Less than a decade after pleading guilty to criminal sexual conduct involving a 15-year-old boy, former Pine City official Nathan Johnson is being celebrated by legacy media as an authority on rural Pride history, appearing in newspaper articles and alongside Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan at a Pride event.
Earlier this month, the Star Tribune portrayed Johnson as an authority on rural LGBT Pride, quoting him throughout a feature on the origins of East Central Minnesota Pride and describing him as a “keeper of its history.”
In the article, readers learned that Johnson has become a trusted voice on the origins of rural Pride and helped secure a state historical marker at Voyageur Park commemorating East Central Minnesota Pride.
What they did not learn was that Johnson pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct involving a 15-year-old boy — a charge that once made statewide headlines and ended his career in local government.
Similarly, the Minnesota Reformer published a commentary by Johnson in 2025 celebrating the history and growth of East Central Minnesota Pride, with Johnson waxing poetic about Pine City’s evolution into a more welcoming and inclusive community for LGBTQ+ residents.
Like the Star Tribune, the Minnesota Reformer did not inform readers of Johnson’s conviction.
Recent retraction raises new questions
Questions about the Star Tribune’s handling of the Johnson story come days after the newspaper retracted a high-profile report.
Earlier this week, the newspaper reported that KARE 11 anchor Julie Nelson’s husband, Kurt Krumenauer, was suspected of being intoxicated at the time of a boating crash in Wisconsin.
Less than 24 hours later, the Star Tribune removed the article from its website, app and social media channels.
In a published retraction, the newspaper said the story “did not meet Star Tribune standards for accuracy, verification and editorial rigor.”
According to the Star Tribune, the original article incorrectly attributed a quote to Matthew Pierce, a records coordinator with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
“The reporter mistakenly incorporated language from his own email correspondence with Pierce regarding a records request and presented it as a quote,” the newspaper wrote in its retraction. “Pierce did not make the statement attributed to him.”
The Star Tribune also said another statement attributed to a Wisconsin DNR spokesperson was inaccurate and created the false impression that she had commented on the incident.
Alpha News reached out to the Star Tribune to ask whether the reporter or editors conducted background research on Johnson prior to publication and, if so, why his criminal sexual conduct conviction was not disclosed to readers.
The Star Tribune did not respond by publication time.
From Pride advocate to photo op with a Senate candidate
Two weeks ago, Johnson posted photos on Facebook showing himself with Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who is running for U.S. Senate, at a June 6 East Central Minnesota Pride event in Pine City.
Johnson has long been associated with the event, frequently speaking to media outlets about its history. In news reports, he is identified as the group’s secretary and was previously listed as a board member, a role he held from 2005 to this month, according to his LinkedIn.
East Central Minnesota Pride appeared to acknowledge in a Facebook post last week that Johnson is no longer a member of the board, though the post did not directly name him.
“East Central Minnesota Pride is aware of concerns that have been raised publicly regarding an individual who previously served on our Board of Directors. That individual is no longer a member of our Board and has no role in the leadership or decision making of our organization,” the post said.
Alpha News contacted Flanagan’s campaign regarding photographs showing her arm-in-arm with Johnson and asked whether she was aware of his criminal history.
“Lt. Governor Flanagan takes thousands of photos with Minnesotans at public events every year,” the spokesperson said. “She was not aware of this individual’s criminal history.”
Despite being informed of Johnson’s conviction, a photograph of Flanagan and Johnson together remains posted on Flanagan’s X account, as of publication.
Conviction involved a minor
Johnson’s conviction stems from a 2016 Pine County case involving a teenage boy. At the time, Johnson was 37 and served as Pine City’s community development director.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim, identified in the complaint as “ABC”, told investigators that Johnson paid him $20 an hour to clean his Pine City home. After one cleaning session, Johnson gave the 15-year-old a pack of cigarettes and a tin of chewing tobacco. A few days later, when the boy returned to clean again, Johnson asked if he wanted a back massage.
The complaint states “ABC laid on the defendant’s couch on his stomach and the defendant got on top of ABC, straddling him and sitting on the back of ABC’s upper thighs. ABC stated that the defendant put his hands inside ABC’s shirt and was thrusting his ‘boner’ (a slang term for an erect penis) against ABC’s butt.”
According to the complaint, the boy told Johnson not to get back on him. Johnson got off briefly to get lotion, then sat on the couch and “reached over and grabbed ABC’s genitals and squeezed them.” The boy “swatted” Johnson’s hand away and said he was uncomfortable.
After the boy turned 16, the complaint alleges that Johnson “grabbed ABC’s genitals again and said since ABC was now 16, the defendant was allowed to ‘touch him as much as he wants’ but that he has ‘to stop when you say stop.’”
Over the following months, the complaint says Johnson repeatedly provided the underage boy with chewing tobacco and cigarettes in exchange for photos of the boy’s body — including shirtless photos while flexing and at least one photo of the boy wearing only boxer briefs.
Johnson was later arrested by the Pine County Sheriff’s Office.
In March 2017, Johnson pleaded guilty to one felony criminal sexual conduct charge and one misdemeanor tobacco-related charge. A judge sentenced him to 90 days in the Pine County Jail.
He resigned from his position as Pine City’s community development director following the case.
Johnson currently works at Lavender magazine, according to his public social media profiles.
Lavender’s website also lists a Nathan Johnson as an account executive.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
