12/2 More background on the Lutheran Social Services as it might be related to the Dept of Human Services

Summary

Garage Logic Podcast (Episode 1671) — December 2, 2025

Host: Joe Soucheray ("The Mayor") and Garage Logic regulars
Main Theme: Deep Dive into Lutheran Social Services, DHS, and the Ongoing Public Sector Fraud Scandal in Minnesota

---

Episode Overview

This episode features the Garage Logic team's investigation into the connections between Lutheran Social Services (LSS), the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), and the recent public fraud scandals plaguing the state. The hosts analyze the career of Jodi Harpstead, former LSS CEO and DHS commissioner, the growth of LSS, the role of government funding, and systemic failures in oversight. There’s also commentary on bureaucracy, accountability, media coverage, and the impact of policy failures on businesses and citizens. Midway, the team veers into their signature tangents—Minnesota’s freshwater jellyfish, wildlife, trucking license outrage, and a colorful close with regional news and listener mail.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lutheran Social Services and Jodi Harpstead’s Career

• Background on Harpstead:
  • Joined LSS in 2011 after 23 years at Medtronic, “higher up at Medtronic…doesn’t really matter either. She was brought to LSS…right after a recession. She was kind of on the cleanup crew.” (03:35)
  • Grew LSS revenue from $100 million with a 30–50% increase during her tenure.
• Growth Drivers:
  • Merger with Children’s Home (adoption revenue), launching disability waiver contracts, expanding services for seniors and refugees, especially Somalis.
  • Government funding accounting for “around 90%…not a total number, because per year…it kind of depends on whatever the government will give them or whatever they apply for.” (04:17)
• Refugee Funding Puzzle:
  • Hosts express skepticism at “literally paying a bounty” for each refugee. (05:49)
  • Clarified as “a very small portion” of revenue (<$10 million).
• Transition to DHS:
  • Appointed by Gov. Walz in 2019, taking on “the largest part of the state government.”
  • Split DHS into three major organizations.
  • Testified in Jan 2025 that “it was just rumors of fraud, that there wasn’t actually fraud happening.” (07:38)

2. Department of Human Services: Fraud, Whistleblowers, Political Cover

• Fraud Timeline:
  • Significant fraud uncovered after Harpstead’s resignation (“most of the billions of dollars of fraud…under DHS she ran.”) (06:53)
  • Employees report being told not to “stop the payments, to not raise awareness” (09:26)
  • Speculation that “those instructions came from Walz to Harpstead” (09:29)
• Employee Retaliation and Social Media:
  • DHS whistleblower account suspended after post blaming fraud on Gov. Walz (“more than 36 million views”), later reinstated (13:27)
  • Discussion on mainstream media’s failures to report the scandal promptly (“only now…daring to refer to these troubles.”) (14:37)

3. Media Landscape and Public Indifference

• Critical View of Local Media’s Role:
  • Noted that only newer, independent news sources, e.g., Sahan Journal, broke “Feeding Our Future” story (14:40)
  • Star Tribune’s coverage labeled as slow and “buried” (15:16)
• Public Apathy Debate:
  • Some hosts contend Minnesotans are “too busy and it’s too complicated,” but Soucheray insists, “I don’t think it’s boring that a governor…squandered a billion dollars of our money.” (16:23)
  • “Recognition how thoroughly we’ve been fleeced…if for nothing else, he’s just been caught for complete negligence.” (17:18)

4. Accountability and the Aftermath

• After Harpstead:
  • Succeeded by Shereen Gandhi, described as “ridiculously reticent, not saying anything of any use to anybody.” (11:24)
• Host Reluctance to Accuse Without Evidence:
  • Soucheray: “I’m hesitant to accuse Jodi Harpstead of anything…she was really, really, really good at gathering money.” (18:39)
• Parallels in Other Civil Service Exits:
  • Heather Mueller’s quiet exit from Education Department post-Feeding Our Future scandal.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the perverse incentives of refugee funding:
  • “I’m still puzzled by that. That we were literally paying a bounty.” — Joe Soucheray (05:49)
• On fraud instructions and whistleblowers:
  • “They were saying we were being told to not stop the payments, to not raise awareness for what’s going on here.” — Gabe (09:26)
• On media accountability:
  • “We’ve been let down by our state government. We’ve been let down by the news media that only now…are daring to refer to these troubles.” — Joe Soucheray (14:40)
• On public apathy:
  • “I don’t think it’s boring that a governor…has squandered a billion dollars of our money.” — Joe Soucheray (16:23)
  • “Topic is too intricate, too detailed and too boring and the average person doesn’t have time nor want to learn about it.” — Co-host (16:20)
• On business climate and new bureaucracy:
  • “I feel for these people given the background… This is just another level of crap handed to people trying to play by the book. Are you kidding me?” — Joe Soucheray (68:43)
  • [Listener’s analogy] “Owning a business in Minnesota is like…drowning in the middle of the ocean and someone hands you a baby. That’s what owning a business in Minnesota is like.” — Gabe paraphrasing Jim Gaffigan (68:49)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-----------|-----------------| | 02:28–06:08 | Jodi Harpstead’s background, LSS growth, funding sources | | 06:18–08:59 | Harpstead’s DHS tenure, fraud context, restructuring DHS, testimony | | 09:26–11:24 | DHS whistleblowers, fraud cover-up allegations, appointment of Gandhi | | 13:11–15:39 | Whistleblowers' account suspension, media criticism, Pulitzer Prize commentary | | 15:39–17:41 | Public reaction/apathy debate, civic engagement concerns | | 18:24–19:16 | Harpstead's book, hosts’ hesitation to cast blame without facts | | 34:00 | New fraud case—Minneapolis grant scam | | 44:55–46:27 | Outrage over illegal trucker licenses—“an outrage” | | 65:00 | Employer memo on new paid family leave program and its challenges |

---

Additional Memorable Segments

The Lake Detective on Freshwater Jellyfish

[23:17–32:24]

• Discovery of non-native freshwater jellyfish in Minnesota.
• “That is a freshwater jellyfish…the only freshwater jellyfish in the world…from China…but not really invasive.” — Lake Detective (25:03)
• They’re “nothing to worry about,” extremely ephemeral, and “just puff around…only about a half inch.” (26:01–27:16)

Local Headlines and Randomness

[34:00–48:44]

• New federal wire fraud charges (Encouraging Leaders scheme)
• Revelation of public sector employment, crime, and licensing issues.
• Outrage about one third of Minnesota's commercial drivers' licenses being issued illegally. (44:41–46:09)

Closing Rants: Bureaucracy, History, and The State’s Direction

[68:43–69:27]

• Soucheray reads a personal employer’s memo on the state-mandated paid leave program, expressing frustration with state bureaucracy post-scandal.

---

Final Thoughts & Tone

The episode balances humor, exasperation, and deep skepticism. The hosts, led by Soucheray, dissect Minnesota’s systemic administrative issues, the blurred lines between non-profit and government oversight, and systemic failures in transparency. They clearly signal frustration with both political leadership and the mainstream media, coupled with a trademark Gumption County populism (“common sense prevails”).

The seriousness of the ongoing fraud debates is offset by local color: lake biology, quirky personal stories, and in-jokes, keeping the tone familiar and brisk for regular listeners.

---

For First-time Listeners

If you’re new to Garage Logic, this episode’s core is a critical, sometimes cynical, sometimes playful examination of local government and media failures surrounding Minnesota’s public fraud scandals, told through the lens of long-time journalists and irascible Midwesterners. It provides historical context, hard questions, and the sometimes lonely pursuit of accountability amidst bureaucratic fog.

---

Garage Logic: Where common sense is revered, local stories matter, and the search for truth is never over.

---

(End of summary)

Transcript

[A]

Hey, Garage Logic fans. Mishke here slipping in ever so briefly to mention that I have a podcast that comes out every Wednesday and every Friday, twice a week now. The show is pretty much about everything you care about and are interested in and need in your life and want to know more about. I tailored the darn thing specifically to your liking. I tailored it to your loves, to your true passions. That took a long time. I'm spent, you know what I'm saying? Absolutely wasted. Josh Arnold, investment consultant, brings you Garage logic podcast number 1671. December 2, 2025. It was 63 degrees on this day in 1982 and 17 below in 1886. I'm going to do everyone a favor. We're drawing up close now to the last 60 of the calendar year. And what I'll do, what I'll do is I'll count the days between the last 60 and the first 60 of the new year and we'll see how many days in Minnesota you must go between 60s. It probably isn't that many to tell you.

[B]

Are we laying money down or is.

[A]

It just a mythical say? Do yourself a favor and call Josh Arnold at 952-925-5608 for that free 48 minute consultation.

[C]

Hail the Flashlight King.

[A]

And now from the mayor's office above the boathouse on the east shore, Spoon Lake, it's Garage Logic with Chris Reavers manning technology corner, Kenny Olson from the crabby coffee shop, John Height in the newsroom, and of course the rookie here is your Flashlight King fireworks commissioner and the keeper of common sense, your mayor, Joe Susher. I got a note from Cal Frohlich down in Florida who writes, as further evidence of GL's bravado appeal to the mass, not only are you number one in Anguilla, but in southwest Florida, some of your ads are in Spanish.

[C]

Come on.

[D]

Oh, wow. Really?

[C]

Who did it? Who voiced it?

[B]

I did.

[A]

Well, how in the hell would I know who voiced it?

[C]

Can you hold please?

[B]

Senor, do you like to go to Donde esta Camelot? Yeah, Camelot es muy bueno.

[A]

Whatever happened to that?

[B]

Mi casa e su casa a Camelot?

[A]

Let me, Let me stop you right there, Gabe. We are going to talk about it. An emailer sent me some documents showing the incredible growth in health, incredible growth in Lutheran Social Services. Now, we stumbled upon this yesterday that Jody Harpstead came from Lutheran Social Services to Walz's Department of Human Services.

[C]

We did. We found that out yesterday.

[A]

Well, that's what we were talking about yesterday.

[E]

Were you here?

[C]

I was, but I knew the Social Services. I didn't know the Harpstead angle of that.

[A]

Well, she was with Lutheran Social Services. Right. And the gist of it. I can trust this young fellow to give us the gist of it more.

[C]

Than you can trust the guys to your right and left.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Hey, now.

[F]

So basically, she was brought to Lutheran Social Services in the year of 2011.

[A]

We don't know from where.

[F]

We do. She spent 23 years working for Medtronic.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[F]

So she was a private sector. She was higher up at Medtronic.

[A]

Right.

[F]

Doesn't really say. Doesn't really matter either. She was brought to Lutheran Social Services, and basically it was right after a recession. So she was kind of on the cleanup crew of how can we grow revenue and what ideas can we implement to make sure that we're safeguarded from something like this happening?

[A]

And they're doing the Lord's work. We're not suggesting that they weren't.

[F]

No. They were around $100 million in total revenue that year.

[A]

And their revenue stems from what?

[F]

It's.90% of government funding is from what I've kind of. There's a range. It's not a total number, because per year, I think it kind of depends on whatever the government will give them or whatever they apply for.

[A]

Right.

[F]

She worked for the department or for Lutheran social services until 2019, and she saw basically a 30 to 50% bump over her eight years of being the CEO and an increase of revenue.

[A]

Well, so she's a gal who really must have known what she was doing. Yes.

[F]

And she took on a new. She did a merger with Children's Home, which boosted an adoption revenue. So that is one way that they grew. Another way they grew was they launched a higher disability waiver contract. So they're helping people with disabilities. They expanded their senior services amid an aging boom, apparently. So they're helping now people that are older.

[A]

Right.

[F]

They focused more on refugees.

[A]

He's still with Lutheran Social Services.

[F]

Yep. These are within the eight years. This is how she brought their revenue higher. So she focused on housing and getting refugees, that is Somalians, because they were working on. The government was paying more money per refugee that you would bring in. And that kind of depended on if it was a family or if it was a single person. It would depend on how much money they give you.

[A]

I'm still puzzled by that. That we were literally paying a bounty.

[F]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't understand that part. Continue.

[F]

Well, that part is. It's interesting, but it's a Very small portion of their total revenue. So it's not really something I would be concerned on, just because it's not in the hundreds of millions. It's under 10.

[A]

Right.

[F]

Then in 2019, she gets appointed by Governor Walls to be the head of DHS and leave Lutheran soldiers, which she.

[A]

Could have stayed with. She didn't have to accept Walls offer, but she did.

[F]

Yep, she accepted it. And this was kind of a moral balance for her. She wanted to help more people than what she was hoping right now and take on the largest part of the state government. This was right after I was trying to find if there was a major fraud scandal before 2019 or before 2020. And the only thing I could find was there was a. A overpayment of substance abuse fraud that was being uncovered.

[A]

Well, we also had a daycare fraud that preceded all this.

[F]

Yes. But from what I have kind of uncovered, it shows such a small portion before 2020. And most of the billions of dollars of fraud that you're seeing would be under the DHS that she ran. Now, she focused on autism and housing, supposedly, and kind of redoing the way that DHS was structured. And she split it up into three major organizations rather than just one umbrella. And in January 20th of 2025, she.

[A]

This is just less than a year ago. Yep.

[F]

Testified with the Senate. And in that testimony, she stated that it was just rumors of fraud, that there wasn't actually fraud that was happening.

[A]

Well, By January of 2025, the fraud that wasn't rumors.

[F]

Yes. The money was out.

[A]

The money was flowing freely, and we knew about it.

[C]

That was her covering her. You know what?

[A]

No, we're not. Given her background and her success, I'm not yet prepared to say she had a role in this. Maybe I'm being terribly naive.

[F]

I don't think there's any evidence, but, I mean, you could. I could see why you could strongly speculate that there was something. She said that. And shortly after, they started to actually uncover the evidence of where the money went, how long it went there, how it was getting there. So they were actually having fraud. And this was just weeks after she resigned from her position as the head.

[A]

Of DHS to be replaced by Samantha Gandhi. Gandhi. Somebody. Gandhi. Now, let's pause there for a moment. It might very well have been that once fully aware of fraud, she wished to stop it.

[F]

I wish that I could say that that was true. However, there are 500 DHS employees that would disagree with you that have firsthand experience. And the only thing that I can Think of. Because she strongly in what we saw yesterday with the DHS employees. They were saying we were being told to not stop the payments, to not raise awareness for what's going on here.

[C]

And we heard that firsthand a week ago.

[F]

Yeah.

[C]

From Representative Rerey.

[A]

And we can reasonably conclude that those instructions came from Walls to Harpstead.

[F]

Either that or I don't. If it didn't come from Walls, Walls was okay with her saying that it was going on.

[D]

All right.

[F]

And you can see that in the 500 employees that are saying they didn't want us to discriminate against a certain race of people, against a certain group of people and say that all of the fraud is happening. But in my opinion, if you're saying that we don't want to assume that this group is doing the fraud, I think you're kind of admitting, hey, this group is doing the fraud. We know this group is doing the fraud, but we don't want to be the one saying that.

[A]

We don't want to point that.

[F]

Yeah.

[E]

Right.

[F]

Because why would you make an assumption that only one group is doing a fraud? If you're looking at numbers on a sheet of paper, the race or the name of that person that's committing that crime is not in front of you.

[A]

Well, that's two agency heads that went out the door at critical junctures. Heather Mueller left the Department of Education when the. When the manure hit the fan.

[C]

Feeding our future.

[A]

When feeding our future hit the fan. And now Harpstead. But I don't know where she went. I know Mueller has landed jobs and is still involved with the state. However, peripherally, I don't know what happened. Sherene Gandhi is the one who replaced Harpstead. And Gandhi, I can find her only guilty of being ridiculously reticent, not saying anything of any use to anybody. And it would seem to be. It seemed to me that these 400.

[B]

Shereen Gandhi.

[A]

Shereen Gandhi. What did I say?

[B]

I didn't hear you say the first name.

[A]

Shereen Gandhi. She hasn't been useful at all in helping the public understand how they've been defrauded.

[E]

Sure would be fun to find out.

[B]

Why they left for Jodi Harbstead. All they have is that she left and she was there six years ago. She was to lead the dhs. But I don't have a new employer.

[A]

Well, I guess we're mentioning this because we're attempting to discover the layers of the bureaucracy and how this all works. But the most telling evidence lately, or most recently, are the employees of the Department of Human Services saying that they were told. I have the most recent thing from Bill Glahn at the center of the American Experiment. And we, we had this at the end of the show yesterday, but the employee whistleblower account at DHS has been suspended. In my last conversation with them yesterday, they expressed fear over retaliation regarding their explosive post placing the blame for fraud in Minnesota on Governor Tim Walz. Well, that's where it should be placed. When I last checked that post before the account suspension, it had received more than 36 million views. Apparently they were directly over the target. That's a short piece in the American Experiment today, but Glahn has confirmed that the account used by those employees to inform us of this has been suspended. Now, I don't know who.

[E]

No, it's back on.

[A]

It is, yeah. Are they still telling us these things? Yeah.

[C]

Okay, what surprises you guys more, the fact that that account was temporarily suspended or the fact that we were basically the only people in this market that reported on this story?

[A]

Well, I should note the Star Tribune is so thrilled to have discovered a white guy who's been robbing people. That's the headline in the Star Tribune today.

[C]

This is a massive deal.

[A]

No, we're being failed on a number of fronts. We're being failed by our government in Minnesota. We're being failed most particularly, but, well, were failed by our government and were failed by our news gathering institutions, with the exception of news gathering institutions that have developed over the last five to ten years. Alpha News, Sahan Journal, Minneapolis Times, Minnesota Reformer. Many of them might have leftward leaning ideology, but many of them have made tremendous efforts to report the actual Sahan.

[C]

Journal is the one that broke the Feeding Her Future story.

[A]

So we've been let down by our state government. We've been let down by the news media that only now, for example, are daring to refer to these troubles. Now, the Star Tribune would defend itself and say we had all the stories. Well, you had them all late six weeks or buried. You didn't have them first. And I understand newspapers have fallen on a hard time. The St. Paul paper does not even have a staff that's handled, that could handle.

[B]

But Joe, that's the kind of subject that would get the ball rolling for them.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

We got some investigative work we can.

[A]

Do that's not being done. I mean, there's a Pulitzer Prize to be won here, right? Seriously, there's a Pulitzer Prize to be won here. Although the Pulitzer Prize in itself has become so ideological purified that I doubt that the Pulitzer Prize would go to the exposure of people of color.

[C]

Not to open up a massive can of worms, but is that directly reflective of the appetite of the consumer? Meaning people just don't really care that much about the fraud.

[A]

I think the tide is turning on that. When even the euphorians and the prematurely gray haired 42 year old women who will start talking to each other at yoga classes about how their property taxes have gone up, I think they're bound to understand what's happening here.

[E]

See, I think I disagree with that. I think the topic is too intricate, too detailed and too boring and the average person doesn't have time nor want to learn about it.

[C]

My kid has basketball at 6.

[A]

I don't think it's boring that a governor of the state has squandered a billion dollars of our money.

[E]

Not talking about us or you.

[A]

No, no, I mean the people in the state. I mean the people of the state. I think they find that.

[E]

No, I disagree. I think they're. They're too busy and it's. There's too much to learn and it's too complicated.

[A]

It really isn't that much to learn.

[E]

I know, I agree. But you know the emailer who. You said it yesterday. You were on this in 2017 or 2018.

[A]

2018. Goodness. Well, no.

[E]

So we've been at it for a while.

[A]

You've got a very bad governor who has done very bad things. And I will have to reluctantly agree that that does not seem to have gained a great deal of purchase with the average citizen.

[E]

Right. Baffling.

[A]

I do think it's gaining purchase with the average citizen. I've noticed it. Not to the degree I would want, but it's gaining. It's gaining recognition how thoroughly we've been fleeced. If for nothing else, he's just been caught for his complete negligence.

[B]

And now all those Human Services employees are saying it was his fault. He allowed this to happen.

[A]

The remarks of the employees at Human Services are gaining national attention. The story is out. The leash has been broken. I mean, walls. Just think what walls got away with last summer. Pretending to be vice presidential timber, running around and dancing like Dom DeLuise on stages and pretending that he was this folksy guy. He had to be in constant communication with the people that continued to allow this to happen.

[C]

By the way, I did discover this.

[A]

Gabe.

[D]

Sorry.

[C]

If you're gonna get to this. Jody Harpstead wrote a book in 2019.

[A]

I didn't know that.

[C]

With a guy by the name of Paul Batts.

[A]

B A T, Z. Yeah.

[C]

Breakthrough to goodness how to tap into your team's biggest possibilities.

[A]

I'm not condemning. I don't know enough about Jodi Harpstead to accuse her of anything. All I know is that she was really, really, really good at gathering money. Really good at it.

[C]

You want me to order you a.

[A]

Copy of this show? For all I know, she's done great work. Again, there are many listeners who think my cynicism is not nearly adequate for this show, but I'm hesitant to accuse Jody Harpstead of anything.

[E]

That's your background in journalism.

[A]

Well, I just. I don't have any facts with us.

[E]

You know what? It might keep us out of the courtroom. So I'm gonna go with your insight.

[B]

We need you here.

[E]

Although they did get you in trouble initially with Walls and your. Your reluctance to come over to our side.

[A]

He's just enough. What are you talking about?

[E]

A few years ago, when you weren't.

[C]

Blaming him for, you said he didn't ask for this. Being a dictator.

[A]

When Covid first struck.

[E]

I'm not with you on this.

[A]

I know, and I've changed my mind. But. But when Covid first struck, I just said, well, he didn't ask for this. He's got to do what a governor has to do now.

[E]

He did pray for it, though.

[A]

Well, I don't think he did. I don't think he did.

[C]

He was running against Trump back then, too, I believe.

[A]

Well, and I think people are seeing through his trying to deflect this as Trump's fault. People are seeing through that.

[E]

Definitely.

[A]

This has nothing to do with Trump, who's got enough problems. He didn't. Trump didn't send the checks out to the food fraudsters. Why don't we take a short time out?

[C]

Reavers here once again for my guy, Mr. Money Talk. Josh Arnold. Does thinking about retirement make you uncomfortable? Well, sometimes the anxiety from wondering if you've saved enough can be overwhelming. But what if I told you that you could ease those tensions in just 48? Well, Mr. MoneyTalk is going to be able to sit down with you and get you on the right track for your financial future. Josh has navigated it all when it comes to uncertain market and economic conditions. And he'll always provide straight talk, never sugarcoated advice on how to reach the finish line with your retirement goals. Don't let your financial worries give you an ulcer or keep you from calling Josh right now. His 48 minute, no obligation consultation could be just what you need to feel better about your future. Call Josh today at 9. 529-255-608 and set up your free yes free 48min no obligation consultation. That's 952-925-5608.

[D]

Investment services offered by Josh Arnold Investment Consultant, LLC. A security investment advisor.

[C]

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All investments involve risk. All comments and opinions are Josh Arnold's.

[D]

And do not constitute investment advice.

[A]

Chris Reivers is a paid endorser. Okay, here's a man who spends hours in hardware stores sifting through the nuts and bolts of life.

[E]

Joe Sushere Today is the day you're going to do it. You know what? Do it right now. Today is the day you're going to use the Internet for good. For once, jump on customroasting.net and get yourself set up with your December coffee. There's two items I want you to look for. First of all, let's knock out a gift or two for friends and loved ones with the Custom Roasting gift box. It's two of their best selling coffees, the Minnesota Morning Blend and the French Roast, paired nicely in a really cool craft gift box ready for shipping. Also a great gift. Now I really like this idea and I'm, you know, it's my idea. It's a great gift for you or the gl er in your life. Just get the garagelogic starting starter pack. It's our custom roasting picks. We have one each of Minnesota Morning Blend, Boundary Waters Blend, Columbia Excelso and French Roast. We love them all. Now if the charity you're involved with is planning some sort of future fundraising, oh boy, you are in luck. Custom Roasting has done all the heavy lifting for you. They've been doing fundraising for years and they have a really cool package, full color order forms and a bunch of options including, listen to this, chocolate espresso beans. Are you kidding me? Customroasting.net, get on the Internet, do some good for yourself, your friends, your family and Merry Christmas from our [e-mail] say.

[A]

You better put an emergency call into the lake detective.

[C]

On it.

[E]

We got two items to talk to him about.

[A]

We got jellyfish in Minnesota.

[B]

I don't believe it.

[A]

And we're worried only.

[E]

And we're worried about turtles.

[A]

Turtles.

[E]

Titles.

[A]

Another, another scandal. Star Tribune. If they reported it, I haven't seen it. Their headline today in the Star Tribune is ex CEO admits to embezzlement. And that's the story of this.

[E]

Do something about the screen.

[A]

Chris. Jonathan Weinhagen fellow who was with the I think he was with the regional chamber and he started taking money. So he's gonna end up in prison. We have another one. I got this, believe it or not, from wcco.

[E]

Hold on. Before you move on, what I love about this, this is top of the fold. Big bold headline. And federal prosecutors are mentioned numero before the jump. So it wasn't our guy Ellison, was it? No, no. It wasn't anybody in the state that found this guy out.

[A]

It's all federal prosecutor Ellison has not been helpful.

[E]

Just like the food fraud prosecution.

[A]

What do you got, Reeves?

[C]

Well, I can't. We can't have him on until I get my.

[A]

You reached him already?

[C]

Well, he's always on the case.

[A]

The only podcast in America that has a lake. Detective, I. Ld.

[C]

I'll get your theme in a second.

[A]

Well, is he. Are you in the office?

[G]

Ld yes, we are hunkered down in the office now. The boat's been put away and we are now into our case. Are doing all our case studies.

[A]

LD what the hell is this? There's. There's jellyfish in Minnesota.

[C]

What is this?

[G]

That is a freshwater jellyfish. The only freshwater jellyfish species in the world. And we have it right here in Minnesota, Although it's in other states as well.

[A]

It's called the Cruspa d' acousta sourby.

[G]

Yes. Craspa di casta.

[A]

That's what I meant to say.

[G]

Yeah, that's right. It's a small world. My first publication in the literature and peer reviewed literature was on the freshwater jellyfish we found in Oklahoma in 1980.

[A]

Wow.

[G]

It comes from China. It's originally from China. It is the non native jellyfish, but not really invasive. I mean, they don't. Cause they just kind of puff around, you know, like little miniature jellyfish. They're only about a half inch, three quarter inch in diameter.

[A]

Are they dangerous to people?

[G]

Nope, not one bit.

[A]

What good are they?

[G]

They're very rare. They. They. They'll be in the sediments for decades sometimes and as cysts resting cells. And they only come out under exactly perfect conditions. And then they just explode through a bay and. No, I mean, it's really like so surreal. Have these things kind of popping around, you know, doing what jellyfish do. Fun.

[A]

Can you see through them?

[G]

Yes, you can. They are. They're somewhat. They're mostly translucent. They have a little bit of whitish matter to them, but a lot of clear protoplasm as well. So I mean they're just puffing around and you know, you don't really see them. So when you do see them, you go, whoa, look at that. That's something you don't see every day.

[A]

Now, now do you, do you expect you'll be brought in on a case regarding this particular species?

[G]

Well, I'm always available. But they're also very short lived. They're only going to last. They'll bloom for about a couple weeks and they'll go back into their, their resting cell stage and they, they hang out in the sediments. But it's how they got there now that is a bit of a mystery. That would be something for me to investigate a little bit more closely.

[A]

Do our, do our Minnesota fish that we know and trust, do they eat these things?

[G]

They sure could because, but you know, they do have small little, you know like regular jellyfish, those little, those little blasters of those stingers. Yeah, but they are so minor these things. The freshwater jellyfish are eating zooplankton. But fish. Yeah. If he encounters it being counter that he can eat it if he wants to, it wouldn't really hurt him too much.

[A]

Could these become mutant and you know, tip over a boat or you know.

[E]

Geez Joe, how many would you need to do that?

[G]

Well, no. Chris, what happens if there was a mutation and they just got, you know, you know, 10ft in diameter?

[A]

That's right. That's right. That wasn't Chris. That wasn't Chris. That was Kenny.

[F]

I have a question.

[E]

LD so they found this in that nasty little pothole right next to the exit from East 62 to South Cedar. That tiny little thing. Are we finding these in natural environment lakes or recreational lakes? Where are they living?

[G]

They could be found in almost a big lake or a small lake. But you know what happens? They're so, they're so short lived that they might have a bloom and we just never, we never see it either or it might be just in a bay and they'll, they'll go out and they'll do their thing for a couple weeks and then they're gone.

[B]

What?

[G]

They might be more widespread than we know, but they can live in just about any freshwater system.

[E]

What if such is up at the lake? He's out there in the, out there in the water, dog paddling around and he accidentally swallows about 20 of them. What's that gonna do to him?

[G]

Probably won't be so thirsty after that. But otherwise just a little bit of protoplasm, a little bit of protein, one hurts you a bit.

[A]

There you go.

[C]

You mentioned non native. LD does that mean there is a native type of jellyfish?

[G]

No. It just means that in this case, they are not endemic to the United States.

[A]

China.

[E]

How'd they get here? Isn't that worth. Those Asian lady bugs come from, too?

[A]

That's right.

[E]

We had one more question, and I guess we should all apologize for asking you this. Are those titles okay down there? They look cold.

[G]

Oh, yeah.

[E]

Did you see that?

[A]

I didn't know they stayed under the water all winter.

[B]

Yep.

[G]

The snappers are down there too. They put a little bit of dirt over their shell and they just kind of hunker down. They breathe through their skin over the winter, and they don't. And they'll gulp. They'll take. If they take a gulp, it'll be about once every three or four minutes. So they're hibernating right now. All the turtles do that?

[F]

Yeah.

[A]

You've never been stumped. Blue water science. Steve McComas tell us this, then to summarize, These tiny freshwater jellyfish are nothing to worry about.

[G]

They are nothing to worry about. Enjoy it. Because they're so, you know, they're ephemeral, as they say. They're gonna last a week or two, and then they will run their course and they're hunkered down. We'll have to wait till they reappear. And it's hard to say when because we don't know what those conditions are at this time.

[E]

LD have you been out on the hard water yet? I'm hearing rumors that the Red Lake, one of the bays, has four inches of ice.

[G]

When you're get out, you don't. You know what? At the end of October. No, Early November, mid November, we were out in Port Kegama and Pine, around Pine City. And I'll be a son of a gun if those shallow bays. We were breaking ice. We were like an icebreaker in those shallow bays there.

[D]

Yeah.

[G]

Melted subsequently. But yeah, we're gonna. It's hard water now.

[E]

You know what? Before we let him go, Joe, I have one question, and I don't. Maybe you can clear this up for me, guys. That plant fish in the spring and then harvest them in the fall. Okay? So they plant the little itty bitty things. What are they called? Fry.

[G]

Fry.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

And then in the fall, they throw their nets out and they take out the fingerlings. Is that correct?

[G]

That's exactly right.

[E]

Do those fry turning into fingerlings do any harm to duck food? Because we all seem to think that the lakes where they do that around here, we're not seeing ducks on them anymore. Is there any truth to that?

[G]

Well, they Are at that point going from fry to fingerling. Their main food source would be zooplankton and amphipod, you know, the freshwater shrimp, if they're available.

[A]

Yeah.

[G]

So they are not fish eaters at that point. They are probably competing or it certainly could be putting a damper on some of those potential duck foods, especially if there's any freshwater shrimp.

[E]

So that's why when we plant freshwater or shrimp and you know, we have to drill holes in the ice to do it in the spring, we don't see them at all. Come duck hunting.

[G]

There's some fish in there. You're feeding the fish, I'm sure there. You got a lot of happy fish down there.

[E]

Yeah. All right. That was a disappointing answer, but I had to ask.

[A]

Is the long legged receptionist, the long legged blonde receptionist in the building?

[G]

I have her sitting about 10ft from me so I can look over her shoulder.

[A]

Damn right.

[G]

You do see what kind of file she's on, right?

[A]

Yep.

[G]

Joe, this is going on 32 years she's been. She's put up with all this stuff.

[A]

Well, she's. Well, that's because she knows the business. She's a. She might as well be a detective just like you. Thank you so much, Lake Detective.

[G]

You're welcome anytime.

[A]

Thank you very much.

[C]

What were you gonna say, LD you gonna say one.

[G]

Say those freshwater shrimp, they're amphipod. That's the. That's the. That's the scientific name. Good luck out there.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Thanks, L.D.

[A]

Okay. Never been stumped. Never. His first research paper was on these things.

[C]

I have a question. How many. There's what, ten and a half trillion podcasts in the country?

[A]

Yes.

[C]

How many of those have their own lake Detective on the ready at the call?

[D]

0.

[A]

0. Got it. A Minneapolis man is accused of participating in a fraud scheme that stole more than a million bucks in state, federal and local grants. Tony Robinson, 41, is charged with five counts of wire fraud conspiracy, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Minnesota. The attorney's office said From December of 2021 to October 2022, Robertson facilitated the submission of false grant progress reports for an organization called Encouraging Leaders. Robinson's reports claimed Encouraging Leaders use grant funds to organize events and activities that never occurred and overstated Encouraging Leaders involvement in events that had occurred. The attorney's office said Robinson's reports also falsely claimed that Encouraging Leaders had assisted various students, when in fact, it had not. Robinson is accused of defrauding the US Justice Department, Hennepin county, the city of Minneapolis, the Minnesota Departments of Education and Human Services and the Minnesota State's Art Board and other agencies Tezare El Amin championed, who founded Encouraging Leaders, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and illegal possession of the doe. Champion engaged in fraud using a marketing company he called Futuristic Management. That group stole more than 2.1 million. He had a co defendant in that case, Marcus Hamilton. He also pled guilty. So it's everywhere. It's everywhere.

[E]

So this was an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service. My question is how did they find out about this? Were they tipped off? Was something stinky? You know what I mean?

[A]

I don't think it takes much anymore for them to get their dander up. I think they can just look around any corner and and probably are justified in wondering what's going on. Okay, say why don't we take a timeout and return with the news.

[G]

We should.

[C]

I should turn my mic on first and talk about wearenuts and wearenutsmn.com handmade right here in the great state of Minnesota. It's a small batch, wonderful family run organization and operation. And you know what? You can now get your favorite selections of we are Nuts at all of Cub Foods locations. Quick Trip locations. You already knew that. You got them at Fratelloni's Hardware and Garden stores. Also Mac's Hardware, Lunds and Byerlys Kowalski's Markets. It's a wonderful time to get all of those selections for all the family gatherings you're going to have. Doesn't matter. The cashews, the mixed nuts, the mixed chocolate almonds. How about the maple bourbon toffee almonds? By the way, the cinnamon toffee peanuts are a big hit in my household with my two young ones. Also the hot nuts and of course the Hokey Pokey popcorn and so much more. See it for yourself. Go to their website wearenutsmn.com you can see their entire selection. And if you're not able to get to any one of those locations that I mentioned earlier, just order it through their [e-mail] Like I mentioned, a wonderful family run operation. And you know what? They've been a proud supporter of the garagelogic podcast for some time. So please do me a favor and mention that you heard about them right here on the garagelogic podcast. The Earth is not your mother, the Joe Sugere show.

[B]

You know I could say tis the season, but there really is no season when you want to keep your home warm. You want to keep it cool in the summer and you want to Keep that air quite pure in your home. Well, welterheating.com is 12 months, 24 hours a day. They've got emergency service. They really don't have a season. It's 365 days a year. They understand that you cannot plan when that furnace is going to bust out or when that cooling system in the middle of summer is going to break down. That's why it's cheap insurance to keep welter heating on your refrigerator. A little notation there and I'm sure they have little magnets if you give them a call. 612-825-6867. But they should be the ones that you call. If you want to get an estimate from somebody else, go ahead. But make sure you get one from welterweight and you'll find that they are full of common sense and their estimate's gonna be pure. They've got certified techs that'll come out to your home. They serve the metro area for the last 120 years and they have four generations. Mr. Ray N Walter started it all in about 1912. Rick's running the show right now, but let's face it, all family members are hands on deck and it's a well oiled machine. Don't take any chances. Don't roll the dice with your heating unit cooling or your air purification systems. I've worked with welter over the years and I will tell you that they do a fantastic job. Plus they advertise here in the Garagelogic podcast, 612-825-6867 or [e-mail] this week, heat up your shelter with the fine folks.

[A]

From Ray n Welter, here's John Haidt in the newsroom.

[D]

Thank you, Joe. This news brought to you by North American banking company. Before we start the news, if I may use a couple, a couple seconds here just for some personal stuff.

[A]

Sure, John.

[D]

Well, you're gonna say not say that in a minute, Joe, because part of the personal thing takes a shot at you, I'm sorry to say.

[A]

All right.

[D]

I got an email from Tom. Tom says this. He says, glad you're back because I was gone for a week and a half.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And I wouldn't have brought this up again except the lake detective talked about Lake, Lake Pogama. Right. Last Tuesday. And I noticed this when you said it, you said Lake Pokegama.

[A]

When you did that, I thought I said Pokemon.

[D]

No, you said it wrong. But I said we all kind of let it pass.

[A]

All right. I said.

[B]

He'S on a roll. That's what we thought.

[D]

Yeah. And Tom says that's all I got. If I spend all my time typing up lists of things the idiots got wrong, I'd have no time for my day or my family.

[A]

No, he wouldn't, would he?

[E]

Tom should start his own podcast. That was kind of teach how to.

[D]

Do it, as you say, Joe. Untoward.

[A]

I think. So it's Pokegama.

[D]

Yes. Correct.

[A]

All right, thank you.

[D]

And then Krista, our friend from Western Maryland. Western Maryland sent me a very, very nice card.

[A]

Oh, isn't that wonderful?

[D]

Greatly appreciated. Wonderful. Thank you, Krista. Okay, now let's talk about new the.

[A]

Book the Correspondent takes place in Maryland. Really? The woman lives in Annapolis. It's just wonderful. It's worth your try. It's very different.

[D]

Got it. Trump administration launching an intensive immigration enforcement operation primarily targeting hundreds of undocumented Somali immigrants here in the Minneapolis St. Paul region that, according to an official with knowledge of the operation and documents obtained by the New York Times. The effort, which is beginning this week, focuses mostly on Somalis with final deportation orders who are living here, though the officials said others could be swept up in the immigration sweep as well. The plan calls for the deployment of strike teams, which are made up of ICE officers, agents, and other federal officials. Roughly 100 officers and agents from around the country have been brought in for the operation, according to the official. Trisha McLaughlin is a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, says in a statement the agency does not discuss future or potential operations. U.S. treasury Secretary Scott Bessant announced last night the department is looking into claims that Minnesota tax dollars may have been diverted to the terrorist group Al Shabaab. Secretary Bessant stated the department will release more information as the investigation progresses. The announcement comes about a week after President Trump pledged to terminate the temporary legal protections for Somalis living in Minnesota.

[A]

Isn't it. Isn't it more likely to say that if money was sent back to Somalia, it stands to reason that Al Shabaab would have gotten their taste of it? It seems to me that it's so corrupt that they would get the money.

[D]

I think it's Besant, too. I think I've been saying it wrong. So there you go. For everybody who's gonna send me money.

[A]

In other words, I guess I'm defending Somalis. They may not very well be sending money specifically to fund terrorism. It's at Al Shab, Bob gets their hands on the money anyway, right?

[D]

Exactly. Defense attorney Chris Medell's campaign for governor is off to a bit of a shaky start. He announced a campaign Monday that he plans to focus on fraud, public safety, education and affordability. His Democratic and Republican opponents tried to focus on his criminal defense work, though, and contributions he's made to everyone, especially Democrats, including Governor Tim Walls. Because Medell is running as a Republican, he said, I'm in good company with respect to this. He said. President Reagan President Trump also gave to Democrats. If you're looking for an apology for me, you've come to the wrong person. Medell is now one of nine Republicans running for governor, and one of them did publicly highlight his past donations to Democrats. That would be Kristen Robbins, who said Chris has a long history of donating to Democrats, including supporting Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Tim Walls. As recently as 20 over $30 million in federal funding for Minnesota is at risk after officials say A review found 1/3 of commercial driver's licenses in the state were issued illegally. In a letter on Monday, a third Chris yes, one third. In a letter on Monday, U.S. transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to withhold $30.4 million in federal highway funding if Minnesota doesn't address shortcomings in its commercial driver's license program and rev any licenses that never should have been issued, either because they were valid beyond a driver's work permit or because the state never verified a driver's immigration status. Secretary Duffy alleged that 1/3 of Minnesota's non domiciled commercial driver's licenses reviewed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration were issued illegally. Duffy is threatening to pull federal funding from California and Pennsylvania over the same issue, and he proposed significant new restrictions on which immigrants can get a commercial driver's license. But a court has put those new rules on hold. Duffy says the department is auditing a number of other states, including Texas and South Dakota. The Transportation Department also said it plans to revoke the certification of about 3,000 schools unless they can comply with training requirements in the next 30 days.

[E]

This doesn't affect all schools though. Obviously there's a number of very reputable tech colleges around the state state that have long term programs to get you your A class CDL or B class.

[B]

For that certain matter.

[H]

You know, I, I, I, I, I.

[C]

I missed this earlier today. I apologize but this is an outrage.

[A]

It is.

[C]

Chris Kenny, help me. Is this why we had so many jackknife semis over the weekend?

[E]

One one wonders, doesn't one I've got a lot of truck driver followers on on X and boy they've told me a story or two, none of which I can confirm. It's all hearsay, but wow.

[C]

I can tell you one thing I had both my dad and both of my brothers were at my house for Thanksgiving and some of the stuff they were telling me was baffling. These are the guys that are on the road with us. Your family is behind them on 169 or 35W and these clowns are out here with an illegal license.

[D]

License.

[A]

I'm so old.

[B]

How old are you?

[A]

I remember when you passed a truck on the freeway. The driver would flick his lights to let you back into your lane.

[E]

Sure, there's a few of us that still do that, but boy, you're right. That's a rare occurrence.

[C]

You know what they do now? They.

[A]

They.

[C]

They stall in the left lane and then hold their sandal out the window.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, that's a rough.

[F]

That's a rough.

[C]

You go right ahead and send me any email you want. This is an outrage.

[D]

I can remember, Joe, when now I try to avoid being around semis on the highway. In the old days, they were the safest guys. You didn't mind being.

[A]

I'd often draft behind them.

[C]

Yeah, you follow them and now?

[D]

No, not a chance. I just try to get by them as soon as I can and get away from them.

[A]

A third witnesses say, which is we. We should say we. We know great truck drivers.

[D]

Sure.

[A]

And no one's more angry than great truck drivers.

[C]

Hi, how are you? I talked to three of them on thanksg.

[D]

Witnesses say a Roseville man was tweaking on drugs when he allegedly shot and killed his friend and brandished the gun at another resident of a St. Paul apartment building early Sunday morning. According to the criminal complaint filed in Ramsey county. Spencer Curtis McAloney, 27 years old, faces charges of second degree murder, attempted second degree murder and possession of a firearm in connection with the incident. Police found the murder victim shot several times in his apartment at the intersection of Victoria street and Englewood Avenue about 1 4th in the morning Sunday. The victim, identified by the Ramsey county medical examiner, is 32 year old Tariq Hassan of St. Paul, pronounced dead at the scene. Nearby officers ran toward a Toyota Camry after hearing a possible gunshot. That car drove away, sideswiping a parked Cadillac and later crashing into another parked car two blocks to the east. Before coming to a stop, Macalone was in the driver's seat and a gun was found on the floor. Macaloni matched witnesses descriptions of the shooter and police placed him under arrest. Charging documents Say Macalone was one of about 10 people in the apartment that night. Which was an alleged hub for drug activity. Witnesses said the shooting victim dealt fentanyl powder. One person told police Macaloni was tweaking and paranoid from the drug use, and the victim had tried to calm him down for over an hour. Macaloni's erratic behavior escalated until he allegedly opened fire, sending people scattering from the apartment out into the street.

[A]

Well, I must ask, I. I think I know, but what is tweaking mean?

[D]

Paranoid nuts. You know, acting crazy, reacting to hallucinogenics.

[E]

It's what Matthew does every day on the podcast.

[A]

It's different than twerking, right?

[D]

Yeah, it's.

[B]

No, I usually do that before.

[D]

Right. Thanks for that.

[C]

One letter off.

[A]

Just a spelling. Yeah.

[D]

Everybody in their mind now has a visual of Rook twerking.

[B]

I can do it.

[E]

Planking. The whole thing is.

[D]

We'll get to some national, international stuff in a minute. Before we do, I gotta tell you about something. Boy, I just. I love it. We've had it in my house now for, I think, about three months, and it makes a great Christmas gift. You might be one of those people you put off your Christmas shopping last minute, end up maybe buying a gift card. Well, this year, I can take care of that issue for you. Get yourself an aura frame. My wife and I took our favorite photos and videos, loaded them all into their new aura frame. Right now, that's about 750 items. And I guarantee we're gonna have a lot of new pictures to add once this Christmas season is over. And it's really, really easy to use.

[A]

John, can you download them from your phone?

[D]

Just from your phone? Exactly. So I have. I had all those pictures on my phone. I got the aura frame, and I just started hitting boom, boom, boom, after. All you have to do is download the Aura app and connect it to WI Fi and start adding pictures. It's really easy to use. Chris, if I may use your favorite word. It literally took just a couple of minutes to set it up.

[B]

I know someone that just recently purchased this, and that person is so thrilled and really thinks that that person has cheated Christmas because it's such a wonderful gift that they. There's no more worry.

[A]

I've taken care of it.

[B]

Yes. I didn't name you, but okay.

[D]

The other thing is, it's. You know, we've all had picture frames in the past, and they're kind of weird, cloudy, not great. This is. It looks like the actual photos in front of you. The screen is gorgeous. It's perfect. It's easy to do for a limited time. You can save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com to get 35 bucks off of Aura's best selling Carver mat frames named number one by wire cutter. All you have to do is use the promo code GL at checkout. That's a U R A frames.com promo code GL. This deal is exclusive to listeners and frames sell out fast. So order yours now to get it in time for the holidays. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. It can wrap togetherness, but you can't frame it. Aura frames.

[A]

Hey.

[B]

Who's doing something?

[E]

You cannot stop him.

[C]

He'll just make a move. Joe Sujere, you have dirty dishes too. Fork 2 Fork.

[B]

How you clean too fork.

[C]

You get Hoffman water and Kinetico. I'm not joking. You know what the reason why Ask me why, rookie.

[B]

What's the reason for Hofferman.

[C]

I made the switch from Hofferman.

[B]

Let's make the switch.

[C]

Here's the deal. I went through a dishwasher when the house was two years old and I thought, well, that can't be right. So we got a new dishwasher and a year and a half later, ah, yeah, this dishwasher's crap too.

[B]

What?

[C]

And I went, well, that's because that's how bad my water was when I was living in Carver. And you know what? So I called up Jim. He came out. I started as a customer of Hofferman water and Connecticut. He said, are you moron number two? I said, yeah, that's me.

[B]

Three, two and one.

[C]

That's how the relationship started. And you know what? It's made an amazing difference in the quality of my water. It will do that for you. You're entertaining this time of the year. Ice cooking. Everything gets better with Hofferman water and Kinetico. But you got to get on that schedule and have them come out for that free water analysis. You can do that one of two ways. Call them directly at 612-895-2440 or visit their website at hoffermanwater.com and as long as you're on that website, you can see every single different water treatment system that they have to offer. But you got to get on that schedule. That's the first. 612-895-2440 or visit hoffermanwater.com Hofferman Water has been proudly serving the state of Minnesota for over 50 years. Please do me a favor and tell them that mock sent you your way.

[D]

In national and international headlines. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth defending Navy Admiral Mitch Bradley last night calling him an American hero amid reports that Bradley ordered the follow up boat strike during a recent military operation in the Caribbean. Hegseth said he fully supports the admiral's combat, including those made during the September 2nd mission, and emphasize the Pentagon stands behind its commanders. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt addressed the incident Monday as lawmakers from both parties signaled support for a congressional review of U.S. maritime counter narcotics missions in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. All of that follows reports that survivors of an initial strike were killed in a follow up attack. Washington Post last week reported that Hegseth had given a verbal order for the second strike, a claim that Hegseth has denied. Legal experts have said the killing of such survivors would be illegal under U.S. and international law. Hegseth comments yesterday coming under some fire. Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume, quote, tweeted Hegseth and wrote how to point the finger at someone while pretending to support him. Earlier in the day, Hume, usually a backer of the Trump administration, said that the story could be a big problem for the administration. Ryan Goodman, former general counsel for the Department of Defense, said if Hagseth ordered everyone on the vote killed, the secretary is ultimately responsible for the second strike. Regardless of Bradley's involvement, members of Congress from both parties say the incident will be investigated.

[C]

May I ask a question as the resident dum dum here on the show?

[A]

Sure.

[C]

I watched an interview. Is it Shannon Bream? Is she the one that does the Fox Sunday morning show?

[A]

No idea.

[D]

I don't know.

[C]

She was interviewing Pam Bondi.

[B]

Joe.

[C]

Pam Bondi was on the show and they were talking about this very subject. I guess I just don't know if these are the bad guys bringing a ton of drugs that are killing Americans into this country. Is it just more about the tactical approach about how we're. I'm trying to understand.

[A]

I'm trying to understand the whole Venezuelan thing.

[C]

Okay, so you're just as confused as I am.

[A]

Are these drug bombings a cover up for wanting to take over all Venezuelan oil fields? I have no idea what's going on.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

None. Zero.

[E]

Heard that.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Oh, yeah, that's.

[A]

That's a big theory going around, I guess.

[C]

I didn't know you were going that far. But that's. I'm just wondering, is it. Is there a bigger game being played here?

[A]

All I know is that generally speaking, you don't wipe out survivors. You kind of try to pick them up, you know, I don't know anything about this.

[D]

And Chris, to answer your question to the illegal strike or illegal. The initial strike some people are seeing as illegal because there's no. No, you know, you can't willy nilly go and blow things up.

[C]

But they were using surveillance from the uk, right? Isn't that how we initially were able to intercept these guys?

[D]

That I do not know.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

I did get an email from a guy worried about the traveling Lymans out on the ocean because what if all these.

[D]

Jesus.

[A]

What if all these whales get high from all these drugs dumped in the water? They're gonna overturn their boats.

[C]

The boat you got to stay with the bro.

[A]

You should watch what these guys did. And then Pistol Pete got him, I guess. I don't know.

[C]

Allegedly.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Cyclone. When's the last time you heard about cyclones?

[A]

Oh, frequently, John. They're on the east coast. Cyclone, east part of the world.

[D]

There you go. That's what this story is about. Thank you, Joe. Cyclone fueled flooding across Southeast Asia, including in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, has now killed at least 1200 people. Roughly 800 remain missing and hundreds of thousands have been displaced since last week. Officials say entire low lying districts have been submerged as rivers overflowed and landslides buried nearby communities. There's been 604 deaths, at least in Indonesia. Sri Lanka's at about 355. They're the hardest hit areas, with some areas receiving a month's worth of rain in 48 hours. Rescue crews washed out roads, collapsed bridges and power outages. That is face washed out roads. Excuse me, collapsed bridges and power outages, while military units have been deployed to help with evacuations and deliver aid to overcrowded shelters. The latest Pew Research study on social media says Americans use YouTube more than any other social media site. 84% of U.S. adults say they use YouTube. Next highest is Facebook at 71%. About half of adults use Instagram. Smaller shares use other sites with tick tock at 37%, WhatsApp at 32%. Reddit, Snapchat and X have a little few. A little few, a few.

[A]

Come on, Johnny, you can do it.

[E]

You can do it. Spit it out.

[D]

A smaller number of users. How's that?

[A]

There I go.

[D]

There we go.

[B]

But what is apt?

[A]

Apt Natural.

[D]

Has 26% at Snapchat at 25, and X is at 21%. Three other platforms are below 10%, Threads at 8%, Blue Sky 4%, and President Trump's Truth Social at 3%. Speaking of social media and Truth Social, the President went on a bit of a posting spree last night that saw him fire off 150 tweets, well, whatever we call him on Social Untruth Social in mere hours that included compliments about the first lady, conspiracy theories about Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and numerous other topics. Between 7 o' clock and midnight, the president reposted about 150, averaging more than one post every two minutes for five hours from what appeared to be a random assortment of unknown figures on X and his close allies discussing an unpredictable range of topics.

[A]

Was he drugged up?

[D]

The heaviest concentration of posts occurred between 11 and midnight, about 100 posts in that last hour, less than six hours. After capping off the posting spree, the President jumped back on his social media platform at 5:48 this morning, declaring Truth Social is the best. There's nothing even close. The Truth Social spree included videos of Kamala Harris, flattering comments about himself, and attacks against his perceived political rivals.

[A]

I love the fact that he they released the results of his mri. He didn't know what they were looking for, but he said it was the best MRI they've ever seen. No question the best one they've ever seen.

[B]

Tremendous.

[D]

U.S. transportation Security Administration said it will begin charging air travelers 45 bucks on February 1st if their IDs do not meet the stricter federal standards, a move aimed at encouraging travelers.

[C]

Can we set up a preemptive security camera at the Spirit airline for that particular change in law?

[E]

Why and how and what in the world?

[D]

In May 2025, the TSA began enforcing the standards known as Real ID, but gave warnings and conducted enhanced screening for passengers without the new IDs.

[C]

Oh boy.

[D]

TSA officials said they would urge passengers without real IDs to get them and pay the fee before arriving at the airport. A 45 fee will cover travel for a 10 day period.

[E]

No, no no no.

[D]

November 20th, TSA said no. It is posted in the Federal Register that Travelers could face an 18 fee if they did not have real ID. But officials in a briefing with reporters said they had raised the price because expenses for the option were higher than forecast.

[E]

So TSA just makes up rules and then enforces those rules and nobody questions them? Hello? What did they think? They're the Minnesota dnr.

[A]

Come on now.

[D]

The fees are non refundable and it may take travelers up to 30 extra minutes to pay the fee to go through security if they fail to pay before arriving at the airport.

[B]

Unbelievable.

[D]

Officials said in extraordinary circumstances they might waive the fees. Children under 18 do not have to present an ID at an airport checkpoint. Most travelers use state government issued driver's Licenses that meet the requirements. But passports. Passport. Passports issued by any government are also an acceptable form of ID, as are other forms of IDs. Opens new tab including. Wait a minute. Are other forms of IDs permanent resident cards.

[A]

I got the real Is good. You got it?

[E]

Yeah, I've got one. I don't remember it costing me $45, though.

[C]

Joe, are you. Are you asking because you might be traveling so soon?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Where are you going today? Yeah, I might be.

[E]

John, is there an extra charge for people with red hair or people that walk with a limp?

[B]

Not yet.

[A]

Or people with extraordinary circumstances?

[D]

It's coming soon.

[E]

This is nonsense.

[C]

And you guys make fun of me for driving.

[D]

We've been. How long have we been screwing around with this real ID thing?

[C]

It's been a while.

[A]

Five, six years.

[B]

But, you know, maybe that's what. Maybe that's what people need to be. Hit them where it's going to count.

[F]

Now.

[E]

Now we're going to hit your pocketbook, Mr. Airport defending.

[B]

Listen, stop calling me Shirley.

[C]

Did you see the Thanksgiving weekend viral video of a young woman very upset that she was late for her flight back to Chicago?

[B]

Oh, no, dear.

[C]

She yelled and yelled and yelled at the gal behind the computer. She just sat there and looked and said, ma', am, that flight just went to Los Angeles.

[A]

Hello?

[F]

Hello?

[C]

She had the right the wrong gate, but she was tearing apart everything that.

[B]

Happens all the time. Or if it's the next flight at the gate, they're complaining that it's the wrong. Like, well, that. That one's going out next, so just relax.

[A]

Oh, boy. Flying used to be fun. I'm doing the best I can to never fly.

[B]

No, flying is okay.

[A]

No, it isn't. It's a pain in the ass.

[C]

It's a cesspool of the idiots.

[B]

Fly spirit. Well, you can't anymore.

[E]

Flying has turned into the mega bus.

[C]

Yes, 100% right.

[B]

Flying Megabus. You are correct.

[A]

That's.

[B]

That's accurate.

[D]

But if you fly, you might see rook.

[B]

You know, say, I see jailers every single day.

[A]

There you go.

[C]

I don't fly the mega bus, but if I did.

[D]

Costco has joined dozens of other companies in suing the Trump administration to get a full refund of new tariffs that it paid so far this year to block those import duties from continuing to be collected from the retail warehouse club giant as a Supreme Court case plays out. In the suit, Costco said it risks losing the money it's already paid to satisfy the tariffs. Even if the Supreme Court eventually upholds earlier lower court rulings that found President Trump did not have the legal power to impose the tariffs. The company noted a looming Dec. 15 headline deadline. Excuse me, that could prevent the tariffs that it is already paid on an estimated basis from being refunded. Costco did not say how much money it believes should be refunded to the company. Costco suit filed in the US Court of International Trade said that US Customs and Border Protection denied the company's request to extend the dead date of the deadline of the so called liquidation. While an importer has six months to file a protest contesting liquidation. Not all liquidations are protestable according to to the suit filed by Costco.

[A]

John, thank you so much. Thank you so much.

[B]

Thanks John.

[C]

Far from it dude. Truth, justice and the Suzeray.

[A]

I don't want to let the show conclude without this. Last week I read just you from an employer what he received from the state regarding preparing for the Medical Family Paid Leave program.

[C]

Yes sir.

[A]

Now he has forwarded me what he has told his employers about it. I think this is especially pertinent given the background that these employers are now working in with a completely failed state, an incompetent governor, fraud everywhere they look, no assurance whatsoever that their money is being handled with any competence whatsoever. So he writes. Hi everyone. He's talking to his employees. This guy's a friend of mine. I don't know why I'm choosing not to use his name. You know I'm going to this is Scott Mueller from Mueller Mortuaries and he he didn't need this. He treats his people well. But he this is what he's now saying to his employees. I want to take a few minutes to let you know about a new state mandated program called Minnesota Paid Leave which goes into effect on January 1st first. This program is designed to provide wage replacement and job protection for people who need time away from work to care for themselves or a family member. This applies under a specific qualifying situation and the state requires documentation and proof of need when implying Beginning in January, the state of Minnesota will fund this program through payroll contributions. The cost is split between employees and employers. Years with 0.44% of wages paid by you and 0.44% paid by the employer. These deductions will be handled automatically by our payroll service. When the program starts, I want you to hear something directly from me. We will comply fully with the law and follow all required procedures and I will make sure you have access to whatever information you need to understand the benefits and qualifications. At the same time, I want to be honest about the challenges I see from the employer side, especially for any small business without large company HR or legal departments. Programs like this may sound straightforward on paper, but they often come with real world unintended consequences, including the administrative burden of processing requests, staffing challenges when leave is taken, especially when employees have on call status, and the increased financial strain of additional payroll costs. For both of us, Minnesota's track record on running large benefit programs efficiently doesn't exactly build confidence. And based on past experience, think vehicle registration system rollouts, DHS issues and others in the news lately. I expect the cost and complexity of this program to grow dramatically and quickly. I'm grateful for each of you and for the work you do here every day. You're the reason we continue to deliver the level of care and service that we are known for in our community. I hope you can also see this from an employer's point of view as well. We will support the law because we care about doing right by our team. But we should all be aware of the strain programs like this place on small businesses that are already navigating staffing shortages and rising costs. Costs that are mitigated in two ways, decrease expenses or increase the cost to the customer attached. You'll find additional information provided by the State of Minnesota so you can understand the details of paid leave and how to access it if needed. Please take the time to look it over and let me or and then he mentions a name. Know if you have questions. Thanks again for everything you do. You matter a great deal to our families and to me personally. Scott I feel for these people given the background of what we have to put up with this in this godforsaken failed state. And here's another level of crap handed to people trying to play by the book. Are you kidding me?

[C]

Someone that is a business owner had a great analogy. You guys are familiar with Jim Gaffigan?

[A]

Yes.

[C]

He has a great line about because he's got like 900 kids said do you know what having five kids is like? You're drowning in the middle of the ocean and someone hands you a baby. That's what owning a business in Minnesota is like. Hey, we've got all this stuff. You're drowning. Now here's a baby. That's exactly what it's like.

[A]

It's absolutely pathetic. It's injurious, it's harmful. It will cost more than you can ever imagine. It will require a new layering on of bureaucracy. It's just another way we've been treated poorly by the People who were trying to. That we thought were working, working for our benefit, they're not.

[C]

You sure they're not trying to help us out, Joe?

[A]

Only because they come to us all the way from the southwesterly between the east coast of Bangka Belitung Islands on the west coast of Karamata island. The traveling islands. It was on this day, Joe.

[C]

Today is December 2nd.

[A]

In 1857, the first state legislator convened and thus it all began. Five months before Minnesota was admitted to the Union. Despite its questionable legality, the session passed over 90 laws and elected Henry Rice and James M. Shields as U.S. senators. The pair traveled to Washington D.C. and waited for statehood to become official so their terms could begin. On this day, December 2nd in 1858, we had just become a state, hadn't we?

[B]

Fresh. We're in our infancy.

[A]

The term land of Lakes was first applied to Minnesota in the St. Anthony Falls newspaper, the Falls Evening News. On this day they had two papers.

[C]

The Evening News.

[A]

Well, we used to. A lot of papers.

[B]

Had to deliver twice.

[A]

On this day, December 2nd in 1884, Faribault's waterworks passed their operation.

[B]

Oh my God, I'm so sick about Faribault.

[C]

There it is too, by the way. It's right next to the train tracks.

[B]

Does Reavers give you those?

[A]

And I'm not done with this one yet. And the system was accepted on December 31.

[E]

Is that waterworks from the Urban Dictionary or is that something different?

[A]

On this day, December 2nd. On this day in 1993, Theater Mu or MU, Minnesota's first professional Asian American theater company, presented its first full length production. The play, called Mask Dance, detailed the experiences of Korean adoptees in Minnesota. Was close to a girl all my life who was a Korean adoptee. In fact, two of them. On this day in Minnesota, sports disappointment, history.

[D]

What would be those two?

[C]

December 2nd.

[A]

On this day, ordering at 12.

[C]

2.

[A]

In 1976, the university got a temporary injunction against probation by the NCAA.

[C]

What was that in relation to?

[A]

Well, 76. That had to be a basketball scam.

[C]

Was that the fight?

[D]

Cheating?

[A]

I don't.

[B]

Was that Muslim?

[C]

The brawl with Ohio State, I thought.

[A]

That was earlier than 96. That was about 72 or three. Three, yeah. Probably a basketball scandal.

[C]

Seventies are all the same.

[B]

Just get them out of here.

[A]

Thank you so much, Gio.

[B]

Thanks, guys.

[C]

Do us a favor if you haven't done so already and hit the subscribe button on the Garage Logic YouTube channel. Yeah, that's right. Garage Logic has a YouTube channel. And you can watch the show each and every single day starting right around noon. You can also see full segments, video shorts, behind the scenes footage. It's all there for you. Just search garage logic on YouTube along with all of our social media channels, which includes Facebook, Instagram, X. And you can also sign up for the Daily Logician. That's an email that comes right to your inbox each and every single day. And it includes the most recent episode of the podcast. Find out more and sign up [e-mail] it is time once again that we check in with our guy, Mr. Money Talk. Josh Arnold is with us once again right here in garagelogic. And now is the time for you to do the same. So do not delay, do exactly what I did and pick up that phone and dial 952-92-5-5608. That number once again is 952-925-5608. When you call that number, you're going to get and he is there for you for that. Free, yes, I did use the word free. 48 minute financial consultation with absolutely zero obligation. And he will always give you the straight talk. He will never give you the sugar coated advice. And he is on the line with us once again right here in garagelogic. And boy, Josh, I know you got a lot to get to today, but you would like to start with Giving Tuesday.

[H]

I do want to start, Chris, with Giving Tuesday. We don't talk much about making charitable contributions, but it is that time of year when many people are making charitable contributions. In all likelihood, you're going to get a dollar for dollar reduction in your taxable income. Charity or giving to causes that you believe you know can help others is a very noble, noble gesture. And whether it's giving to your college, giving to your church or synagogue, those dollars or appreciated assets can go a very, very long way as well as give you a tremendous, tremendous feeling that you're helping others. One big gift was was made today from Michael Dell and his wife, pledged to give over $6 billion, provide for 25 million children. That's about $250 per child as part of a program that President Trump is instead instituted called Invest America. The idea behind this is to give every child or child under 18 money to invest in. We'll say to invest in America. And I think that's a tremendous deal and it will help develop more for capitalism and give every child over, over time, we'll say a piece of the pie. It has been found that once people start, we'll say start selling saving, that they increase the amount of saving as time goes on and that becomes beneficial not only to them but also to their beneficiaries as well. So on this Giving Tuesday, do not hesitate to give. I'll say give to others form of charity. Give to your favorite charity. We'll say help others. Whether you give dollars or give or give appreciated out assets, much would be appreciated and that can go a long way.

[G]

The market.

[H]

Well, we're not, we are not in an AI bubble. Consumers are consuming. They may be consuming in slightly different ways, but Black Friday, Cyber Monday proved to be a very, very good for certain types of retailers seeing a nice bump up in we'll say Walmart, Costco and Amazon among others as people are searching, we'll say searching for bargains at least ahead of, I'll say ahead of the holiday season. So retailers could be on a little fare as it has been shown that more people are buying iPhones around the world and that has been a surprise to many, I'll say many analysts, not so much a surprise to me. I have raised my price target on Apple from 300 to 400 over the next we'll say 18 months. Apple, I believe is going to be a pretty good winner in the AI rate.

[G]

Again, it is Giving Tuesday.

[C]

So and that's why we come to you for the straight talk and never get the sugarcoat advice, Mr. Money Talk. You heard him, G. Yellers. Now is the time for you to pick up the phone and make the call for that free 48 minute financial consultation with absolutely zero obligation. And you do just like I did by dialing 952-925-5608. Josh, once again, thank you so much for the time and the chat. Enjoy the rest of your day. We'll talk to you again tomorrow.

[H]

Look forward to it.

[G]

Thanks, Chris.

[D]

Investment services offered by Josh Arnold Investment Consultant, llc. A security investment advisor. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

[C]

All investments involve risk. All comments and opinions are Josh Arnold's.

[D]

And do not constitute investment advice.

[A]

Chris Reavers is a paid endorsement.