Staff Directory 6370508

Kelly Smith

Reporter | Nonprofits, charity and philanthrophy
Phone: 612-673-4141

Kelly Smith covers nonprofits/philanthropy for the Star Tribune and is based in Minneapolis. Since 2010, she’s covered Greater Minnesota on the state/region team, Hennepin County government, west metro suburban government and west metro K-12 education.


Smith was born in Duluth and grew up in the Twin Cities. She graduated from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., and worked for the Forum newspaper in Fargo, N.D., before coming to the Star Tribune in 2010.
Recent content from Kelly Smith
Chris Songalia, left, a staffer at Neighborhood House's food market at the Wellstone Center in St. Paul, and Sylvester Fernandez, a volunteer, arrange

More Minnesota nonprofits are facing financial crisis than any year since 2020

Nearly 80% of nonprofits in a new survey said they have less than a year before they face financial distress largely because of declining donations and increasing costs.
Ladan Ali, the Seattle woman who dropped off an attempted bribe of $120,000 in cash to a juror in the Feeding Our Future trial, and her attorney, Eric

Woman who dropped off attempted bribe for Feeding Our Future juror pleads guilty

In new details, Ladan Ali admitted to stealing $80,000 in cash meant to go to the juror. She could face nearly five to six years in prison.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison

Brooklyn Park man accused of tax evasion over vape shops and deceptive practices at décor business

Hennepin County charges and an attorney general lawsuit accuse William Shocinski Jr. of Brooklyn Park of not providing metal décor products, making fake charity claims and evading tobacco vaping taxes.
People ride through downtown Sturgis, S.D., during the 80th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on Monday, Aug. 10, 2020.

State alleges motorcycle ride fundraiser pocketed money meant to support Minnesota veterans charity

A 2022 motorcycle ride fundraiser, Ride to The Chip, promised riders 100% of the money would go to charity. Instead, state investigators allege organizers pocketed the money.
The St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation announced its 2024 recipients of its annual Facing Race Awards. They are, clockwise from top left, Ma Elena Gutier

St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation honors four Minnesotans for anti-racism efforts

The winners will be honored Sept. 26 and each will receive a $7,500 grant to give to a nonprofit of their choice.
Jennifer Bjorhus

Jennifer Bjorhus, longtime journalist and Star Tribune reporter, dies of brain cancer

Bjorhus, who had an award-winning journalism career in the Twin Cities and West Coast, was 59.
Whitney MacMillan, retiring CEO of Cargill, Inc., at the Administrative Lake Office, known as the mansion, a historic old country home near Lake Minne

Cargill billionaire's secretive foundation quietly closes after giving out unprecedented $500 million

Former Cargill CEO Whitney MacMillan's WEM Foundation dissolved last December and closed its Minnetonka office. For more than three decades, the foundation kept a low-profile despite being one of Minnesota's largest private foundations.
Catholic Charities Twin Cities added temporary fencing around its Dorothy Day Place campus in downtown St. Paul in July due to safety concerns.

Safety concerns prompt Catholic Charities to install temporary fencing in downtown St. Paul

Catholic Charities Twin Cities has installed temporary chain-link fencing on its St. Paul campus to control access and reduce safety issues, and is working to design permanent fencing for 2025.

Minneapolis police investigating stabbing off Hennepin Avenue in Uptown

The male victim, who wasn't identified, was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

Separate SWAT standoffs in Edina and Burnsville end peacefully

The suspects in two separate standoffs were arrested by police after hours-long negotiations.
A coalition of funders announced Wednesday that Press Forward Minnesota had raised $6 million so far to support local journalism in the state.

Foundations invest $6 million in new fund to support local journalism in Minnesota

The money will help local groups over the next five years. Organizers also hope to drum up more philanthropic support.
Laborers' International Union of North America Local 363 members and supporters march on Central Avenue after a Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

For the first time in more than a century, Minneapolis park workers go on strike

After seven months of contract negotiations, union members went on strike after the Park and Recreation Board presented its final offer Monday.
Lead state attorney Michael Ciresi, left, and Minnesota Attorney General Hubert Humphrey III declared victory over the tobacco industry after the side

Minnesota says tobacco firms owe $58M in underpayments from landmark settlement

Attorney General Keith Ellison's office allege Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds owe the state nearly $10 million a year since 2019.
Minnesota History Center. When the pandemic hit in 2020, the Minnesota Historical Society, like other museums and arts organizations, closed its doors

Deficit spurs Minnesota Historical Society to 'rightsize' by shedding workers

The Minnesota Historical Society has been trying to rebuild revenue and staffing since massive 2020 layoffs and financial losses. But a budget deficit this year has prompted more layoffs.
Bunk beds replace pews inside the former Zion Lutheran Church now utilized by Simpson Housing Services as a temporary homeless shelter in Minneapolis,

Flurry of new affordable housing projects are breaking ground across the Twin Cities

Several new affordable apartment buildings are opening this year and next along with more emergency shelters for Minnesotans experiencing homelessness.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger announced charges of attempted bribery in the Feeding Our Future trial on June 26.

Feeding Our Future attempted bribery case could affect other trials in Minnesota

Legal experts say the attempted bribe of a juror could deter other Minnesotans from serving on a jury, fearing for their safety or privacy.
United States Attorney, Andrew Luger announced that 5 defendants will be charged for attempted bribery of a Feeding Our Future trial juror at the Fede

Feds charge five in plot to bribe Feeding Our Future trial juror with $120K in cash

Five people, including three who were on trial, are now being charged.
Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff walks into United States District Court on April 24.

Judge denies Burnsville defendant's request to be released from jail in Feeding Our Future case

Mukhtar Shariff was convicted by a jury earlier this month in the fraud case, and has been in custody since June 3.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz addresses the media in May.

'We can always do better,' Gov. Walz says of Education Department after report criticizes Feeding Our Future oversight

Walz said the Legislative Auditor's report was a "fair critique" of the department, though he said no state employees are accused of wrongdoing.
Legislative Auditor Judy Randall, left, and Katherine Theisen report about the Minnesota Department of Education's oversight of Feeding Our Future to

'Inadequate oversight' of Feeding Our Future opened door to fraud, report says

A much-anticipated special review of the Minnesota Department of Education's oversight of Feeding Our Future found that the state agency "failed to act on warning signs."
Bush Foundation in St. Paul

19 Minnesotans win prestigious Bush Foundation fellowship

The 19 Minnesotans, two North Dakotans and three South Dakotans are this year's winners of the Bush fellowship, which gives $100,000 to advance community leaders' education and training.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson speaks in Minneapolis, Friday, June 7, 2024. The FBI raided a Feeding Our Future defendant’s home as they inves

FBI agents search more Feeding Our Future defendants' homes

Agents acted Wednesday as they investigate how jurors' names were leaked.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, with the prosecution’s team, leads a news conference after the Feeding Our Future fraud verdicts were announce

Jury finds five of seven defendants guilty in Feeding Our Future trial

Two defendants were found not guilty on any of the charges against them; five were found guilty on multiple counts.
Aimee Bock, the executive director of Feeding Our Future, speaks out Jan. 27, 2022, after the FBI raided its offices.

Judge denies Feeding Our Future leader's request to sanction Minn. Department of Education

In a civil case filed in Ramsey County, Aimee Bock alleged the department destroyed evidence. The case is separate from federal criminal fraud charges tied to Feeding Our Future employees and associates.
The Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse building in Minneapolis, where the jury in the Feeding Our Future trial continued to deliberate Wednesday

As Feeding Our Future jury deliberates, FBI raids defendant's home

It wasn't clear why or if other defendants' homes or any other sites were searched.
Defendant Said Shafii Farah, center, walks into U.S. District Court with attorneys Clayton Carlson, left, and Steve Schleicher, right, on April 24.

After 2nd juror excused, Feeding Our Future jury set to continue Wednesday

A 25-year-old woman from Savage said she heard about the bribery incident from a family member. An alternate — a 30-year-old Andover man — replaced her as the jury weighs 41 charges.
FBI agents raid the Twin Cities nonprofit Feeding Our Future in St. Anthony on Jan. 20, 2022.

Feeding Our Future trial juror dismissed after woman offers $120,000 in cash to acquit defendants

A woman showed up at the juror's house Sunday and left the money, saying more would be coming if she would vote for acquittal, prosecutors said.
Said Shafii Farah, center, covers his face as he makes his way to court with attorneys Clayton Carlson, left, and Steve Schleicher, right, for the clo

Attorneys begin giving closing arguments in Feeding Our Future trial

After six weeks of the high-profile trial, attorneys will wrap up closing arguments Monday before the jury deliberates the massive fraud case.
Defendant Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff walks into U.S. District Court during the third day of jury selection in the first Feeding Our Future case to go to

Defendant in Feeding Our Future trial testifies he distributed 'tons' of food

Mukhtar Shariff was the only one of seven defendants to testify in the Feeding Our Future trial. He said he wasn't responsible for financial paperwork, and just distributed food to Bloomington sites.
Defendant Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff walks into United States District Court on April 24 in the Feeding Our Future trial.

Defendant in Feeding Our Future trial testifies in his defense

Mukhtar Shariff is the only one of seven defendants on trial in the Feeding Our Future case who is testifying or calling witnesses.
Defendant Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff walks into U.S. District Court April 24 in the first Feeding Our Future trial. Shariff's attorney will call witnesse

Almost all defendants in Feeding Our Future fraud trial will rest their case without calling any witnesses

Six of the seven defendants said they won't call any witnesses, nor will they take the stand in their defense. The prosecution has called more than 30 witnesses the past four weeks.
Defendant Said Shafii Farah, center, walks into the United States District Court with his attorneys Clayton Carlson, left, and Steve Schleicher, right

Feeding Our Future trial: What you should know as prosecutors prepare to rest their case

Prosecutors will rest their case this week and defense attorneys for the seven defendants on trial will start calling their own witnesses to make their case they fed children across Minnesota.
Defendant Mohamed Jama Ismail walks into U.S. District Court during the third day of jury selection in the first Feeding Our Future case to go to tria

FBI expert: Defendants used money for kids' meals to supply restaurant

An FBI forensic accountant testified in the Feeding Our Future trial that little of defendants' millionsin federal reimbursements for feeding kids was spent on food, and some of the food they did buy supplied their own restaurant.
Defendant Abdiaziz Shafii Farah walks into United States District Court during the third day of jury selection in the first Feeding Our Future case to

IRS agent testifies about 'peculiar' names in food distribution sites in Feeding Our Future trial

Prosecutors have called more than 30 witnesses in the meal fraud trial, which entered its fourth week of witness testimonies on Monday.
FBI agents raided Feeding Our Future in St. Anthony in January 2022.

Cash, gold jewelry, luxury cars: FBI agent details evidence seized in Feeding Our Future case

An FBI agent testified Friday in the Feeding Our Future trial about the luxury purchases defendants bought during the alleged fraud scheme.
Hadith Yusuf Ahmed walks out of the Diana E. Murphy U.S. Courthouse in Minneapolis after his 2022 hearing.

Defense attorneys seek to discredit key witness in Feeding Our Future meal fraud scheme

Hadith Ahmed, a former Feeding Our Future employee, testified Thursday that he hopes for a reduced prison sentence for cooperating with the FBI.
Hadith Yusuf Ahmed walks out of the Diana E. Murphy U.S. Courthouse in Minneapolis after a 2022 hearing.

Feeding Our Future employee testifies he took kickbacks, didn't check meal sites

Hadith Ahmed was the first Feeding Our Future employee to testify in the trial, revealing how a massive fraud scheme unfolded and admitting he got kickbacks from defendants.
Defendant Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, right, walks into United States District Court with his attorney Edward Sapone on Monday, April 22, in the first Feed

Witnesses testify about 'outlandish' numbers of meals they never saw served in Feeding Our Future trial

Six witnesses from across Minnesota testified on Tuesday in the Feeding Our Future trial that they didn't see thousands of meals distributed to apartments, parks or a music venue.
Defendant Said Shafii Farah, center, walks into United States District Court with attorneys Clayton Carlson, left, and Steve Schleicher, right, on Apr

Witnesses in Feeding Our Future trial testify they saw no meals served

Five witnesses testified Monday in the Feeding Our Future trial that they either saw no meals served or "few people" at meal distribution sites run by defendants.
Defendant Said Shafii Farah, center, walks into the U.S. District Court with his attorneys Clayton Carlson, left, and Steve Schleicher during the Feed

Crowds in closed park and FBI tipsters: Trial unveils details in alleged meal fraud scheme

In the first week of the Feeding Our Future trial, prosecutors revealed their evidence defendants stole millions of dollars while defense attorneys moved to cast doubt in the FBI's investigation.
The FBI executed a search warrant at Twin Cities nonprofit Feeding our Future on Jan. 20, 2022.

FBI agent reveals how the agency's massive fraud investigation began in Feeding Our Future trial

An FBI agent was the second person to testify this week in the trial for seven defendants with ties to Feeding Our Future.
The Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse building in downtown Minneapolis.

Minnesota Education Department official testifies in Feeding Our Future trial about fraud concerns

Emily Honer, a supervisor at the Minnesota Department of Education, was the first witness called in the trial. She said she had concerns about the number of meal sites tied to Feeding Our Future in 2020.
Defendant Abdiaziz Shafii Farah walks into U.S. District Court during the third day of jury selection in the first Feeding Our Future case to go to tr

Defense attorneys in first Feeding Our Future trial say defendants served 'real food'

Prosecutors and defense attorneys gave opening statements Monday in the first Feeding Our Future trial, painting different versions of how meal programs were run.
Defendant Said Shafii Farah, center, walks into the U.S. District Court with attorneys Clayton Carlson, left, and Steve Schleicher, right, during the

Jury selected for Feeding Our Future trial after unusually long process due to publicity of massive fraud case

More than 70 Minnesotans were questioned in an unusually long four-day process to select a jury for the first Feeding Our Future trial due to the high publicity in the massive case.
Defendant Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, right, walks into United States District Court with his attorney Edward Sapone during the first day of jury selection

First trial in Feeding Our Future case underway as jury selection begins

More than a dozen potential jurors were interviewed Monday from a pool of 1,000 people summoned.
The Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse building in downtown Minneapolis.

First trial in Feeding Our Future federal fraud case starts Monday

It's the first Feeding Our Future case to go to trial since the more than $250 million fraud scheme was publicly revealed in January 2022. The seven defendants' lawyers have argued they didn't knowingly commit a crime.
Hail pounds a roof as a severe storm rolls through the Twin Cities in May 2022.

Why do so many Minnesota homeowners get free roofs after a hailstorm?

Stormy weather has been beating up local roofs lately. But insurance companies are also scaling back coverage, arguing that "something's got to change."
Joel Ackerman, a former UnitedHealth Group executive and startup founder, was inspired by a Canadian man who started with a red paperclip, trading it

Buy Nothing meets GoFundMe: How a new Eden Prairie website aims to 'revolutionize' philanthropy

RedLadder is a new online marketplace where people trade free household items, resulting in donations to Twin Cities nonprofits.
3M headquarters in Maplewood.

Some of Minnesota's largest companies have quietly closed their foundations

3M, General Mills and Thrivent have closed their foundations in recent years, changing how they give back to the community.
The Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse building in downtown Minneapolis.

An 18th defendant pleads guilty in Feeding Our Future fraud case

Hoda Abdi, 53, of Burnsville pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Carolyn Wharton left , John Whaley, Annette Whaley and Lauren Whaley join hundreds of other people to watch a partial eclipse at the Science Museum of

Minnesotans traveling to see Monday's solar eclipse hope to catch 'cosmic dance'

Many Minnesotans are embarking on road trips across the country to witness three or four minutes of a total solar eclipse on Monday.
Pollen Midwest employee Jerome Rankine, center, handed off 6-month-old Dani to her mother Jamie Millard, Executive Director of Pollen Midwest, before

Minneapolis media arts nonprofit Pollen Midwest shuts down after nearly 15 years

The small nonprofit was well-known in the nonprofit sector for its events, storytelling and jobs board.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger, at podium, announced charges in March 2023 against 10 more people in the ongoing $250 million federal food aid fraud case

Bloomington nonprofit leader tied to Feeding Our Future agrees to step down

In a settlement agreement, Ayan Abukar agreed to step down from the nonprofit she continued to be involved with despite federal criminal fraud charges.
YWCA signage still hangs on the former Uptown facility on Friday.

YWCA Minneapolis sells Uptown fitness facility to nonprofit creating workforce development hub

Tending the Soil, a coalition of nonprofits and unions, plan to close on the sale in June.
Roland Arnold, 71, who had been homeless since 2007, shows one of the beds he used to sleep in at Catholic Charities Twin Cities' St. Paul shelter on

Homelessness in Minnesota declined slightly in 2023, according to new study

For the first time in five years, Wilder Research has released a count of homelessness in Minnesota.
From left, Project Success Facilitator Clara Kennedy works with Minneapolis high school seniors Maya Ndjarakana, Riyah Wooley and Adrien Brown during

Minneapolis nonprofit Project Success expands to Mankato schools after $3M donation

Its largest donation ever will allow Project Success, which provides free classes to Minneapolis students, to expand its programs to Minnesota students outside the Twin Cities.
MacKenzie Scott has doled out more than $126 million to 34 Minnesota nonprofits since 2020 as part of her pledge to give out a majority of her wealth

MacKenzie Scott gives $20 million to 10 Twin Cities nonprofits

The donations, announced Tuesday, from the Seattle billionaire will help Minnesota nonprofits expand their work.
Iconic orange banners over the main Nicollet Mall entrance.The YWCA Minneapolis closed its longtime Uptown and downtown (Shown here) fitness centers a

YWCA Minneapolis sells downtown fitness facility to St. David's Center in Minnetonka

St. David's Center hopes to close on the purchase of YWCA's building on Nicollet Mall this summer, allowing it to expand its child mental health and autism programs.
From left, Chuck Picard, Chuck Carlson and Sue Carlson biked toward the top of the Miner’s Mountain Overlook at Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area

Minnesota launches new outdoor recreation office in a bid to be 'top 10' state for recreation

In the last decade, 20 states across the country have set up outdoor recreation offices. Minnesota has now launched its own, aiming to boost the economy.
Lauren Bennett McGinty, executive director of Explore Minnesota, speaks to more than 500 travel and tourism industry leaders from across the state dur

Explore Minnesota unveils new marketing campaign to sell the state to tourists, new residents

Travel industry experts got a first look at a new national ad campaign touting Minnesota to tourists and potential new residents.
Visitors sit in wood-fired cedar saunas and look out over frozen Lake Minnewashta at Sauna Camp in Excelsior. “Sauna-preneurs” Danny and Sophie St

From Lake Minnetonka to downtown Minneapolis, Twin Cities sauna culture heats up

Minnesota has become the epicenter of the sauna revival in the U.S., with new sauna experiences popping up in the Twin Cities.
Hero Pascal got excited to jump into the brand new V3 Sports pool n Minneapolis. The 25-yard swimming and training pool will soon be open to the publi

V3 Sports opens new north Minneapolis aquatics center this spring

The first phase of the $97 million aquatics and sports center is opening this spring, and with a June grand opening.
Rebecca Crooks-Stratton of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community says there are "no modern Indians in textbooks."

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community wraps up campaign to change Minnesota schools' perspectives on Native Americans

The Understand Native Minnesota campaign, which launched in 2019, has funded grants, research, new curriculum and training for teachers.
Minnesotans tailgated in Naples, Fla. in 1990.

What's the story behind the Minnesota communities in Arizona and Florida?

Even far away from their home state, Minnesotans often find each other.
Aimee Bock, the executive director of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, spoke to the Star Tribune Jan. 27, 2022, days after her St. Anthony nonprofit

Feeding Our Future leader alleges a Minnesota Department of Education cover-up

Aimee Bock, who is criminally charged in the Feeding Our Future case, alleges that Education Department employees used burner phones and misspelled messages to hide information from a civil lawsuit the nonprofit filed over stopped payments.
Gov. Tim Walz greets tax preparation volunteers at the nonprofit Prepare and Prosper in St. Paul on Monday.

How to get free tax help and receive Minnesota's new $1,750 child tax credit

The new child tax credit is the highest in the country, helping an estimated 300,000 families in the state.
The Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse building in downtown Minneapolis.

Burnsville grocery store owner charged in Feeding Our Future case

Hoda Abdi was charged Thursday with wire fraud, the 61st person to be charged or indicted.
Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Brooke Cunningham speaks during a press conference at the Ramsey County WIC Office with U.S. Agricultu

Thousands of Minnesota women, infants could lose access to federal program due to stagnant funding

On Thursday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Minnesota to urge Congress to fully fund the Women, Infants and Children supplemental nutrition program, or it will face funding cuts for the first time in 25 years.

Hot dish 2/1/24

Plus: Most of Minnesota's House delegation joined a bipartisan effort to approve a tax cut package.
Gov. Tim Walz was joined by corporate and nonprofit leaders and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to support Second Harvest Heartland's new "Make Hunger History

Target, Cargill pledge $10 million each to Second Harvest Heartland's new plan to cut hunger in Minnesota

Second Harvest's new "Make Hunger History" plan could cost more than $150 million over the next six years in new staffing and programs.
A crew filmed a commercial for Explore Minnesota at the Market at Malcolm Yards in Minneapolis on Friday.

Minnesota funnels 'historic' $25 million to boost marketing the state to tourists, new residents

The Legislature approved the first funding increase to Explore Minnesota in more than a decade. The funding will support new campaigns to market Minnesota to travelers and prospective residents.
Volunteers Sue Weber, from left, Tracy Rahmig and Phil Soucheray packaged onions at Second Harvest Heartland in Brooklyn Park on Thursday.

Second Harvest Heartland grows to push ambitious plan to reduce hunger in Minnesota

The Twin Cities food bank is adding new data, policy and outreach staff in a broad new plan to cut hunger in half by 2030.
The new state flag, courtesy of the State Emblems Redesign Commission.

New Minnesota state flag becomes partisan issue in 2024

Republicans plan to introduce legislation to put the final Minnesota state flag design to a public vote.
Volunteer Lisa Polzin helps pack more than 40 boxes of groceries to be delivered to area families in need of food assistance Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024 at

Minnesota hits a new record for food shelf visits

More Minnesotans visited food shelves in 2023 than any year in recent history. More residents are also relying on food stamps than any year since 2016 as stagnant wages and rising costs bust budgets.
R.T. Rybak, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation.

Activists urge Minneapolis Foundation to rescind 2022 donation to Alpha News

Activists want the Minneapolis Foundation to rescind the donor's $11,500 grant to Alpha News, which they say may have been used to make the film "The Fall of Minneapolis."