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Minnesota’s fraud problem

Every week, there is another headline about fraud in Minnesota. From the Feeding Our Future scandal to ongoing problems in childcare and health care programs, taxpayers keep learning that millions meant to help Minnesotans are being wasted or stolen. Minnesotans are generous people. We want to help families who need support. But when the state fails to oversee these programs, that generosity gets abused. Every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar that does not help a child, a senior, or a person with disabilities. Fraud should not be a partisan issue. Unfortunately, in Minnesota, it has ...

Finding connection in later life

Dear Annie: Now that my husband and I are in our 70s, it feels as if our social world has shrunk to the size of a postage stamp. Friends have moved away to be near their children, others are dealing with health issues, and a few have simply drifted off. We used to host dinners, take short trips and enjoy a lively circle. Now the phone barely rings. Our children are kind but busy, and I don’t want to rely on them for every bit of companionship. Still, the quiet gets to me. I just want something to look forward to besides doctor’s ...

Minnesota’s future being priced away — and next generation sees it firsthand

I am part of a generation that wants to farm here, build businesses here, and raise families here. But more and more, Minnesota is making that harder, not because we lack innovation or work ethic, but because failed DFL state leadership continues to ignore the basic costs of doing business. The warning signs are already clear. According to the Minnesota Chamber’s most recent Business Benchmarks report, from 2019 to 2024 Minnesota ranked 38th in GDP growth, 40th in labor force growth, and 41st in net domestic migration. For young people deciding where to plant roots, those numbers ...

The kayak mystery

Cleaning out an old family farmhouse is an exercise in conundrums. As you sift through all the stuff, you have to constantly ask yourself, “keep or crap?” Many of the decisions are easy. It’s unlikely that anyone will want a yellowed feed store calendar from 2013. Ditto for the rubber over boots that have more holes than a standard slice of Swiss cheese. But other things aren’t quite so easy to categorize. Back in the corner of a dresser drawer, I stumbled across a tattered paperback book that delineated, in excruciating detail, In the lineage of the Ruen family. I was ...

Longing to connect with a quiet son

Dear Annie: My son lives at home, but he has no interest in talking to me. He doesn’t eat meals with me and my husband. He just stays in his room and comes downstairs to cook his own food, which is invariably a pan-fried sandwich, possibly with air-fried breaded chicken, followed by crisps and a packet of biscuits. It’s a shame. I’d love to have something to talk to him about, but he doesn’t show enthusiasm or a desire to connect. He intends on going to university in Salford next year, which I’m pleased about. It will be a change of scenery for him and a good experience. He ...

Why Minnesota taxpayer dollars funded fraud, not families

The fraud and financial waste exposed in Minnesota under Governor Tim Walz are not just scandals; they’re a display of radical negligence, proving he is entirely unfit to manage a single taxpayer dime or protect Minnesotans. The theft of $1 billion from vulnerable Minnesotans across our state’s human services program, including the notorious $250 million Feeding Our Future conspiracy, was not accidental. It happened because the Walz Administration allowed it. During the COVID pandemic, Walz’s reckless policies removed all financial guardrails from critical food aid programs. He ...