Minnesota

Minnesota State system updates fraud prevention measures during House hearing

Published

1 month ago

February 20, 2026

Minnesota State system updates fraud prevention measures during House hearing

The Minnesota State system is fighting a growing fraud problem facing colleges and universities across the country. Ghost students are enrolling using stolen identities and receiving financial aid.

“These fraudsters are very well organized and well financed,” said Craig Munson, the chief information security officer for the Minnesota State system, during a Minnesota House hearing on Thursday. “Stealing money that was intended for real students in need of financial aid.”

According to state lawmakers, victims sometimes find out they owe on a student loan years after someone enrolled them in a college or university without their knowledge.

House members questioned Munson about how much it’s costing the system, how many students are enrolling fraudulently, and what needs to change to prevent it in the future.

“I believe we are making very good progress,” responded Munson, who did not provide a dollar amount for the cost to the system.

He presented a report from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Enrollment Fraud Working Group, which was convened under a 2025 state law requiring the development of policies to prevent fraudulent enrollment.

It outlines the rising threat and includes recommendations, including enhanced training, adopting an enrollment fraud user guide, which was recently rolled out across the system, and a state investment in automated identity proofing.

“An automated identity solution is kind of that gold standard,” said Munson, in an interview following the hearing.

He explained that an automated identity proofing system would cost $1 million to $1.5 million annually but would save on the time and labor required to check identities manually.

“The faster we can move, the better we are equipped to stop it before it blossoms into something bigger,” he said.

If the Legislature approves the funding, he expects it would take months to implement.

“There are several on the market, and we have had extensive talks with a number of vendors already,” said Munson.

5 INVESTIGATES reported in the fall that the Minnesota State system flagged more than 7,700 applications as fraudulent or potentially fraudulent in an academic year.

“We’re seeing similar numbers right now this year in the first few months,” said Munson. “What I am pleased to say some of the changes we have made in some of our safeguards have been quite useful in stopping this.”

There has been a change since the fall, however, in which institutions are being targeted by fraudsters.

“It used to be more of the two-year [colleges], we’re starting to see they’re looking at all colleges and universities,” he said. “It could be a couple of reasons — that they’ve learned the system to its extent, and they want to extend their stay in the system and transfer to a four-year possibly. We’re also seeing some positive reports that many of our two-year colleges are seeing a little bit of a reduction in these fraud attempts.”

The Minnesota State system reports catching most of the fraud before money is paid out. A recent U.S. Department of Education report shows nearly $90 million has gone to ineligible recipients nationwide.

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Minnesota

Minnesota United’s Drake Callender, Seattle’s Andrew Thomas duel to 0-0 draw

Published

12 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota United’s Drake Callender, Seattle’s Andrew Thomas duel to 0-0 draw

March 22, 2026 / 6:27 PM CDT
/ AP

Seattle’s Andrew Thomas finished with two saves and Drake Callender did likewise as the Sounders and Minnesota United played to a scoreless draw on Sunday.

It was the third straight and fourth shutout in five starts this season for Thomas. The 27-year-old took the starting reins from mainstay Stefan Frei — now in a backup role. He hasn’t allowed a goal since a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake in Seattle’s road opener. He also blanked the Colorado Rapids 2-0 in the season opener at home. Thomas had the lone save of the first half.

Callender notched his second clean sheet in his first season with Minnesota United. Callender and Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Claire switched teams in the offseason. Callender made 92 starts for Miami beginning in 2022, but only five last season.

Jordan Morris saw his first action for the Sounders (3-1-1) since he was injured in the season opener. Morris entered in the 65th minute along with Jesús Ferreira and 18-year old midfielder Snyder Brunell.

Seattle was coming off back-to-back 1-0 road victories over St. Louis City and the San Jose Earthquakes.

Minnesota United (1-2-2) came in after being outscored 9-1 in two straight road losses to Nashville SC and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Minnesota swept Seattle during the regular season last year and then eliminated the Sounders in the best-of-three first round of the playoffs, winning twice at home on penalty kicks after 0-0 and 3-3 draws in regulation. Seattle posted a 4-2 victory at home in the middle match.

Up next

Seattle: Visits the Houston Dynamo on April 4.

Minnesota: Visits the Los Angeles Galaxy on April 4.

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Minnesota

Who’s Minnesota’s ‘Blanket Lady’? More than a superfan, she was a women’s basketball pioneer

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Who’s Minnesota’s ‘Blanket Lady’? More than a superfan, she was a women’s basketball pioneer

Minnesota is in a tough spot. The No. 4 Gophers are down 9 points to No. 13 Green Bay in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

They hadn’t been to March Madness since 2018. Not only that, but also the Gophers earned a host spot. They should win. But the pressure is mounting.

Luckily for them, the Gophers have something Green Bay doesn’t: Blanket Lady.

During a timeout with 6:01 left in the third quarter, the Blanket Lady begins her ritual. She raises the blanket, decorated with a Minnesota emblem, and she runs, waving the maroon and gold fabric as she goes, up the sideline and down the baseline. As she runs, the crowd cheers, louder and louder until she returns to her seat.

“I was saying in the locker room after the game, that’s probably the loudest it’s been, I think, the whole time I have ever been here,” senior Amaya Battle said. “It was a ton of fun. It was nice to have them rally around us.”

The timeout ends, but the energy hangs in the air. Minnesota responded with a 30-8 run, securing a comeback victory and a spot in the Round of 32 for the first time in eight years.

“I feel like we just won the NCAA Tournament,” the Blanket Lady says the next day.

You know who get this game turned around? BLANKET LADY.
She got this crowd on their feet when the #Gophers needed her most! pic.twitter.com/X6NzmSv85q
— GopherHole.com (@GopherHole) March 20, 2026
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You can forgive the exaggerated excitement. She’s better known in The Barn by her Blanket Lady persona, but she’s really 81-year-old Elvera “Peps” Neuman. She’s a superfan who has been hyping up Minnesota supporters at home games since 2004. And she’s loved basketball long before the sport loved women back.

Neuman grew up on a farm in Eden Valley, Minn., with a basket attached to the side of her family’s barn. It was put there for her four older brothers, but Neuman took to the sport. She practiced shooting whenever she could, even when she was milking the cows.

“The milkers were supposed to be on the cows for like, three minutes,” she said. “Well, I thought I could go out there to shoot for three minutes. But sometimes it got to be five or 10 minutes. It probably wasn’t easy on the cows, but we got more milk.”

Neuman’s passion couldn’t be contained to her family farm. She wanted to play for her high school, but in the early 1960s, there were no teams for girls around her, and the boys wouldn’t let her play with them.

“Not to brag,” Neuman said with a laugh, “but I was better than most of the boys anyway.”

In an effort to stay close to the game, Neuman joined the pep club, supporting the same boys who refused to play with her. Then, a conversation with her English teacher changed everything. She told Neuman a team of women were coming to Paynesville, a town just 14 miles down the road, to challenge some of the local coaches.

Neuman went to the game and was in awe of the Harlem Chicks, a team of Black players. As soon as she got home, Neuman wrote a letter to the team’s promoter. She wanted to play for the Chicks. Segregation prevented that, so instead, Neuman joined the Texas Cowgirls barnstorming team. From there, her basketball career took off — at least as much as it could for a woman at that time.

Neuman played basketball until she was 44, and even founded her own barnstorming team, called the Arkansas Gems. Each season, Neuman played in around 140 games, traveling from town to town, sometimes driving 400 miles in one day. It was a grind, but it was all Neuman knew. And it was the only way she could play basketball.

“I loved it,” she said. “I absolutely loved it.”

Elvera “Peps” Neuman started her own barnstorming team when gender rules and segregation kept her from joining teams. (Courtesy of Elvera Neuman)

Every time Neuman walked on the court, she put on a show, once scoring 108 points in a game. That kind of vivaciousness doesn’t just go away, not even at 81 years old. Neuman still brings it to the court, only now, she’s on the sidelines.

“I get more attention from being the Blanket Lady than I ever did from playing basketball,” Neuman said. “That might upset some people, to not get the attention, or the money, but I’m just the opposite. I’m pulling for these girls at 200 percent.”

The Blanket Lady tradition started accidentally in 2006. Neuman serves as a caregiver for her friend and former basketball teammate, Vicky Nelson. Because Nelson is in a wheelchair, the duo sits courtside in an accessible seating section. The blanket was a gift from two other Minnesota fans who noticed that Nelson always draped her jacket over her knees in an effort to keep warm during games.

Overcome by the kindness of the gesture, Neuman held up the blanket to the crowd, and when she did, everyone cheered. Ever the showman, Neuman took the cheers and ran with it — literally — up the sideline. The Blanket Lady was born.

Elvera “Peps” Neuman brings the same energy she brought to the basketball court as a player to her Minnesota courtside seats. (Courtesy of Elvera Neuman)

Neuman and Nelson haven’t missed a Gophers home game since 2004, when All-America point guard Lindsay Whalen was a senior. They certainly won’t miss Minnesota’s March Madness second-round game Sunday against Ole Miss.

If the energy dwindles, Neuman will be ready.

She paved the way for the current Gophers during her barnstorming days, and she’s still doing everything she can to help them succeed.

“I’ll be there,” she said. “I’ll be there with the blanket and my Gophers gear. I love this team.”

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