
The Journal additionally famous that many chapters waive membership charges or provide different lodging to college students experiencing monetary hardship.
The marketing campaign’s rationalization signifies that Flanagan was nominated for the group however didn’t finally be part of, regardless of her earlier assertion that she graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
The Journal uncovered a separate discrepancy involving Flanagan’s faculty schooling and the way her tutorial {qualifications} have been described in her official state biography.
The biography states that Flanagan “earned her bachelor’s diploma in American Indian research and little one psychology,” language that means she accomplished a double main.
Nonetheless, the newspaper reported that Flanagan’s School of Liberal Arts graduation program recognized little one psychology as her main.
Her marketing campaign acknowledged that she didn’t full a double main, explaining that she earned a minor in American Indian research.
Flanagan has additionally confronted scrutiny over Medicaid overpayments involving her tribe. Breitbart Information reported October 13 {that a} 2019 state audit recognized greater than $29 million in overpayments to the White Earth Nation and Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe for opioid dependancy therapy applications over a decade. The whole included a further $3.8 million underneath the Walz-Flanagan administration in 2019, with $2.4 million going to White Earth and $1.4 million to Leech Lake. Auditors discovered that a lot of the improve resulted from funds made after the state decided the apply violated authorized necessities. Flanagan known as compensation calls for “unacceptable,” though the reporting didn’t set up fraud by both tribe or her involvement within the compensation answer. The problem resurfaced amid broader investigations into potential fraud exceeding $9 billion in Minnesota’s taxpayer-funded applications, with Flanagan pointing to Walz when questioned about her accountability.
A separate 2025 audit of Flanagan’s workplace recognized 12 findings involving monetary administration, Breitbart Information reported October 5. Auditors discovered unrecovered worker overpayments, $7,893 in flower purchases and $7,343 in furnishings purchases break up into transactions beneath a $5,000 restrict, errors in 14 of 40 worker reimbursements, incomplete documentation for 40 of 41 vendor funds, and incorrect state-airplane funds. The workplace mentioned recovering worker overpayments was “not within the public curiosity,” whereas 4 relevant findings from a earlier audit remained unresolved. Minnesota Senate Republican Chief Mark Johnson criticized the findings, saying, “Overpaying staff, shedding state property, and stiffing distributors for months—it’s no marvel large fraud is exploding throughout state authorities.”
Breitbart Information additionally reported October 16 that Flanagan and Walz appointed Trahern Pollard, founding father of We Push for Peace, to Minnesota’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee in 2021 and reappointed him in 2025. Minneapolis paid his nonprofit practically $2 million for violence prevention providers between 2021 and March 2025. In Might 2026, the Minnesota Lawyer Basic’s Workplace sued Pollard and one other particular person, alleging they diverted greater than $6.5 million in nonprofit belongings, together with over $6 million benefiting Pollard personally. The allegations don’t set up wrongdoing by Flanagan.
On October 20, Breitbart Information reported that Flanagan pledged extra funding for culturally related remedies and care throughout a 2023 Somali American Coalition occasion, whereas highlighting the administration’s proposed $1.5 billion housing bundle and assist for multifamily housing. She additionally promised to handle requests for extra detailed schooling and homelessness information and highlighted a proposed $200 million initiative for organizations serving minority and immigrant communities. “Now we have put aside $200 million to go on to organizations that serve communities of colour, immigrant communities, Native communities, as a result of we all know find out how to spend that cash finest and spend money on the issues that our communities want,” Flanagan mentioned. Her remarks have resurfaced amid investigations into fraud involving Minnesota’s taxpayer-funded applications, though she didn’t specify recipients or funding quantities for the proposed culturally related therapy providers.
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