Hello from St. Paul,
House Democrats are sponsoring legislation that would penalize cities and counties for refusing to fly the newly redesigned state flag, threatening to withhold up to 10 percent of their state funding if they refuse to comply.
This comes despite existing state law allowing local governments to display either the current flag or the previous 1983 version.
In 2023, Democrats, who were in full control of state government, created a 13-member commission to redesign Minnesota’s state flag and seal. That commission ultimately selected new designs, which became official without a direct vote of the people or approval by the legislature.
Now, as many communities across Minnesota opt to continue using the older flag due to dissatisfaction with the redesign, lawmakers are pushing measures that would financially punish those local decisions. Cites and counties are under no obligation to fly the new version, and they should have the freedom to choose which state flag to fly, especially if their constituents have strong feelings on the matter. State government has already imposed too many unfunded mandates on local governments, it doesn’t need to threaten funding over a flag decision.
FBI EXECUTES COURT-ORDERED SEARCH WARRANTS IN ONGOING FRAUD INVESTIGATION
This week, the FBI executed 22 court-approved search warrants tied to Medicaid fraud investigations, focusing largely on child care and daycare operations in the Twin Cities.
Once again, we’re forced to rely on federal intervention to address a problem Minnesota’s own government failed to confront. Even more concerning, Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison have attempted to claim credit for assisting in the federal investigation. That claim was quickly contradicted by FBI Director Kash Patel.
Be thankful federal authorities are stepping in, because the Walz administration has spent years downplaying concerns, dismissing criticism, and failing to act on repeated warnings. To date, there has been no accountability and no clear sense of urgency to stop this fraud problem from state leadership, even though $9 billion has already been lost.