Category: The Upper-Midwest

Congressional Report Slams Minnesota’s Walz, Ellison for Turning ‘Blind Eye’ to Mass Welfare Fraud

Just the News
Tim Walz

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison knew about widespread taxpayer fraud in the state’s welfare programs as early as spring 2019, but took no action and instead the state retaliated against workers who tried to expose the abuses, a bombshell congressional report released Monday concluded.

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee referred its findings from a months-long probe into $9 billion-plus in fraud schemes in Minnesota to Vice President JD Vance, raising serious concerns Democrats in the state turned a blind eye to the taxpayer losses because they feared “political retribution from the politically active Somali community.”

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Anti-ICE Protesters Who Disrupted Minnesota Church Service Avoid State Charges

Just the News
Irene Kao

A Minnesota attorney said dozens of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters will not face state charges for their disruption of a Minnesota church service earlier this year.

The 39 protesters are facing federal civil rights charges for disrupting the church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, in January. The charges came after a livestreamed video showed them interrupting services at Cities Church by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” after the protesters learned that one of the church pastors was also an ICE official.

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Minneapolis Police Chief Resigns After Probe into Personal Conduct

Just the News
MN Police chief

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara on Tuesday resigned from his post after an investigation found that he maintained sexual relationships with public employees.

Mayor Jacob Frey confirmed O’Hara’s resignation in a press conference, saying “when you serve as chief of the Minneapolis Police Department, trust is not secondary to the job, it is the job. When trust is broken, it becomes extremely difficult to continue leading effectively.” 

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Minnesota Sues Trump Admin for Data on Alex Pretti, Renee Good Deaths

Just the News
Keith Ellison

The state of Minnesota has sued the Trump administration, seeking information related to the deaths of protesters Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both whom died during altercations with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during their deployment in Minneapolis.

Filed in the D.C. District Court, the suit names Attorney General Pam Bondi, former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the DOJ, and DHS as defendants. The state argues that the administration has withheld the information it has due to orders from senior leadership and not due to any concerns about ongoing cases.

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Trump Signs Executive Order to Create Vance-Led National Fraud Task Force, After Minnesota Scandal

Just the News
JD Vance

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order forming a national task force to combat public fraud and placed Vice President JD Vance in charge of the effort.

“If we found half the fraud in this country… we would have a balanced budget,” Trump insisted. He further joked that he expected Vance to take the role seriously and not merely accept a nominal post, pointing to his predecessor.

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Somali ‘Autism’ Center Chief Pleads Guilty to $6 Million Fraud Scheme

Daily Caller News Foundation

The young CEO of a purported autism center serving Minnesota’s Somali community pleaded guilty Monday to raking in over $6 million in a fraud scheme, according to KARE.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, 27, in December 2025 with making fraudulent Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) claims to the Minnesota government. Yussuf and his team raked in more than $6 million through the fraudulent claims, according to a DOJ press release at the time.

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Comer Launches Investigation into Companies Linked to Ilhan Omar’s Husband

Just the News
Ilhan Omar

House Oversight Chairman James Comer said Friday that he is launching an investigation into companies tied to Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s husband over their unexpected surge in value.

Comer claimed in a letter that two of Tim Mynett’s companies went from being worth $51,000 in 2023 to up to $30 million in 2024. Mynett married Omar in 2020.

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Minnesota Sheriff Won’t Back Out Of ICE Partnership

Daily Caller News Foundation
Kyle Burton

An East Central Minnesota sheriff argues that Democratic officials’ hostility toward Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) creates “chaos” as other sheriffs walk back their support.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis leaders should welcome partnering with ICE if they want its current surge in deportations to run smoothly and transparently, Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Burton’s office is one of nine local law enforcement agencies in Minnesota that signed contracts with ICE authorizing them to perform tasks such as arresting illegal aliens for federal immigration violations or transferring inmates to ICE. The agencies, spanning seven counties and one city, signed the contracts after President Donald Trump returned to office, ICE records show.

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Tom Homan Says 700 Federal Agents Are Leaving Minnesota

Daily Caller News Foundation
ICE

Border czar Tom Homan announced Wednesday that “unprecedented cooperation” from state and local authorities in Minnesota will allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to withdraw 700 federal law enforcement personnel.

The surge of hundreds of law enforcement personnel to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area by DHS became controversial following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by DHS agents in January during confrontations between federal agents and so-called “rapid response networks” opposed to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Homan said that by arresting illegal aliens with criminal records at jails, fewer agents were needed.

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Mysterious Liquid Sprayed on Ilhan Omar Identified

American Greatness
Ilhan Omar

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar was sprayed with apple cider vinegar during her town hall event in Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to forensic investigators.

A man seated in the front row sprayed Omar’s chest with a syringe-like device lunging at her from his seat before being detained by law enforcement. Forensic investigators determined the substance was apple cider vinegar in the following hours, according to KARE, a local Minneapolis outlet.

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Tim Walz Refuses to Resign as He Faces Major Backlash for Somali Scandal

Daily Caller News Foundation
Tim Walz

Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pledged to stand his ground on Tuesday while lawmakers in his own state are calling on him to resign over his handling of the Somali fraud scandal.

Republican state lawmakers in Minnesota have collectively called for Walz to step down as governor immediately over the scandal, which found that dozens of Somalis stole over $9 billion from federal social service programs in the state. Walz told reporters that he would resign “over [his] dead body” and accused these lawmakers of doing President Donald Trump’s bidding.

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Hilton Removes Hotel from Systems After Video Shows Refusal to Book Rooms for DHS in Minnesota

Just the News
HSI agents

Hilton said Tuesday that it is removing a Minnesota hotel from its systems after a video showed that the franchisee continued to deny rooms to the Department of Homeland Security despite publicly apologizing for canceling agents’ booking accommodations.

“The independent hotel owner had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this. A recent video clearly raises concerns that they are not meeting our standards and values,” Hilton posted on X on Tuesday. “As such, we are taking immediate action to remove this hotel from our systems. Hilton is – and has always been – a welcoming place for all.

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Hilton Hotel Accused of Refusing Service to ICE amid Minneapolis Crackdown

Daily Caller News Foundation
Hilton Minneapolis

One of the largest hotel chains in the United States is purportedly refusing service to immigration agents amid a growing crackdown in the Minneapolis region.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts employees are explicitly refusing service to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents attempting to book reservations in Minneapolis, according to a company email released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The apparent anti-ICE policy follows increased federal law enforcement activity in the city, which is reeling from immigrant-related fraud.

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Rep. Omar Is Center Stage in Massive Minnesota Fraud Scandal for Her Support of Abused Programs

Just the News
Ilhan Omar

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was at the forefront of expanding federal funding for pandemic-era food and childcare programs. Those programs are now at the center of fraud allegations among the Somali immigrant community in her home state. 

Omar, who represents a congressional district with a sizable Somali population in Minneapolis, championed the MEALS Act in 2020 at the height of the pandemic and offered an amendment that would allow the federal government the ability to grant waivers to state governments for increased costs. 

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Former Minnesotan EJ Haust Says Five State Agencies Should Be Raided and Investigated for Possible Complicity in Massive Fraud

Kaitlin Housler
EJ Haust

EJ Haust, official guest host of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show and self-described political refugee from Minnesota, identified five Minnesota entities she believes failed or were complicit in allowing fraud to persist in the state: the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, and Minnesota Management and Budget.

She argued that each of these agencies has a formal responsibility to detect fraud and yet failed to do so, despite the scale of the alleged misconduct.

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Walz Administration Says It ‘Strengthened Oversight’ After Viral Documentary Highlights Fraud Claims

Daily Caller News Foundation
Tim Walz

Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s office said on Sunday it launched new investigations in response to a viral video further documenting evidence of fraud in the state.

A new documentary produced by independent journalist Nick Shirley highlights visits to more than 20 licensed childcare and healthcare providers participating in state-funded assistance programs that appeared to be non-operational during the visits. Walz’s office responded to the video in a statement provided to FOX News, claiming his administration has “strengthened oversight,” in response to the documented fraud schemes.

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GOP House Oversight Panel Expands Probe into Minnesota Social Service to Look into Possible Cover-Up

Just the News
Tim Walz and Keith Ellison

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer said Monday his panel is expanding its probe into “massive fraud and money laundering” in Minnesota’s social services program under Democratic Gov Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison’s watch.

The Kentucky Republican also said the expanded probe will look into whether the state attempted to cover up the fraud scheme and/or retaliate against whistle-blowers who exposed problems in the taxpayer-funded program.

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Noem Says Half of Visa Applications from Minnesotans Are ‘Fraudulent’

Just the News

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, which was shown live, that 50% of visa applications submitted by Minnesotans are “fraudulent.”

“You told me to look into Minnesota and their fraud on visas and their programs: 50% of them are fraudulent, which means that wacko Gov. (Tim) Walz either is an idiot or he did it on purpose — and I think he’s both, sir,” Noem said to President Donald Trump, reported the New York Post.

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FBI Confirms Minneapolis School Killer Born Biologically Male, Opens Domestic Terrorism Investigation

Tom Pappert

The person responsible for the attack on the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which saw two children killed and 17 injured during morning Mass, was identified by multiple sources on Wednesday as Robin Westman, who took his own life following the attack. Born male biologically, Westman reportedly identified as a transgender woman.

Liz Collin, a reporter at the Minnesota-based Alpha News, reported just hours after the shooting, “Multiple sources confirm Robin Westman as the gunman in this morning’s mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School.”

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Trans Covenant School Killer Audrey Hale Claimed to Hear Internal Voice of Boy Demanding to ‘Express Himself’ in Newly Released Journal

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

The FBI on Tuesday released to Judicial Watch a new series of writings by Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the transgender shooter who claimed the lives of six at the Covenant School in Nashville on March 27, 2023, including an entry, apparently dated to 2018, in which Hale claimed to have heard a male voice inside her head. 

In an entry titled, “Is What I Feel A Mistake,” the killer wrote about the anguish she experienced related to “the truth about myself as to who I really am,” before claiming to have heard a male voice in her head for years. 

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Court Recommends Criminal Charges Proceed Against Wisconsin Judge Who Helped Illegal Immigrant Charged with Battery Evade ICE

Rachel Alexander
Hannah Dugan

A judge found that criminal charges should proceed against a Wisconsin judge who was charged with obstruction for helping an illegal immigrant evade ICE. U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph issued an order on Monday recommending that a lower court judge deny a motion to dismiss based on judicial immunity and other defenses that would throw out the charges against Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, the trial judge, will make the final decision.

Dugan was indicted on May 13 for helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz elude federal agents who were in the Milwaukee County Courthouse to arrest him. She had him leave the building through a non-public jury door. Agents eventually caught Flores-Ruiz after chasing him outside of the courthouse. The FBI arrested Dugan a week later. 

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New Documents Reveal AG Keith Ellison Taking All-Expense-Paid Trips with Pfizer-Backed Front Group

Tom Pappert
Keith Ellison

Previously unreported documents obtained by The Minnesota Sun reveal new details about two trips taken by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison at the expense of the Attorneys General Alliance (AGA), a nonprofit organization that received more than $3 million from the political action committee run by Pfizer.

These documents reveal that Ellison was one of 14 attorneys general who attended the AGA-paid trip to South Africa from November 27 to December 3, 2022, and then, the following year, was one of 17 who attended the all-expense-paid trip to Spain from November 27 to December 3, 2023.

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Conservative Candidate Is Within ‘Striking Distance’ of Liberal Opponent in Swing State Judicial Contest: POLL

Daily Caller News Foundation
Susan Crawford, Brad Schimel

Conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel is within “striking distance” of his liberal opponent, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court election scheduled for April 1, according to a new polling memo released Thursday by Elon Musk’s Building America’s Future group.

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University of Minnesota Removes Parts of Transgender Paper Doll Project from Website

The College Fix
University of Minnesota students

The University of Minnesota appears to have removed details about a controversial “MyGender Dolls” project from its website after the paper dolls, which have interchangeable genitalia and are designed for children, attracted criticism online.

Internet archives of the public university’s website show an article about the project was removed and the project’s main page was changed sometime toward the end of last week.

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Madison Police ‘Working to Authenticate’ Alleged Manifesto Left by 15-Year-Old Natalie Rupnow, but Urge Media Against Sharing

Tom Pappert
Shon Barnes

Madison Police Department (MPD) Chief Shon Barnes on Tuesday said his department is not yet able to authenticate the documents shared online by Reduxx founder Anna Slatz, who claims to have obtained the manifesto left by but nonetheless urged members of the media from disseminating the purported manifesto left by Natalie Rupnow, who police say killed two and injured seven in an attack on the Abundant Life Christian School on Monday.

“We know a document has been widely shared on social media. At this time, we cannot verify its authenticity,” said Barnes in a Tuesday press briefing.

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‘U of M Is Controlled by Wealthy Jews:’ Alleged Comments from Michigan DEI Official Leads to Firing

Michigan News Source
Rachel Dawson

A Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) officer is without a job after the University of Michigan fired her for antisemitic remarks and “extremely poor” judgement stemming from an incident nine months ago.

The New York Times reports that Rachel Dawson, the former director of the university’s Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, reportedly made antisemitic comments in a conversation at a conference in March. Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request show Dawson allegedly said U of M was “controlled by wealthy Jews.”

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Minnesota Parents, Private Colleges Suing Walz over PSEO Law Appear in Federal Court

Alpha News
Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

A group of parents suing Gov. Tim Walz over a new law that would prohibit certain private colleges from participating in the Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program appeared in federal court last week.

Melinda and Mark Loe and Dawn Erickson are co-plaintiffs in the petition they filed last year against Walz and his Minnesota Department of Education commissioner, Willie Jett, which alleges that a new law the Democratic governor signed to prohibit colleges that have a statement of faith requirement for students from participating in PSEO programs is unconstitutional.

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Report: 3 Dead, 7 Injured at Wisconsin Christian School Shooting

Tom Pappert
Abundant Life Christian School

A shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin reportedly led to the deaths of three people, with another five injured, according to a police press conference held at a nearby gas station by Madison Police Department (MPD) Chief Shon Barnes.

Barnes confirmed the latest information during his 12:15 p.m. press conference indicated there were five individuals killed at the Abundant Life Christian School, but law enforcement later clarified this was incorrect. They confirmed three died in the attack, including the shooter.

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Wisconsin Rep. Says Loopholes That Allow Foreign Billionaires to Influence Elections Have to End

Just the News
Bryan Steil

Congressman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., said Thursday that loopholes that allow foreign billionaires to influence U.S. elections need to be shut down.

“In particular, we’ve identified a loophole that allows foreign billionaires to transfer money into United States charities, 501C 3’s,” Steil said on the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show. “Forty percent of those funds can … under current law, be transferred into a super PAC to run political ads.”

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Michigan State Legislature Considers Election Bills Undermining Election Integrity, Critics Warn

Just the News
Voters

The Michigan state legislature is considering several election bills which would undermine election integrity if enacted, according to election integrity proponents.

The election bills that are being considered for passage by the lame-duck session of the state legislature are the Michigan Voting Rights Act, National Popular Vote legislation, and restrictions on voter roll transparency and election challengers. Election integrity advocates are concerned about the negative impact these bills will have on elections, from creating a “lawfare state” to changing how the state will allocate its electoral votes.

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Minnesota Attorney General Sues Glock over Criminals Illegally Modifying Guns

Alpha News
Keith Ellison

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Thursday that he’s suing Glock, Inc., an Austrian firearms manufacturer, for “knowingly manufacturing and selling handguns that can easily be converted into machine guns,” he said in a livestream press conference and subsequent press release.

Although Glock does not manufacture the aftermarket add-on devices called auto sears or “switches,” which can convert Glock handguns to fire automatically and are generally illegal to possess in the United States, the attorney general accused Glock of “refus[ing] to make design changes to discourage this conversion and promotes ‘fun’ of machine guns.”

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Michigan Parents Opting to Keep Children Out of Child Care as Closures Continue

The Center Square

Michigan is one of the most-expensive states in the nation for child care, leading some to label it a “crisis” for parents, who are increasingly choosing to opt out of it.

A new report from the Committee for Economic Development found there are 23% fewer children in paid child care throughout the state, decreasing from 400,807 in 2019 to 306,595 in 2022. It is unlikely that just one factor is contributing to those decreases.

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Report: Minnesota DHS Has Not Tried to Recover More than $40 Million in Overpayments

Alpha News
Minnesota Money

A new report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) found that the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has not tried to recover over $40 million in overpayments that went to healthcare providers under the state’s Medical Assistance program.

In Minnesota, DHS is responsible for administering several healthcare programs including Medical Assistance (MA), the state’s Medicaid program.

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