November 20, 2025 · View in browser

In Minnesota, leaders of an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church community enabled a child abuser by telling his victims that once the sins were “washed away in the blood of reconciliation,” they could never speak of them again.

Every Saturday morning, we send an email to our readers that spotlights some of our best reporting. This week, ProPublica reporter Jessica Lussenhop will write to you about her investigation with Andy Mannix of the Minnesota Star Tribune revealing an open secret among the congregation of an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church in Minnesota: Young girls should stay away from Clint Massie. 

Lussenhop tells the stories of young women who survived and are still grappling with the abuse they endured. Her newsletter will take you behind the scenes of her reporting. 

Massie did not respond to requests for comment but has denied abuse allegations relating to some individual victims in pending lawsuits. In December 2024, he pleaded guilty to four counts of felony criminal sexual conduct with victims under the age of 13. According to law enforcement notes, a church leader told investigators that the church encourages abuse victims to go to police, but that he believed it was “on them to do that.” John Hiivala, a spokesperson for the Woodland Park Old Apostolic Lutheran Church, said that the church “has fully complied with the law in the referenced case, and it’s a matter of legal record.”

Months after fighting to keep secret the emails exchanged between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s companies, state officials released nearly 1,400 pages to The Texas Newsroom.

The records, however, reveal little about the two men’s relationship or Musk’s influence over state government. In fact, all but about 200 of the pages are entirely blacked out. Of those that were readable, many were either already public or provided minimal information.

The documents were provided in response to a public records request by The Texas Newsroom, which asked Abbott’s office for communications with Musk and the businessman’s employees dating back to last fall. Abbott’s and Musk’s lawyers fought their release, arguing they would reveal trade secrets, potentially “intimate and embarrassing” exchanges or confidential legal and policymaking discussions.

Abbott’s spokesperson said the governor’s office “rigorously complies with the Texas Public Information Act and releases any responsive information that is determined to not be confidential or excepted from disclosure.” Musk and his companies’ representatives did not respond to questions about the records.

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