“That man suffered. What he did, what he went through because he knew the election was rigged. And he did it. I mean, he just did it as a citizen,” Mr. Trump said. “These people went after him, they went after his company. They did that with me too, but at least I knew what I was getting into. He was just a guy that said, ‘Jeez, this election was so crooked, it was so rigged.’ He fought like hell.”
In September, a federal judge ruled against Lindell in a defamation suit filed by Smartmatic, an election technology company, which claimed the businessman falsely accused the company more than 50 times in public of helping slant the 2020 election toward former President Joe Biden.
Mike Lindell and President Trump at a 2017 White House event.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
That ruling came three months after a federal jury found Lindell guilty of defaming a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems in a livestream on his own media platform, calling him a “traitor” who helped steal the election away from Mr. Trump. In that trial, Lindell said his pro-Trump activism obliterated his net worth, which he said went from $60 million to $10 million in debt.
“When I tried to get this out to the people, MyPillow lost $100 million in retailers,” Lindell said. “We’re down. We are down. I’ve had to borrow money, Esme.”
“They tried to take away my voice. They targeted my banks and suppliers. They even took my phone … and I run my businesses on my phone,” Lindell said. “They didn’t just attack me, they also went after my companies and employees. It didn’t work. I’m still standing. And now … I want you to know that … I’ll stand for you as the next Governor of Minnesota.”
Lindell’s platform includes halting fraud in Minnesota, repairing the state’s “failing school system,” tamping down property taxes and deporting “illegal immigrants.”
Walz took to X, formerly Twitter, soon after Lindell announced his candidacy.
“We’ve seen what happens when we elect a con man to the highest office in America. We can’t let it happen here in Minnesota,” Walz wrote.
Lindell will be up against several GOP contenders in Minnesota’s primary on Aug, 11, 2026, including current Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, former Minnesota state senator and Walz’s 2022 challenger Scott Jensen, state Rep. Kristin Robbins, businessman Kendall Qualls and defense attorney Chris Madel.
Before the state primary, Lindell and his fellow Republican candidates will have to win over party members in the GOP endorsing convention in spring 2026. However, some candidates have already pledged to take their fight to the primary whether or not they get the coveted endorsement.
Minnesota hasn’t elected a Republican governor since 2002, when Tim Pawlenty beat Democrat Roger Moe and Independence Party candidate Tim Penny.
NOTE: The original airdate of the video attached to this article is Dec. 11, 2025.
Federal prosecutors said the total fraud in Minnesota’s Medicaid programs could be as much as $9 billion, but DFL Gov. Tim Walz and other state officials disputed the amount of taxpayer money stolen is that high.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson on Thursday, during a news conference about new federal charges, noted that 14 programs deemed “high-risk” had billed $18 billion collectively since 2018 and suggested a “significant” amount could be fraudulent.
“I don’t make these generalizations in a hasty way,” Thompson said. “When I say a significant amount, I’m talking on the order of half or more,” he said without providing more specifics. “But we’ll see. When I look at the claims data and the providers, I see more red flags than I see legitimate providers.”
At an unrelated press event on Friday, Walz was asked if he had seen evidence of that claim and said no. He praised the work of federal prosecutors and the criminal charges they’ve filed against accused fraudsters, but called Thompson’s statement “sensationalism” and that it doesn’t “help” the state tackle the problem that he vowed to fix.
“You should be equally outraged about $1 or whatever that number is, but they’re using that number without the proof behind it,” Walz said.
Department of Human Services officials agreed that they had not seen data showing that the fraud reached multiple billions. What they have seen is tens of millions in fraud at this point, said John Connolly, deputy commissioner of DHS and state Medicaid director.
“We don’t have evidence in hand to suggest that we have $9 billion in fraud in these benefits over the last seven years. And if there is evidence, we need it so that we can stop paying. That’s a very alarming number,” Connolly explained.
James Clark, the inspector general at DHS, said the agency is more aggressively stopping payments to providers at the first signs of fraud. He told reporters he has sent letters to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to more closely collaborate.
“That’s how this system should work. We investigate. We suspend payments. We refer cases to law enforcement. And to the extent there is information about massive fraud in our programs, billions or nine billions worth of fraud, I desperately want to see that evidence,” Clark said.
Among the individuals charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Thursday are two men from Philadelphia who Thompson said have no ties to Minnesota, but started companies here because of what he called “fraud tourism.”
He added that what makes the state’s fraud problem unique compared to other states is that many providers are shell companies —entirely fraudulent entities providing zero services.
“What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s a staggering industrial-scale fraud,” Thompson said. “It’s swamping Minnesota and calling into question everything we know about our state.”
Federal prosecutors said the total fraud in Minnesota’s Medicaid programs could be as much as $9 billion, but DFL Gov. Tim Walz and other state officials disputed the amount of taxpayer money stolen is that high.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson on Thursday, during a news conference about new federal charges, noted that 14 programs deemed “high-risk” had billed $18 billion collectively since 2018 and suggested a “significant” amount could be fraudulent.
“I don’t make these generalizations in a hasty way,” Thompson said. “When I say a significant amount, I’m talking on the order of half or more,” he said without providing more specifics. “But we’ll see. When I look at the claims data and the providers, I see more red flags than I see legitimate providers.”
At an unrelated press event on Friday, Walz was asked if he had seen evidence of that claim and said no. He praised the work of federal prosecutors and the criminal charges they’ve filed against accused fraudsters, but called Thompson’s statement “sensationalism” and that it doesn’t “help” the state tackle the problem that he vowed to fix.
“You should be equally outraged about $1 or whatever that number is, but they’re using that number without the proof behind it,” Walz said.
Department of Human Services officials agreed that they had not seen data showing that the fraud reached multiple billions. What they have seen is tens of millions in fraud at this point, said John Connolly, deputy commissioner of DHS and state Medicaid director.
“We don’t have evidence in hand to suggest that we have $9 billion in fraud in these benefits over the last seven years. And if there is evidence, we need it so that we can stop paying. That’s a very alarming number,” Connolly explained.
James Clark, the inspector general at DHS, said the agency is more aggressively stopping payments to providers at the first signs of fraud. He told reporters he has sent letters to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to more closely collaborate.
“That’s how this system should work. We investigate. We suspend payments. We refer cases to law enforcement. And to the extent there is information about massive fraud in our programs, billions or nine billions worth of fraud, I desperately want to see that evidence,” Clark said.
Among the individuals charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Thursday are two men from Philadelphia who Thompson said have no ties to Minnesota, but started companies here because of what he called “fraud tourism.”
He added that what makes the state’s fraud problem unique compared to other states is that many providers are shell companies —entirely fraudulent entities providing zero services.
“What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s a staggering industrial-scale fraud,” Thompson said. “It’s swamping Minnesota and calling into question everything we know about our state.”
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Friday unveiled a new statewide fraud prevention program in the state’s latest effort to crack down in the wake of the Feeding Our Future scandal — a scheme that siphoned away $250 million in taxpayer funds meant for hungry children.
Walz, the one-time Democratic running mate to former Vice President Kamala Harris, named Tim O’Malley as the new director of program integrity in a news conference on Friday morning.
O’Malley is former FBI agent who previously led the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, appointed by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He had also served as a chief judge on the state’s Court of Administrative Hearings, appointed by Walz, and has worked with the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in an integrity-related capacity.
“[O’Malley] will work across state government to strengthen fraud protection and protect taxpayer dollars,” Walz said. “Tim made this clear yesterday as we were talking: he does not work for me, he works for the people of Minnesota as all of us do, and in fact he was so clear about that is he wanted to make sure that he rewrote the press release that went out to make sure that it reflects not a reality that we may craft, but the one that’s truly there.”
O’Malley said the governor privately assured him he’d have “the freedom and autonomy to act to do whatever is necessary to solve this.”
“I’m not here to serve any individual, and I’m not here to serve a political party. I’m here to serve Minnesotans,” O’Malley said.
Walz said the fraud prevention program was built with help from an outside forensics company called WayPoint, led by forensic accountant and attorney Josiah Lamb.
“In our current capacity, we are working with the BCA to build out this anti-fraud toolkit, which will include policies and procedures specifically designed to address fraud risks, that can be utilized enterprise-wide to help prevent fraud in the future,” Lamb said.
The governor said the state’s contract with the company is valued “up to $200,000” and “will be spread across all the state agencies.”
Walz says he takes “responsibility” for fraud
The Feeding Our Future scandal, the nation’s largest COVID fraud scheme, has garnered renewed focus from the Trump administration, prompting a surge of federal immigration enforcement activity in Minnesota and fueling the talking points of his Republican gubernatorial challengers.
In response to Walz’s announcement on Friday, candidate and current GOP state Rep. Kristen Robbins said the governor’s fraud prevention program “should be his resignation.”
Republican State Sen. Jordan Rasmusson said, in response to the announced program, a “statewide director of program integrity isn’t something you need when your commissioners are doing their jobs well in the first place.” Resmusson added that Minnesotans “expect their government to provide vigorous oversight of our welfare programs.”
On Friday, Walz said Minnesota’s “generosity” was “taken advantage of by an organized group of fraudsters and criminals,” and he’ll “take responsibility” for the failures that led to the massive COVID relief funding theft, admitting his office “should have been keeping Minnesotans more up to speed on what was happening.”
“We have and have just like in COVID, just like in every other situation, I take full responsibility for it. I think, and I will acknowledge certainly to Minnesotans and to the press here, I don’t think we’ve done a good enough job of communicating the hard work has been done,” Walz said.
He also said the “guardrails were taken off” by the federal government during the pandemic and “the guidance was to move the money.”
“Our goal was to make sure we were moving that money so that people ate, that they were housed, that they had vaccines, but it also opened up the door to relax the guardrails and to have fraud be committed,” he said.
While taking blame for the fraud scandal, Walz also said his attempt in 2021 to freeze funding for a Feeding Our Future-related organization was thwarted by the courts.
“I said, ‘Don’t pay them,’ and they said, ‘You can’t do that, you don’t have that authority.’ I said, ‘Do not pay them, let them sue me.’ They did and they won, and we paid them, and then they got caught and went to jail after the fact,” Walz said.
Walz also defended his COVID policies that critics branded as draconian, leading to multiple — and ultimately unsuccessful — lawsuits, including over mask mandates.
“I will not apologize for making Minnesota one of the safest states during COVID,” he said.
Walz recently announced new audits on up to 14 social programs in Minnesota that officials consider “high risk” for fraud. An official at the state Department of Human Services told WCCO the inspector general’s office is currently reviewing more than 1,300 reported cases of fraud in those programs, and has recovered some $50 million.
Walz: Trump’s targeting of Somalis is “racially motivated”
There are now upwards of 80 defendants in the case, many of whom are of Somali descent, though the group’s founder and alleged mastermind, Aimee Bock, is White. So far, 61 people have been convicted, with more investigations underway.
U.S. Census Bureau data show more than 107,000 people identified as Somali across Minnesota, with more than 80,000 living in the Twin Cities.
And in recent weeks, the Department of Homeland Security has sent dozens of federal agents to Minnesota, specifically the Twin Cities, as part of “Operation Metro Surge.” Mr. Trump also previously ordered all green card holders from Somalia and more than a dozen other countries be reexamined, adding that he would end the temporary protected status for Somalis in Minnesota.
On Friday, Walz said the president’s actions do “nothing to either address immigration” or “fraud.”
“The absolute recklessness of doing some of this and the targeting of a specific community, unconscionable,” Walz said. “It is very specifically aimed and very racially motivated towards a Somali community that matters greatly here.”
Walz also applauded comments made by GOP state Sen. Jim Abeler, who recently wrote a letter to Mr. Trump rebuking his statements about Minnesota’s Somali community.
“I’d like to acknowledge that just the basic decency, not a surprise to everybody in here has been, but Sen. Jim Abeler’s willingness to stand up, and note that it should be the simplest thing in the world,” Walz said. “When the president of the United States calls an entire group of people garbage and our state garbage and a hellhole, to just disavow that, you can still be very conservative.”
Newly released evidence also gives the clearest look yet at how the Feeding Our Future fraudsters blew through hundreds of millions of dollars meant to feed Minnesota children during the pandemic.
CBS News obtained dozens of trial exhibits, and they reveal luxury vacations, high-end cars and overseas transfers, all funded by taxpayer dollars meant to feed kids in need.
Photos and documents show fraudsters booking over-water villas in the Maldives, buying gold jewelry in Dubai and sending stacks of cash overseas.
Some defendants purchased lakefront property in Minnesota, first-class airline tickets and luxury cars.
U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said it’s more evidence that the main driver for the fraud was greed.
“Massive. Order of magnitude larger than just about any fraud that’s ever been prosecuted in the United States,” he said. “What we can say from that enormous volume of evidence is that the predominant motive of all of these individuals was their self-enrichment and their self-indulgence. And that’s where they spent the money overwhelmingly.”
There is also evidence of money going overseas, including to China.
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Friday unveiled a new statewide fraud prevention program in the state’s latest effort to crack down in the wake of the Feeding Our Future scandal — a scheme that siphoned away $250 million in taxpayer funds meant for hungry children.
Walz, the one-time Democratic running mate to former Vice President Kamala Harris, named Tim O’Malley as the new director of program integrity in a news conference on Friday morning.
O’Malley is former FBI agent who previously led the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, appointed by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He had also served as a chief judge on the state’s Court of Administrative Hearings, appointed by Walz, and has worked with the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in an integrity-related capacity.
“[O’Malley] will work across state government to strengthen fraud protection and protect taxpayer dollars,” Walz said. “Tim made this clear yesterday as we were talking: he does not work for me, he works for the people of Minnesota as all of us do, and in fact he was so clear about that is he wanted to make sure that he rewrote the press release that went out to make sure that it reflects not a reality that we may craft, but the one that’s truly there.”
O’Malley said the governor privately assured him he’d have “the freedom and autonomy to act to do whatever is necessary to solve this.”
“I’m not here to serve any individual, and I’m not here to serve a political party. I’m here to serve Minnesotans,” O’Malley said.
Walz said the fraud prevention program was built with help from an outside forensics company called WayPoint, led by forensic accountant and attorney Josiah Lamb.
“In our current capacity, we are working with the BCA to build out this anti-fraud toolkit, which will include policies and procedures specifically designed to address fraud risks, that can be utilized enterprise-wide to help prevent fraud in the future,” Lamb said.
The governor said the state’s contract with the company is valued “up to $200,000” and “will be spread across all the state agencies.”
Walz says he takes “responsibility” for fraud
The Feeding Our Future scandal, the nation’s largest COVID fraud scheme, has garnered renewed focus from the Trump administration, prompting a surge of federal immigration enforcement activity in Minnesota and fueling the talking points of his Republican gubernatorial challengers.
In response to Walz’s announcement on Friday, candidate and current GOP state Rep. Kristen Robbins said the governor’s fraud prevention program “should be his resignation.”
Republican State Sen. Jordan Rasmusson said, in response to the announced program, a “statewide director of program integrity isn’t something you need when your commissioners are doing their jobs well in the first place.” Resmusson added that Minnesotans “expect their government to provide vigorous oversight of our welfare programs.”
On Friday, Walz said Minnesota’s “generosity” was “taken advantage of by an organized group of fraudsters and criminals,” and he’ll “take responsibility” for the failures that led to the massive COVID relief funding theft, admitting his office “should have been keeping Minnesotans more up to speed on what was happening.”
“We have and have just like in COVID, just like in every other situation, I take full responsibility for it. I think, and I will acknowledge certainly to Minnesotans and to the press here, I don’t think we’ve done a good enough job of communicating the hard work has been done,” Walz said.
He also said the “guardrails were taken off” by the federal government during the pandemic and “the guidance was to move the money.”
“Our goal was to make sure we were moving that money so that people ate, that they were housed, that they had vaccines, but it also opened up the door to relax the guardrails and to have fraud be committed,” he said.
While taking blame for the fraud scandal, Walz also said his attempt in 2021 to freeze funding for a Feeding Our Future-related organization was thwarted by the courts.
“I said, ‘Don’t pay them,’ and they said, ‘You can’t do that, you don’t have that authority.’ I said, ‘Do not pay them, let them sue me.’ They did and they won, and we paid them, and then they got caught and went to jail after the fact,” Walz said.
Walz also defended his COVID policies that critics branded as draconian, leading to multiple — and ultimately unsuccessful — lawsuits, including over mask mandates.
“I will not apologize for making Minnesota one of the safest states during COVID,” he said.
Walz recently announced new audits on up to 14 social programs in Minnesota that officials consider “high risk” for fraud. An official at the state Department of Human Services told WCCO the inspector general’s office is currently reviewing more than 1,300 reported cases of fraud in those programs, and has recovered some $50 million.
Walz: Trump’s targeting of Somalis is “racially motivated”
There are now upwards of 80 defendants in the case, many of whom are of Somali descent, though the group’s founder and alleged mastermind, Aimee Bock, is White. So far, 61 people have been convicted, with more investigations underway.
U.S. Census Bureau data show more than 107,000 people identified as Somali across Minnesota, with more than 80,000 living in the Twin Cities.
And in recent weeks, the Department of Homeland Security has sent dozens of federal agents to Minnesota, specifically the Twin Cities, as part of “Operation Metro Surge.” Mr. Trump also previously ordered all green card holders from Somalia and more than a dozen other countries be reexamined, adding that he would end the temporary protected status for Somalis in Minnesota.
On Friday, Walz said the president’s actions do “nothing to either address immigration” or “fraud.”
“The absolute recklessness of doing some of this and the targeting of a specific community, unconscionable,” Walz said. “It is very specifically aimed and very racially motivated towards a Somali community that matters greatly here.”
Walz also applauded comments made by GOP state Sen. Jim Abeler, who recently wrote a letter to Mr. Trump rebuking his statements about Minnesota’s Somali community.
“I’d like to acknowledge that just the basic decency, not a surprise to everybody in here has been, but Sen. Jim Abeler’s willingness to stand up, and note that it should be the simplest thing in the world,” Walz said. “When the president of the United States calls an entire group of people garbage and our state garbage and a hellhole, to just disavow that, you can still be very conservative.”
Newly released evidence also gives the clearest look yet at how the Feeding Our Future fraudsters blew through hundreds of millions of dollars meant to feed Minnesota children during the pandemic.
CBS News obtained dozens of trial exhibits, and they reveal luxury vacations, high-end cars and overseas transfers, all funded by taxpayer dollars meant to feed kids in need.
Photos and documents show fraudsters booking over-water villas in the Maldives, buying gold jewelry in Dubai and sending stacks of cash overseas.
Some defendants purchased lakefront property in Minnesota, first-class airline tickets and luxury cars.
U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said it’s more evidence that the main driver for the fraud was greed.
“Massive. Order of magnitude larger than just about any fraud that’s ever been prosecuted in the United States,” he said. “What we can say from that enormous volume of evidence is that the predominant motive of all of these individuals was their self-enrichment and their self-indulgence. And that’s where they spent the money overwhelmingly.”
There is also evidence of money going overseas, including to China.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is urging Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “reassess” her enforcement strategy after he said multiple U.S. citizens have been arrested during federal immigration operations across the state amid the Trump administration’s aggressive mass deportation campaign.
In a letter to Noem, Walz said he was writing with “serious concern” regarding arrests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis.
“Reports indicate that some citizens were documenting federal activity, while others were going about their daily lives,” he wrote. “This troubling pattern raised serious questions, not only about due process and the rights of U.S. citizens, but also about trust between Minnesota communities and federal authorities.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is urging Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “reassess” her enforcement strategy following the arrest of U.S. citizens during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis. (Getty Images)
“This series of incidents raises serious concerns about civil liberties and trust between Minnesota communities and federal authorities,” Walz said in a statement regarding his letter. “Minnesotans have long valued civic engagement, and detaining citizens for lawfully exercising those rights or going about their daily lives sends a deeply disturbing message. I am urging Secretary Noem to respect the constitution and for her administration to ensure that federal operations are conducted lawfully and with respect for the rights of all individuals.”
He stated that the “forcefulness, lack of communication and unlawful practices” displayed by federal agents won’t be tolerated in Minnesota. He urged Noem to reassess the broader enforcement strategy.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.
Walz cited one alleged incident in which someone named “Sue” was physically pushed, handcuffed and taken to a federal facility after she refused to move back from a scene after being asked to do so while documenting a law enforcement operation. She was told she would be charged with obstruction, Walz said.
Tim Walz is pictured next to ICE(Getty Images / ICE)
Another person named “Mubashir” was chased, tackled and handcuffed before being detained despite stating his citizenship status, he said.
The governor said those who document law enforcement activity “play an essential role in transparency, accountability and safeguarding civil liberties in Minnesota.”
Immigration officials have said that individuals are free to watch and film law enforcement operations, but anyone obstructing authorities from doing their jobs could face arrest.
In his letter, Walz urged Noem to review recent arrests made by federal agents to ensure they have a judicial warrant authorizing detention or seizure and to clarify the legal standard under which a citizen may exercise their rights to document and witness “aggressive law enforcement actions.”
He also asked that she ensure ICE agents operating in Minnesota receive guidance and training on respecting the civil rights of U.S. citizens and residents.
Mr. Trump also used racially and religiously prejudiced language against Rep. Ilhan Omar and said Somali refugees are “completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota.”
Walz responded to Mr. Trump’s insult on X, saying only, “Release the MRI results” — a reference to Mr. Trump’s comments last month that he had an MRI during a recent checkup and received “perfect” results.
WCCO reached out to Walz’s office for comment and was directed to the post above. WCCO has also asked Omar’s office for a statement.
Walz unsuccessfully campaigned opposite Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance as Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
Somali leaders in the state, as well as Democratic lawmakers and advocates, have spoken out against Mr. Trump’s attacks on the community. Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the U.S., roughly 80,000, according to Minnesota Compass, a project of Wilder Research.
Mr. Trump also said late Thursday night he would suspend immigration “from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.” The president did not clarify when such a move might take effect or how the pause would be implemented. He also did not disclose which countries would fall under such a designation.
CBS News has reached out to the White House for clarification.
Mr. Trump also used racially and religiously prejudiced language against Rep. Ilhan Omar and said Somali refugees are “completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota.”
Walz responded to Mr. Trump’s insult on X, saying only, “Release the MRI results” — a reference to Mr. Trump’s comments last month that he had an MRI during a recent checkup and received “perfect” results.
WCCO reached out to Walz’s office for comment and was directed to the post above. WCCO has also asked Omar’s office for a statement.
Walz unsuccessfully campaigned opposite Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance as Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
Minnesota’s Council on American-Islamic Relations on Friday called on Mr. Trump and “all political leaders” to “temper their language.”
Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the U.S., roughly 80,000, according to Minnesota Compass, a project of Wilder Research.
Mr. Trump also said late Thursday night he would suspend immigration “from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.” The president did not clarify when such a move might take effect or how the pause would be implemented. He also did not disclose which countries would fall under such a designation.
CBS News has reached out to the White House for clarification.
President Donald Trump Friday evening said he was ending deportation protections for Somalis in Minnesota “effective immediately.”
“Minnesota, under Governor [Tim Walz] Waltz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
He continued, “I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota.”
President Donald Trump Friday evening said he was ending deportation protections for Somalis in Minnesota immediately. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Trump claimed that “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER! President DJT.”
Minnesota has a sizable Somali population and the TPS program allows Somali nationals temporary legal status to live and work in the U.S. because of the dangerous conditions in the African country.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Walz’s office and the White House for comment.
Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday said that a third party will audit billing for 14 Medicaid services that are deemed to be “high risk” for fraud in Minnesota.
The Department of Human Services is partnering with Optum on a one-year, $2.3 million contract using funds passed during the 2025 legislative session in an effort to flag potentially fraudulent claims.
According to Department of Human Services Temporary Commissioner Shireen Gandhi, the department will send Optum batches of claims every two weeks to verify.
Optum will identify any irregularities such as missing documentation and unusually high billing patterns, according to the governor’s office. They’ll then pass that information to the human services department to review.
Walz says that the review of payments could result in longer wait times before the providers are paid, but the state will still meet federal rules which require payment within 90 days. Gandhi says the department intends to pay most claims within 30 days.
“We cannot effectively deliver programs and services if they don’t have the backing of the public’s trust. In order to restore that trust we are pumping the brakes on 14 programs that were created to help the most disadvantaged among us, yet have become the target of criminal activity,” said Walz, a Democrat.
In July, the state paused payments to 50 housing stabilization providers as federal agents moved to investigate a “massive” fraud scheme connected to the program. Eight people were charged with allegedly taking millions of dollars. Gandhi said Wednesday that the housing stabilization benefit will end after this week.
A search warrant from late last year also accused two Minnesota autism treatment centers of submitting fraudulent claims for services that were never provided. A 28-year-old woman faces several federal wire fraud charges tied to the $14 million scheme
The investigations came after more than 70 people were charged in the massive Feeding Our Future scheme, which prosecutors have said is the largest pandemic fraud case in the country, totaling $250 million. The ringleader, Aimee Bock, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and federal programs bribery after taking money that was meant to feed hungry children.
“Governor Walz’s decisive actions today to further crack down on fraud shows he is not just talking about fraud, he is acting to stop it before it happens,” said state Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul.
Lisa Demuth, a Republican and speaker of the Minnesota House, said that “Minnesota have watched scandal after scandal unfold under Governor Walz, but the fact that there are more than a dozen programs under suspicion proves that Walz’s fraud crisis is far worse, and far more widespread, than anyone was lead to believe by the administration.”
Rep. Kristin Robbins, a Republican from Maple Grove who is also running for governor, said that she’s “glad to see Governor Walz is finally taking action to audit these programs after years of ignoring credible allegations of fraud. I called for a full federal audit months ago and am glad he has decided to take this seriously.”
Below are the 14 services identified as high-risk for billing fraud:
Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention services for autism
Integrated Community Supports
Nonemergency Medical Transportation
Peer Recovery Services
Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services
Adult Day Services
Personal Care Assistance/Community First Services and Supports
Recuperative Care
Individualized Home Supports
Adult Companion Services
Night Supervision
Assertive Community Treatment
Intensive Residential Treatment Services
Housing Stabilization Services
Nancy Masiello and Dan Johnson
WCCO
“Everybody’s in survival mode”
For Nancy Masiello, the housing stabilization program wasn’t a handout but a hand up — one she says has allowed her to stay sober. Her one-bedroom apartment in St. Paul means safety and stability.
A few years back, things were falling apart. She broke her lease over safety and crime concerns. Her rental record then made it challenging to find housing.
“I was so discouraged I felt like I was going to start drinking again,” Masiello said.
Her turning point came by chance. Masiello ran into someone who owned an HSS program. She says within six months she found a place to call home.
“I feel really lucky. I don’t know where I would be without her and the program,” Masiello said.
Dan Johnson and his wife run Nexa Home Connect, and they’ve helped about 50 people like Masiello find housing.
“It does make you say, ‘Hey, this should continue,’” Johnson said. “There should be a way to make sure all people like Nancy get the help to move forward.”
Johnson is one of nearly 2,000 owners who are HSS providers. He is upset that a few bad actors ruined a program he says is transformative.
“[State officials] need to arrive at a solution,” Johnson said.
For Masiello, it feels personal.
“It’s a sin that they are taking away from people they were supposed to be helping,” she said. “Without proper housing, everybody’s in survival mode, and nobody can advance like to get better jobs or education.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is facing criticism for claiming that the Trump administration’s top priority is the $250 million construction of a new ballroom to replace the East Wing of the White House, as the government shutdown nears its first month.
On Monday, Walz announced a plan to provide $4 million in emergency funding to support food shelves while blaming President Donald Trump and Republicans for the ongoing shutdown.
He cited comments made by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“They are choosing not to fund these programs … and when the White House press secretary said the top priority is the ballroom, we could not disagree more,” Walz said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz repeated a claim that the Trump administration’s main priority is the construction of a multi-million ballroom in the White House amid the ongoing government shutdown. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)
However, Leavitt’s remarks came when a reporter asked whether Trump was considering other renovations or major projects at the White House aside from the ballroom and Rose Garden patio.
“Not to my knowledge, no, but he’s a builder at heart — clearly — and so his heart and his mind are always churning about how to improve things here on the White House grounds,” Leavitt said. “But at this moment in time, of course, the ballroom is really the president’s main priority.”
The Republican National Committee said Walz was “shamelessly continuing Democrats’ lie about Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.”
An excavator works to clear rubble after the East Wing of the White House was demolished on October 23, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Eric Lee/Getty Images)
On Tuesday, Leavitt posted on X: “Stop lying, Tampon Tim.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Walz’s office for comment.
Other Democrats have also accused Trump of prioritizing the ballroom rather than issues important to voters.
“The Trump administration just declared that erecting a ballroom is the President’s main priority,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote on X in response to Leavitt’s remarks. “Meanwhile. The cost of living is way too high and the Republican healthcare crisis threatens millions of Americans.”
PolitiFact, a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials, noted that his statement was false.
A McCrery Architects rendering provided by the White House of the new ballroom.(The White House)
The construction of a new formal ballroom has become a political lightning rod, despite the cost being financed jointly by Trump and private donors, not taxpayers.
The new ballroom will accommodate approximately 650 seated guests and will stay true to the White House’s classical design, Leavitt said in July.
Minnesota’s food shelves are set to get a funding boost amid surging demand stemming from the ongoing government shutdown.
Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday announced millions in emergency funding to fight food insecurity in the state.
“We’re using our contingency accounts to add $4 million to the food banks across Minnesota,” Walz said. “This will be a bridge. I want to be very clear, it will not make up and backfill everything that is going to drop off starting on Saturday. We do not have that capacity.”
More than 440,000 Minnesotans will lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits on Saturday without a solution to the shutdown. The state’s food banks are bracing for an increased need for their services, even as they struggle to meet the existing need. The Food Group, a Minnesota nonprofit, said visits to food shelves in the state rose 18% between 2023 and 2024.
The Trump administration has said it will not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep SNAP benefits flowing. The program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries.
Walz accused the Trump administration of prioritizing a new White House ballroom over funding food assistance. He also called on Congress to get the government running again.
“The solution to this is, one, end the shutdown and go back to work,” Walz said. “Two, quit scapegoating people who are hungry and making up stories that are not true and do your job.”
The shutdown began Oct. 1 and is now the second-longest on record.
DFL leaders made their first stop in Waconia on Saturday afternoon. Hundreds of attendees filled the high school auditorium to hear more from Governor Walz and Gabby Giffords, a gun violence survivor and former congresswoman.
Though, the crowd first heard Tess Rada, the parent of a third grader who attends Annunciation Catholic School. Some Annunciation parents and families filled a section of seats near the stage, sporting Annunciation t-shirts.
“If your child was one of the lucky ones who survived, imagine finding them that day shaking crying covered in blood,” said Rada, recalling the day that 30 people were injured and two children were murdered in the August 27th shooting at Annunciation in Minneapolis.
“I understand that guns are a part of American life and the right to own them is constituently protected but the cost of these particular weapons is simply too high.”
Governor Tim Walz then took the stage, answering a handful of pre-selected questions, alongside a physician, educator and Giffords.
While he’s advocated for a ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in the past, and vowed to call a special session, the governor acknowledges progress in that area has slowed and turned his attention to another route.
“I will tell all of you, well, put it on the ballot and you can vote for a constitutional amendment on this. Then let the people vote,” said Governor Walz on Saturday.
In the case of a constitutional amendment, Walz would still face a divided legislature as that kind of proposal must pass both chambers before it would make it to the ballot for voters to decide.
“I think it is important that we look at every option available to us and any of those whether it is a constitutional amendment, or a comprehensive agenda will have to go through the legislature,” Sen. Erin Murphy, DFL Senate majority leader, told reporters after the event.
Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth says some democrats aren’t committed to the effort Walz is pushing.
“Since the governor couldn’t even get his own members on board with a special session on banning guns, it appears he’s moved on to holding campaign rallies hosted by the DFL that aren’t truly open to the public,” Demuth said in a statement.
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus called this event “political theater” adding, “[the governor’s] agenda is too extreme for even his own party”.
The DFL plan to hold similar events across the state. The next is scheduled in Rochester on November 6th.
Former United States Vice President Kamala Harris on stage at the Tabernacle on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
Former United States Vice President Kamala Harris was back in Atlanta on Wednesday night. Harris, who also served as the former Attorney General of California and United States Senator, was on her tour for her latest book, “107 Days.” The book is a diary-like rehashing of her historical presidential run that ended with a loss to the current President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.
The line outside the Tabernacle was reminiscent of the lines outside the many arenas, stadiums, and event spaces in Georgia that Harris spoke at during her campaign. The line stretched down Luckie Street and around the corner. It was clear that Harris remained popular in Atlanta.
Upon taking the stage, Harris, in one of her signature looks, a pant suit, said, “It’s good to be back in the ATL.”
The evening’s moderator was social media influencer and Spelman College alumna, Lynae Vanee.
There was a long line outside the Tabernacle hours before the ‘107 Days’ book tour event was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
Harris’s 107-day campaign was self-described as “American history.” By the looks and sounds of the capacity crowd in attendance, it has left an indelible mark on Georgians. Between applause and laughter from the crowd, Harris retold stories from her book and acknowledged that she had her toughest day at the end of the campaign on Election Day.
“It took a lot of time for me to think, reflect, and feel,” said Harris of her new post-election reality. “Writing this book was part of what helped me do that.”
On more than one occasion, Trump was mentioned by name and in jest. On one more serious note, Harris said of the current administration’s actions towards immigrants, for example, “I predicted all of this.”
That comment was followed by loud applause.
“When this is over, meaning his presidency, there will be a lot of debris,” she added.
Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
During the conversation, Harris discussed portions of the book, including the pages in which she invited Megan Thee Stallion to perform at a campaign event at the Georgia State University Convocation Center. Harris got pushback from people who supported her and Megan, but thought the rapper wasn’t a good look, Harris recalled.
“I did ask her to come, and I was happy to have her because she is very talented,” said Harris of the Houston-born rapper. “It wasn’t traditional, and it didn’t comport with what people thought was the norm.”
Nothing about Harris’s campaign was normal, and she would have Hip-Hop performers, actors, actresses, and the like make appearances on her campaign throughout the 107 days. Many of these moments are in her book. Other moments described in “107 Days” include former running mate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the vetting of a potential running mate, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, her relationship with her family, and her relationship with other people in the White House.
With 91 days till Election Day, Harris shared the sights and sounds of the first time she and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, took the stage in Philadelphia. “The roar that met us when we walked out onstage was so deafening we could barely hear ourselves,” Harris recalled (page 100).
In the book, Harris also reveals behind-the-scenes moments from the campaign and her relationship with former United States President Joseph R. Biden, her running mate and friend. One revelation that will get readers’ attention is the lack of support for her campaign by members of Biden’s camp (pages 40-41), and her suspicion that former First Lady Jill Biden hadn’t gotten over some of the barbs Harris and Biden exchanged during the 2019 presidential primary (page 39).
The former vice president was reflective during her time on stage.
“During the 107 days I did not allow myself, nor was there any room for reflection,” Harris said of the whirlwind that was her life last year.
Harris also added that losing that election brought on emotions that she hadn’t felt since she lost her mother.
“I was grieving for our country, because I knew what was going to happen,” she said.
There was no grieving this evening, however. Harris was showered with applause from the start to the finish of her time on stage.
“This is true talk right here,” she said. “It may get worse before it gets better. But we cannot afford to put the blanket over our head and say, ‘Wake me up when it’s over.’ If we give up, then all is lost. We cannot let our spirits be defeated by one election.”
Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders in a politically divided capitol are at a stalemate over the terms of a special session in response to the Annunciation Church shooting that killed two children and injured more than two dozen others six weeks ago.
But the governor on Wednesday suggested that if there isn’t a breakthrough in those negotiations, calling lawmakers back to St. Paul would not be worth it, which marks a shift from his previous position.
“I need to get an agreement on this,” Walz told reporters. “If we’re going to hold a special session on safety of our children and safety of our streets and safety on gun violence. We need to talk about guns. And if the folks who hold veto power over this—which they do because of the makeup of the Legislature—if they say that’s not going to happen, calling a special session is going to be a waste of money and a waste of time.”
Walz last month said he would call a special session “one way or another” after the shooting, with or without Republican support for certain measures ahead of time. He alone has the power to do that.
He has met with DFL and GOP leaders in both chambers several times over the last several months to set parameters about what the work in a special session would look like, as is common practice, but neither side has found common ground.
His comments come as authorities say the number number of victims injured from the shooting increased from previous totals. Minneapolis Police said the number of people hurt that day was 30, including 10-year-old Harper Moyski and 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel who died. Initially investigators said that only 21 others were injured by gunfire.
A police spokesperson explained that many of the additional victims had wounds from bullet fragments that weren’t discovered until later.
Walz and DFL leaders want a vote on an assault weapons and high capacity magazines ban among other proposals. Last week they suggested in an offer to their GOP colleagues the special session start on Monday, but the governor never formally called it.
Meanwhile, Republicans’ offers in return do not list specific policies but instead want the special session to focus on the topics of school safety, public safety and mental health. None of their proposals so far have mentioned guns specifically.
“This is not going away,” Walz said, when asked if there comes a time when a special session is too late, since the 2026 session is slated to begin in February.
The shooting happened six weeks ago with no plan for it to happen in the near future.
“The question then becomes, does it make sense, if you get further into that — do you bring this up in February. I hope we get a resolution before then. I think we owe it to the people of Minnesota to have a resolution before then. But it’s a valid point,” the governor said.
It’s also unclear if there are the votes on either side for any gun measures at this time. Some additional gun rules failed to get the necessary support to pass the state Senate when the Democrats had control of both chambers and governor’s office in 2023 and 2024.
“Even when Democrats had the majority, they didn’t even bother having committee hearings on those bills,” said Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, the Republican floor leader in the House, during a news conference last week.
Pressure continues to mount for a special session. On Wednesday, faith leaders delivered a letter to Walz with the signatures of 700 clergy members all across the state asking for the special session and to pass an assault weapons ban.
Some of them were joined by other members of the community on the steps of the capitol for the first day of their “Seven Days of Prayer and Action” campaign calling for a change. They will have the prayer service every day until next Tuesday.
Among those in attendance was Mike Haasl of Brooklyn Park. He said he understood from a pragmatic point of view why calling a special session may be “foolish” if the votes aren’t there to pass any meaningful policies.
But he argued it may be worth a try.
“Unless people of faith and people around the state, stand up and say, ‘this is wrong,’ and we’re going to do what we can do, and even if it’s not [going to pass], we’re going to keep trying and trying and trying. I think it’s the right thing,” he told WCCO.
The governor and legislative leaders haven’t met in a week and there isn’t anything scheduled.
Caroline Cummings is an Emmy-winning reporter with a passion for covering politics, public policy and government. She is thrilled to join the WCCO team.
Gov. Tim Walz says he anticipates President Trump will send the National Guard to Minnesota.
Walz attended the North Star Summit for a panel with Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois to discuss state and federal leadership.
“I think it’s logical for them to come here,” said Walz. “We fall into exactly what they’re trying to target, blue cities, in places that he wants to make an impact.”
The moderator asked Walz whether he was preparing for a possible deployment.
“We’re preparing for it. We’re preparing to use the court. We’re preparing to follow all the laws as they’re written to challenge them on this,” said Walz. “But I think it’s really important for the citizens to see this is not normal.”
Walz also said he began to think about the possibility of troops being sent to Minnesota months ago.
“Prior to last year, we started to think about what would happen. Governors were talking together about what the implications look like,” said Walz.
“You do your job, and we’ll do ours. And the fact of the matter is we’re doing ours. I don’t have to remind you; the government is shut down,” said Walz. “So yes, we’re preparing for it. But the challenge for governors is, we have to simultaneously deliver and do the services. And right now there is no desire in the federal government to do that. They’re not fulfilling their obligations, they’re not getting the work done, they’re not doing any of that.”
Minnesota regulators voted unanimously Friday to approve an investment group’s takeover of a power company over the objections of the state attorney general, big industrial electricity buyers and consumer advocates.
In voting for the takeover of Duluth-based Minnesota, the five members of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission said they believe the conditions imposed on the deal will protect the public interest and shield customers from rate increases. Opponents warned that the private equity group is only interested in squeezing bigger profits from regular ratepayers.
The approval came as electricity bills are rising fast across the U.S., and growing evidence suggests the bills of some residential customers are increasing to subsidize the rapid build-out of power plants and power lines to supply the gargantuan energy needs of Big Tech’s data centers and the boom in artificial intelligence.
Raising the stakes is the potential that Google could build a data center in Minnesota Power’s territory in the northern part of the state, a lucrative prospect for the utility’s owner.
Opponents also expressed fear that the sale would encourage more such deals across the U.S.
Under the planned buyout, a BlackRock subsidiary and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will take over the publicly traded company Allete, parent of Minnesota Power, which provides power to 150,000 customers and owns a variety of power sources, including coal, gas, wind and solar.
The buyout price is $6.2 billion, including $67 a share for stockholders at a 19% premium, and assuming $2.3 billion in debt. In its petition, Allete told regulators that Minnesota Power’s operations, strategy and values wouldn’t change under BlackRock and that the deal’s cost wouldn’t affect electric rates.
Building trades unions and the administration of Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who appointed or reappointed all five of the utility commissioners, sided with Allete and BlackRock.
The state Department of Commerce, Minnesota Power and the investors negotiated a package of modifications this summer that included additional financial and regulatory safeguards. The department’s attorney, Richard Dornfeld, told the commission the changes will protect the public interest.
The commission’s chair, Katie Sieben, agreed.
“Because of the collective work of partners, stakeholders, labor, environmental groups and others, we’ve made the overall package better for Minnesota Power customers,” Sieben said.
Opposing the deal were the state attorney general’s office and industrial interests that buy two-thirds of Minnesota Power’s electricity, including U.S. Steel and other iron mine owners, Enbridge-run oil pipelines, and pulp and paper mills.
Allete argued that BlackRock will have an easier time raising the money that Minnesota Power needs to comply with a state law requiring utilities to get 100% of their electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040.
Previously, an administrative law judge recommended that the commission reject the deal, saying that the evidence revealed the buyout group’s “intent to do what private equity is expected to do — pursue profit in excess of public markets through company control.”
Commissioner Audrey Partridge said she started with “a high degree of skepticism and I would say even cynicism,” and “assumed the absolute worst in these investors.” But she said the added safeguards, and the over $100 million that the investors will provide for relief for ratepayers and investments in clean energy, will protect the public interest.
Opponents said they were dismayed by the approval.
“Private equity ownership of Minnesota Power will likely mean higher bills, less accountability, and more risk for Minnesotans,” Alissa Jean Schafer, climate and energy director at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, said in a statement. The national nonprofit says it seeks to bring transparency and accountability to the private equity industry.
Private investment firms that are helping finance America’s artificial intelligence race and the huge buildout of energy-hungry data centers are getting interested in the local utilities that deliver electricity to regular customers — and the servers that power AI.
Billions of dollars from such firms are now flowing toward electric utilities in places including New Mexico, Texas, Wisconsin and Minnesota that deliver power to more than 150 million customers across millions of miles of power lines.
“The reason is very simple: because there’s a lot of money to be made,” said Greg Brown, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor of finance who researches private equity and hedge funds.
Private investment firms that have done well investing in infrastructure over the last 15 years now have strong incentives to add data centers, power plants and the services that support them at a time of rapid expansion and spiking demand ignited by the late 2022 debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Brown said.
BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink said as much in a July interview on CNBC, saying infrastructure is “at the beginning of a golden age.”
“We believe that there’s a need for trillions of dollars investing in infrastructure related to our power grids, AI, the whole digitization of the economy” and energy, Fink said.
In recent weeks, private equity firm Blackstone has sought regulatory approval to buy out a pair of utilities, Albuquerque-based Public Service Company of New Mexico and Lewisville, Texas-based Texas New Mexico Power Co.
Wisconsin earlier this year granted the buyout of the parent of Superior Water, Light and Power and the owner of Northern Indiana Public Service Co. last year sold a 19.9% stake in the utility to Blackstone.
However, a fight has erupted in Minnesota over the buyout of the parent of Duluth-based Minnesota Power and the outcome could determine how such firms expand their holdings in an industry that’s a nexus between regular people, gargantuan data centers and the power sources they share.
Under the proposed deal, a BlackRock subsidiary and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board would buy out the publicly traded Allete, parent of Minnesota Power, which provides power to 150,000 customers and owns a variety of power sources, including coal, gas, wind and solar.
Both sides of the fight have attracted influential players ahead of a possible Oct. 3 vote by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Raising the stakes is the potential that Google could build a data center there, a lucrative prospect for whoever owns Minnesota Power.
Opponents of the acquisition suspect that BlackRock is only interested in squeezing bigger profits from regular ratepayers. Allete makes the opposite argument, that BlackRock can show more patience because it is free of the short-term burdens of publicly traded companies.
Opponents also worry that a successful Minnesota Power buyout will launch more such deals around the U.S. and drive up electric bills for homes.
“It’s no secret that private equity is extremely aggressive in chasing profits, and when it comes to utilities, the profit motive lands squarely on the backs of ratepayers who don’t have a choice of who they buy their electricity from,” said Karlee Weinmann of the Energy and Policy Institute, which pushes utilities to keep rates low and use renewable energy sources.
The buyout proposals come at a time when electricity bills are rising fast across the U.S., and growing evidence suggests that the bills of some regular Americans are rising to subsidize the rapid buildout of power plants and power lines to supply the gargantuan energy needs of Big Tech’s data centers.
Mark Ellis, a former utility executive-turned-consumer advocate who gave expert testimony against the Minnesota Power buyout, said he’s talked to private equity firms that want to get into the business of electric utilities.
“It’s just a matter of what’s the price and will the regulator approve it,” Ellis said. “The challenge is they’re not going to come up for sale very often.”
That’s because electric utilities are seen as valuable long-term investments that earn around 10% returns not on the electricity they deliver, but the upcharge that utility regulators allow on capital investments, like upgrading poles, wires and substations.
That gives utility owners the incentive to spend more so they can make more money, critics say.
The fight over Minnesota Power resembles some of the battles erupting around the U.S. where residents don’t want a data center campus plunked down next to them.
Building trades unions and the administration of Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who appointed or reappointed all five utility commissioners, are siding with Allete and BlackRock.
On the other side are the state attorney general’s office and the industrial interests that buy two-thirds of Minnesota Power’s electricity, including U.S. Steel and other owners of iron ore mines, Enbridge-run oil pipelines and pulp and paper mills.
In its petition, Allete told regulators that, under BlackRock’s ownership, Minnesota Power’s operations, strategy and values wouldn’t change and that it doesn’t expect the buyout price — $6.2 billion, including $67 a share for stockholders at a 19% premium — to affect electric rates.
In essence, Allete — which solicited bids for a buyout — argues that BlackRock’s ownership will benefit the public because, under it, the utility will have an easier time raising the money it needs to comply with Minnesota’s law requiring utilities to get 100% of their electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040.
Allete has projected needing to spend $4.3 billion on transmission and clean energy projects over five years.
However, opponents say Allete’s suggestion that it’ll struggle to raise money is unfounded, and undercut by its own filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in which it says it is “well positioned” to meet its financing needs.
It hasn’t been smooth sledding for BlackRock.
In July, an administrative law judge, Megan J. McKenzie, recommended that the commission reject the deal, saying that the evidence reveals the buyout group’s “intent to do what private equity is expected to do – pursue profit in excess of public markets through company control.”
In recent days, a utility commission staff analysis echoed McKenzie’s concerns.
They suggested that private investors could simply load up Minnesota Power’s parent with massive debts, borrow at a relatively low interest rate and turn a fat profit margin from the utility commission granting a generous rate of return.
“For the big investors in private equity, this is a win-win,” the staff wrote. “For the ratepayers of the highly leveraged utility, this represents paying huge profits to the owners if the private equity ‘wins’ and dealing with a bankrupt utility provider if it loses – it is a lose-lose.”
NOTE: The above video first aired on April 22, 2025.
One month after the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church that forever changed their community, students are back in the classroom. But state lawmakers are still at odds about what to do in response.
Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders met again Thursday to discuss a special session, the latest in a series of meetings in recent weeks in an effort to find an agreement before Walz officially calls the Legislature back to St. Paul to meet, which he vowed to do in the wake of the tragedy.
“We’ve had several meetings where we’ve had a chance to exchange our views and talk about how we want to proceed,” said Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, new leader of the House Democrats. “But we’re getting to the point where the rubber needs to meet the road.”
Cutting across party lines is essential for anything to pass out of the state Capitol. The House is tied and neither party in the Senate currently has 34 votes — a majority in the chamber at full strength and threshold to pass legislation — due to some vacancies, including the seat once held by DFL Sen. Nicole Mitchell, who resigned this summer after a burglary conviction.
GOP lawmakers released their list of proposals, which includes more funding for mental health support and grants for school security, among other measures. They have not pitched any gun-related bills and none have indicated that they would join Democrats to support them.
“We have to have bipartisan support to move any bill through the process of committee and to the floor. And right now in the Legislature overall, what I understand is there are not the votes that would support a ban on guns,” said House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring.
Some DFL lawmakers in recent years rejected some bills aimed at boosting safety, like requirements to secure guns and mandatory reporting of lost or stolen firearms. An assault weapons ban hasn’t received a legislative hearing in that time, even when Democrats controlled both chambers during the 2023 and 2024 sessions.
“The open question is: are House Republicans, are Senate Republicans, willing to meet the moment and take strong action on guns, or are they not?” Stephenson said.
The power to call a special session rests solely with the governor, so he could call it at any time. But typically, the governor works with legislative leaders to set parameters on what that looks like before it happens.
Walz told reporters after the latest meeting Thursday he is still committed to a compromise and to calling lawmakers back to St. Paul, though he did not say when that would be. The 2026 regular session will begin in mid-February.
“My goal is to get something done and pass it, not just the optics of coming back—you don’t come back to a special session and let it melt down into anything,” Walz said.
Caroline Cummings is an Emmy-winning reporter with a passion for covering politics, public policy and government. She is thrilled to join the WCCO team.
For two and a half decades, Brian Pippitt has maintained his innocence, and on Wednesday his sentence was commuted.
“I would like to make it perfectly clear that I am innocent,” said Pippitt.
“One hour ago, Mr. had a life sentence Pippitt. Mr. Pippitt is now moments away from a commutation that will have him home by the New Year,” said Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday.
Minnesota’s Board of Pardon’s commuted Pippitt’s life sentence for the 1998 murder of 84-year-old Evelyn Malin. Malin was murdered at her Aitkin County home.
Pippitt’s attorneys say there were concerns about the case from the start.
“There was no forensic evidence. There was no physical evidence,” said Jim Cousins, attorney for Centurion Ministries Organization. “Both of those witnesses have now recanted under oath.”
“The fact that I’m innocent of this crime and the fact that the truth would surface has kept me going through the years,” said Pippitt.
The 63-year-old is now getting ready to head home.
“It’s been a long time. We’ve been just waiting for this day to come,” said Lindsay Misquadace, Pippitt’s niece.
