March 12, 2026 • 46 mins
Hour 2 of the show begins with Jon talking about the cost of Metro Surge and Paid Family Leave. Then Jon transitions to talking about a new bill that would give wild rice human rights.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hour two for a Thursday on Twin Cities News Talk.
My name is John Justice, Devin and the master control
booth next door, and of course your comments all morning long.
Justice at iHeartRadio dot com is the email address. Leave
us a talk back. We'll get to some more of
those coming up in just a moment. Governor Tim Walls
yesterday came out with a brand new plan that's completely
(00:27):
contrary to what his integrity director that he hired in January,
who just quit earlier this week recommended after looking into
all of the fraud. It also comes with a hefty
price tag close to eighty million dollars, which, if you
follow anything relating to cost to estimates when programs are
(00:51):
first presented, almost every single time they come out more expensive,
including what we'll talk about in just a moment, Minnesota's
new software system fifty million more than was initially approved. Also,
John Feelin asking the question centered the American experiment this morning,
will paid family and medical leave.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Need another payroll tax hike this summer?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
No, And the meantime.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Governor Tim Walls was out speaking to a group of
individuals earlier this week after making that announcement of his
new fraud prevention plan.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
He had this to say.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
What happened, right and why they left was because of
the people on the streets.
Speaker 5 (01:38):
It wasn't the elected officials they left.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
You may stop here. I was just going to address
every single one of these lives as we go along.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
That's a lie. It's in the name.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
It was Operation Metro Surge, meaning a surge in the
operation of going and arresting those that are here illegally
in committed crimes. It was never intended to be long term.
There was always going to be an end to the operation.
So to sit back and say, well, you know, they
(02:08):
only left because of the people that were going out
and pushing back against them, that's a lie.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
To the vow and.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
Parent teacher organizations that turned into food banks, and you know,
soccer and basketball carpools that turned into protecting children and.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Parents, that's a lie.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
He's referring to the story where a family was driving
back allegedly from a basketball game. One of the individuals
in the car saw their mother at a protest. They
left their children in the vehicle and went and joined
the protest that ended up turning violent with flash bang
(02:55):
grenades that were tossed and ended up landing near the
vehicle where the kids had been abandoned by their parents.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Surrounding schools what I would tell them, and I don't
know if you can.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
You can't replicate it immediately.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
But that old adage that all politics and all action
is local. Minnesotans, take that to local, to your house
and the house next to you, and the house next
to you.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I'm so tired of all the neighbor talk. Give me
a break already.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
You can't believe anything that Governor Jim Wall says on
any issue whatsoever, especially.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Well, not even especially no.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
On everything he says, you simply cannot trust him.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Let's go here.
Speaker 6 (03:42):
You know, John is sure as hard to blame Governor
Walls for leading these mindless fools along the way that
he does. I mean, you, how can you even help
himself at this point? It's just so easy to manipulate
these mindless, unintelligent, not thinking for themselves, individuals that are
(04:09):
willing to follow this garbage.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Thank you for the talkback from the iHeartRadio app. Getting
back to this program. Minnesota State is switching to a
software system known as Workday. Hey, we use that at
thirty three Public colleges and universities as part of a
broader initiative to modernize its technology called next Gen.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Hey, we use that too.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
The first phase of the upgrades, which included human resources
and finance software used by employees, that went live in
July of twenty twenty four. The second phase, which will
allow students to manage admissions, financial aid, and register through
one platform, that's on track to go live at twenty thirty,
(04:56):
four years after its initial target. George Soul, the Board
of Trustees chair, citing the systems two hundred and seventy
thousand students and fourteen thousand employees, he.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Says it's a monumental project.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
We didn't expect everything to work out perfectly the first time.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
The cost increases and.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Delays aren't the only aspects of the problem. Excuse me
the project that has drawn scrutiny. Employees saved the struggle
with the new system daily and even had to prepare
budgets by hand with spreadsheets last year.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
So in June of twenty.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Nineteen, the plan was approved by the board, and that
included an early estimate for software transition in one hundred
and fifty one million. According to a Minnesota State spokesperson,
that number has now climbed to two hundred and forty
two point seven million. By the time it was improved
in November twenty twenty, that cost has now grown to
(05:49):
two hundred and ninety point four million. The Minnesota State
Board documents said that they were citing inflation, the timeline extension,
and fifteen million toward unexpected issues. A third of the
project is funded by the legislature. The rest is being
paid by Minnesota State. I'm actually surprised that they didn't
(06:12):
go and blame it on Operation Metro surg We'll get
to more of that coming up later on in the
In the hour you had Minneapolis man Baby mayor Mom
Jean's Jacob Frye. He ended up vetoing the attempts to
extend the eviction notices. In the meantime, the city Council
(06:32):
is still calculating the cost of Operation Metro Surge, and
I've already reached out to lawmakers at every level of
the government for reimbursement and aid.
Speaker 7 (06:48):
Money.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Well, we may need more money. John Feelin, Center of
the American Experiment, writes this a month ago, citing downta
over its first four weeks of Operation. John Feelan noted
that the approvals for Minnesota's Paid Family Medical Leaf scheme
was running twenty six percent above the forecast. A couple
of weeks ago, the program director, Greg Norfleet and the
(07:15):
DEED Commissioner Evan Rowe testified before the Minnesota House Workforce,
Labor and Economic Development Financial Policy Committee, and they reported
that doing that thing with my fingers.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
As of February.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Fifteenth, nearly forty eight thousand applications had been submitted, with
decisions already made on thirty one thousand, forty eight thousand
applications already for this Paid Family Medical Leaf. I think
(07:47):
about that number for just a moment, and I just wonder, Okay,
what would have happened if this program wasn't here?
Speaker 2 (07:54):
That's what I want to know.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
How many of those forty eight thousand individuals wouldn't be
taking any time off or would have just been utilizing
the existing options that they have with their employer to
take time off. More than twenty thousand have already been
approved now. John Feelin goes on to say that works
out to an approval rate. Can we get into some
wonky numbers here, so bear with me as an approval
(08:16):
rate of about four hundred and thirty five per day. Again,
that is twenty four percent above the rate of the
three hundred and fifty two approvals daily forecasted by DEED
when the scheme launched. Now, I did receive a comment
regarding because we'll get into this, because the whole point
that John Feelin makes in the piece is his question
(08:39):
of whether or not we are going to need another
payroll tax hike this summer to go and fund the program,
which is going to come from our employers and possibly you.
Speaker 8 (08:54):
Hi, John, this is Tiffany from North Branch, and I
just wanted to let you know that there is a
tax hike baked into the Paid Family Medical Leave Fraud Act.
It's at eight point eight zero point eight eight percent now,
and it can be hiked up to one point one.
That's the illegal cap. So it can be hiked and
(09:14):
they will they will take more.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
John Feelin noted in February the number is boosted in
part by early applications for child bonding leaves, something known
and paid leave circles as a baby bump. That initial
bump is expected to even out over time. The DEED
Commissioner said, we've seen weekly applications start to trend down
(09:38):
over time, in line with experience in other states, but
Felin noted later that the longer the approval rate is
above the forecast of three hundred and fifty two, the
further it will need to fall later to meet it.
It's running too high now, regardless of whether or not
(10:00):
we pull back. And I say pull back, meaning the
number of individuals declines who are going and taking time off.
And I don't know, I guess I look at this
and I think, in a word of mouth, how many
people aren't even aware that you can take advantage of this?
Yet not everybody is paying close attention. These are just
the individuals that are paying close attention to this. How
(10:23):
many people aren't and are going to find out when
they see their friends and their family members taking six
paid weeks off of work because they came up with
some excuse so they can go on vacation, or go skiing,
or go to a music festival. As we talked about yesterday,
the assumptions behind this program were much more opaque when
(10:45):
it passed in twenty twenty three than when it had
been proposed previously. John Feelan noted that in April, the
assumed average a leave and the length of the leave
taken seems to have been reduced from six point six
weeks to six weeks this year, but as he noted
in February, this is still a favorable assumption. Last month,
(11:07):
Director of Norfleet and the Deputy Commissioner Row told the
House that the average leave runs six to nine weeks,
less than the maximum twelve weeks allowed by law.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
So it's a few more.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Details that I want to get to this and the
question of whether or not there may need to be
another payroll tax hike in the summer. This program, it
is absolutely infuriating to me. It is nothing more and
I'll keep saying this than a redistribution of wealth because
(11:42):
Democrats will not be open and honest on what they
actually believe and what they want to do. And rather
than going and attempting to put forward a program that
would have died if they had just labeled a redistribution
of wealth program, right, So instead what do they do?
They do stuff like this and we all have to
pay the price for it. We'll get to more of
(12:03):
your comments from the iHeartRadio app. If that wasn't enough,
We'll then get into the bill that recognizes the inherent
right of wild Rice by the same people who brought
you abortion up until birth, now comes a bill to
make sure that wild Rice has a right to live.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
You cannot make this stuff up.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
It's next here on Twin City's News Talk AM eleven
thirty and one oh three five FM.
Speaker 9 (12:38):
Good morning, John Paul from Brooklyn Park.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
You know what's going to drive up.
Speaker 9 (12:42):
Usage in the extorted Family Medical program when people have
to get tax harder for it. People aren't using it now,
They're like, well, zero point four to four percent. It's annoying.
When it goes to one percent, they're going to be
really pissed off. They're also going to be tired of
covering for their co workers who are taking six weeks
away from work, and employers are not going to take it.
Speaker 5 (13:02):
They're going to move to businesses they're.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Not going to take this forever well and to that point,
as we work through this pace from John Feeland, an
American experiment, will paid family and medical leave need another
payroll tax hike this summer? You're listening to Twin Cities
News Talk. Let's get to an actual business owner.
Speaker 10 (13:23):
Good morning, John is a small business owner this twenty
week leave for anybody to go babysit your pet goldfish
is ridiculous. The only way to fight this as a
small business owner is get rid of all your employees
and hire them as a ten ninety nine subcontract.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Yes, there you go.
Speaker 10 (13:45):
The Democrats aren't smart enough to figure out that, little Paul,
are they.
Speaker 11 (13:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
I want to ask I want to ask Max Rymer
when he's in tomorrow about that. I'm reminded of when
there was this the attempt to get rid of the.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Payday loan options when you could get a.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
You can get a loan ahead of time on your paycheck,
and there were laws that were put in place to
go and ban that, and those that operated those businesses
and those services just ended up changing the way that
they operated to where they were doing it off the
title of your of your car. So it raises an
(14:32):
interesting question of what happens to those businesses because, as
this talkback states, and we've discussed this before on the show,
but just to get everybody back up to speed, it's
not just the individual who's taking the time off that
has an impact on the business.
Speaker 12 (14:49):
Somehow, some way, I think this SAIDs need to come
in and out of the state of Minnesota, and these
bills that they put forth. I think the paid family
lead back it has to be some way a taxation
without represent Nobody put it to a vote for me
to vote on that to take money out of my pocket.
But I want to know, with all these people that
are taking advantage of the paid family leave and those
(15:10):
that are on welfare and those that are on unemployment,
who the heck is working in the state of Minnesota anymore?
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Hey, John, paid family leave.
Speaker 11 (15:20):
Here.
Speaker 7 (15:21):
Here's something that's probably not bacon to anybody's number. All
these people who are off now have a replacement YEP,
and theory working that is going to become eligible for
paid family leave when the original person comes back.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
So how is that going to work out?
Speaker 13 (15:35):
It's just going to.
Speaker 7 (15:36):
Double here, and that's going to get through most of
the year with half our economy and paid family leave.
Speaker 14 (15:42):
Yeah. Can you get paid family medical leave? Why you're
on unemployment if you're annually doing a seasonal unemployment which
is allowed here in Minnesota. Or how about our teachers' unions?
Can they take paid family medical lead Wilder off on
(16:04):
the summer break?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Oh absolutely, we covered that extensively before the end of
last year. So let me wrap up John Feelin's piece
here and again this gets a little wonkey. Just just
bear with me for just a for just a moment.
So the key equation that John Felon notes is the
(16:27):
expected benefit payments equaling the expected number of claims times
the expected claim duration times the assume average weekly benefit amount.
From two of these components, the scheme appears to be
running ahead of forecast at present. The scheme is funded
(16:50):
by these zero point eighty eight payroll tax split between
employers and employees. As a Pioneer Press reported in February.
As to Monday, how long that rate would stand ded
officials said that that would depend on the actuarial analysis
expected in coming months. The state will have to send
(17:13):
employers updated premium rates by July thirty first, so there
will be a need. There will need to be an
official estimate before them. Yeah, they're going up to that
one point one percent. The payroll tax which finances the
scheme has already been hiked by twenty five percent since
(17:34):
it was enacted. Another hike might be on the way,
And make no mistake if they have to hike it
again to the baked in amount that they can. They're
going to work to raise it again if Democrats are
able to gain control. Make no mistake, because this is
what they wanted. They want fewer people working, they want
(17:58):
businesses suffering. They want to whittle down the businesses in
the state. They hate the private sector. They'd much rather
have the rich in their minds, that money redistributed to
individuals that will continue to go and vote for Democrats.
It's all just about power. Coming up, we'll get to
(18:19):
your talkbacks. A few thoughts have rolled in on this,
and then we'll dive into the bill that aims to
recognize the inerrant right of wild rice Minnesota state grain
is in decline. State agencies say such a law would
create a legal vulnerability, but advocates say that wild rice
(18:40):
is vulnerable and it needs protections. Wild rice is viewed
by certain demographics in Minnesota as being a living being
and a relative. Oh boy, sounds awfully familiar to another
hot button issue. We'll get into all of it. I
have audio to share your comments as well. It's all
(19:02):
coming up next here on Twinsday's News Talking Am eleven
thirty and one O three five F M.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Hey John great show as usual.
Speaker 11 (19:15):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
You know, you're making a lot of good points.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
So I'm saying with a lot of the callers about
the paid family medical leave, and my question is, does
feel for me and Ferrie and Eric from BRAINERD Do
they ever agree with anything you say or points like this?
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Do they have any beefs with the Democrats or is
it just maga people.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
It's just maga people, just maga people. I've been sparing
you the commentaries from the foes of the show. There's
been nothing of value in them. They're clearly just saying
incendiary things hoping that I'll play their comments. There's unsubstantiated
(20:01):
claims against the president.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Off topic. So again I've.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Been exercising my right as the show hosts to not
air the foe of the show commentaries until the quality
of their talkbacks improved. Before we get over to Wild
Rice and making sure that it has its right to live.
I do question whether or not we've interviewed the Wild Rice.
(20:27):
Who are you to assume that you speak.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
For the Wild Rice. That's another question that I have.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
I do want to do a lightning round of talkbacks,
wrapping up the conversation, at least today regarding the disaster
that has paid family medical leave.
Speaker 15 (20:40):
Hi, John, this is greak me savage.
Speaker 16 (20:42):
I think this paid family medical.
Speaker 7 (20:44):
Leave was just, you know, the back door way of
starting a universal basic income STAKI your.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Way, Yeah, yeah, i'mouna agree with that. Hey, good morning John.
Speaker 17 (20:56):
In response to the color that wanted to know who
the heck is so working in Minnesota, senior citizens are
because they cannot afford to retire because of the taxes
and the increase in insurance.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Have a great team, Hey John.
Speaker 18 (21:13):
On the pea family leave, my full time employer changed
my status from that full time with benefits to.
Speaker 19 (21:20):
Ten ninety nine on.
Speaker 18 (21:21):
Twelve thirty one, twenty five. There's a shocker, And I
just looked into it, and I could qualify for it,
even though I'm not paying into it at all right
now and they're not. I could still get up to
twenty weeks on the taxpayer time. And all I'd have
to do is come up with some reasons that they.
Speaker 5 (21:37):
Want to prove I could do it.
Speaker 18 (21:39):
I'm not going to do, but I could do it.
Speaker 20 (21:43):
Good morning John. I was wondering if I could create
a person could create a fraudulent business, Let's say like
a leering center or something, hire a bunch of employees
that and.
Speaker 18 (21:56):
Have them all.
Speaker 20 (21:57):
Take family medical leaveack advantages, and then I get the kickback,
say twenty percent. Is that possible.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
I don't know about creating a business out of thin
air to make that possible, But what you could end
up and what we'll probably end up seeing in terms
of the fraud is very similar to what we've seen
in the other fraud scheme programs, wherein the state would
end up being billed for pay family medical lea for
(22:29):
employees that don't exist, essentially saying what you were saying,
but with those businesses that already exist at this point
in time. Thank you all for the comments from the
iHeartRadio apples are brought you brought to you by Lindaul Realty.
Let's tarn our retention over to wild Rice, Minnesota, state
to grain is in decline. Agencies with the state say
(22:51):
a law could create a new legal vulnerability, but advocates
say that wild rice is vulnerable and it needs protection.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Born John Steve from what Saint Paul. Yeah, this wild
Rice thing smells of land grab all from the beginning. Here,
They're gonna they can't get an Endangered Species Act. So
they're going to protect it this way. And I'm assuming
there might be some wild rice up in northern Minnesota
work maybe a mine might be going into have a
(23:24):
great day.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
So here's the story from the Star Tribune. Cups of
cooked wild rice, traditionally harvested from the Leech Lake Reservation,
handed out to the Minnesota Senate Committee members on Tuesday
by advocates of the State grain. A proposed bill would
amend the definition of the State grain to in statute
(23:47):
to include this doing that thing with my fingers. It
is the policy of this state to recognize the inherent
right of wild rice to exist and thrive in Minnesota.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Opponents asked what an errant right means and how it
would be enforced, arguing the language opens the state up
to potential litigation. Indigenous rights and environmental advocates say that
there are great risks to wild rice, of course, pollution,
climate extremes. Wild rice is viewed by Native Americans as
(24:28):
a living being and relative. Okay, So you have a
group of individuals, a demographic, if you will, that views
something as being a living being, going so far as
to say that it is a relative and they are
asking the state to codify its right to exist and
(24:54):
put that into law.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Am I.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Huh that sounds familiar, doesn't right. The bill is being
brought to you by Dflaer's Democrats, who also were the
ones who voted two years ago for abortion to be
legal up to the moment of birth. Please don't please
(25:20):
tell me that somebody has brought this up during the
legislative session when they were debating this. Please, I want
to hear what a Democrats response is of why they
would support putting into statute wild rice being a living
being and yet still go and support the most extreme
(25:41):
abortion laws here in Minnesota that we have versus the
rest of the country. Representative Mary Kanesh dfl Out of
New Brighton first introduced the Wild Rice Act on the
heels of one of the state's worst harvest in recent memory.
The legislation died in come Vidon was reintroduced in parts
(26:01):
of this session, with Knesh, the first Indigenous woman to
serve in the state Senate, spearheading the efforts.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Here's a bit of what she had to say.
Speaker 17 (26:12):
First, this bill applies the legal.
Speaker 21 (26:14):
And I would have loved to have gone into the
history of this wild rice and gone into real depth
around this whole subject. But I've boiled it down to
just a few sentences here, so we Centipile thirty seven
forty nine is adding just one sentence to the definition.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Of our state grain.
Speaker 21 (26:33):
It states, it is the policy of this state to
recognize the inherent right of uncultivated wild rice to exist
and thrive in Minnesota. By recognizing this, the state of
Minnesota is stepping into a reciprocal relationship with the plant
that has been our state grain for nearly fifty years.
Minnesota is already legally required by treaties to consider manumen
(26:57):
and the waters it depends on, and this is just
ensuring that this takes place going forward. Wild rice is
a source of food and maintains the ecological structure of
lakes and waterways. It prevents toxic algae bloom, absorbs carbon dioxide,
fosters vital inhabitants, and stabilizes lake beds. Wild rice is
(27:20):
a core component.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Of the Anishinabi identity.
Speaker 21 (27:23):
Anishinabi people were called to travel to a place where
the food grows on the water, and that place is Minnesota, Michoki.
Where it is we call it Minnesota. Wild rice is
struggling right now, and it needs our protection. Today it
is only able to grow on sixty four thousand of
the state's fifty million acres. And so I ask you
(27:44):
to consider this bill and vote positive for Senate File
thirty seven forty nine.
Speaker 16 (27:54):
It's not easy being green, having to spend each day
the color of leaves.
Speaker 15 (28:06):
First they gave wild rice human rights. Then they gave
the rivers human rights, followed by forests, and then no
one could build on any land because it was all
filled with rights.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
The vegans are eating all over world race they need
to step it. Start eating a cow.
Speaker 17 (28:30):
Hey, John, Maybe the crazy left will now just take
on a new gender called wild race.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Oh, I like that.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
A similar debate resurfaced with leaders of the Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources in the Minnesota Pollution Agents Control Agency
alleging the ambiguity of an errant rights is a legal
vulnerability in state agencies. Senator Steve Draskowski. So the proposal
didn't pass out of committee last year when two Democrats
(28:59):
voted with Republicans against the measure. Now we're bringing it
back again. It appears to me, said Draskowski. At least
as a bill, this doesn't have a chance of passage.
Why are we here today, he asked the representative from
New Brighton. Say we brought it because we believe in it.
We recognize that wild rice is a voterable entity and
(29:23):
that we have not been good stewards of it over
the years, no matter what we do. Again, please tell
me that somebody brought up the abortion debate in this
I just to get it on record. I know it
doesn't matter. The Democrats in Minnesota have taken the art
of lying to new links over the course of the
(29:43):
just the start of this year, it is incredible to
me the blatant lies that the dfllers have been spewing.
I know they've been doing it all along, but it
just seems like now they've turned it into a sport.
Tribal and state leaders recognize while rice is under threat,
but can't agree on what to do about it in
the face of earlier summers and warmer winter's pollution and
(30:06):
invasions invasive species. Jessica intermill, an attorney who helped draft
the Wild Rice Act and current legislation, said, inherent right
sounds ethereal, but really it's the same as the Declaration
of Independence, A policy applied to a species, not an
individual grain. Minnesota grows more wild rice than anywhere in
(30:27):
the US. If we say that where the wild rice
state that it's time to be the relative that it
needs to be. Here's more testimony from the legislative session
over this issue.
Speaker 8 (30:40):
This bill applies the legal inherent rights doctrine to a
plant that has been in Minnesota since long before there
was a Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
That doctrine does.
Speaker 8 (30:50):
Not grant any right to wild rice.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
Rather, it recognizes that.
Speaker 13 (30:55):
The plant's inherent right to live exists because it is
a lot.
Speaker 21 (31:02):
I wonder what these people would do if they were
faced with an actual, real problem.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
They stay in their bubble.
Speaker 5 (31:11):
And give life to rights and inanimate.
Speaker 17 (31:16):
Objects their lunatics, but they'll do anything for power and money.
Speaker 22 (31:26):
I'd like to propose a genet bil operating you consider
wild right, you get a legal driver's lightning, any other
benefits you're doing by the government or the subbrain. The
right have had manure and the inability to thrive because
of such strains.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Well, the question that I have is what sort of
impact that Operation metro Surge have on the wild rice population.
Maybe then Democrats could go and add a few more
zeros to their dollar amount. Regarding the fiscal impact of
what took place with Operation Metro Surge, John.
Speaker 19 (32:02):
Regarding the wild rice lady in Congress or Senator whatever,
did she say that she was going to boil it down?
Speaker 11 (32:12):
But these people are nuts and to your point, yes,
they are willing to kill a living child, but they'll
protect the rights of wild rice to live.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Yeah, it's insane. Well, these people are nuts. You can't
even reason with them anymore. Yep, No, they're insane. They're
absolutely insane.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Keeping with the hypocrisy, And thank you for the talkbacks
this morning from the from the iHeartRadio app. So, there
was a couple of different news stories regarding you. Probably
weren't even aware of this, but there was still a
Target boycott going on.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
By activist organization.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
A national leader yesterday was calling for an end to
the nationwide boycott of the Minneapolis based Target Corporation. Local
activists say it's very much still alive and well so.
Georgia based passed Jamal Bryant, in a YouTube video yesterday,
claimed the boycott was ending. He thanked the Target CEO
and the company's senior leadership for agreeing to fulfill a
(33:12):
two billion dollar promise to support diverse causes, including the
support of black owned businesses and brands and historically black
colleges and universities. But in a statement provided to bring
me the news by Target, they gave no hint of
a reversal and it's January twenty five decision to scrap
the series of diversity initiatives. And then locally, the boycott
(33:34):
is apparently not ending here at least in Minnesota. Local
organizer activist and well activist nikim O Levi Armstrong, who
likes to go in protest churches and get arrested for it,
she says it's far from over in Minnesota. She wrote
that Bryant does not speak to us for our community
and has zero authority to end the nationwide boycott at Target,
(33:57):
a company that's headquartered in Minneapolis. I have a question
how many of the Target boycott idiots occupied those targets
with their hippie dippy sit ins during Operation Metro Surge.
I'm going to venture I guess quite a few of them,
just because we're making a lot of comparisons this morning,
(34:17):
you know, like the comparisons of Democrats who pass the
most extreme abortion policies in the United States, but then
want to declare that wild rice is a living being
and deserves it's an errant right to live and exist.
Speaker 11 (34:31):
I can make it make sense.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
In the meantime, speaking of Operation Metro Surge, Minneapolis officials say,
the financial fallout, it's still growing.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Oh, I bet it is. I bet it is. Every
day that goes by.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
Minneapolis officials and Democrats here in the state figure out
new ways to try to tally the cost relating to
Operation Metro Surge so they can hopefully take advantage of it.
The recent city estimates show the federal immigration enforcement operation
has already created more than two hundred and three million
in impact across the city in just one month.
Speaker 11 (35:10):
Well, it's a lot.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
City Council President Elliott Payne said, Minneapolis is still working
to understand the full scope of the damage. You see,
they're hesitant to go and put a number forward because
they obviously want to put the biggest number possible. It
has no it has nothing to do with getting to
the truth or getting to affirm number. It's just the
biggest number they can How much can they say Operation
(35:38):
Metro Surge costs the people of Minneapolis without any regard
whatsoever that it was ninety nine point nine percent all
self inflicted. Paine said, the city has been reaching out
to lawmakers at every level of government for reimbursement or aid.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
We have some audio.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
Of some of those conversations taking place between the city
clown soul and the Minneapolis leadership that might have been
from parks and rec Pain is unsure how helpful the
government will be. However, it's hard to believe the federal government,
(36:18):
who created this chaos in the first place, would seek
to re leave us of the impact of the chaos. No,
the people on the street created the chaos, the words
of Governor Tim Walls, Minneapolis Man Baby Mey or Mom Jeans,
Jacob Fry, the police chief, Keith Ellison, the activist organizations
well funded by a lot of organizations too. By the way,
(36:42):
if we don't get any relief from the state or
federal government, we're going to have to absorb all that
completely at the local level. Oh what are they talking about.
Oh they're talking about increasing property taxes. So the city
will be left with very difficult choices. Payne went on
to say, very simply put, it looks like either cuts
to city services or an increase in property taxes. There's
(37:05):
no other way to be able to make up those differences.
We have a further audio coming from the city clown
Soil leadership asking the state for money. Conny Poe, an
(37:28):
economist who reviewed the city's early numbers, says a financial
impact of Operation Metro Surge will unfold in two phases.
He says, FIRSUS the immediate costs. This is King Bananian,
Saint Cloud University economist King Bananian. You're going to get
overtime and emergency spending going up because of the You
(37:50):
need more of your peace officers working right away and
so forth. Although officers weren't doing anything be it as.
You're going to see a second impact, which is softer revenues.
Sales taxes are going to go down, income tax flows,
other tax flows will shrink as well, which means that
next year's budget is the one thing that's going to
(38:10):
get tighter.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
He said.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
The disruption on city streets, workers staying home, customers avoiding businesses,
and events canceled will eventually show up in the city's
bottom line, and it was all self inflicted.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
He added.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
Next year's tax levy is set in September, and that's
when the impact could be felt by taxpayers. A city
document shows that at least two hundred and three million
in losses, but warrens a true cost could be likely higher.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
Oh, I'm sure they are warning that.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
The report warrants that the impacts will last in our
community for years, if not decades or a generation, and
notes that at least seventy six thousand residents now need
urgent relief assistance. It's all such a joke. It's all
(39:06):
just a scam, one big, massive scam. You got Governor
Tim Walls out there saying that it's because of the
efforts that these individuals are now trying to reap fiscal
reward for that caused Operation Metro Sarch to end.
Speaker 4 (39:22):
What happened, right, and why they left was because of
the people on the streets.
Speaker 5 (39:27):
It wasn't the elected officials they left because of that.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
No, they left because the operation was over. They were
here longer because you supported individuals going out and obstructing
the lawful law enforcement of ICE agents. They would have
been done sooner and gone sooner without the loss of life.
If morons like Governor Tim Walls hadn't been out there
encouraging individuals armed with their cell phones to go and
(39:53):
observe what was taking place, using the adage once again
of a broken clock being twice being right twice a day.
Jacob Frye, even he knows that this would have been
a disaster, he actually vetoed an ordinance that the Minneapolis
(40:15):
City Council was attempting to extend the eviction notices. What's
fascinating about this story, though, is that it keys in
on something that I had said yesterday, but now I
actually have the numbers. So, facing a push by advocates
and select Minneapolis City Council members to approve the ordinance
extending the eviction notice period, Minneapolis man Baby may Or
(40:38):
Mom Jeans, Jacob Frye announced that he had vetoed the proposal,
outlining an effort instead to focus on retail assistance for residents.
If approved by fry the sixty day requirement would have
stayed in effect until August thirty first of.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
Twenty twenty six.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
But the reality is those evictions were taking place long
before Operation Metro Surge had started, and, as a matter
of fact, according to the Mayor's office, as of Friday,
March sixth, Minneapolis had recorded nine hundred and eighty two
eviction filings in twenty twenty six. That was compared to
one thousand and forty during the same period in twenty
(41:17):
twenty five. It was a five point five percent decrease
year over year. And yet the scam artists on the
Minneapolis Sydney Council trying to go and throw a bone
to individuals that they want to keep voting for them,
or trying to say that these evictions were only happening
because of Operation Metro Surge, even though they went down.
(41:38):
Officials say the number of eviction filings so far in
twenty twenty six remains consistent with a monthly average in
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (41:45):
But yeah, you're supposed to.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
Believe them when they give you a number regarding the
cost of Operation Metro Surge. Again, it's all a scam.
This is a Minneapolis City Council member who oddly looks
just like alternative artist Moby. His name is Soren Stevenson
posted this video online very distraught at the veto of Minneapolis.
(42:13):
Maam baby me or mom jeans Jacob Fry.
Speaker 13 (42:15):
Everyone in Minneapolis agrees our top priority right now is
to support our neighbors who were targeted and harassed by ice.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Let me stop right there. No, not everybody agrees with that.
That is a lie, That is a generality that is
not indicative of the truth. And when you're talking about neighbors,
you're defending individuals, many of whom had been charged with
horrible crimes, you know, like sex offending, abusing children, domestic abuse,
(42:44):
and assaults.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
Moby doesn't care. So the city council.
Speaker 13 (42:49):
Here in Minneapolis, we voted to extend the eviction timeline
from thirty days to sixty days to give those neighbors
a little breathing room to come up with that extra Unfortunately,
the mayor vetoed that this is a devastating blow to.
Speaker 5 (43:03):
Our immigrant neighbors.
Speaker 13 (43:05):
It's an abdication of his power to protect many app
the data said that this policy would keep our neighbors
in their homes. The mayor chose to listen to landlords
who cared more about immediate profits than keeping our neighbors
in their homes.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
In Saint Paul, our neighbors.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
They use profit like it's a pejorative. They care about
their profits, their landlords. It's a business. Yes, they're offering
up places to stay. But it's not alltruistic. They need
to make money off of it as well. It's their livelihoods.
These idiots don't care.
Speaker 13 (43:41):
River are working to allocate three point eight million dollars
for rent support. Tomorrow I'll start working with my colleagues
to get our level of support closer to theirs. While
this money is not going to move fast enough to
help all the neighbors that this policy would have helped,
it will be an essential stop gap.
Speaker 1 (44:00):
A little point on this, We have our next guest,
Senate candidate Tom Weyler, will be joining us next here
on Twin Cities News Talk. But there was a piece
out of the Star Tribune from late last week, as
Operation Metro Surge recedes, concerns grow over tactics of Twin
Cities bounty hunters. There are no licenses needed to become
(44:21):
a bounty hunter in Minnesota, an issue that is raising
concerns after highly public actions by bounty hunters in the
Twin Cities this week. This entire article right is based
off of this bogus claim. It's a smear campaign, that's
(44:44):
all this is. They're moving off of Operation Metro Surge
and now they're pointing out that, oh, some of these
bounty hunters might have had some contracts with ICE, even
though you have the federal government pushing back on that
no confirmation bounty hunters seen in downtown encounter deputized by
the federal government. Their actions mixed with the continued vigilance
(45:07):
of community members seeking to observe Operation Metro Search. They're
trying to conflate the two issues. So as Operation Metro
Surge ends, you still have this issue of bounty hunters
that have always existed here in Minnesota. The DHS denies
contracting with bounty hunters last year and a request for
information first reported by the Interset, the department conducted market
(45:27):
research with skip tracing vendors another term for bailbond agencies.
But they want to keep this Operation Metro Searche fear alive.
So now you have the Star Tribune that's getting in
on the act of the activists saying that, oh, we've
got these bounty hunters we got to contend with too.
The situation isn't over. Bounty hunters exist and they do
(45:48):
stuff like ICE, so you still need to be worried.
It's all about control, control through propaganda and fear mongering,
all right, coming up FBI alerts warning that Iran may
i a drone attack on American soil. During Operation Epic Fury,
we actually saw a submarine, saying one of Iran's flag
(46:12):
ship vessels. One of the first times in a long
time we've had a submarine engaged in this kind of conflict.
We're going to talk with a former submariner and now
send it. Candidate Tom Wiler next here on Twinsday's News
Talk AM eleven thirty and one O three five FM.
Hour two for a Thursday on Twin Cities News Talk.
My name is John Justice, Devin and the master control
booth next door, and of course your comments all morning long.
Justice at iHeartRadio dot com is the email address. Leave
us a talk back. We'll get to some more of
those coming up in just a moment. Governor Tim Walls
yesterday came out with a brand new plan that's completely
(00:27):
contrary to what his integrity director that he hired in January,
who just quit earlier this week recommended after looking into
all of the fraud. It also comes with a hefty
price tag close to eighty million dollars, which, if you
follow anything relating to cost to estimates when programs are
(00:51):
first presented, almost every single time they come out more expensive,
including what we'll talk about in just a moment, Minnesota's
new software system fifty million more than was initially approved. Also,
John Feelin asking the question centered the American experiment this morning,
will paid family and medical leave.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Need another payroll tax hike this summer?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
No, And the meantime.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Governor Tim Walls was out speaking to a group of
individuals earlier this week after making that announcement of his
new fraud prevention plan.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
He had this to say.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
What happened, right and why they left was because of
the people on the streets.
Speaker 5 (01:38):
It wasn't the elected officials they left.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
You may stop here. I was just going to address
every single one of these lives as we go along.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
That's a lie. It's in the name.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
It was Operation Metro Surge, meaning a surge in the
operation of going and arresting those that are here illegally
in committed crimes. It was never intended to be long term.
There was always going to be an end to the operation.
So to sit back and say, well, you know, they
(02:08):
only left because of the people that were going out
and pushing back against them, that's a lie.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
To the vow and.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
Parent teacher organizations that turned into food banks, and you know,
soccer and basketball carpools that turned into protecting children and.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Parents, that's a lie.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
He's referring to the story where a family was driving
back allegedly from a basketball game. One of the individuals
in the car saw their mother at a protest. They
left their children in the vehicle and went and joined
the protest that ended up turning violent with flash bang
(02:55):
grenades that were tossed and ended up landing near the
vehicle where the kids had been abandoned by their parents.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Surrounding schools what I would tell them, and I don't
know if you can.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
You can't replicate it immediately.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
But that old adage that all politics and all action
is local. Minnesotans, take that to local, to your house
and the house next to you, and the house next
to you.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I'm so tired of all the neighbor talk. Give me
a break already.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
You can't believe anything that Governor Jim Wall says on
any issue whatsoever, especially.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Well, not even especially no.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
On everything he says, you simply cannot trust him.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Let's go here.
Speaker 6 (03:42):
You know, John is sure as hard to blame Governor
Walls for leading these mindless fools along the way that
he does. I mean, you, how can you even help
himself at this point? It's just so easy to manipulate
these mindless, unintelligent, not thinking for themselves, individuals that are
(04:09):
willing to follow this garbage.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Thank you for the talkback from the iHeartRadio app. Getting
back to this program. Minnesota State is switching to a
software system known as Workday. Hey, we use that at
thirty three Public colleges and universities as part of a
broader initiative to modernize its technology called next Gen.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Hey, we use that too.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
The first phase of the upgrades, which included human resources
and finance software used by employees, that went live in
July of twenty twenty four. The second phase, which will
allow students to manage admissions, financial aid, and register through
one platform, that's on track to go live at twenty thirty,
(04:56):
four years after its initial target. George Soul, the Board
of Trustees chair, citing the systems two hundred and seventy
thousand students and fourteen thousand employees, he.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Says it's a monumental project.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
We didn't expect everything to work out perfectly the first time.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
The cost increases and.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Delays aren't the only aspects of the problem. Excuse me
the project that has drawn scrutiny. Employees saved the struggle
with the new system daily and even had to prepare
budgets by hand with spreadsheets last year.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
So in June of twenty.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Nineteen, the plan was approved by the board, and that
included an early estimate for software transition in one hundred
and fifty one million. According to a Minnesota State spokesperson,
that number has now climbed to two hundred and forty
two point seven million. By the time it was improved
in November twenty twenty, that cost has now grown to
(05:49):
two hundred and ninety point four million. The Minnesota State
Board documents said that they were citing inflation, the timeline extension,
and fifteen million toward unexpected issues. A third of the
project is funded by the legislature. The rest is being
paid by Minnesota State. I'm actually surprised that they didn't
(06:12):
go and blame it on Operation Metro surg We'll get
to more of that coming up later on in the
In the hour you had Minneapolis man Baby mayor Mom
Jean's Jacob Frye. He ended up vetoing the attempts to
extend the eviction notices. In the meantime, the city Council
(06:32):
is still calculating the cost of Operation Metro Surge, and
I've already reached out to lawmakers at every level of
the government for reimbursement and aid.
Speaker 7 (06:48):
Money.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Well, we may need more money. John Feelin, Center of
the American Experiment, writes this a month ago, citing downta
over its first four weeks of Operation. John Feelan noted
that the approvals for Minnesota's Paid Family Medical Leaf scheme
was running twenty six percent above the forecast. A couple
of weeks ago, the program director, Greg Norfleet and the
(07:15):
DEED Commissioner Evan Rowe testified before the Minnesota House Workforce,
Labor and Economic Development Financial Policy Committee, and they reported
that doing that thing with my fingers.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
As of February.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Fifteenth, nearly forty eight thousand applications had been submitted, with
decisions already made on thirty one thousand, forty eight thousand
applications already for this Paid Family Medical Leaf. I think
(07:47):
about that number for just a moment, and I just wonder, Okay,
what would have happened if this program wasn't here?
Speaker 2 (07:54):
That's what I want to know.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
How many of those forty eight thousand individuals wouldn't be
taking any time off or would have just been utilizing
the existing options that they have with their employer to
take time off. More than twenty thousand have already been
approved now. John Feelin goes on to say that works
out to an approval rate. Can we get into some
wonky numbers here, so bear with me as an approval
(08:16):
rate of about four hundred and thirty five per day. Again,
that is twenty four percent above the rate of the
three hundred and fifty two approvals daily forecasted by DEED
when the scheme launched. Now, I did receive a comment
regarding because we'll get into this, because the whole point
that John Feelin makes in the piece is his question
(08:39):
of whether or not we are going to need another
payroll tax hike this summer to go and fund the program,
which is going to come from our employers and possibly you.
Speaker 8 (08:54):
Hi, John, this is Tiffany from North Branch, and I
just wanted to let you know that there is a
tax hike baked into the Paid Family Medical Leave Fraud Act.
It's at eight point eight zero point eight eight percent now,
and it can be hiked up to one point one.
That's the illegal cap. So it can be hiked and
(09:14):
they will they will take more.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
John Feelin noted in February the number is boosted in
part by early applications for child bonding leaves, something known
and paid leave circles as a baby bump. That initial
bump is expected to even out over time. The DEED
Commissioner said, we've seen weekly applications start to trend down
(09:38):
over time, in line with experience in other states, but
Felin noted later that the longer the approval rate is
above the forecast of three hundred and fifty two, the
further it will need to fall later to meet it.
It's running too high now, regardless of whether or not
(10:00):
we pull back. And I say pull back, meaning the
number of individuals declines who are going and taking time off.
And I don't know, I guess I look at this
and I think, in a word of mouth, how many
people aren't even aware that you can take advantage of this?
Yet not everybody is paying close attention. These are just
the individuals that are paying close attention to this. How
(10:23):
many people aren't and are going to find out when
they see their friends and their family members taking six
paid weeks off of work because they came up with
some excuse so they can go on vacation, or go skiing,
or go to a music festival. As we talked about yesterday,
the assumptions behind this program were much more opaque when
(10:45):
it passed in twenty twenty three than when it had
been proposed previously. John Feelan noted that in April, the
assumed average a leave and the length of the leave
taken seems to have been reduced from six point six
weeks to six weeks this year, but as he noted
in February, this is still a favorable assumption. Last month,
(11:07):
Director of Norfleet and the Deputy Commissioner Row told the
House that the average leave runs six to nine weeks,
less than the maximum twelve weeks allowed by law.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
So it's a few more.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Details that I want to get to this and the
question of whether or not there may need to be
another payroll tax hike in the summer. This program, it
is absolutely infuriating to me. It is nothing more and
I'll keep saying this than a redistribution of wealth because
(11:42):
Democrats will not be open and honest on what they
actually believe and what they want to do. And rather
than going and attempting to put forward a program that
would have died if they had just labeled a redistribution
of wealth program, right, So instead what do they do?
They do stuff like this and we all have to
pay the price for it. We'll get to more of
(12:03):
your comments from the iHeartRadio app. If that wasn't enough,
We'll then get into the bill that recognizes the inherent
right of wild Rice by the same people who brought
you abortion up until birth, now comes a bill to
make sure that wild Rice has a right to live.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
You cannot make this stuff up.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
It's next here on Twin City's News Talk AM eleven
thirty and one oh three five FM.
Speaker 9 (12:38):
Good morning, John Paul from Brooklyn Park.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
You know what's going to drive up.
Speaker 9 (12:42):
Usage in the extorted Family Medical program when people have
to get tax harder for it. People aren't using it now,
They're like, well, zero point four to four percent. It's annoying.
When it goes to one percent, they're going to be
really pissed off. They're also going to be tired of
covering for their co workers who are taking six weeks
away from work, and employers are not going to take it.
Speaker 5 (13:02):
They're going to move to businesses they're.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Not going to take this forever well and to that point,
as we work through this pace from John Feeland, an
American experiment, will paid family and medical leave need another
payroll tax hike this summer? You're listening to Twin Cities
News Talk. Let's get to an actual business owner.
Speaker 10 (13:23):
Good morning, John is a small business owner this twenty
week leave for anybody to go babysit your pet goldfish
is ridiculous. The only way to fight this as a
small business owner is get rid of all your employees
and hire them as a ten ninety nine subcontract.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Yes, there you go.
Speaker 10 (13:45):
The Democrats aren't smart enough to figure out that, little Paul,
are they.
Speaker 11 (13:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
I want to ask I want to ask Max Rymer
when he's in tomorrow about that. I'm reminded of when
there was this the attempt to get rid of the.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Payday loan options when you could get a.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
You can get a loan ahead of time on your paycheck,
and there were laws that were put in place to
go and ban that, and those that operated those businesses
and those services just ended up changing the way that
they operated to where they were doing it off the
title of your of your car. So it raises an
(14:32):
interesting question of what happens to those businesses because, as
this talkback states, and we've discussed this before on the show,
but just to get everybody back up to speed, it's
not just the individual who's taking the time off that
has an impact on the business.
Speaker 12 (14:49):
Somehow, some way, I think this SAIDs need to come
in and out of the state of Minnesota, and these
bills that they put forth. I think the paid family
lead back it has to be some way a taxation
without represent Nobody put it to a vote for me
to vote on that to take money out of my pocket.
But I want to know, with all these people that
are taking advantage of the paid family leave and those
(15:10):
that are on welfare and those that are on unemployment,
who the heck is working in the state of Minnesota anymore?
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Hey, John, paid family leave.
Speaker 11 (15:20):
Here.
Speaker 7 (15:21):
Here's something that's probably not bacon to anybody's number. All
these people who are off now have a replacement YEP,
and theory working that is going to become eligible for
paid family leave when the original person comes back.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
So how is that going to work out?
Speaker 13 (15:35):
It's just going to.
Speaker 7 (15:36):
Double here, and that's going to get through most of
the year with half our economy and paid family leave.
Speaker 14 (15:42):
Yeah. Can you get paid family medical leave? Why you're
on unemployment if you're annually doing a seasonal unemployment which
is allowed here in Minnesota. Or how about our teachers' unions?
Can they take paid family medical lead Wilder off on
(16:04):
the summer break?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Oh absolutely, we covered that extensively before the end of
last year. So let me wrap up John Feelin's piece
here and again this gets a little wonkey. Just just
bear with me for just a for just a moment.
So the key equation that John Felon notes is the
(16:27):
expected benefit payments equaling the expected number of claims times
the expected claim duration times the assume average weekly benefit amount.
From two of these components, the scheme appears to be
running ahead of forecast at present. The scheme is funded
(16:50):
by these zero point eighty eight payroll tax split between
employers and employees. As a Pioneer Press reported in February.
As to Monday, how long that rate would stand ded
officials said that that would depend on the actuarial analysis
expected in coming months. The state will have to send
(17:13):
employers updated premium rates by July thirty first, so there
will be a need. There will need to be an
official estimate before them. Yeah, they're going up to that
one point one percent. The payroll tax which finances the
scheme has already been hiked by twenty five percent since
(17:34):
it was enacted. Another hike might be on the way,
And make no mistake if they have to hike it
again to the baked in amount that they can. They're
going to work to raise it again if Democrats are
able to gain control. Make no mistake, because this is
what they wanted. They want fewer people working, they want
(17:58):
businesses suffering. They want to whittle down the businesses in
the state. They hate the private sector. They'd much rather
have the rich in their minds, that money redistributed to
individuals that will continue to go and vote for Democrats.
It's all just about power. Coming up, we'll get to
(18:19):
your talkbacks. A few thoughts have rolled in on this,
and then we'll dive into the bill that aims to
recognize the inerrant right of wild rice Minnesota state grain
is in decline. State agencies say such a law would
create a legal vulnerability, but advocates say that wild rice
(18:40):
is vulnerable and it needs protections. Wild rice is viewed
by certain demographics in Minnesota as being a living being
and a relative. Oh boy, sounds awfully familiar to another
hot button issue. We'll get into all of it. I
have audio to share your comments as well. It's all
(19:02):
coming up next here on Twinsday's News Talking Am eleven
thirty and one O three five F M.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Hey John great show as usual.
Speaker 11 (19:15):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
You know, you're making a lot of good points.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
So I'm saying with a lot of the callers about
the paid family medical leave, and my question is, does
feel for me and Ferrie and Eric from BRAINERD Do
they ever agree with anything you say or points like this?
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Do they have any beefs with the Democrats or is
it just maga people.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
It's just maga people, just maga people. I've been sparing
you the commentaries from the foes of the show. There's
been nothing of value in them. They're clearly just saying
incendiary things hoping that I'll play their comments. There's unsubstantiated
(20:01):
claims against the president.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Off topic. So again I've.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Been exercising my right as the show hosts to not
air the foe of the show commentaries until the quality
of their talkbacks improved. Before we get over to Wild
Rice and making sure that it has its right to live.
I do question whether or not we've interviewed the Wild Rice.
(20:27):
Who are you to assume that you speak.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
For the Wild Rice. That's another question that I have.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
I do want to do a lightning round of talkbacks,
wrapping up the conversation, at least today regarding the disaster
that has paid family medical leave.
Speaker 15 (20:40):
Hi, John, this is greak me savage.
Speaker 16 (20:42):
I think this paid family medical.
Speaker 7 (20:44):
Leave was just, you know, the back door way of
starting a universal basic income STAKI your.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Way, Yeah, yeah, i'mouna agree with that. Hey, good morning John.
Speaker 17 (20:56):
In response to the color that wanted to know who
the heck is so working in Minnesota, senior citizens are
because they cannot afford to retire because of the taxes
and the increase in insurance.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Have a great team, Hey John.
Speaker 18 (21:13):
On the pea family leave, my full time employer changed
my status from that full time with benefits to.
Speaker 19 (21:20):
Ten ninety nine on.
Speaker 18 (21:21):
Twelve thirty one, twenty five. There's a shocker, And I
just looked into it, and I could qualify for it,
even though I'm not paying into it at all right
now and they're not. I could still get up to
twenty weeks on the taxpayer time. And all I'd have
to do is come up with some reasons that they.
Speaker 5 (21:37):
Want to prove I could do it.
Speaker 18 (21:39):
I'm not going to do, but I could do it.
Speaker 20 (21:43):
Good morning John. I was wondering if I could create
a person could create a fraudulent business, Let's say like
a leering center or something, hire a bunch of employees
that and.
Speaker 18 (21:56):
Have them all.
Speaker 20 (21:57):
Take family medical leaveack advantages, and then I get the kickback,
say twenty percent. Is that possible.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
I don't know about creating a business out of thin
air to make that possible, But what you could end
up and what we'll probably end up seeing in terms
of the fraud is very similar to what we've seen
in the other fraud scheme programs, wherein the state would
end up being billed for pay family medical lea for
(22:29):
employees that don't exist, essentially saying what you were saying,
but with those businesses that already exist at this point
in time. Thank you all for the comments from the
iHeartRadio apples are brought you brought to you by Lindaul Realty.
Let's tarn our retention over to wild Rice, Minnesota, state
to grain is in decline. Agencies with the state say
(22:51):
a law could create a new legal vulnerability, but advocates
say that wild rice is vulnerable and it needs protection.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Born John Steve from what Saint Paul. Yeah, this wild
Rice thing smells of land grab all from the beginning. Here,
They're gonna they can't get an Endangered Species Act. So
they're going to protect it this way. And I'm assuming
there might be some wild rice up in northern Minnesota
work maybe a mine might be going into have a
(23:24):
great day.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
So here's the story from the Star Tribune. Cups of
cooked wild rice, traditionally harvested from the Leech Lake Reservation,
handed out to the Minnesota Senate Committee members on Tuesday
by advocates of the State grain. A proposed bill would
amend the definition of the State grain to in statute
(23:47):
to include this doing that thing with my fingers. It
is the policy of this state to recognize the inherent
right of wild rice to exist and thrive in Minnesota.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Opponents asked what an errant right means and how it
would be enforced, arguing the language opens the state up
to potential litigation. Indigenous rights and environmental advocates say that
there are great risks to wild rice, of course, pollution,
climate extremes. Wild rice is viewed by Native Americans as
(24:28):
a living being and relative. Okay, So you have a
group of individuals, a demographic, if you will, that views
something as being a living being, going so far as
to say that it is a relative and they are
asking the state to codify its right to exist and
(24:54):
put that into law.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Am I.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Huh that sounds familiar, doesn't right. The bill is being
brought to you by Dflaer's Democrats, who also were the
ones who voted two years ago for abortion to be
legal up to the moment of birth. Please don't please
(25:20):
tell me that somebody has brought this up during the
legislative session when they were debating this. Please, I want
to hear what a Democrats response is of why they
would support putting into statute wild rice being a living
being and yet still go and support the most extreme
(25:41):
abortion laws here in Minnesota that we have versus the
rest of the country. Representative Mary Kanesh dfl Out of
New Brighton first introduced the Wild Rice Act on the
heels of one of the state's worst harvest in recent memory.
The legislation died in come Vidon was reintroduced in parts
(26:01):
of this session, with Knesh, the first Indigenous woman to
serve in the state Senate, spearheading the efforts.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Here's a bit of what she had to say.
Speaker 17 (26:12):
First, this bill applies the legal.
Speaker 21 (26:14):
And I would have loved to have gone into the
history of this wild rice and gone into real depth
around this whole subject. But I've boiled it down to
just a few sentences here, so we Centipile thirty seven
forty nine is adding just one sentence to the definition.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Of our state grain.
Speaker 21 (26:33):
It states, it is the policy of this state to
recognize the inherent right of uncultivated wild rice to exist
and thrive in Minnesota. By recognizing this, the state of
Minnesota is stepping into a reciprocal relationship with the plant
that has been our state grain for nearly fifty years.
Minnesota is already legally required by treaties to consider manumen
(26:57):
and the waters it depends on, and this is just
ensuring that this takes place going forward. Wild rice is
a source of food and maintains the ecological structure of
lakes and waterways. It prevents toxic algae bloom, absorbs carbon dioxide,
fosters vital inhabitants, and stabilizes lake beds. Wild rice is
(27:20):
a core component.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Of the Anishinabi identity.
Speaker 21 (27:23):
Anishinabi people were called to travel to a place where
the food grows on the water, and that place is Minnesota, Michoki.
Where it is we call it Minnesota. Wild rice is
struggling right now, and it needs our protection. Today it
is only able to grow on sixty four thousand of
the state's fifty million acres. And so I ask you
(27:44):
to consider this bill and vote positive for Senate File
thirty seven forty nine.
Speaker 16 (27:54):
It's not easy being green, having to spend each day
the color of leaves.
Speaker 15 (28:06):
First they gave wild rice human rights. Then they gave
the rivers human rights, followed by forests, and then no
one could build on any land because it was all
filled with rights.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
The vegans are eating all over world race they need
to step it. Start eating a cow.
Speaker 17 (28:30):
Hey, John, Maybe the crazy left will now just take
on a new gender called wild race.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Oh, I like that.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
A similar debate resurfaced with leaders of the Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources in the Minnesota Pollution Agents Control Agency
alleging the ambiguity of an errant rights is a legal
vulnerability in state agencies. Senator Steve Draskowski. So the proposal
didn't pass out of committee last year when two Democrats
(28:59):
voted with Republicans against the measure. Now we're bringing it
back again. It appears to me, said Draskowski. At least
as a bill, this doesn't have a chance of passage.
Why are we here today, he asked the representative from
New Brighton. Say we brought it because we believe in it.
We recognize that wild rice is a voterable entity and
(29:23):
that we have not been good stewards of it over
the years, no matter what we do. Again, please tell
me that somebody brought up the abortion debate in this
I just to get it on record. I know it
doesn't matter. The Democrats in Minnesota have taken the art
of lying to new links over the course of the
(29:43):
just the start of this year, it is incredible to
me the blatant lies that the dfllers have been spewing.
I know they've been doing it all along, but it
just seems like now they've turned it into a sport.
Tribal and state leaders recognize while rice is under threat,
but can't agree on what to do about it in
the face of earlier summers and warmer winter's pollution and
(30:06):
invasions invasive species. Jessica intermill, an attorney who helped draft
the Wild Rice Act and current legislation, said, inherent right
sounds ethereal, but really it's the same as the Declaration
of Independence, A policy applied to a species, not an
individual grain. Minnesota grows more wild rice than anywhere in
(30:27):
the US. If we say that where the wild rice
state that it's time to be the relative that it
needs to be. Here's more testimony from the legislative session
over this issue.
Speaker 8 (30:40):
This bill applies the legal inherent rights doctrine to a
plant that has been in Minnesota since long before there
was a Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
That doctrine does.
Speaker 8 (30:50):
Not grant any right to wild rice.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
Rather, it recognizes that.
Speaker 13 (30:55):
The plant's inherent right to live exists because it is
a lot.
Speaker 21 (31:02):
I wonder what these people would do if they were
faced with an actual, real problem.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
They stay in their bubble.
Speaker 5 (31:11):
And give life to rights and inanimate.
Speaker 17 (31:16):
Objects their lunatics, but they'll do anything for power and money.
Speaker 22 (31:26):
I'd like to propose a genet bil operating you consider
wild right, you get a legal driver's lightning, any other
benefits you're doing by the government or the subbrain. The
right have had manure and the inability to thrive because
of such strains.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Well, the question that I have is what sort of
impact that Operation metro Surge have on the wild rice population.
Maybe then Democrats could go and add a few more
zeros to their dollar amount. Regarding the fiscal impact of
what took place with Operation Metro Surge, John.
Speaker 19 (32:02):
Regarding the wild rice lady in Congress or Senator whatever,
did she say that she was going to boil it down?
Speaker 11 (32:12):
But these people are nuts and to your point, yes,
they are willing to kill a living child, but they'll
protect the rights of wild rice to live.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Yeah, it's insane. Well, these people are nuts. You can't
even reason with them anymore. Yep, No, they're insane. They're
absolutely insane.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Keeping with the hypocrisy, And thank you for the talkbacks
this morning from the from the iHeartRadio app. So, there
was a couple of different news stories regarding you. Probably
weren't even aware of this, but there was still a
Target boycott going on.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
By activist organization.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
A national leader yesterday was calling for an end to
the nationwide boycott of the Minneapolis based Target Corporation. Local
activists say it's very much still alive and well so.
Georgia based passed Jamal Bryant, in a YouTube video yesterday,
claimed the boycott was ending. He thanked the Target CEO
and the company's senior leadership for agreeing to fulfill a
(33:12):
two billion dollar promise to support diverse causes, including the
support of black owned businesses and brands and historically black
colleges and universities. But in a statement provided to bring
me the news by Target, they gave no hint of
a reversal and it's January twenty five decision to scrap
the series of diversity initiatives. And then locally, the boycott
(33:34):
is apparently not ending here at least in Minnesota. Local
organizer activist and well activist nikim O Levi Armstrong, who
likes to go in protest churches and get arrested for it,
she says it's far from over in Minnesota. She wrote
that Bryant does not speak to us for our community
and has zero authority to end the nationwide boycott at Target,
(33:57):
a company that's headquartered in Minneapolis. I have a question
how many of the Target boycott idiots occupied those targets
with their hippie dippy sit ins during Operation Metro Surge.
I'm going to venture I guess quite a few of them,
just because we're making a lot of comparisons this morning,
(34:17):
you know, like the comparisons of Democrats who pass the
most extreme abortion policies in the United States, but then
want to declare that wild rice is a living being
and deserves it's an errant right to live and exist.
Speaker 11 (34:31):
I can make it make sense.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
In the meantime, speaking of Operation Metro Surge, Minneapolis officials say,
the financial fallout, it's still growing.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Oh, I bet it is. I bet it is. Every
day that goes by.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
Minneapolis officials and Democrats here in the state figure out
new ways to try to tally the cost relating to
Operation Metro Surge so they can hopefully take advantage of it.
The recent city estimates show the federal immigration enforcement operation
has already created more than two hundred and three million
in impact across the city in just one month.
Speaker 11 (35:10):
Well, it's a lot.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
City Council President Elliott Payne said, Minneapolis is still working
to understand the full scope of the damage. You see,
they're hesitant to go and put a number forward because
they obviously want to put the biggest number possible. It
has no it has nothing to do with getting to
the truth or getting to affirm number. It's just the
biggest number they can How much can they say Operation
(35:38):
Metro Surge costs the people of Minneapolis without any regard
whatsoever that it was ninety nine point nine percent all
self inflicted. Paine said, the city has been reaching out
to lawmakers at every level of government for reimbursement or aid.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
We have some audio.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
Of some of those conversations taking place between the city
clown soul and the Minneapolis leadership that might have been
from parks and rec Pain is unsure how helpful the
government will be. However, it's hard to believe the federal government,
(36:18):
who created this chaos in the first place, would seek
to re leave us of the impact of the chaos. No,
the people on the street created the chaos, the words
of Governor Tim Walls, Minneapolis Man Baby Mey or Mom Jeans,
Jacob Fry, the police chief, Keith Ellison, the activist organizations
well funded by a lot of organizations too. By the way,
(36:42):
if we don't get any relief from the state or
federal government, we're going to have to absorb all that
completely at the local level. Oh what are they talking about.
Oh they're talking about increasing property taxes. So the city
will be left with very difficult choices. Payne went on
to say, very simply put, it looks like either cuts
to city services or an increase in property taxes. There's
(37:05):
no other way to be able to make up those differences.
We have a further audio coming from the city clown
Soil leadership asking the state for money. Conny Poe, an
(37:28):
economist who reviewed the city's early numbers, says a financial
impact of Operation Metro Surge will unfold in two phases.
He says, FIRSUS the immediate costs. This is King Bananian,
Saint Cloud University economist King Bananian. You're going to get
overtime and emergency spending going up because of the You
(37:50):
need more of your peace officers working right away and
so forth. Although officers weren't doing anything be it as.
You're going to see a second impact, which is softer revenues.
Sales taxes are going to go down, income tax flows,
other tax flows will shrink as well, which means that
next year's budget is the one thing that's going to
(38:10):
get tighter.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
He said.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
The disruption on city streets, workers staying home, customers avoiding businesses,
and events canceled will eventually show up in the city's
bottom line, and it was all self inflicted.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
He added.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
Next year's tax levy is set in September, and that's
when the impact could be felt by taxpayers. A city
document shows that at least two hundred and three million
in losses, but warrens a true cost could be likely higher.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
Oh, I'm sure they are warning that.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
The report warrants that the impacts will last in our
community for years, if not decades or a generation, and
notes that at least seventy six thousand residents now need
urgent relief assistance. It's all such a joke. It's all
(39:06):
just a scam, one big, massive scam. You got Governor
Tim Walls out there saying that it's because of the
efforts that these individuals are now trying to reap fiscal
reward for that caused Operation Metro Sarch to end.
Speaker 4 (39:22):
What happened, right, and why they left was because of
the people on the streets.
Speaker 5 (39:27):
It wasn't the elected officials they left because of that.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
No, they left because the operation was over. They were
here longer because you supported individuals going out and obstructing
the lawful law enforcement of ICE agents. They would have
been done sooner and gone sooner without the loss of life.
If morons like Governor Tim Walls hadn't been out there
encouraging individuals armed with their cell phones to go and
(39:53):
observe what was taking place, using the adage once again
of a broken clock being twice being right twice a day.
Jacob Frye, even he knows that this would have been
a disaster, he actually vetoed an ordinance that the Minneapolis
(40:15):
City Council was attempting to extend the eviction notices. What's
fascinating about this story, though, is that it keys in
on something that I had said yesterday, but now I
actually have the numbers. So, facing a push by advocates
and select Minneapolis City Council members to approve the ordinance
extending the eviction notice period, Minneapolis man Baby may Or
(40:38):
Mom Jeans, Jacob Frye announced that he had vetoed the proposal,
outlining an effort instead to focus on retail assistance for residents.
If approved by fry the sixty day requirement would have
stayed in effect until August thirty first of.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
Twenty twenty six.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
But the reality is those evictions were taking place long
before Operation Metro Surge had started, and, as a matter
of fact, according to the Mayor's office, as of Friday,
March sixth, Minneapolis had recorded nine hundred and eighty two
eviction filings in twenty twenty six. That was compared to
one thousand and forty during the same period in twenty
(41:17):
twenty five. It was a five point five percent decrease
year over year. And yet the scam artists on the
Minneapolis Sydney Council trying to go and throw a bone
to individuals that they want to keep voting for them,
or trying to say that these evictions were only happening
because of Operation Metro Surge, even though they went down.
(41:38):
Officials say the number of eviction filings so far in
twenty twenty six remains consistent with a monthly average in
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (41:45):
But yeah, you're supposed to.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
Believe them when they give you a number regarding the
cost of Operation Metro Surge. Again, it's all a scam.
This is a Minneapolis City Council member who oddly looks
just like alternative artist Moby. His name is Soren Stevenson
posted this video online very distraught at the veto of Minneapolis.
(42:13):
Maam baby me or mom jeans Jacob Fry.
Speaker 13 (42:15):
Everyone in Minneapolis agrees our top priority right now is
to support our neighbors who were targeted and harassed by ice.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Let me stop right there. No, not everybody agrees with that.
That is a lie, That is a generality that is
not indicative of the truth. And when you're talking about neighbors,
you're defending individuals, many of whom had been charged with
horrible crimes, you know, like sex offending, abusing children, domestic abuse,
(42:44):
and assaults.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
Moby doesn't care. So the city council.
Speaker 13 (42:49):
Here in Minneapolis, we voted to extend the eviction timeline
from thirty days to sixty days to give those neighbors
a little breathing room to come up with that extra Unfortunately,
the mayor vetoed that this is a devastating blow to.
Speaker 5 (43:03):
Our immigrant neighbors.
Speaker 13 (43:05):
It's an abdication of his power to protect many app
the data said that this policy would keep our neighbors
in their homes. The mayor chose to listen to landlords
who cared more about immediate profits than keeping our neighbors
in their homes.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
In Saint Paul, our neighbors.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
They use profit like it's a pejorative. They care about
their profits, their landlords. It's a business. Yes, they're offering
up places to stay. But it's not alltruistic. They need
to make money off of it as well. It's their livelihoods.
These idiots don't care.
Speaker 13 (43:41):
River are working to allocate three point eight million dollars
for rent support. Tomorrow I'll start working with my colleagues
to get our level of support closer to theirs. While
this money is not going to move fast enough to
help all the neighbors that this policy would have helped,
it will be an essential stop gap.
Speaker 1 (44:00):
A little point on this, We have our next guest,
Senate candidate Tom Weyler, will be joining us next here
on Twin Cities News Talk. But there was a piece
out of the Star Tribune from late last week, as
Operation Metro Surge recedes, concerns grow over tactics of Twin
Cities bounty hunters. There are no licenses needed to become
(44:21):
a bounty hunter in Minnesota, an issue that is raising
concerns after highly public actions by bounty hunters in the
Twin Cities this week. This entire article right is based
off of this bogus claim. It's a smear campaign, that's
(44:44):
all this is. They're moving off of Operation Metro Surge
and now they're pointing out that, oh, some of these
bounty hunters might have had some contracts with ICE, even
though you have the federal government pushing back on that
no confirmation bounty hunters seen in downtown encounter deputized by
the federal government. Their actions mixed with the continued vigilance
(45:07):
of community members seeking to observe Operation Metro Search. They're
trying to conflate the two issues. So as Operation Metro
Surge ends, you still have this issue of bounty hunters
that have always existed here in Minnesota. The DHS denies
contracting with bounty hunters last year and a request for
information first reported by the Interset, the department conducted market
(45:27):
research with skip tracing vendors another term for bailbond agencies.
But they want to keep this Operation Metro Searche fear alive.
So now you have the Star Tribune that's getting in
on the act of the activists saying that, oh, we've
got these bounty hunters we got to contend with too.
The situation isn't over. Bounty hunters exist and they do
(45:48):
stuff like ICE, so you still need to be worried.
It's all about control, control through propaganda and fear mongering,
all right, coming up FBI alerts warning that Iran may
i a drone attack on American soil. During Operation Epic Fury,
we actually saw a submarine, saying one of Iran's flag
(46:12):
ship vessels. One of the first times in a long
time we've had a submarine engaged in this kind of conflict.
We're going to talk with a former submariner and now
send it. Candidate Tom Wiler next here on Twinsday's News
Talk AM eleven thirty and one O three five FM.
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