Minnesota
May 28, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Brian O’Hara as resigned as chief of the Minneapolis Police Department in disgrace. Katie Blackwell, formerly assistant chief of operations, is now the acting chief. I was seving as a member of the board of Alpha News at the time that Blackwell sued Alpha News and Liz Collin as a result of her brief appearance in the film The Fall of Minneapolis (produced by Liz Collin). Based on her appearance
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May 27, 2026 — Scott Johnson
I have probably written too much about Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara over the past few years. I thought he willfully sold out his department in the various pattern-and-practice civil rights cases brought against it by the state and federal government. He agreed to absurd consent decrees that followed on those cases, although the Trump administration nixed the federal consent decree. To top it off, he supported Deputy Chief Katie
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May 24, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Today is the birthday of Minnesota native son Bob Dylan. He turns the ripe old age of 85. It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there. I want to celebrate him as long we’re both still around to enjoy the occasion. He is a remarkable artist, self-invented, deep in the American grain. A few years back I visited Dylan’s old home at 2425 7th Avenue East in Hibbing. The house
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May 22, 2026 — John Hinderaker
In the course of committing an armed robbery in Minneapolis in 2004, Marvin Haynes shot and killed the owner of a flower shop. He was prosecuted, identified by witnesses (“Oh my God, that’s him”), and heard to talk about “shooting an old white man” at the time of the murder. Haynes was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. His conviction was upheld by the Minnesota Court of
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May 22, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Sometimes the Twin Cities feel to me like the highly improbable center of the universe. Once upon a time Prince created his own musical world here. It’s been downhill from there. Prince’s tragically premature death in 2016 may have been an early warning signal. By 2016 Minnesota had became a fertile source of recruitment for foreign terrorists. Serving as counsel for TCF National Bank’s Minnesota operations, I was repeatedly told
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May 21, 2026 — Scott Johnson
I erred. I confess. Please don’t turn me in to PolitiFact! Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche did not come to town. He was otherwise engaged when he was advertised to appear at the press conference the Department of Justice advised us he would attend at 11:00 a.m. this morning in the Office of the United States Attorney for Minnesota. The press conference did not begin as scheduled either. I have
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May 21, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Earlier today, Scott attended the press conference in Minneapolis hosted by Robert Kennedy Jr., Dr. Oz, U.S. Attorney Dan Rosen, and others from DOJ and the FBI. He no doubt will report on the press conference shortly. I will just add a few observations of my own. * The assembled officials announced 15 new fraud indictments relating to various Medicaid programs. This is the fulfillment of what Assistant U.S. Attorney
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May 21, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Feeding Our Future fraud ringleader Aimee Bock will be sentenced at a hearing before Judge Nancy Brasel at 9:00 this morning. The government has asked for a sentence of 50 years. Bock has asked for a sentence of time served or a maximum of 37 months. Judge Brasel has the discretion to depart from the recommended sentence under the federal sentencing guidelines, but she will take them into account in
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May 20, 2026 — Scott Johnson
The government has filed its sentencing memorandum in the case against Aimee Bock, the convicted ringleader in the massive Feeding Our Future fraud. The government seeks a sentence of 50 years. Although the memorandum has been widely reported, I haven’t seen any story that actually links to it. It is accessible online here. Dated May 18, the memorandum is filed under the signature of Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Kline.
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May 19, 2026 — Scott Johnson
As I have noted a time or two before, Aimee Bock will be sentenced by Judge Nancy Brasel this Thursday. Bock is the convicted ringleader of the massive Feeding Our Future fraud. Awaiting sentencing, Bock is cooling her heels at present in the Sherburne County Jail. The Star Tribune’s Jeffrey Meitrodt caught up with Bock for this past Sunday’s disgraceful “new documents” story. The New York Post has joined in
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May 19, 2026 — Scott Johnson
We support law enforcement and we supported Operation Metro Surge. However, certain incidents that went down in the course of the operation are virtually inexplicable. The operation contributed to the departure of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem from the Trump administration and the assignment of Tom Homan to right the ship here. Unfortunately, one of the Metro Surge incidents gave rise to a charge Soros-supported Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty can
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May 18, 2026 — Bill Glahn
The Minneapolis Star Tribune has been publishing a series of “exclusive” reports based on documents stolen (my word) from secret FBI files. One article goes under the headline, Here’s what to know about newly released records in the Feeding Our Future fraud case. The records were not “newly released.” They were stolen. The Star Tribune reports, The records, obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune, include FBI interviews with current and
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May 18, 2026 — Scott Johnson
For all its allged revelations, Jeffrey Meitrodt’s big Star Tribune story — “‘An open secret’: New records reveal officials failed to act on fraud warnings” — omitted the keys to understanding. Think the proverbial dog that didn’t bark in the Sherlock Holmes story “Silver Blaze.” Here are omissions from Meitrodt’s story that I liken to the silence of of the dog in the story: • Meitrodt did not mention the
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May 17, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Star Tribune investigative reporter Jeffrey Meitrodt emailed me the URL for his long and long-awaited Star Tribune story on the Feeding Our Future case at 7:42 a.m. this morning. He must be proud of it. I have thanked him for the alert. Meitrodt’s 2,000-word story runs under the headline: “‘An open secret’: New records reveal officials failed to act on fraud warnings.” The subhead reads: “Newly obtained FBI interviews show
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May 17, 2026 — Bill Glahn
From the New York Post, Minnesota ‘Squad’ Rep. Ilhan Omar knew about $250M COVID meal fraud, scheme ‘mastermind’ claims in jailhouse interview. The Post reports, The Minnesota “mastermind” of the state’s massive COVID meal fraud claims “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar was in on the $250 million scam. Aimee Bock, founder of nonprofit Feeding Our Future, was convicted in March 2025 of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud for allegedly helping restaurant
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May 15, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Desperate to deflect attention from Minnesota’s fraud scandals, the state’s Democrats have seized on gun control as a political lifeline, much as they did with abortion in 2022. Despite having passed an anti-gun package when they had complete control over state government in 2023, the Democrats have come up with a new bill that, among other things, would ban sales of “assault weapons,” i.e., semiautomatic rifles (and some pistols) with
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May 13, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Peggy Flanagan is the far-left Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota. She has been present throughout Tim Walz’s disastrous tenure in office, but has left little mark. If she is known for anything, it is 1) being part Native American, and 2) holding down the farthest left position on the political spectrum. Flanagan is now running for Minnesota’s vacant seat in the U.S. Senate and, despite her radicalism (or on account of
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