2/24 With the fraud mounting for over the past 50 years our only hope is to start over

Summary

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Garage Logic Podcast – Episode Summary

Date: February 24, 2026
Title: "2/24 With the fraud mounting for over the past 50 years, our only hope is to start over"
Host: Joe Soucheray ("The Mayor")
Team: Chris Reavers (Technology Corner), Kenny Olson (Krabby Coffee Shop), John Haidt (Newsroom), Matthew, and "The Rookie"

Episode Overview

The main theme of this episode is rampant government fraud and waste in Minnesota, traced over at least five decades of bipartisan oversight failure. The hosts examine the tangled web of social programs, the lack of real auditing or accountability, and propose that the only way out might be to tear the current system down and rebuild it from the ground up. The free-wheeling conversation sets the somber tone with humor, characteristic tangents, and blunt skepticism toward officials and political systems, all while peppered with Gumption County inside jokes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The State of the Union and Political Cynicism (00:48–09:25)

• The crew jokes about watching the State of the Union, crafting drinking games and bingo around predictable political speech ("tremendous," "marvelous").
• Discussion about invited guests and likely “ugliness” or incivility at the event.
• Anecdote: Kenny Olson’s encounter with former and current Minneapolis mayors, with Mayor Fry promising to come on the show.
• Commentary on the U.S. hockey teams being invited to the State of the Union, with the men likely to attend and the women declining due to perceived slight.

Notable Quote:

• Chris Reavers: “Everything’s become a mess. Everything’s political, and it would be better if people just had the attitude, whoever shows up, great. Whoever doesn’t, that’s fine too.” (10:14)

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2. The Culture of Program Proliferation and Fraud (14:08–38:41)

The Systemic Problem

• Chris Reavers and Joe Soucheray outline how Minnesota—and by extension, much of American government—has layered social programs upon social programs for decades in a misguided show of accomplishment.
• New fraud investigator Tim O’Malley claims fraud in state spending dates back at least 50 years, implicating both parties (15:03–17:01).

Chris Reavers (paraphrasing O’Malley):
“He believes the fraud goes back at least 50 years… and that he believes every person in a position of authority… they all knew about it. Now, he’s drawing a distinction between ‘they all knew’ and ‘they were all complicit in creating it’...”

The Demonstration: Homeless & Housing Programs

• Joe performs an exhaustive review of the Department of Human Services’ housing grants, reading out 20 different, often redundant, programs—crisis housing, emergency shelters, homeless youth funding, etc. (20:31–30:27)
• Key insight: None of these programs appear to be evaluated for real outcomes; their success is measured in dollars spent, not problems solved.

Notable Quotes:

• Joe Soucheray: “Before I read any further, can anyone say that Minnesota has solved its homelessness problem?” (20:53)
• Matthew: “It’s nothing but bloviating when it comes to the homeless situation. Just a lot of BS.” (21:03)

The Historical Causes

• Matthew provides a boiled-down answer:
  • Elimination of the state treasurer (no one tasked with “counting the money”) (31:22).
  • Self-auditing: Counties and programs audit themselves—“Tell us how it’s going.” (32:35)
• The system, as described, allows fraud and redundancy to fester since, unlike in business, the ‘till’ is never closed and accounts are never reconciled.

Notable Quotes:

• Chris Reavers: “You compound the fact that we don’t close the books by there being no consequences for not closing.” (32:39)
• Matthew: “We’re telling people to... audit themselves. What does that open up, Joe? That opens the doors right there.” (32:47)

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3. The Solution: “Start Over” (35:55–44:51)

• The crew laments that accountability is nonexistent and the only logical—albeit impossible—solution is to “start from zero.” (35:55, 37:01)

Notable Quotes:

• Matthew: “It was just one small, little step after another that got us to this crevasse we are now buried in.” (36:53)

• Chris Reavers: “We need to start over. From zero.” (36:05)

• David Schultz’s piece is referenced, asserting that for decades, politicians of both parties have expanded government programs without building capacity for oversight/integrity (37:17, 39:40).

Schultz summary:
“Across five decades and through administrations of both parties, elected officials repeatedly chose to expand programs and services without building the capacity to ensure those programs operated with integrity.” (39:40–40:04)

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4. On Political and Social Accountability (40:42–44:51)

• The hosts point out there has been no change in auditing; there is currently little will to enact change.
• Programs multiply, but meaningful oversight—and real help for the needy—continue to fall short.

Notable Quotes:

• Matthew: “We’re not... The auditing process has not changed at all. We should be outraged about that. That should be our number one priority right now, today.” (40:42)
• Chris Reavers: “You are not going to get to the bottom of it because the shell is under three cups and it keeps moving…” (41:09)

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5. Illustrative Tangents: Government Waste, Identity Politics, Biting Jokes (42:01–43:37)

• Example from Wisconsin: a convoluted pronoun introduction at a government meeting, met with exasperation and jokes.
• Crew concludes: as long as unseriousness and political theater dominate, fraud will “continue unabated.”

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News Segment and Follow-ups (60:00–77:45)

• Legislative news: Governor Walz unveils new gun proposals; local politics covered including a challenge to U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (60:00–62:10).
• Local crime stories, bail reform issues (62:31–64:19).
• Civic issues: downtown St. Paul possibly getting a new Aldi grocery store (64:27–65:09).
• Tangent: Detailed, humorous analysis of Aldi’s checkout system, private labeling, meatball recall.
• State of the Union preview, tariff policy, and response plans discussed (67:37–70:09).
• International news: deaths in Mexican cartel violence, commentary on crime and corruption abroad (70:09–71:43).
• Jeffrey Epstein files: public agrees wealthy and powerful rarely face consequences (71:46–72:40).

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the redundancy of social programs and lack of results:
  “The problem I see with these 20 programs is a, a terrible redundancy. B, no responsibility for examining these programs to see if they're actually accomplishing any help for the people who most need help.... None of you are held responsible for anything. Anything.” —Chris Reavers (33:03)

• On comparing household budgeting to government:
  “Can you imagine this happening in your own household where you hand out $1,000 a day and you don't know where it's going? … It's all the tenets of doing really, really bad business.” —Matthew (38:23)

• On political accountability:
  “We need the kind of competence who can keep the losses under control. … Under Walz the losses have become outrageous and the programs have tripled in number.” —Chris Reavers (43:37)

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Topical Tangents & Lighter Fare

• Anecdote about old boating equipment turning out to be a window pole from a grade school—classic Garage Logic story (53:27–54:28).
• Aldi food and shopping discussions lighten the mood (65:20–68:25, 68:33–68:41).
• Sports and car buying banter (76:27–77:56).

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Closing Notables

• Critique of California’s Governor Gavin Newsom and his condescending comments in Atlanta (79:49–82:43).
• Interesting Minnesota history: The “Gopher State” name originating from political corruption (82:47–84:43).
• References to tradition (Penguin, Tasmania time check) and the absence of notable Minnesota sports failures on this date.

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Key Segment Timestamps

• [14:08] Start of fraud/integrity discussion in Minnesota’s welfare system
• [20:31–30:27] Reading through 20+ housing programs
• [31:22] The “treasurer” and self-auditing problem
• [32:39] Discussion on lack of consequences
• [35:55] The suggestion to “start over”
• [39:40] Schultz/Perspective on program expansion without oversight
• [60:00] Local/National News Segment

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Tone & Language

Blunt, sarcastic, and laced with the trademark wit and skepticism of Garage Logic. Speakers call out political hypocrisy, bureaucratic inertia, and societal unseriousness—often veering into comic exasperation and darkly funny resignation about the political process.

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For a complete understanding of Minnesota’s ongoing fraud and oversight crisis—and how years of bipartisan good intentions have gone off the rails—this episode is essential Garage Logic. The message is clear: “We need to start over.” But on the evidence here, few in power will admit it, much less try.

Transcript

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[Chris Reavers]

Josh Arnold, investment consultant, brings you Garagelogic podcast number 1723. February 24, 2026. 59 degrees. A record high on this day. That was in 1880. Yesterday it was about the same temperature and it was 1988. Isn't it funny how that works? And 20 below on this day in 1967. Do yourself a favor, call Josh Arnold at 952-925-5608 for a free 48 minute consultation.

[Joe Susherer]

Hail the Flashlight King.

[Chris Reavers]

Hail you. And now from the mayor's office above the boathouse on the east shore of Spoon LA 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 Susherer. Breaking news, this just in. What North American progressive politicians have found two late mail in goals for the snow Mexicans. Gold is awarded to Canada. Bert was exercising a little frivolity there. Isn't that funny? And I want to clear something.

[Joe Susherer]

Is Snow Mexico going to be an official term here in Gl?

[Chris Reavers]

I don't think we should. Oh, okay. That's Trump's term. No, that's not Trump's term.

[Joe Susherer]

That's the impersonator Farrar. Sean Farage.

[Chris Reavers]

Sean Farage. We like to call it Snow Mexico. Tonight is the state of. The entire team gets their silver medals 25%. Tonight is the state of the union.

[Joe Susherer]

Yeah, and what time you want us over?

[Matthew]

We gotta come up with a drinking game.

[Joe Susherer]

Oh, wait.

[Matthew]

Fantastic. Marvelous. One of those words.

[Joe Susherer]

Is this a. Is this a program that you'll be accompanied to.

[Chris Reavers]

To watch, I think in different rooms? Chris, just.

[Matthew]

You make fun of us for doing that. Yeah, you do it for your health.

[Chris Reavers]

Rookie had Is my health is at stake.

[John Haidt]

Yeah, I did find a good State of the Union bingo card I might play along with.

[Joe Susherer]

John said that to me. I'd like to play too.

[Chris Reavers]

Boy, there's gotta be a drinking game where. What. What phrase will he use the most?

[Matthew]

You don't have enough tequila in the house.

[Kenny Olson]

It's gotta be something where tremendous uses or great is too often. So it's gotta be something a little more creative.

[Chris Reavers]

I wonder how many times you'll say I won't get any credit for that. He loves that one.

[Matthew]

You know what I like doing with radio show talk show hosts is I like to count how many times they refer to themselves. I, me, my, etc.

[Chris Reavers]

Oh, he'll do that a lot.

[Matthew]

And there's some hosts in town that they, they, they break 100 before five minutes are up.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah, I was reading about the guests that various elected officials will have. Omar is bringing four people, all of whom are aggrieved and have a beef with the country.

[Matthew]

How many people will get kicked out tonight?

[Chris Reavers]

There's the good bet. Will this be conducted civilly tonight? No.

[Kenny Olson]

Okay. Oddly enough, I ran into RT Rybeck this morning and said hello.

[Chris Reavers]

He said, was he at the airport? How's RT doing?

[Kenny Olson]

He's doing well.

[Joe Susherer]

Did he snowshoe there?

[Kenny Olson]

No, I don't know where he was going. But then as I'm walking across to the other checkpoint comes Mayor Fry with a small entourage.

[Chris Reavers]

Really?

[Kenny Olson]

And I greeted him and said, you know, you have missed Garage Logic. Introduced myself, I'll come on anytime. Anytime. I'll come on.

[Chris Reavers]

Is that what he said?

[Kenny Olson]

That's what he said.

[Chris Reavers]

That's a wallshed too.

[Joe Susherer]

That's true.

[Kenny Olson]

But I wonder if he was going out to D.C. for the as a guest of someone.

[Joe Susherer]

Did you introduce yourself, say hey, I'm the rookie?

[Kenny Olson]

I said, I'm sure you know who I am, but

[Matthew]

in case it slipped your mind.

[Kenny Olson]

No, I was very cordial.

[Chris Reavers]

Will there be shout outs of untoward things like pedophile or racist?

[Joe Susherer]

Well, aren't most of them not going?

[Matthew]

Definitely will be.

[Chris Reavers]

In other words, this is gonna be ugly.

[Kenny Olson]

I think you're right because I think they'll go because of that. To distract and be unruly.

[Chris Reavers]

Pete Stauber is bringing Nick Shirley, who's an illiterate 21 year old social influencer. But he managed to get some film of a closed daycare center. He should be bringing Jay Coles if you're gonna go down that road. Ye, right.

[John Haidt]

Yeah.

[Chris Reavers]

Unbelievable. Well, I'll tell you what, it's going to be a must watch for. Well, there's a variety of reasons. There's nothing else on at that time if you were. Unless you watched a movie or something

[Kenny Olson]

or catching up on Survivor. But I think we'll watch this.

[Chris Reavers]

I don't watch that show. Watch this. I'd like to clear up something from Ingy yesterday. Oh boy. Took you somewhat to test.

[Kenny Olson]

This is exactly why I didn't stop

[Chris Reavers]

to talk to him.

[Joe Susherer]

Yeah, he's going to get a sponsorship at this point.

[Kenny Olson]

There is a cancellation at the airport because of this man talking to.

[Chris Reavers]

Well, yesterday he mentioned he went to California and I said that's weird because I just got something from him from Indiana. And he notes that I was in Fort Wayne on February 12th to February 17th. Home for a couple days, then California from 219 to 224. I mailed you the calendar from the cord or Auburn Duesenberg automobile Museum in between trips and it was very nice. Thank you. He has a son in law in Fort Wayne. And a final note, at the end of June he will have 32 years in at the United States Postal Service. He can neither confirm nor deny any information about retirement. Although like Vince Flynn, GL will be the first media source contacted at the proper date.

[Kenny Olson]

Thank you for that.

[Chris Reavers]

You know he's looking for in California.

[Kenny Olson]

I thought he was.

[Chris Reavers]

When he was out there, you know who he was looking for? Victor Maitland.

[Kenny Olson]

Oh, Victor's. He left this, this veil of tears

[Chris Reavers]

and is that from one of your really deep movies that you like?

[Kenny Olson]

He was a. He was an art dealer. Very successful art dealer. But he also brought in cocaine and

[Chris Reavers]

a note on Jimmy Seafood on Days

[Matthew]

of our Lives, right?

[Joe Susherer]

No, Beverly Hills Cop. Oh, you're thinking of the other Victor.

[Kenny Olson]

Victor Newman.

[Joe Susherer]

Victor Newman. That's who you were thinking of.

[Chris Reavers]

The US Gold medal men's team apparently has been invited to the State of the Union. I don't know how many will go, for example. Well, it's only Tuesday. I think the wild play Thursday. But that would require, you know, Faber Boldy and Quinn Hughes to be in Washington tonight.

[Joe Susherer]

You gotta ring them out too before the first game.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah, right. Anyway, my official position on this is I don't care if they go or don't go. The U.S. women's team is not going because they, they. They believe it was an affront to have been asked only as an afterthought. Apparently the men were asked first and the women were disappointed in that. So the women are not going and again with them. I don't care if they go or don't go. But I don't know why a hockey team if they go. I don't think they need to pass any purity test. They're going for the circus. I don't really think they care who the ringleader is. No, I think they should go for the master. What do you call it? The Ringmaster three ring circus. Well, no, they're going. You know, if, if it would be kind of exciting for a 25 year old hockey player. You win the gold medal and now you're in the. The. Under the klieg lights of the nation's capital. All eyes on Washington tonight. I think if you go, you're probably going for the circus. You're not going because you're going to pass some physical, some political litmus test.

[Matthew]

And that's basically what Jack said. He was asked about it and Jack gave some quotes. Yeah. Directly about. I just call him Jack. Basically what you. He said, what you just said.

[Kenny Olson]

Oh, it's neat to go. And it would. It's not. He didn't make it political.

[Joe Susherer]

And by the way, shout out to The Star Tribune 16 hours ago with their. And I'm going to read it as though the headline was intended to. Hockey teams, two gold medals. Only one presidential phone call. Well, they are. Do you want Cash Patel in the women's locker room?

[Chris Reavers]

No.

[Joe Susherer]

Because that's who he called.

[Chris Reavers]

Cash would have liked that.

[John Haidt]

Yeah. And before I did Joe race to the front.

[Chris Reavers]

No, it's just everything's become a mess. Everything's political and it would be better if people just had the attitude. Whoever shows up, great. Whoever doesn't, that's fine too.

[Kenny Olson]

So this is distinct from that White House visit where they all show the medals and the team. They're invited to the.

[Chris Reavers]

Apparently. Apparently.

[Kenny Olson]

Okay, that's a.

[Chris Reavers]

At some later date, maybe the women's hockey team will go to the White House. Although I, I doubt they'll. They don't want to pass that purity test.

[Matthew]

Who, who was it that went upstairs? I think when Carter was in office, went up to the roof and burned one. Was that Willie Nelson?

[John Haidt]

Willie Nelson.

[Chris Reavers]

Willie Nel Nelson. But Willie Nelson was a buddy of Carter and I think he knew he could get away with it.

[Matthew]

Elvis, of course, showed up unannounced with some guns to give to Nixon.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah, Nixon ate it up too. Yeah.

[John Haidt]

And Elvis is stoned as hell.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah.

[Matthew]

Hey, Mr. President, Elvis is here with a couple of gigantic hand cannons.

[Chris Reavers]

I think Jimmy, I think Jimmy had the Allman brothers at the White House. Yeah.

[John Haidt]

Jimmy was.

[Chris Reavers]

Jimmy loved that.

[John Haidt]

They were buddies, huge friends of the almonds.

[Kenny Olson]

Do you remember the hallway with the several chairs where somebody could just go and visit the president until he.

[Joe Susherer]

Is that where he wrote top hat?

[Kenny Olson]

That was in the Chinese.

[Chris Reavers]

You know who made out the best. You know who made out the. Who took the best advantage of the Olympic gold medal winner on both the women and men. Jimmy's Famous Seafood in Baltimore. We mentioned them yesterday. They're doing a victory laugh because when they read that there were some of these hand wringing mysterians who were afraid to express patriotism, they said, go bleep yourself. Only they didn't say bleep.

[Joe Susherer]

They really did not.

[Chris Reavers]

And now I looked their menu. I'm going to be ordering from them. They, they ship worldwide, Joe.

[Joe Susherer]

People nationwide are just ordering gift cards. I got just to say here's 50 bucks. Thanks for.

[Chris Reavers]

Well, I got a, an email from Mary Miller. Joe, I looked up that restaurant you were talking about today, Jimmy Seafood. They're giving the US Hockey team free crab cakes for life. I show up there every summer.

[Kenny Olson]

They're probably pretty good.

[Chris Reavers]

They are. I looked at the picture. They got crab in them. They're hardly any filler at all. Baltimore is the home of the world's best crab cakes, fresh out of the Gulf. Plus they have. The Gulf's nowhere near there.

[Joe Susherer]

No, that was rookies.

[Chris Reavers]

They have a cool T shirt on their site too. And Mary says she might have to buy that, but I looked up their menu and it just looks fantastic. They're just a single store and I believe.

[Joe Susherer]

Help. Correct me, aren't they immigrant owned?

[Chris Reavers]

I don't know.

[Matthew]

So it's a store. It's not a dine in restaurant.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah, yeah, I meant, I meant they're. They're not a chain is what I'm seeing.

[Matthew]

I wonder if they have a stage because I would love to see the band Jimmy's Chicken Shack playing at Jimmy's Crab Shack.

[Chris Reavers]

Oh, it's. No, it's Jimmy Seafoods. Oh, and they sell steak too. They can get a steak dinner there.

[Kenny Olson]

Got my attention. Here we go.

[Chris Reavers]

The always available Jeremy Rennick. He thinks it's a shame that Huffington Post piece said it was difficult to be patriotic. B as in bs as in yes, Jimmy Seafood. They have nothing to do with each other.

[Joe Susherer]

Jimmy's Seafood in Baltimore was founded by a Greek immigrant, Demetrius Jimmy Menadakis, in 1974.

[Chris Reavers]

Well, so there you go. That's fine.

[Joe Susherer]

That's American dream.

[John Haidt]

Yeah.

[Joe Susherer]

Is my point.

[Chris Reavers]

No, it's. It.

[Joe Susherer]

Okay.

[Kenny Olson]

Yeah.

[Joe Susherer]

I don't believe he runs the Twitter account.

[Matthew]

How American is that, that you come over to this country with a big confusing name and we just call okay, Jimmy? You're Jimmy from now on.

[Joe Susherer]

Yeah, like he's a ranch hand on Yellowstone.

[Matthew]

We're not even gonna try

[Chris Reavers]

some. Some very significant fraud news in the state of Minnesota. The Program integrity director is a guy named Tim o', Malley, and I'm rooting for him. He was appointed in December and is working with third party experts at Minnesota based Waypoint to implement a new statewide fraud prevention program. He was most recently the interim Chief Judge of the Court of Administrative Hearings and also previously served as the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Waypoint is a White Bear Lake based firm of former law enforcement agents specializing in forensic accounting and financial investigations. Stay with me.

[Kenny Olson]

I got some street creds.

[Chris Reavers]

Stay with me here because I went down a very important rabbit hole. O' Malley yesterday touted himself as non political. I engage in this project with the clear understanding that I would have the independence and autonomy to go wherever the facts may take me. He said I would not work on behalf of any individual or political party, but only in the interests of the people of Minnesot. Governor agreed to that and he has not intervened or tried to influence my work in any way. Unlike when he maybe had a role in getting rid of this inspector general position. We don't know that. The plan outlines o' Malley's recommendations to fight fraud. He said that it will likely need to be updated in the future as fraudsters adapt. What he said yesterday was that he believes the fraud goes back at least 50 years. That takes us to 1976. And that he believes every person in a position of authority, meaning the higher ups, governors and top ranked legislators. He believes they all knew about it. Now that's. And. But he's drawing. If I'm going to. I'm going to put some words in his mouth. He's drawing a distinction between they all knew about it and they were all complicit in creating it. In other words, it's been around for a long time. And he stopped just short of giving the explicit reason. Or if he did, I apologize. But the reason is, well, I'm going to give my own reason. And if I'm duplicating what o' Malley said, that only means great minds think alike.

[Kenny Olson]

All right, pat him on the back.

[Chris Reavers]

Okay. It's been around 50 years. Well, I don't doubt that. And here's what I came up with this morning. Thinking about this, we have experienced in our lifetime great prosperity. Remember, we used to have a saying on. We had some saying that we would say that's the result of vast prosperity.

[Kenny Olson]

Yes.

[Chris Reavers]

And we used to have a saying. Don't tell me we don't have any money because we were always spending money on something in this state. I think what happened is the political. And maybe this goes back to the founding of the country. People get elected and they believe they're accomplishing something by creating a program. They believe that they can identify a need where the government could step in and alleviate the burdens of various groups of people.

[Kenny Olson]

Well intended.

[Matthew]

Yeah.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah, you could say that. But not when I'm done. Okay. Because what happens is the act of creating programs at some point in the last 50 years, it was the act of creating the program that you offered as proof of your accomplishment. What you didn't offer as proof of your accomplishment was whether the program did any good or not. Going back to what we've always said, when we notice the numbers of people who are hired by government, whether it's St. Paul, Minneapolis or Minnesota, are any of them doing anything that can be measured by for success? So you look at the number of state programs, and every one of the politicians who created those programs, they weren't creating them to be crooks. They created them as an example of fulfilling their virtuous presence in the government. Look what I've done. I've created this new housing program, for example. Well, great. Did you ever do anything to see if it worked? Okay, so I think what o' Malley's referring to is that year after year, layer on, layer on layer of programs contributed to fraud in the extent that it became human nature for people to understand that these programs were never being measured for achievement. In fact, the hallmark of the program was how much money you spent on it. Well, I must be doing good. Look how much money I just spent. So I picked one agency today. I just went to the Department of Human Services. You could do this probably with every agency in the state. You're not gonna like my answer to how solve this, by the way. Okay, well, you're gonna like it, but we can't do it.

[Kenny Olson]

We're into it anyway.

[Chris Reavers]

So if you go to the Department of Human Services and it's a bit tricky to fool around on their website because there's so many dropdowns, and then you click on that and you realize there's another set of dropdowns. So I just. I finally settled on the dropdowns for housing programs. And services. Okay, all right.

[Kenny Olson]

That's a good one.

[Chris Reavers]

Grant programs. The Homelessness Housing and Support Services Administration manages several grant programs to ensure an effective homeless response system for Minnesotans. Before I read any further, can anyone say that Minnesota has solved its homelessness problem?

[Matthew]

Far from it. It gets worse by the day.

[Chris Reavers]

Nothing has been.

[Joe Susherer]

In fact, aren't we right behind California?

[Matthew]

And that's just.

[Chris Reavers]

That's just the lead sentence I haven't gotten to what they've done.

[Matthew]

It's nothing but bloviated, bloviating when it comes to the homeless situation. Just a lot of bs.

[Chris Reavers]

Well, Rook, you count these? Okay. One. Community Living Infrastructure. These grants provide funding to counties and tribal nations to integrate housing into local health and human service systems. Was that ever checked? Weekly, monthly, yearly? Did that. Did that accomplish anything? Number two. Crisis Housing Assistant Services. Crisis Housing Assistant Services. I gotta check something on my computer here. Okay. This program provides short term housing assistance to people with serious mental illness who are receiving inpatient or residential mental health care or substance use disorder treatment for 90 days or less. Learn [e-mail] and then another. Okay. God help the people who need mental health care. And whoever, whatever legislator created that in 1998 or 2006 or whatever sounded great. Has it ever been checked? Number three. Emergency Services Program. Emergency Services Program is a grant program that funds emergency homeless shelters and street outreach programs to support individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Homelessness funds can support staffing, operations and service expenses associated with operating an overnight or daytime shelter and or street outreach program. Well, then how come these tent cities keep popping up? Number four. Emergency Solutions Grant. This program funds rapid rehousing and the operating and support service costs of shelter programs. It sounds terribly redundant to me. The Department of Housing and Urban Development allocates these funds to the department which awards funds to local agencies through a competitive application process on a biennial basis. Number. Where are we? Five. Number five. Housing Access Services. Housing Access Services has a grant program that helps individuals with disabilities or disabling conditions into their own homes in the least restrictive setting, it provides. In the least restrictive setting, it provides financial assistance for application fees, deposits, furnishings and household items, along with personalized support to find and access housing of choice. That one, we learned during the last six months has been particularly rife with fraud as people step forward to claim to help Clem Smith here move into this apartment. In the meantime, we discover that Clem has received no help at all. What number are we on? 6. Housing with support supports for adults with serious mental illness. How is that Aren't these becoming somewhat redundant? This is number six.

[Kenny Olson]

Yes.

[Chris Reavers]

Housing with supports for adults and serious mental illness. Housing and supports for adults with serious mental illness. Provide supportive service for adults with serious mental illness and or substance abuse disorder who are homeless or exiting institutions and who have complex needs and face high barriers to obtaining and maintaining housing. How is that different from number? That's not different from number three or four. What number are we on now?

[Kenny Olson]

We're on number seven.

[Chris Reavers]

Projects for Assistance for Transition from homelessness. Projects for Assistance from homelessness. Projects for Assistance in Transition from homelessness. Acronym PATH supports outreach and case management services for people with serious mental illness and or substance abuse disorder which mimics number six and who are experiencing homelessness to beat their basic needs and obtain housing. That's at least three so far. To obtain housing. Right. What number are we on? 8? Long term homelessness Services and Supports Fund.

[Kenny Olson]

Long term.

[Chris Reavers]

Long Term Homelessness Support Services Fund. Provides supportive services to help adults, families and youth who are experiencing long term homelessness to find and maintain housing. Not only is it redundant, but has it been ever verified that it's accomplishing anything?

[Kenny Olson]

And how do you gauge.

[Chris Reavers]

What number are we on?

[Matthew]

Are you looking for accountability on accomplishments or where and how the money is spent? I think both. Okay, both. All right.

[Chris Reavers]

I want. I want everything. Where's my money going?

[Matthew]

Okay, I can answer that part, but I want you to finish everything you're doing first.

[Chris Reavers]

What number are we on, Matt?

[Kenny Olson]

Nine.

[Chris Reavers]

Homeless Youth Act. Through this program, funding is provided for outreach and drop in programs, emergency shelter programs and integrated supportive housing for homeless youth and youth at risk of homelessness. Number what?

[Kenny Olson]

10.

[Chris Reavers]

Safe harbor. This program delivers specialized program services to youth victims of sexual exploitation through emergency shel shelter, supportive housing, specialized foster care and outreach. Number 11, shelter linked mental Health. This program increases access to mental health services for youth residing in a Safe harbor or Homeless Youth act shelter or housing program. Number 12. This transitional housing program. This program provides time limited rental assistance and supportive services to individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness. How is that different from at least three or four other of the programs? Number 13, bridging benefits. This helps people at risk of homelessness who are leaving Minnesota Correctional facilities find and keep housing. Number 14, Section 811 Project Based Rental Assistance Program. DHS in partnership with Minnesota Housing subsidizes rental units for persons under 62 who meet certain eligibility rules and they link you to a website to find out more. I didn't go to it, but five will get you ten. There are probably six variations under that link income what number 15 income assistance Minnesota has a range of programs that provide income assistance. So you'd have to go to income assistance and then I'm sure I would discover a range of programs that provided number what 16 General Assistance helps Minnesotans with little or no income to meet their basic needs. Number 17 and this is. Let me see if this is the last one. I don't think it is. No, it isn't. 17 housing support housing support, previously known as group residential housing is a state funded income supplement that pays up to $1,192 per month in group settings and $1,242 per month settings for housing and food costs as of July 21, 2025. What Number 18 Social Security Advocacy Applying for federal Social Security disability payments can be a challenge. DHS Social Security advocates are able to help you file an application, appeal a denied application and make sure that you are applying for all benefits which you are able, what number 19 Social Security advocacy Services helps people with disabilities apply for Supplemental Security SSI and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. And finally, number 20 Social Security Advocacy Directory throughout the state there is a directory to help children and adults apply for Social Security disability payments. Just a moment. It's garage time. Because it's the dead of winter. It's not letting up yet. If you need a new garage door.

[Joe Susherer]

Yeah. Just ask the crosstown.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah just get a hold of Precision Garage Door. They have models of for every budget they send out a designer that's free. Glers get 500 bucks off a door and the operator machinery for that door. If you like your current door but you got some doubts about its strength and longevity, get a noisy door tune up special for 149 bucks and let Precision Door throw the diagnostics at that and see if you're in good shape. Book online@precision doormn.com or call Precision Door at 612-263-6985 to schedule your free on site new door estimate or book a noisy door tune up special with Precision door. I would say this.

[Matthew]

I have the I have the simple answer for you. It's not simple, it's complicated. My dumbed down version and if you want the I can read some things to you here but in 1998 bipartisan support, overwhelming support. The state voted to the legislature voted to eliminate the office of the treasurer. We do not have a treasurer in this state. Somebody to count the money. We don't have1. In 2015 we decided bipartisan support. You audit yourselves we said to the counties and to these programs, we're not going to audit you. You audit you and tell us how it's going. So basically in business, and I'm not in business, but I see people every day. They say things like, I have to close the till. It either happens at the end of the business day or the first person that comes in the next morning closes the till. Figures. The books. There are books for every single day that that business is open. We don't do that in this state. And if you want, I can read you the long, complicated paragraphs that got me to this point.

[Chris Reavers]

No, just a moment.

[Matthew]

All right.

[Chris Reavers]

You compound the fact that we don't close the books by there being no consequences for not closing.

[Matthew]

Yeah, well, we're telling people to. We're telling counties and programs to audit themselves. We're not going to audit you. You audit you. Tell us how it's going. What does that open up, Joe? That opens the doors right there.

[Chris Reavers]

Remember I went to the Department of Human Services. There are a variety of offerings. I picked this one at random. Housing. There are 20 programs. Right off the bat, I could trim that to five because they're. They're terribly redundant. I would keep. The one that made the most sense to me would be. It'd be nice if there was one office you could go to and get help with Social Security questions. That period. That's it. Look, I'm having some trouble. Can you help me? Yes. Take a number. Your number 12. I'm on number 10 now. And then you get to go in there and you get your questions answered and you get to go home and bing, bang, boom. The problem I see with these 20 programs is a, a terrible redundancy. B, no responsibility for examining these programs to see if they're actually accomplishing any help for the people who most need help. Is anything. They haven't done that. C. It's all so complicated, I would imagine, even for the employees of Department of Human Services regarding where to slot a particular candidate for a program given the redundancy. Given the redundancy. Where do I put Jim Smith, who just came in? He's got a little of this going. He's got a little of that going. I've got 20 programs here. I don't know where to put them. So let's put them in this one. It's still not being checked. D, none of you employees, and I'm not indicting you, it's the environment you work in. None of you are held responsible for anything. Anything. Chief among the anything would be, does anyone go out and actually, let me just pick one here. Crisis Housing Services. That was number two on the list. This program provides short term housing assistance to people with serious mental illness who are receiving inpatient or residential mental health care substance abuse disorder treatment for 90 days or less. The taxpayers of this state are owed an explanation as to whether that works. Who are the people enrolled? How are they helped? And after the 90 days, I can tell you what happens to them. They go to the next program which is longer than 90 days.

[Matthew]

Well, then we have to go to the legislature and change the way things are audited because you will not get those answers under the current way that Minnesota operates.

[Chris Reavers]

Okay?

[Matthew]

It will not happen.

[Chris Reavers]

Joe, here's my answer. And it's the absolute truth. We need to start over.

[Matthew]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Chris Reavers]

From zero.

[Matthew]

Keep in mind, all of this started in the 70s where we decided we started to. We opened up, we expanded social programs and we just started giving away money to certain groups and causes. And from what I understand, we were pure at heart. And this came from a good, you

[Chris Reavers]

know, Wendy Anderson on the COVID of Time magazine holding a walleye. And the headline was, Minnesota A Great Place to Live. Minnesota, the state where everything works. We had money coming in over the transom and it became a hallmark of political purpose to be able to say to your constituents, look what I proposed. Look at the help I proposed. They never added. And I'll be checking to see if it works.

[Matthew]

It was just one small little step after another that got us to this crevasse that we are now buried in.

[Joe Susherer]

And many people agree that we absolutely need to start over. I'm among them. The problem is from zero. The problem is many people in those positions have no interest in starting over.

[Chris Reavers]

Of course they don't. Of course they don't.

[Matthew]

G Ellers And I know I've hammered on this a lot in the last month or so since it came out, but my eyes were opened when I read this David Schultz piece in the Minneapolis Times, the Long Road to Crisis. How Minnesota's bipartisan retreat from oversight created today's fraud programs or problems. Excuse me. And he's not polite to either side of the aisle. And he talks about what happened during Tim Pawlenty's administration and then how and everything leading up to Pawlenty's administration and then how during Walz's administration and Covid, all hell broke loose.

[Chris Reavers]

Right. And what they've done is they've, you know, for the last 50 years, I would say, up until the Walz Administration. They've euphemistically patted each other on the back across the aisle and said, isn't it great that we have a housing assistance program? What do you want? Answer it. Isn't it great that we have a housing assistance program? And can you imagine no one said, who's going to follow up on it to see if it's accomplishing anything?

[Matthew]

Can you imagine this happening in your own household where you hand out $1,000 a day and you don't know where it's going? And you don't know. I mean, it's so ludicrous. It's all the tenets of doing really, really bad business.

[Chris Reavers]

Grandparents often find themselves in the role, at least in my. Well, no, it's pretty widespread. Bankroll helping kids with some educational costs.

[Matthew]

Sure.

[Chris Reavers]

All right. And it's written in stone that you ain't using that money to buy a TV or a car.

[Matthew]

Don't buy weed with that money.

[Chris Reavers]

It's not gonna happen.

[Matthew]

Yeah.

[John Haidt]

That ain't weed.

[Chris Reavers]

Problem. It's written in stone. This must be used for education. They don't do that. No. And plus, I can see and check the results

[Kenny Olson]

or it's shipped off to the general fund.

[Chris Reavers]

And I've been terribly well rewarded by the results. I've never.

[Joe Susherer]

But you're in the minority.

[Chris Reavers]

I've never been let down by the results.

[Matthew]

And you represent a lot of grandparents that I.

[Chris Reavers]

That's what I'm trying to say.

[Matthew]

Let me read one paragraph from David. The story, how Minnesota arrived at its current predicament is ultimately a story about the priorities and political will. Across five decades and through administrations of both parties, elected officials repeatedly chose to expand programs and service without building the capacity to ensure those programs operated with integrity.

[Chris Reavers]

Of course, we've been on it for years here by saying we had fun with Mel Carter's cabinet. Remember that? Melvin's cabinet.

[Kenny Olson]

Yes.

[Chris Reavers]

To my great disappointment, Collie her has kept many of those people or kept many of those positions. I defy you to have those people demonstrate what they've achieved. When you're the assistant director of diversity and intertwined recommendations for community hand clapping. What the hell are you. You haven't done anything.

[Joe Susherer]

Oh, go ahead, Ken.

[Matthew]

Here's why we should be angry. Number one, nothing has changed. We're not. The auditing process has not changed at all. We should be outraged about that. That should be our number one priority right now, today. Change how these programs are audited. And then number two, what we are actually doing, or they say they're doing, is get to the bottom of this. Who's guilty of what? Where did this money go? Who can we hang this on? That's number one and two.

[Chris Reavers]

I have a disappointing answer for you. I just read the 20 programs that are under the subheading of housing assistance in the Department of Human Services. 20. I read you 20. You are not going to get to the bottom of it because the shell is under three cups and it keeps moving and single employee there. I'm not indicting them for theft. I'm indicting them for they haven't needed to care. They don't have to demonstrate at the end of the workday. They don't close the till and add up the two columns of money. It doesn't have to happen with them. Right? Yes. You in the back before Kenny gives

[Joe Susherer]

a surrounding rendition of the sports show. We're not alone in this matter.

[Chris Reavers]

Are you ready? Yeah.

[Joe Susherer]

Let's head to our neighbors to the east Wisconsin.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah.

[Joe Susherer]

Exactly what you're talking about.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah.

[Joe Susherer]

The Department of Education had an assembly bill being discussed.

[Chris Reavers]

All right.

[Joe Susherer]

Here's the introduction from one of the lead speakers.

[John Haidt]

All right.

[VRBO Announcer]

My pronouns are they, them. At least that's what I share with people most often. But for this particular meeting, I will come out fully as saying that my pronouns are she, they, himself.

[Chris Reavers]

Oh, go bleep yourself.

[Matthew]

And that is why this fraud will continue unabated right there. We are not serious adults.

[Joe Susherer]

150.

[Chris Reavers]

Go bleep yourself, you idiot.

[Joe Susherer]

But in this setup I'm going by she hate him.

[Matthew]

The only thing they missed, Chris, there was the stolen land nonsense.

[John Haidt]

Yes.

[Joe Susherer]

Oh, that would have been even better.

[Chris Reavers]

Folks, the only thing we can do and it's not going to happen, break glass, smoke like this. It's not. We need to start over. It's not going to. So then what do we need? I guess you need the kind of competence who can keep the losses under control. You need. And Wallace has failed that. He's been the worst in the last 50 years. He's been the worst governor. Maybe when Paletty came along or even Perpich came along or Arne Carlson came along, the losses were happening. But they were. They were. They weren't outrageous. Under walls the losses have become outrageous and the programs have tripled in number.

[Matthew]

My feeling is I hate that phrase. But that we're right now, today in the midst of a cover up. That's the way it feels to me. Joe, I don't think we're looking for an answer. I think a lot of people are trying to cover their asses. That's just my opinion.

[Chris Reavers]

And you're working, working and working. The reason it stings more now is that more and more of your money is taken and you now know how unwisely it's being used.

[Matthew]

Meanwhile, those people that do need it are getting screwed.

[Chris Reavers]

They're not getting any help, they're getting totally sick. Not one person, not one kid, maybe one got fed during the food fraud, but it went on for years. It rests my case of what's happening. Look at all the kids being fed in what's the town up north with the bobber for a water towel. Look at all the thousands of kids being fed. Isn't that great? No, it's not great. Nobody got fed bobbertown Bobber town because nobody is held accountable. It's a cover up right now and it is Kenny's right. It is taking place and God help us. I don't know how it can be repaired short of starting over.

[Matthew]

I can get you a bobber.

[Chris Reavers]

You need a bobber.

[Matthew]

Hey, I'll get you a boat to watch that bobber in the Northwest Sports Show Matthew presented by Furniture and Things. It's returning to the Minneapolis Convention center next week, Thursday, March 5th through Sunday, March 8th. It's the largest outdoor show bringing together everything fishing, boating, hunting, camping, etc etc etc indoors, all under one roof. It's massive. 600 plus exhibitors with acres of gear and gadgets and products. And what I love here is if you're boat shopping you can walk. You can compare boats. Walk across the aisle. Look at this Boston Whaler. Compare it to that boat over there. It's so amazing. It's the best place to plan your upcoming season and to plan your purchases. Tons of attractions for all ages. If you're thinking about an RV, this is RV ground zero. 60,000 square feet of new models to explore. Buy your tickets, do it early online and save yourself some money. Visit NorthWestSportsShow.com again. NorthWestSportsShow.com.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try [e-mail], progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with a name your price tool from Progressive you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try [e-mail], progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.

[Joe Susherer]

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[John Haidt]

Investment services offered by Josh Arnold Investment Consultant, LLC.

[Joe Susherer]

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

[John Haidt]

and do not constitute investment advice.

[Chris Reavers]

Chris Reivers is a paid endorser.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with a name your price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try [e-mail], progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Pricing coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.

[Matthew]

Here's a man who spends hours in

[Chris Reavers]

hardware stores sifting through the nuts and bolts of life. Joe Sugere.

[Joe Susherer]

When you think about billions and billions of dollars in fraud and you think about government waste, don't forget to send your tax money into the great state of Minnesota, add to the IRS and do it with the best. Linda Keller and kellertaxservice.com Can I interrupt you?

[Matthew]

Absolutely, Linda, I know you're listening and you're going to be shocked by this. This I have in my sweaty palms about to be stuffed in your envelope. Every dollar that I spent medically on myself out of my own pocket last year. She's been bugging me for years. How come you don't have your medical expenses? I got them all yesterday. Linda, aren't you proud of me? Linda?

[Joe Susherer]

I'm imagining a giant shoe box full of receipts that catch and he's gonna send.

[Matthew]

It's really easy. You call the doctor's office, they send you an email. It couldn't be easier.

[Kenny Olson]

And when she opens it up, it's gonna have, like, a ploof of, like,

[Joe Susherer]

a jack in the box.

[Matthew]

Yeah, like, I'm very. No, I am far too adhd to do any of that.

[Joe Susherer]

But that's why Linda's the best. She thinks of things that you will absolutely never think of when it comes to preparing your tax services, because guess what? She wants you to keep more of your money than you do. And that's why she is the absolute best. But here's the deal, ladies and gentlemen. March 1st is Sunday. You have to get on that schedule and book your appointment online [e-mail] or call her directly at 320-352-0013. That schedule fills up fast. And here's the deal. It might take you forever to get your stuff your s together and get it to Linda. She'll have it back to you in no time. That's how amazing that she is.

[Matthew]

It's kind of embarrassing, actually.

[Joe Susherer]

It really is.

[Matthew]

It takes me two months. It takes her two days.

[John Haidt]

Right.

[Joe Susherer]

And I've been using her for years. Johnny and Kenny are now fans of Linda Keller, and you should be, too. It doesn't matter what type of return you have, all types of returns, all types of businesses, and it doesn't matter what state you live in. She'll take care of you. Kellertaxservice.com and check out that updated website of tax information. Or call her directly at 320-352-0013 and let her know that you heard about her here on the garagelogic podcast.

[Chris Reavers]

The Star Tribune had an inside story on o' Malley today. Tim o'. Malley. I think it should have been on the COVID But who am I?

[Matthew]

Did I happen to send you the PC wrote roadmap to program integrity and fraud prevention prepared by Tim o'? Malley?

[Chris Reavers]

Right.

[Matthew]

There are appendices A through N. I dare you to try to read this thing.

[Chris Reavers]

Well, here's one paragraph from yesterday's press conference with O' Malley speaking to reporters in St. Paul. O' Malley said the state has failed to hold people accountable as fraud festered as far back as the 1970s. He urged the governor to appoint an independent statewide monitor capable of overseeing the entire fraud fighting effort, along with compliance committee to track progress. Well, as you've seen, we've had the legislature squash that.

[Matthew]

We need a treasurer, Joe.

[Chris Reavers]

Well, now. Now that if we had a. Have we not had a treasure since

[Matthew]

Bob Manson, since 1998, we got rid of that office, Howard.

[Chris Reavers]

Treasurer in Minnesota.

[Matthew]

Oh, that's a good question.

[Chris Reavers]

I thought it was Matson. Maybe he was running in that little banana republic out of a storefront in Grand Avenue.

[Matthew]

I see an un air conditioned office and an old wood desk.

[Chris Reavers]

That's what Madsen had. He got kicked out of the capital or left of his own volition. Papers everywhere. Storefront on Grand Avenue.

[Matthew]

He's got one of those doors with the glass window thing above it. What is that called?

[Chris Reavers]

A window.

[Matthew]

I'm sorry I asked.

[Chris Reavers]

Oh, I know what you're talking about. You mean the vent window on top of the door over the detectives had.

[Matthew]

Yeah, yeah.

[Chris Reavers]

What the hell is that called?

[Matthew]

The bad guys can sneak in.

[Chris Reavers]

Oh, come on. There's a word for that.

[Joe Susherer]

Sunroof.

[Chris Reavers]

No, it's an important word. It's a good word. Transom.

[Matthew]

You. Thank you.

[Chris Reavers]

Transom.

[Kenny Olson]

Yes, transom.

[Chris Reavers]

Transom.

[Joe Susherer]

Thanks.

[Chris Reavers]

Roast.

[Kenny Olson]

Look, we had those windows at Cretan. Now I remember. And you had to have that big stick to open it.

[Chris Reavers]

Didn't I ever tell you guys? But I told you guys, I did

[Matthew]

not mean to derail this.

[Chris Reavers]

No, it's a great story. No, I've told you this big stick story, haven't I?

[John Haidt]

Excuse me?

[Chris Reavers]

No, I. For years and years and years, bro, for years, I coveted a docking pole. I've told you this.

[Matthew]

Yeah.

[Chris Reavers]

Okay, then never mind. I won't tell it again.

[Joe Susherer]

No, you can't do that to the audience.

[Kenny Olson]

We got new people listening.

[Chris Reavers]

Back in the late 40s and 50s through the 50s, Chris Kraft offered a docking pole as an option. Hell, the thing had to be, what, 10, 12ft long and had a hook on the end. It was varnished mahogany. And a boat would pull into the dock and the guy who was half out of his mind on beer couldn't land it. So he used the docking pole to pull the boat closer to the dock. And I always wanted one because it would have made a nice accompaniment to the stuff I was doing. And a buddy of mine's dad had one. It was in their rafters for years and years and years. And every time I'd see him, I'd say, sell me that. I need that docking pole. You're not using it. Come on. And the old man would, his dad would say, no, no, I. I really want to. That's very treasured item.

[Joe Susherer]

It's been in the family for generations.

[Chris Reavers]

And finally, you know, towards the end, he said, you know, I've decided to give you that docking pole. I said, really? You're going to give it to me? Yeah. And I took it home and he had it in the garage and some guys were over looking at it and one of them said, that's one of those window pulls from St. Mark's grade school. It wasn't even mahogany, it was pine. And the more I looked at it, the more I saw it was bent. And the hook on the end of it was one you could have bought at a drugstore. You know, it wasn't chrome plated or anything. And I realized in my excitement, I never really thought anything except he had one because he had the kind of boat they would have come with in the old days. And his son is the one who told me, that thing is a. That's a window closer from St. Mark's

[Kenny Olson]

well, didn't it give you any. Didn't you, didn't it mean anything to you that they had it up in the rafters? That would have been a clue.

[Chris Reavers]

What do you think? No, it meant to me that he was saving it for some reason.

[Kenny Olson]

Season in the rafters. It meant so much to him and it.

[Matthew]

It's escaping my memory. What, what is the book called? Your memoir. When you write your memoir now, will that be in the chapter titled Biscuit Whiskers?

[Chris Reavers]

No. When I write my memoir, I'm going to sell some copies because I'm going to load it with sex and violence

[Matthew]

like Roy C. Recommended.

[Chris Reavers]

So she would have made a fortune, stuck the eye and told him when

[Joe Susherer]

the father first denied you, and he looked at his buddy and said, can you. This dork wants this damn window thing.

[Chris Reavers]

Oh, they must have hold out on him.

[Joe Susherer]

Hold out on him. Make him think it's really worth something.

[Chris Reavers]

Absolutely.

[Kenny Olson]

Remember, in your memoir also, don't forget to reveal the four prime suchi secrets. Did I, did I, did I threaten to reveal at one point, I don't

[Chris Reavers]

know what they are?

[John Haidt]

What's the fourth?

[Chris Reavers]

I don't know what the fourth is.

[Joe Susherer]

I'd like to point something out, Matthew. Just because you stepped aside from the microphone, you were still on camera, you giant knob.

[Matthew]

So if I could get you one what would it be worth?

[Chris Reavers]

I'm not. I'm no longer in the market.

[John Haidt]

Oh.

[Matthew]

Oh, you bastard. Yeah, because I already found you one.

[Chris Reavers]

Well, Jules probably got 10 of them,

[Joe Susherer]

so I need a grabber.

[Chris Reavers]

I got a grabber.

[Kenny Olson]

Hey, call the grabbing department.

[Chris Reavers]

Yesterday. Yes, let me look. I'm sorry.

[Matthew]

Let me just look at the clock.

[Joe Susherer]

What the hell happened today?

[Kenny Olson]

Johnson was the last Minnesota state treasurer, serving from January of 99 until the office was abolished in January 6th of 2003.

[Chris Reavers]

Did Matson precede her?

[Kenny Olson]

No. A constitutional amendment approved by voters in 98, as Kenny said, eliminated the position.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah, but then. So where was Matson? Was he not a treasurer? Was he an auditor?

[Kenny Olson]

He was a treasurer. Matson was 83 to what? 87. And then Michael McGrath.

[Chris Reavers]

Oh, boy. I had Madsen later than that. Why don't we take a time out and get Johnny?

[Joe Susherer]

Okay, sure.

[Chris Reavers]

What?

[Joe Susherer]

Let's hear from Kenny Olson first.

[Matthew]

Right there. Jump on the Internet, seafoamworks.com and you'll see it. It's right there on the landing page. More than 80 years. It's the end of the world as we know it.

[Chris Reavers]

And he feels fine. Joe Sucere. Hey, John Height.

[Joe Susherer]

Nope. Here's Chris Reaverman. Water in Connecticut.

[John Haidt]

Thanks for. Good thing you didn't just say that, Chris.

[Joe Susherer]

It's okay. You know what? Hey, if you're having dishwasher problems, you might have hard water. I'm not joking. That is how this relationship started with Hoffman Water in Connecticut. My house was two years old at the time. I said, why in the bleep do I have to replace my dishwasher? Well, it turns out I had disgustingly hard water.

[Chris Reavers]

Well. Cause you live damn near in Iowa.

[Joe Susherer]

No, it's because at the. At the time, I was living in Carver and the area just grew too fast that the. What do you call it, the infrastructure couldn't keep up. And the water was so bad.

[Chris Reavers]

How bad was it?

[Joe Susherer]

We went through two dishwashers at that residence, and I finally said, okay, I better have somebody come out. And that's how the relationship with Hofferman Water and Kinetico started. I started as a customer, and then Jim came out and said, are you the dumb dumb on gl? And I said, yeah, that's. That's me. I'm more on number two. How are you? But that's your first step. Get on the schedule. Have them come out for that free water analysis. Call them up directly at 612-895-2440 or book your appointment online at hoffermanwater.com either way, you get on that schedule and have them come out for that free water analysis and then they'll give you what's called a water score. And then based upon that water score, they will give you recommendations on how they can upgrade the quality of the water inside of your home. They have done that for me. I am a for life of Hoffman Water and Connecticut and I know they will do that for you. 612-895-2440 or visit hoffermanwater.com and that's because Hofferman Water has been proudly serving the state of Minnesota for over 50 years. Do me a favor and mention that you heard about them here on the Garage Logic podcast.

[Chris Reavers]

Now here's John Haidt.

[John Haidt]

Thanks Joe. This news brought to you by North American Banking Company Governor Wall is rolling out a package of gun proposals in a morning news conference today at the state Capitol. Lawmakers will also debate bills to ban assault style weapons at large capacity ammunition magazines in a House committee this afternoon. The push for new gun laws follows the August shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis, which left two children dead, dozens more injured. It's also the first time lawmakers taken up new have taken up new gun proposals since a gunman shot and killed former House DFL leader Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their home last summer. The House is evenly divided between Republican of Democrats, making it probably difficult this year to pass anything resembling new gun restrictions in the Minnesota Legislature. A Republican from Elk river is challenging U.S. house Majority Whip Tom Emmer in Minnesota's 6th congressional district. Marine veteran Mike Foley is 40 years old. He's running against Emmer for the Republican nod for the ticket, saying Central Minnesota needs a new rep in Washington. Emmer hasn't spent much time in person with constituents this term, foley said. So use of telephone town halls versus in person meetings. Foley did an interview with the St. Cloud Times, saying he doesn't hold public events and if you reach out to him he may or may not hand select or pre screen your questions for the telephone phone calls.

[Chris Reavers]

That would be Emmer, you mean?

[John Haidt]

Yeah, yes, that's what Foley is saying about him. Foley says he's also concerned about rhetoric used by some politicians like Ammer, saying it creates division. He told the St. Cloud Times he wants to turn the temperature down and focus on how the office can be used to address issues impacting Central Minnesotans. Foley said his top three priorities would be affordability, health care and restrictions on term limits and trading stock for members of Congress. After serving in the Marine Corps, Foley attended the University of Minnesota to study chemical engineering. He was enlisted for two years, was deployed to Iraq. He lives in Elk river, is married with three children. Emmer has represented the district since 2015, is 64 years old.

[Chris Reavers]

The only hope that any Republican has to win any office in this state is to concentrate on this state and not worry about Trump. Concentrate on how damaged this state is and what you can do to fix it.

[John Haidt]

Two related shootings, one in Minneapolis, one in Brooklyn center has left two brothers dead, one aged 14 and 123 and another man believed responsible for their deaths dead after being killed in a shootout with police. Brooklyn center police say officers were dispatched around 3:55 in the afternoon yesterday on a report of a man waving a gun outside of retail establishments in the area of the 55 to 5600 block of Brooklyn Boulevard. When police arrived, they were confronted by a man armed with a handgun. The man and the police exchanged shots. The suspect was hit, given first aid, taken to a local hospital where he died. Meanwhile, the 14 year old and a man in his 20s were killed after being shot by that family member in mid Minneapolis Monday. The Minneapolis Police Chief, Brian o', Hara, said the suspect had been bailed out of Hennepin County Jail earlier in the day. He had been arrested on February 15 on a warrant for charges of fleeing the police and possessing an illegally modified handgun which could be used as an automatic weapon. Chief Oharas said that after being released from jail, the suspect went to that family member's home on 42nd and Irving Avenue north in the Camden neighborhood about 3:30 in the afternoon. Inside the home, the suspect opened fire, shooting and killing the 14 year old boy and the 23 year old man who police say were the suspect's cousins. Four kids were in the house, age 7, 8, 9 and 10. They were not physically harmed at the time of the shooting. The Brooklyn center shooting happened about three miles from the shooting in Minneapolis.

[Chris Reavers]

I wonder if no bail proponents helped him meet his bail because he paid the bail, was back out on the street and instantly started killing people.

[John Haidt]

Apparently had a record too from the old thing.

[Chris Reavers]

Terrible record. He should not have been out, but we have no law enforcement system that holds people accountable.

[Matthew]

I wonder if any of our Were any of our lawmakers talking about changing the gun laws after that shooting? No? Oh, okay.

[Joe Susherer]

Just for the law abiding gun owners.

[John Haidt]

When Lunson Byerly's closed its downtown St. Paul location last year, it brought the number of grocery stores in the city's Core to. To none. That could change later this year if plans go through for an Aldi to rise in the empty commercial space at the corner of Robert and East 10th streets. According to a remodel permit application filed with the city last month. The German owned budget grocer is poised to begin work on the property in mid March and wrap up by late June, citing issues with safety and profitability. Lunds and Byerly's closed in March of last year, ending an 11 year run in downtown St. Paul. Once complete, the 10th street location would be Aldi's fifth store in St. Paul.

[Kenny Olson]

So they would go on the Luns and Byerly's location.

[Chris Reavers]

Okay. Yes. Let me ask you a food question. Does Aldi carry the same brand of food that everybody else does? No. Oh, all right.

[Joe Susherer]

That's why they, that's why it's much more affordable.

[Chris Reavers]

Is it all kraut food? No, no, it's.

[Matthew]

No, it's, it's, it's competitive.

[Chris Reavers]

I mean, it's Bill's potato chips as opposed to old Dutch or something like they have Carols.

[John Haidt]

Yeah. They make their own everything potato chips, say, have their own line that are made by them. The. They have this equivalent of Triscuits and Ritz crackers.

[Chris Reavers]

Just like Triscus.

[Kenny Olson]

I just.

[Chris Reavers]

Right.

[Kenny Olson]

I bought a brisket and I made the brisket from there and it was fantastic.

[Matthew]

My favorite is you've got to pay somebody to use a shopping cart there. And there's these broads out in the parking lot that set up shop with trading shopping carts for quarters. It's the damnedest thing you'll ever seen.

[Kenny Olson]

Women.

[Matthew]

If it's 25 cents, a woman will chase that 25 cents down in the form of a shopping cart. It's just crazy.

[Joe Susherer]

Kenny. One time I was leaving the Shakopee Aldi location. This is a while ago.

[Chris Reavers]

Can I have your shopping cart?

[Joe Susherer]

I handed the cart to the gal. She's here. Here's a car. I go, I'm okay, just take the daisy card. I don't care. Well, she didn't give you because you put the quarter in and it. This is the shackled bounty. And she says, well, here, here's a quarter. I go, I'm okay, you don't need the quarter. Just take the cart.

[Chris Reavers]

Take the cart. You're good.

[Matthew]

Now that we've made fun of Aldi, I have to say something serious. They sell their. And Matthew, I acknowledge you did try there, but we stepped on you. They sell frozen Bremer family size Italian meatballs. There you Just pop them in the oven. Aldi is doing a recall right now that I saw this story yesterday and I just brought it. Bremer family sized Italian style meatballs. They're recalling these because there was potential metal contamination discovered.

[Chris Reavers]

They're made out of iron ore taconite.

[Matthew]

I don't know if something broke in the machinery or what. Galers, if you have a bag of these meatballs in your freezer, check it out.

[Joe Susherer]

They do make though the best ever sliced cheese. They make chipotle cheddar sliced cheese for hamburgers.

[Chris Reavers]

Jesus. See every time I bring something up, it doesn't have to become 15 minutes. I think food based.

[Kenny Olson]

This is efficiency based. They are the most efficient checkout store you will ever see.

[John Haidt]

And I think what you're seeing here is push back to candy from me, Chris and Rook because we all three love Aldi.

[Matthew]

You won't get me in that. Poor people bother me love it.

[Chris Reavers]

More people. More people jam and owned and it's owned by Toyota.

[Matthew]

Joe's, Joe Su. It's not lay's potato Chip, it's K's Potato chip chips.

[John Haidt]

Potato chip brands they have are great.

[Chris Reavers]

Their own any. That's great. I'm really glad it's Clancy.

[Joe Susherer]

That's.

[John Haidt]

You know what? Clancy. Yes, Clancy.

[Chris Reavers]

Good salmon, just like Triscuits.

[Joe Susherer]

Really good salmon there.

[John Haidt]

The Triscuits are great. They're $2 less a box.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah. And they're just like Tris.

[Joe Susherer]

You know a guy that likes to in and get out. You'd love that story.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah, I bet. Here we go. Here's.

[Kenny Olson]

And the toilet paper is the softest you will ever.

[Chris Reavers]

Let's go to the news there.

[John Haidt]

Let's go now to national and international news at the local Aldi. No. President Trump will deliver his State of the Union address tonight. The annual speech has traditionally been used to outline the President's agenda and recap accomplishments. It comes, of course, against the backdrop of last week's Supreme Court decision to eliminate much of his tariff policy, as well as tensions with Iran and a crackdown on migration. Trump is expect expected to acknowledge the high court's tariff ruling and his subsequent decision to impose a blanket 15% tariff on goods entering the US can only

[Chris Reavers]

do that for 150 days.

[John Haidt]

That's correct. It goes into effect today and it'll last 150 days. At which point the Congress has to reapprove it.

[Chris Reavers]

Do they know how? Have they done anything to keep in keep the rules in mind? No.

[John Haidt]

The address will be aired on major networks beginning at 8:00 our time. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger will be probably provide the democratic response.

[Chris Reavers]

Is he given us any warning about how long this will be? Is he long?

[Joe Susherer]

I thought I heard him or saw something that said. He said it was going to be a lengthy speech.

[John Haidt]

I suppose you're going to make us watch it, aren't you, dad?

[Chris Reavers]

Yep.

[Matthew]

I'll be watching Curse of Oak Island. They might find something. This tonight?

[Kenny Olson]

Yeah, you never know. They keep looking.

[Matthew]

It could be.

[Chris Reavers]

Gabe, you better watch it. At least put it on the TV in the restaurant.

[Kenny Olson]

Yeah, MK will be loving it.

[John Haidt]

Yeah. Can I have it on the TV and just be playing guitar?

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah.

[John Haidt]

Pretending halfway.

[Chris Reavers]

Never mind. I'll watch it.

[Joe Susherer]

Okay.

[Chris Reavers]

Nobody else does anything here.

[John Haidt]

At least 73 people, including 25 members of Mexico's National Guard now have been killed in that wave of violence after Mexican authorities killed drug lord Namisio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, during a shootout Sunday. Chris, I think you asked how they killed him. Yeah, you see the follow up now?

[Joe Susherer]

I did not.

[John Haidt]

They followed a. They traced a female lover.

[Chris Reavers]

Oh yeah.

[Joe Susherer]

The only fans gal.

[John Haidt]

Yeah.

[Chris Reavers]

Here's how I'd handle the undefeated. Is it two cartels fighting each other?

[John Haidt]

I think it's the cartels fighting the people. General population.

[Joe Susherer]

They're fighting the man, Joe.

[Chris Reavers]

See, because I'd let the cartels fight each other, at least you'd only end up with one cartel.

[Matthew]

Yeah, but then that's not what's happening, okay?

[John Haidt]

And there's more than two cartels, so.

[Joe Susherer]

Hey, did you see the gal, by the way?

[Kenny Olson]

So was she a spy? What was. How do we know?

[Joe Susherer]

He dropped his guard, Matthew. Cuz it. It's undefeated.

[Chris Reavers]

Undefeated.

[Kenny Olson]

No, I know that, but I'm saying

[Chris Reavers]

right up until death.

[John Haidt]

Right up until death.

[Chris Reavers]

Americans believe he would be up to and including death.

[Joe Susherer]

Rookie thinks there's some masterminds, but no, he was.

[Kenny Olson]

He's a double agent.

[John Haidt]

No, no, no, no, Rook, think about it now. You haven't read enough of these books.

[Chris Reavers]

Wouldn't she undefeated.

[John Haidt]

Wouldn't she have set herself up to get killed too then if she's.

[Kenny Olson]

Well, that's what I'm saying. You don't want to sacrifice yourself for the cartel.

[Chris Reavers]

This is over your head and over mine.

[Matthew]

Matthew, she killed him. But she didn't use a gun.

[Joe Susherer]

Matthew, it's over your head. And you got a large head.

[John Haidt]

I got a big head too.

[Kenny Olson]

It's not like it's over that.

[John Haidt]

Americans believe according to a new poll, that wealthy and powerful people are Rarely held accountable.

[Chris Reavers]

Reuters Info Department of Human Services Except Prince Andrew.

[John Haidt]

Yeah. Unless they live in Great Britain. After the release of millions of records of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's connections, some 69% of the respondents in the four day poll which concluded on Monday said the views were captured very well or extremely well by the statement that the Epstein files show powerful people in the US are rarely held accountable for their actions. Another 17% said the statement described their views views somewhat well. 11% said it didn't reflect their thinking at all. In this poll there's actually agreement among the different political parties. Among both Republicans and Democrats, more than 80% said that statement described their thinking at least somewhat.

[Chris Reavers]

Well, I got a question.

[John Haidt]

Yes, sir.

[Chris Reavers]

Here we go. Wouldn't the fact that there are all these files, this creep apparently is now hidden the files around the US and he's got the farm and the whole deal and all these photos, wouldn't that suggest that they were up to no good from the very beginning that he was using this material to blackmail people?

[John Haidt]

Yes.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah.

[Joe Susherer]

Probably had a whole layout.

[Chris Reavers]

That's right.

[Kenny Olson]

You know, I think I'd add also to the wealthy, they just have a little too much time on their hands to go do stuff.

[John Haidt]

I think the fact though that nothing has happened proves your point, Joe. Nothing will ever happen.

[Chris Reavers]

Nothing will ever happen.

[John Haidt]

Yeah. Lindsey Vaughn who crashed seconds into that downhill race at the Olympics said yesterday surgery saved her leg from amputation and that she's finally out of the hospital as she continues to recover and I

[Joe Susherer]

look forward to competing in 2030.

[Chris Reavers]

Oh my God, this poor woman is attention starved. I think she calls the paper to say look I almost lost my leg.

[Matthew]

I think it's mental but I don't think it's that whatever because the doctor was saying right away when they hauled her in that there's a good chance there going to have to lop it off.

[John Haidt]

And I have a description here of the injuries. They were.

[Matthew]

Yeah.

[John Haidt]

Extremely serious.

[Matthew]

I don't doubt that it's due to injury. Well, I'll let you into it.

[John Haidt]

In a video message describing her injuries, Vaughn credited her surgeon, Dr. Tom Hackett for saving her leg from being amputated. Said he had to perform a faciectomy which is a surgery that basically fillets the leg open. Yeah. Vaughn said she had complex tibia fracture and other fractures. Everything was in pieces. She also had compartment syndrome which the Cleveland Clin describes as a painful buildup of pressure around muscles that can lead to permanent damage. If that weren't enough, she also Broke her right ankle, had a blood transfusion and now is in a wheelchair. She said it's been quite the journey and by far the most extreme and painful, challenging injury I've ever faced in my life. Times 100. She said she spent nearly two weeks lying in a hospital. Was almost completely immobile. She said now I'll focus on rehab and progressing from a wheelchair to crutches in a few weeks. Weeks. It'll take around a year for all of the bones to heal and then I'll decide if I want to take all the metal out or not.

[Chris Reavers]

And we'll see in San Mar.

[Matthew]

Yeah, it's a mental issue. Chasing the dream, chasing the win, the goal.

[Chris Reavers]

She's had a successful career.

[Matthew]

That's not enough. It's always about the next one, I guess.

[Chris Reavers]

Well, she's. She's crazy if she tries it again.

[John Haidt]

How many baseball players when you were covering.

[Matthew]

Absolutely.

[John Haidt]

Joe would stick around even if that's.

[Matthew]

That's where I was going, John.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah. Zero.

[John Haidt]

Zero.

[Matthew]

You're always chasing the rush.

[Chris Reavers]

Oh, I. I thought you were talking about injuries. Oh, many stayed beyond there.

[Matthew]

Yeah.

[Chris Reavers]

And it's sell by date because.

[Matthew]

Yeah. And it's race car drivers. Snowmobile. Yeah, it's. It's the adrenaline.

[Chris Reavers]

Always chasing those top players.

[Kenny Olson]

Right.

[Chris Reavers]

Seriously, town ball players.

[Kenny Olson]

Her leg sounds like a mess though. It sounds like it'd be permanently.

[Chris Reavers]

Permanently. You know, Mikulski.

[Kenny Olson]

Yeah.

[Chris Reavers]

You, you.

[Matthew]

We passed over something Joe just said and we should put them at the top of the list.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah, serious.

[Matthew]

No, no. Tom ball.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah.

[Matthew]

You old fat dumb drunk. I get it. Go home and be with your family.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah, yeah.

[Matthew]

But now sake. What are you doing? Because now my kids are blue ribbon down and go be with your family.

[Joe Susherer]

I was just going to take this moment to once again remind Matthew. Matthew. That just because you step away from the microphone, you're still on camera.

[Kenny Olson]

Yeah, still on camera during the Lindsay Vaughn story. We don't have to review that.

[John Haidt]

And in what is becoming a monthly story. And I bring this one just so that Joe can, you know, complain again. Sorry, Joe. The average sticker price for a new car or truck is now above 50 grand.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah, plenty of funny. You can get them for less than that.

[John Haidt]

30% more than 2019.

[Joe Susherer]

The average is 50.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah, but that's BS new cards.

[John Haidt]

See, I told you. That's why I brought this.

[Chris Reavers]

You can get a fine car for

[John Haidt]

30 even with incentives and specials. The out the door price reached above 50 grand for the first time in September and stood last month at 49, 191 bucks. That's helped push the average monthly payment to buy a new vehicle to an all time high of a little over $800.

[Chris Reavers]

Oh, my God.

[John Haidt]

How about this? Some customers go further. About 1 in 5. That's 20% of new auto loans have monthly payments of at least $1,000.

[Kenny Olson]

What car would be worth that for you?

[Chris Reavers]

You know, cars are worth that, but I wouldn't pay it.

[Matthew]

My favorite pastime is when the commercials for leasing come up, I like to pause it, then get out the calculator and do the math. And you discover that after three years, you have paid more than what you would pay if you just bought the damn car outright. And there's a mileage restriction, and they

[John Haidt]

always show with this great lease price. And all of a sudden, $799 pops up.

[Chris Reavers]

All right, thank you, John.

[Kenny Olson]

Hey, Jet. I just turned 150.

[Chris Reavers]

Well, then hang on to it.

[Matthew]

Yep.

[Joe Susherer]

You're still making payments on this.

[Chris Reavers]

Kenny up. Is Kenny up or you?

[Matthew]

I think I'm done.

[Joe Susherer]

All right, remember, I needed to hear from you about our friends at Custom Roasting, but if you're not ready, I can certainly do one.

[Matthew]

Kenny, I have actually been waiting to talk about custom roasting for a while because as it turns out, I know I've been talking about the French roast, but I think the Boundary Waters plant from custom roasting.net might be giving the French roast blend a good run for its money. Here at Jackass Rant, we've had both blends delivered. I'm sorry, somebody say something.

[John Haidt]

Yeah, I'm sorry, Kenny. I just said that's my favorite. Their Boundary Waters.

[Matthew]

John, it's really good.

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah.

[John Haidt]

Great taste and smooth.

[Matthew]

Yeah. We had both blends delivered here a couple of weeks ago after the new special came out, the twin pack special that Custom Roasting is doing, and I really love the Boundary Waters. Here's the deal. Now go to customroasting.net go to the Garagelogic tab on their website. Click on that tab, and then you're gonna be met with two options. The GL starter pack. We've been talking about that one for months. It's four blends of special roasted coffee from light to dark roast. The other option is this new twin pack option that I love. It's two pound and three quarter bags of either dark roast or light roast blends for a very reasonable price. And the best part, free shipping. Oh, I love free shipping so much. It saves you so much money. You get three and a half pounds of wonderful coffee. Whole bean or ground, delivered right to your door. No shipping costs at all. The official coffee supplier for Garagelogic and the Krabby Coffee Shop is custom roasting.net.

[Chris Reavers]

Latte Schmate. Here's Joe Suzeray. We recall yesterday that Gavin Newsom, long suspected of being a fraud. So glad you're bringing this. Revealed it to be true when he told a group of black politicians in Atlanta that he's just like them. He couldn't pass his SAT at very high marks and he can't read, which was just the most condescending, pathetic thing he could say. He is just a piece of dung. Well, my first instinct was I couldn't believe it that the governor of California was saying something like this in 2026, said Coryn Random Rankin, the first black chair of the California GOP in history. The controversy began Sunday when the Conservative Influencer Account and Wokeness posted a clip of Newsom viewed by more than 40 million people, showing him telling Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, I'm like you, and explaining that he has trouble reading and did poorly on his act. There's sat. Well, he's pathetic. He's lying about his upbringing. He's a spoiled little rich kid. He's a.

[Joe Susherer]

Would you like an update?

[Chris Reavers]

Yeah.

[Joe Susherer]

Because this video surfaced, and thank you very much to Trisha for sending it along. Another video surfaced of Gavin Newsom speaking to white people.

[Chris Reavers]

All right.

[Joe Susherer]

Talking about the book he read in an hour and a half.

[John Haidt]

You've written a hell of a book, and I don't say that lightly.

[Chris Reavers]

I went through it in a quick hour and a half, almost two hours, really. And trust me, I don't read very fast, but it reads at an unbelievable pace. It's so well written and of course, it's so familiar because I felt a little bit adjacent so much of the subject matter, but it's 18 chapters. It's an impressive piece of work, 263 or so pages. Yeah.

[Matthew]

All right.

[Kenny Olson]

Any pictures, Governor?

[Chris Reavers]

I think he just tanked himself. Rankin said of Newsom. You. You know, you can't go around and say that a segment of your state is intellectually inferior and think you're going to represent Americans. It's not going to happen. Happen. This is going to haunt him for the rest of his career and any potential career he thinks he's going to have. Oh, my God, I pray that she's right. First MAGA mocked his dyslexia. Now they're calling him racist for talking about SAT scores. Newsom spokesman Izzy Gordon said she's trying to back this up. This is not manufactured outrage. This is a pathetic example of the left making people less than. And it's unconscionable. And it's why the race industry in this country stays afloat. It shouldn't even exist. But because of people like Newsom, it does. And I hope it tanks his career.

[Joe Susherer]

Shouldn't the fact that California's a disaster be enough to tank his career?

[Chris Reavers]

You'd think so. Only because they come to us all the way from Penguin, Tasmania, Australia, from the traveling lines. Very weak day in history. Very weak day. Very weak day. February 24, 1858. Minnesota was named or nicknamed the Gopher State. The legislature had guaranteed a $5 million loan to railroad interests. In a cartoon showing a railroad car of corrupt men being pulled by nine striped rodents with human head heads representing legislators and railroad promoters was printed on this date. So basically, we took our name from a bit of corruption.

[Matthew]

Well, that makes sense.

[Chris Reavers]

That makes sense, doesn't it?

[Matthew]

Yeah.

[Chris Reavers]

And on this day, put a ball

[Joe Susherer]

in a gopher hole.

[Chris Reavers]

On this day, February 24, 1925, Minnesota lost to Kansas two and a half acres of water from the northwest angle the northwestern point of Lake of the woods when the U.S. and the Dominion of Canada. We call it snow Mexico signed an agreement that more accurately defined the international boundaries between the two countries established by the Webster Ashburton Treaty of 1842. That's why you got that

[Joe Susherer]

little point.

[Matthew]

I've never seen bigger, bigger ice heaves. Joe, they're 20ft tall. The ice heaves on that thing.

[Chris Reavers]

We've been up there recently.

[Matthew]

It's been about 20 years, but in order to pull the fish houses out, they get out there with chainsaws and cut these things down and make pathways through them.

[Chris Reavers]

Oh, cool.

[Matthew]

It's amazing.

[Chris Reavers]

On this day in Minnesota, sports disappointment history.

[Joe Susherer]

Joe, who did we lose to on February 24th?

[Chris Reavers]

No items posted for today's date.

[Joe Susherer]

Really? We were error free.

[Chris Reavers]

So February 24th throughout history has been kind of a blah day around here. We didn't do much except name the state for a gopher. And we lost some water to Canada. And nothing happened in the world of sports. What in the wide, wide world of sports happened here? Nothing. Thank you.

[Joe Susherer]

G. Ellers, do us a favor. If you have not done.

[Chris Reavers]

How come that's working today?

[Joe Susherer]

Because we fixed it yesterday. Would you like to know more about it? Okay. Please do us a favor if you haven't done so already and hit the subscribe button on the Garage Logic YouTube channel where you can watch the show each and every single day starting right around noon. You can also see full segments, there's video shorts, there's even behind the scenes footage. Just search Garagelogic on YouTube along with all of our social media channels. That includes Facebook, Instagram and and oh, by the way, you should 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 today [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 Garage Lodge. 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 952-925-5608. That number once again is 952-925-5608. When you call that number, you're going to get Josh and he is there for you for that. Free. Yes, I 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. Josh, a question for you because you and I have had conversations over the years and I've always wondered what would you give advice to? Whether it's a first time investor, a long term investor. What are some of the general principles that you try to apply in terms of investing?

[Josh Arnold]

The easiest answer, Chris Growth will out. Growth will out out invest for growth. Most people would say, josh, if you buy growth, aren't you paying up growing companies? Well, you might be. And then again you might not be. Because the next question is, well, isn't buying value oriented companies, companies with the lowest price to earnings multiples, the lowest price to sales multiple, Isn't that better strategy than going just for poor growth? Well, the idea is that growth will out. And that has been proven to me and proven to other investors time and time again over long periods of time. Growth will out. Now there are a lot of companies that will say in their infancy or when they're, there's just an idea out there there that those companies that are involved in the fastest growing industry and there become more and more of them tend to skyrocket very quickly in value and then it is found over a period of time that they're not earning money, that their sales aren't growing. Their sales aren't growing. Something has stalled out and These stocks which have been, we'll say rocket ships crater and fall to earth and the winners sometimes out of that group are those that have had the staying power and really do have growth, do have an idea, do have products or services that are in demand and they start eventually moving ahead. There of course are those companies that are very steady, growing growers that have again products and services that people want, people need at some point. Yes, these companies do have a mature industry or mature in terms of their growth and the growth slows. These companies then pay out dividends at a higher rate or end up buying back shares. Another form of paying investors, investors for them. If I look at an old, and I say an old growth company like Coca Cola, which I have talked about for many years, a very slow old growth company, it doesn't grow at 10 or 12 or 20% but it's a very steady mid single digits grower and they do grow their, their dividend every, every year and they do buy back some shares and they have a product for actually several products that people can't be without water for one and say milk, juice, coffee, tea. Coca Cola as an example, sells over 200 products in over 200 countries around, around the world. Very, very steady company. Is it going to go to the moon?

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

No.

[Josh Arnold]

Is it going to provide a level of safety? Oh yes, and it's going to provide a very nice dividend yield that's going to grow over time. I'll say one of the best investors long term, Warren Buffett has included Coca Cola in his portfolio, Berkshire Hathaway for decades at the price that he originally bought. What it and added to the shares, yes, have gone up. But what has increased even more is the dividend. The dividends that are paid out and the dividends that are paid out relative to his cost basis. Give Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett a dividend yield, we'll say in excess of 15%. But again that's over a long period of time and Coke is just an old staid company. On the other hand, a company that started growing fast, faded, came up with new products, saw the growth accelerate and then would fade, then come back with newer products and now just is, I'll say is one of the largest companies in the world and they provide a product and service that people really can't be without. That is Apple. Apple now has 2.4 billion iOS users and at least one and a half billion iPhone users. And if I look most people are going to be replacing their phone every four to five, five years and when they replace the phone they're going to need more memory, need more storage and they'll probably get more services from, from. Apple is no longer growing at 20 or 25%, growing at a single digit rate. But Apple does buy back shares and does in increase their dividend as a product or service that people can count on and generates tremendous amount of cash flow. So much cash flow and so much cash that the countries in which Apple operates, the governments all want a piece of Apple's, Apple's business and they attempt to go after Apple as a monopoly. That said, Apple is a vertical, very, very steady growth company. And even with all the fluctuations and worries that say analysts have over the next iteration of the iPhone, this company could well continue to perform on a very very long, long term basis. That's an example. Both Coke and Apple, Apple are examples of first faster growing companies and then companies that become steady growers. And those are types of companies that for longer term investors you should look, look at growth will out. That is I'll say the biggest bit of advice Chris that I could give any, any investor. The other piece is always keep cash available because inevitably in any given year a market is going to pull back 5 to 10% 3 to 4 times during the course of the year. And having cash available to add to positions is beneficial. Now in putting together any portfolios for myself or my clients and my money is in the exact same spots that my clients money is in. I'll say we go in together and out together on new purchases. My focus always has been companies around the Internet, companies involved in leisure, China related businesses without necessarily being in China because that's still faster growing part of the world. Real assets such as real estate and to keep a portion of money available for short term trading or for opportunities and by concentrating or focusing the portfolios in those areas I have found better opportunities for growth than in other sectors of the marketplace.

[Joe Susherer]

And that's why we come to you for the straight talk and never ever sugarcoat advice. Mr. MoneyTalk. You heard him G ers. Now is the time for you to pick, pick up the phone and make the call for that free 48 minute financial consultation again with zero obligation. And you do that just like I did by dialing 952-925-5608 where you always get straight talk and never ever sugarcoated advice. 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.

[Josh Arnold]

Thank you very much Chris.

[John Haidt]

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

[Joe Susherer]

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

[John Haidt]

and do not constitute investment advice.

[Chris Reavers]

Chris Reavers is a paid endorser.

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