Minnesota
Minnesota fraud is just the tip of a growing iceberg | Opinion
Minnesota’s scandals have showcased just how vulnerable large public systems can be to mismanagement, weak oversight and exploitation, especially since Democratic leadership failed to take action.
HHS freezes Minnesota childcare funds amid fraud claims
The federal Department of Health and Human Services froze all childcare payments to Minnesota, citing what it calls ‘blatant fraud’ at state daycares.
The great American author Mark Twain is purported to have said that it’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled. Such has been the case with the latest developments in the bevy of fraud scandals that have enveloped my home state of Minnesota – so many that it’s hard to keep track – and now others.
Once a beacon of what a progressive utopian state could look like, full of nice people, beautiful lakes and leftist politicians like Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota’s scandals have showcased just how vulnerable large public systems can be to mismanagement, weak oversight and exploitation, especially since Democratic leadership failed to take action.
Minnesota fraud looks worse than ever
A report released by the Office of the Legislative Auditor on March 17, about the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention Program, revealed that Minnesota’s Department of Human Services failed to fully investigate allegations that Medicaid programs were receiving kickbacks because agency officials didn’t think they had the authority. This turned out to be untrue.
Members of the Legislative Audit Commission wrote, “We disagree with DHS’s assertion that it did not have the authority to investigate allegations of kickbacks alone. Based on our analysis, DHS has had the authority to investigate allegations of kickbacks in MA (Medical Assistance) since the late 1990s.”
That audit report is the latest in the ongoing cases of fraud. So far, at least two Minnesota autism centers are under federal investigation on fake billing and kickbacks to parents who enrolled their kids in the programs, whether or not they even had an autism diagnosis.
On March 2, Abdinajib Yussuf pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud related to Medicaid billing for the Star Autism Center, which Yussuf opened in 2020. He submitted millions of dollars worth of claims for Medicaid reimbursement and collected more than $6 million in reimbursement funds, which he sometimes shared with parents of kids “enrolled.”
In December, Asha Hassan pleaded guilty to a similar scheme via Smart Therapy. Hassan agreed to pay nearly $16 million in restitution and faces potential time in prison.
There may be fraud happening in other states
Minnesota might not be the only state with rampant fraud related to government programs. On March 16, President Donald Trump signed an executive order launching a national task force led by Vice President JD Vance to uncover whether what happened in Minnesota is happening in other states.
A White House fact sheet said California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine and New York and are states with “insufficient” fraud oversight. On March 17, Trump also added Florida to the list of states to probe.
In June, the Department of Justice charged 15 people in a $10.6 billion health care fraud and money laundering scheme in New York, the DOJ announced charges in Medicare and Medicaid fraud schemes in Arizona totaling more than $1.1 billion, and it charged five defendants in California with over $14.6 billion in alleged false billings in a health care fraud and illegal drug diversion scheme.
In Texas, where I live now, in February federal authorities charged a Russian national with more than $1.8 billion in alleged schemes. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, vowed to “strengthen” the state’s efforts to combat abuse.
Walz and others should be held accountable
Due to the scale and perpetual nature of the fraud scandal in Minnesota, Democratic leaders must be held accountable for their lack of oversight and failure to act. I’d say the same for Republican leadership.
On March 4, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released an interim staff report showcasing just how poor leadership fueled Minnesota’s “fraud explosion.”
The report is based on interviews with former Minnesota state employees and documents showing that Gov. Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison knew about “fraud concerns” as early as 2019, but that their failures to act allowed an “estimated $300 million in federal child nutrition funds and potentially $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds to be lost or placed at serious risk.”
I’m glad Walz bowed out of his reelection bid for governor, but I still can’t believe the Democratic Party tapped him as its vice presidential nominee in the 2024 election. He can’t govern Minnesota, much less help lead a nation.
In any case, to the horror of Minnesota taxpayers, these fraud scandals have already followed Walz much longer than his campaign for vice president ever has: Their loss is our gain.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.
Minnesota
Jack Leiter’s struggles at home give Minnesota Twins a pitching edge in American League clash
Every year, I feel like I end up locking on certain pitchers and teams and bet them more than others. It almost never is intentional; usually, I find a team or player I like, we win with them consistently, and I ride the horse until it is time to get off. That’s a bit of how I feel with both the Twins and Rangers who battle in this one.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE
I have said that the Chicago White Sox are the biggest surprise in all of baseball, but the Minnesota Twins might be willing to make a strong argument about it. This was a year that the Twins were supposed to be garbage and be more likely to trade people away (like they did last year) than they would be looking to make a move for the club. I can’t say it is entirely due to Byron Buxton, one of the names floated in trade rumors last year and in the offseason, but he is having a great campaign and has the Twins just five games below .500.
Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Guardians in the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn., on June 21, 2022. (David Berding/Getty Images)
One of the other guys that you can attribute the success of this year to is today’s starter, Joe Ryan. If the Twins do decide to take Ryan to the market, he will have many suitors and should bring back a big haul. Ryan has posted a 4-3 record with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has been slightly worse on the road than at home, but it hasn’t been a significant issue. He was great in May, posting a 1.73 ERA, but June has seen him make three starts and allow eight earned runs, including four homers. Rangers hitters have struggled significantly against him, hitting just .143 against him.
The Texas Rangers are still in the mix for the American League West division. Before you say, “Well, yeah, it’s only the middle of June.” I bring this up because they are just two games back of the Mariners, and the Rangers really haven’t played all that well this season. I think there is a lot of potential for this team to add a bat, and he could make a major difference. If they added Buxton, for example, the Rangers might be the favorite to win the division given how everyone else is playing.
Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter delivers a pitch to the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on May 31, 2026. (Jim Cowsert/Imagn Images)
I’m not trying to discuss hypothetical trades, though. The pitching staff might be enough to carry them to a Wild Card or division title anyway. Today’s starter, Jack Leiter, isn’t the best on the roster, but he’s been good. Leiter is 3-6 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. At home, he has been okay, going 2-2 with a 4.14 ERA. He has allowed four or more earned runs in seven of his 14 outings. Twins hitters are batting .417 against Leiter in just 12 at-bats, with Buxton going 2-for-2 with a double, a homer and three RBIs.
I think it probably makes sense to play Buxton to get 2+ bases here today. I get that he probably did all of this damage to Leiter in one game, but it is still worth seeing if he can get it done. He is having a good season, and Leiter isn’t a guy who is going to make you nervous very often about throwing zeroes.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins jogs off the field after the fifth inning of the MLB All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 15, 2025. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
I also think we probably should play the game overall. I think the Twins are the correct side in this game. There are a lot of times that I’d back the Rangers, as I think they have the better overall team, but in this one, the pitching mismatch is too strong. Give me the Ryan-led Twins, through five, on the moneyline.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
City parks are all across Minnesota. But a town in Murray County has one that’s gone off its rails.
Currie, Minnesota, is truly small-town America. The population hovers at just over 200. But on the northern outskirts, you’ll happen upon a place with plenty of bells and whistles: End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum.
“It’s like a little village from way back when. You have your church. You’ve got a school,” said visitor Larry Diedrich.
You’ve also got railroad relics, up and down the tracks.
“1901 was when the first line was put in here,” said Jake Halverson, site manager for End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum.
Halverson said Currie was once a thriving railroad town. In fact, it was the end of the line for steam engines heading west. If you wanted to go east, Currie was your gateway to the rest of the world. The first stop was Bigham Lake.
“From Bigham Lake they could go to Minneapolis, from Minneapolis to Chicago, from Chicago to New York,” said Halverson.
But by mid-century the last train had left the station. No sooner did that happen than teenagers from the local 4H club began to clean up the abandoned turntable.
The platform was used to turn 400,000-pound steam engines around when they hit the end of the line. Thanks to the 4Hers, it still works today.
The club also bought the train depot for $1 from the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Company and moved it closer to the turntable.
“That is really the beginning of maybe bringing more attention to the history of the railroad here,” said Halverson.
It’s history that comes in all shapes and sizes, including a model railroad that’s a replica of a time that was.
“It was built to look like what Currie was 100 years ago,” said Halverson.
Much of what you see at the park and museum is original, including a 125-year-old water tower that was moved to the site from Walnut Grove.
The caboose nearby originally came from South Dakota. The locomotive once ran in Georgia.
The rail business may have left Currie, but the love for trains never did. It’s a chance to celebrate big history in a small town.
“Wherever there have been trains, there have been people who are fascinated by them,” said Halverson. “I think this is an opportunity for individuals to learn about not only this part of Minnesota but to know where this part of Minnesota fits in with the rest of the world.”
The End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum is open from Wednesday through Sunday from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.
A Minnesota college professor on Tuesday pleaded guilty to stealing gun parts and ammunition from a Twin Cities store.
Aaron Banks, 52, entered a guilty plea to one count of theft as part of a plea deal, according to court records. Under the agreement, which a judge still needs to approve, a count of possession of burglary or theft tools would be dismissed and Banks would receive a stay of imposition at sentencing.
According to a criminal complaint, Banks stole from a Scheels in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, on multiple occasions, taking two triggers, a rifle accessory and multiple boxes of ammunition totaling more than $750.
Gustavus Adolphus College placed Banks on leave when he was charged in March. WCCO has reached out to the school for an update on his employment status.
Banks’ sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 26.
Gustavus Adolphus is in St. Peter, about 68 miles southwest of Minneapolis.
-
Wyoming2 minutes ago250 Portraits self-portrait exhibition now on display throughout downtown Jackson
-
Crypto9 minutes agoCrypto’s Courtside Takeover: Digital Assets in Pro Tennis
-
Finance12 minutes agoConsumer confidence plunges among younger adults
-
Fitness17 minutes agoKylie Minogue, 58, shares how she stays fit without a strict exercise routine – ‘I don’t really work out’
-
Movie Reviews27 minutes agoMovie Review: ‘Leviticus’ makes a demon out of desire in an auspicious debut for Adrian Chiarella – Sentinel Colorado
-
World39 minutes agoVideo: A Small Election Could Change British Politics
-
News42 minutes agoInside Trump’s Touring Exhibition of American Heroes
-
Politics47 minutes agoVideo: Erika Kirk’s Message for Women at Turning Point USA
