SCRAMBLE: Kristi Noem calls out Tim Walz and Jacob Frey over the ambush of a Federal Agent last night in Minneapolis

Summary

Garage Logic: Weekly Scramble Podcast
Episode: SCRAMBLE: Kristi Noem calls out Tim Walz and Jacob Frey over the ambush of a Federal Agent last night in Minneapolis
Date: January 16, 2026
Hosts: Chris Reivers & Mike Fratelloni

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Chris Reivers and Mike Fratelloni dive into the recent high-profile incident in Minneapolis where a federal agent was ambushed by protesters, further stoking nationwide debate over ICE operations, local governance, sanctuary cities, and the tension between federal and state authority. Governor Kristi Noem’s criticism of Minnesota leaders, President Trump’s threats to invoke the Insurrection Act, and ongoing unrest among Minneapolis residents form the backbone of the discussion. The conversation is candid, emotionally charged, and raw, reflecting the mounting anxiety and confusion many Minnesotans feel about local law enforcement, immigration enforcement, and community safety. The hosts also analyze the deep divides—political, ethical, and practical—that underlie Minneapolis’s current turmoil.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Context: Federal Agent Ambushed & Leadership Response

• Incident Summary: A federal agent was attacked by protesters with a shovel, leading to the agent shooting a man in the leg; all parties are expected to survive (01:41).
• Governor Tim Walz’s Response: Reivers argues Walz failed at leadership, stating, “Your job as a leader in that situation is to calm everybody down, not fan the flames of one side for political gain. And that's exactly what he did last night.” (02:38)
• Protest Tactics: The hosts condemn violent protest methods interfering with law enforcement and differentiate legitimate protest from crossing into violence (03:46–04:59).

2. Sanctuary City Status and ICE Operations

• Fratelloni’s Perspective: Expresses discomfort with ICE’s methods, likening them to historical overreach and government intrusion. “I don't want the federal government to roll into our town and start asking my buddies that are Indian or Pakistani to show me their papers.” (12:17)
• Sanctuary City Debate: They reflect on how Minneapolis and St. Paul’s sanctuary status influences ICE’s presence and public resistance (10:18–10:51).
• Historical Parallels: Mike draws an uneasy comparison between ICE and Gestapo for rhetorical effect, to illustrate the mindset of some protesters—emphasizing its inappropriateness historically (04:59–05:37).

3. Leadership Critique: Noem, Walz, Frey, and Trump

• Kristi Noem’s Account: Noem claims she urged Walz to take decisive action and resist encouraging protest violence.
  • Quote:
    • “But don't do it by giving place to these protesters and rioters that are perpetuating violence. And I said, you have my personal cell phone. You call me if you need me.” – Kristi Noem (08:30)
• Jacob Frey’s Position: Email segment reading highlights that Minneapolis’s depleted police force (down by more than 30% since George Floyd’s death) is unable to assist ICE (15:58–17:18).

4. Systemic Issues: Law Enforcement, Public Safety, Overreach

• Police Resource Strain: Discussion about officer shortages, low morale, and lack of capacity to address current unrest (17:18–18:05).
• Judicial System Critique: Claim that current county and state attorneys aren’t pursuing prosecutions effectively, contributing to lawlessness (18:01–18:36).
• Frustration and Helplessness: Chris: “For me, I feel helpless. And I'll tell you why. Number one, the police force: they're just outnumbered.” (17:58)

5. Trump’s Insurrection Act Threat

• Direct Quote:
  • “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists...I will institute the Insurrection act.” – Read from Trump's social media post (21:21)
• Historical Perspective: Noted the Act hasn’t been used since the 1992 Rodney King/LA riots (22:49).

6. Community Impact and the Spectrum of Protest

• Peaceful Protest vs. Instigation: Hosts urge peaceful protest, condemning violence; Mike: “There's a peaceful protest that I think can work.” (23:37)
• Motivations of Protesters: Reivers speculates, “I would guess 25% of those people have their heart in the right place...But then there's the other 50% of the people that are there because they just want to cause trouble.” (24:31–25:58)

7. Sanctuary Cities vs. Federal Power: Legal Backdrop & Slippery Slope Concerns

• Legal Explanation: Mike references the 10th Amendment and anti-commandeering doctrine as reasons the federal government can't force cities to abandon sanctuary policies (31:05–31:54).
• Slippery Slope: Both hosts express anxiety about a future where federal overreach becomes militarized and normalized:
  • Mike: “This is a slippery slope...we have ICE today and federal troops tomorrow. If you can't see that, I'm afraid.” (12:17)

8. Complexity & Frustration: No Easy Solutions

• Both hosts admit no clear or satisfying answers exist for the current crisis.
  • Chris: “There’s no good answers. And people on both sides of this are contacting me.” (29:58)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Leadership:
  • “Your job as a leader in that situation is to calm everybody down, not fan the flames of one side for political gain.” – Chris Reivers (02:38)
• On Protest Violence:
  • “What I don't have a problem with is you becoming such an entitled positive that you think it's okay for you to do bodily harm to someone trying to do their job.” – Chris Reivers (04:39)
• Kristi Noem’s Critique:
  • “He [Walz] drove it into the ditch and it has been an absolute disaster. He let it burn down in 2020 and then asked surrounding governors to send our National Guard to help him because he waited too long to make any decisions to bring peace.” – Noem (07:54)
• Government Overreach:
  • “I don't want the federal...government to roll into our town and start asking my buddies that are Indian or Pakistani to show me their papers.” – Mike Fratelloni (12:17)
• Trump’s Threat:
  • “I will institute the Insurrection act, which many presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great state.” – Read by Chris Reivers (21:21)
• On Policing:
  • “The police force has been demonized to the point where that's what's helped make these protesters feel so emboldened that they can attack a federal agent.” – Chris Reivers (17:20)
• On Public Sentiment:
  • “No one is going to change their opinion. No one is going to see a different angle on this particular story. Everyone is kind of set in their ways.” – Chris Reivers (30:02)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:41] - Introduction of the incident: federal agent ambushed by protesters
• [02:38] - Chris’s critique of Governor Walz’s public statements
• [07:51–09:01] - Kristi Noem's recounts of speaking with Governor Walz; clip played and discussed
• [10:18] - Discussion of Minneapolis & St. Paul as sanctuary cities
• [12:17] - Mike’s concerns about ICE tactics and civil liberties
• [17:18–18:36] - Minneapolis police force shortages and municipal struggles
• [21:21] - Trump’s posted threat to invoke the Insurrection Act read live
• [22:49] - The precedent for Insurrection Act: LA riots in 1992
• [23:37] - Urging peaceful protest and warning about escalation
• [24:31–25:58] - Dissection of protester motivations: altruism vs. agitation
• [31:05–31:54] - Explanation of why the federal government can't ban sanctuary cities: 10th Amendment & anti-commandeering doctrine
• [33:15] - Voluntary deportation program discussed, the personal aspect for long-time immigrants

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Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is marked by deep frustration, a heavy sense of local and national crisis, and a real fear for what escalations could mean for Minneapolis and beyond. Both hosts are skeptical of all sides—state and federal—and hold principled worries about civil liberties, leadership failures, and system breakdowns.

They bring in humor and tangents (rock climbing, snack endorsements) to break up tension, but the core of the episode is urgent, emotive, and at times, raw.

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For Listeners New to the Episode

This episode provides a nuanced, boots-on-the-ground snapshot of how Minnesotans are grappling with ICE operations, leadership failures, police shortages, protest violence, and the specter of federal intervention. The hosts offer no easy answers—only frank discussion, historical context, and the unvarnished mood of a city on edge.

If you want to understand the complexity and emotional charge behind the headlines in Minneapolis, this is a must-listen conversation defined by honesty, skepticism, and concern for the community’s future.

Transcript

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Tickets on sale [e-mail] Save $3 with advance purchase. Each ticket includes 14 free greens fee passes at area courses. Learn [e-mail] Roland Roland and this is the Weekly Scramble, a place where we chat about life over a cold one or two. It's time to belly up to the pod with Mike Fratelloni and your host, Chris Reivers.

[B]

That's right, it's time for the Weekly Scramble podcast. My name is Chris Reivers. With me as always. His name is Mike Fratelloni. Hello, Michael.

[A]

How you doing?

[B]

Reivers I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm a little wore out. I gotta be perfect, perfectly honest. And I did not I really didn't want to talk about ice and everything that's happening, but we can't avoid it.

[A]

No, it's not.

[B]

It's not just the biggest story going in Minnesota. It might be one of the biggest stories going on in the country. And sadly, we had yet another incident last night in which a federal agent was ambushed by protesters. He was attacked with a shovel, and then he shot a man in the leg. And everyone's expected to survive. But here's the problem that I'm having, and I'm not blaming anyone in particular, but one thing I do want to call out is Governor Walz, because for a guy who has based his entire administration on blaming Trump for everything, including, by the way, with his most notable remarks when he was running with Kamala Harris to become the vice president of the United States, basically ad nauseam, talking about January 6th and how Trump was Inciting violence and things like that.

[A]

Insurrection.

[B]

Insurrection. And I want to say to Walz, what would you call what you did last night in front of a camera at a podium? Basically calling on all Minnesotans to resist, to record everything to. Your job as a leader in that situation is to calm everybody down, not fan the flames of one side for political gain. And that's exactly what he did last night.

[A]

Yeah. It's too bad. I don't know what the answer is. Revers.

[B]

None of us do.

[A]

No, but you wish that he'd say, be careful. This is dangerous. We potentially can't stop ICE from doing what they're doing here. Stand on the side of the road, make a sign, use your whistle if you want. Don't engage them. Don't jump in front of them. Don't drive your cars in front of them. Don't. I mean, there are things I think you can do to protest this, because I think people have a valid reason.

[B]

To protest for sure.

[A]

Right. And just be careful.

[B]

Well, and the problem that I'm having is whether it was the sad case involving Renee Goode where she tragically lost her life. But what makes it okay in someone's mind? It's one thing to protest. It's one thing to make a sign. It's one thing to verbally say something to someone or something that you object to. That's one thing. It's an entirely different thing to either try to intervene, to try to prevent someone from doing their job. It's also an entirely another level to ambush an officer, to hit somebody with your car, to. I mean, we've seen countless videos all over the place where. What makes you think that that's okay? And that's the problem that I'm having. I have no problem with people, even though I don't agree with them. I have no problem with people trying to and attempting to voice their own opinion. What I don't have a problem with is you becoming such an entitled positive that you think it's okay for you to do bodily harm to someone trying to do their job. Now, whether you agree with them doing their job, that's a completely different subject matter. But that's the problem that I'm having.

[A]

Okay, help me get into the head of someone who's doing this. Do you think they feel that ICE is the Gestapo?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And if I were back in 1938, Germany and Gestapo was rounding up Jews, I hope that I would have the courage to say, no, you're not. You're not doing that. I hope that I would stand in front of their cars.

[B]

But here's the key difference and why I have such a problem with that term being thrown. I'm not blaming you, and I'm not.

[A]

Saying ICE is the Gestapo. I'm saying, do you think people think that?

[B]

Those are the people that think that. And because you're hearing that rhetoric from elected leaders that are supposed to be, again, calming things down, not winding everybody up. And when you hear that term, it's so insulting to someone that actually had to live through that back in the 30s. Do you know what I'm saying?

[A]

I do.

[B]

It's so insulting to have someone that's maybe an ancestor of someone that was in a concentration camp, because that's not even remotely closest to what's going on. And to the point, Mike, where I wish it was possible for whether it's ice, and we're going to hear from Kristi Noem in a second, whether it's ice, whether it's the Department of Homeland Security, whoever it might be, you know what you should do? Create this database and say, here's who we went after and here's why we detained this person. Here's what they're being charged with and the reason we thought they should not be roaming amongst the rest of us in society, would that make a difference? I doubt it. But I also think that if people understood why they're here in the first place. And again, I'm not exonerating what's happening on the federal level, but because of the fact that we have nobody locally, we have no local law enforcement that's assisting with this. In fact, we spent basically the entire show today on GL with Joe explaining exactly why they can't. There's a Minnesota law that. That prevents them from assisting federal agents or ICE officials or whatever the terminology is. And that's the problem that I'm having, is you'd solve a lot of this nonsense if you were assisting. And that's basically. Let me play this clip. This clip is from. I believe it was this morning. Yeah, it was this morning. Kristi Noem.

[A]

What kind of pants is she wearing? The jeans with the little sparkle things on the butt or just.

[B]

Well, it's a headshot, so I can't really tell.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I can't really tell what she's wearing, but it doesn't matter. Okay. Anyway, this is Kristi Noem. She appeared on Fox News earlier today, basically talking about how she tried to attempt to talk to Governor Tim Walz. And you'll figure out exactly what Governor Walz is up to here. When was the last time you called the governor, Governor Walz?

[A]

Oh, I talked to him just a couple of days ago.

[B]

And what did he say when you.

[A]

Told him to chill out? I said, tim and I served together in Congress. We both ran for governor at the same time. We have very different ways of governing. Our state in South Dakota was extremely successful and, and grew economically and safety. His. He drove it into the ditch and it has been an absolute disaster. He let it burn down in 2020 and then asked surrounding governors to. To send our National Guard to help him because he waited too long to make any decisions to bring peace. I'm, I'm worried that he's doing the same thing.

[B]

I understand that history.

[A]

But when you approach, approached him on.

[B]

The phone and made your appeal, what did he say?

[A]

I said, sir, listen, Tim, you know the situation. What's going on. We are enforcing federal law. If you don't like the laws, go change them. But. But don't do it by giving place to these protesters and rioters that are perpetuating violence. And I said, you have my personal cell phone. You call me if you need me. You call me. We will be there to help back you up, but protect your city, protect your state. And, and he paused for a few seconds and he just said, yeah, okay. We have very different viewpoints of what's going on. I said, maybe we do, but we.

[B]

Will be here if you need us.

[A]

Because that's our goal every day, is to keep people safe. So yesterday, he's encouraging people to keep.

[B]

A record on video with their phone.

[A]

All right, here's part of that.

[B]

Now, listen, they don't, they don't include that part. That's where they cut off. And that's basically goes into what walls did in front of the camera last night. But that's again, it's the complete denial of any wrongdoing. And the more that that happens, Mike, the more it leads me to believe that there's more here than meets the eye. And allow me to explain. We saw it play out in 2020, and I got a really bad feeling. I hope I'm wrong. I got a really bad feeling that the way we're heading, we're heading towards another. George. Now, it's going to help that the weather's so lousy and it's going to be a brutally cold weekend. But I have a really bad feeling that that's where we' right now with all of this, because earlier today you saw videos from the state capitol in which there was many Students that held an ice out at the state Capitol, which Governor Walz welcomed us high school students for an ice out, which again, you have every right to do. And guess what happened at that ice out? All of the students started fighting with each other. I mean, we are such a bleeping mess right now as a state. It makes me embarrassed.

[A]

Let's go back to the genesis of this problem. Because we are a sanctuary town, Minneapolis and St. Paul, right? I assume we have more illegal immigrants in this town because we are a sanctuary city.

[B]

No question.

[A]

So when that happens, if we weren't a sanctuary city, would we just have a standard amount of illegal immigrants? Right. And then ICE won't have to be here.

[B]

I think the main. To answer your question, I'm gonna say yes, but maybe not. And here's why I think the main. And again, and I've said this many times, both with you and with Joe, I think there is some theatrics involved with this. But at the same time, the main reason they're here is we have been bilked out of billions and billions of dollars for the most part, by people who are not in this country. And that's not hyperbole.

[A]

I don't disagree with that. I'm not saying I agree with it. I don't disagree with that. I'm still having some major problems. Reavers. I'm having major problems with the fact that federal government, the federal government is here whipping through our city, pulling people who are not necessarily illegal immigrants over, asking people for their papers, detaining people that may or may not be illegal. Something rubs me really wrong with that. And I can't fathom. I don't know if it's libertarian. I don't know if it's conservative. I don't know if it's old school Democrats. We don't like that. I don't want. This is a slippery slope. And if you can't see it, something's really wrong. If you can't see that we have ICE today and federal troops tomorrow. If you can't see that, I'm afraid. Right? That becomes a whole different scenario when somebody says. And no one said this yet, now we need to send troops in to support the ICE agents. All of a sudden now we have federal troops here with ICE agents. I'm just pontificating on what it could be. Right. I don't want that. I don't want that reverse. I want my state to be singular. I want my government to be small G. I want decisions to be made. I Don't want the federal. The power of the federal government to roll into our town and start asking my buddies that are Indian or Pakistani to show me their papers. I'm gonna tell you, Chris, if someone pulled me over and they said, oh, you don't have papers, Mike? And they detained me for 10 hours and I'm a born US citizen and I have full papers, but I didn't have them with me. I just had my driver's license and they detained me for 10 hours. I would sue them for. I can't express to you how livid pissed I would be off. What's the difference of a brown skinned person getting pulled over and they're saying, we can't tell who you are. We're gonna hold you for a little bit. Bullshit. You're gonna hold me for a little bit.

[B]

Is that different than when during COVID in this state we had to drive around with a piece of paper that said I'm an essential employee?

[A]

Same exact issue, okay? Same exact issue. I don't like federal government overreach. I don't like Minnesota government overreach. I don't like any government overreach, period. I don't like any government. Picture yourself Reivers driving with your kid down the road and you get pulled over and a cop, an ICE agent asks you questions. I would lose my shit. I don't know. I mean, I actually wouldn't. I'd say, hey, my name's Mike. I live in XYZ town. I've lived here since then. You can go. Look at me. I don't know. I do everything to prove it, but boy, they are detaining people. Reivers that aren't illegals, that are Minnesotans, that have been here for many years and live here their entire life. What would you do if they stole 10 hours of your time?

[B]

I would be pretty upset.

[A]

I'd hope you'd be more than upset.

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

I think so.

[A]

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[B]

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[A]

Oh, wow. Are you kidding me?

[B]

I'm not kidding. You. So here's the other part of that. The police force in the state has been basically, whether it's the city council, excuse me, whether it's the city council or any other Democratic led office, the police force has been demonized to the point where that's what's helped make these protesters feel so emboldened that they can attack a federal agent. And that's the. Okay, that's. So what I'm trying to get at here is when you feel helpless, like as a tax paying citizen. For me, I feel helpless. And I'll tell you why. Number one, the police force, they're just outnumbered. They can't get to every call.

[A]

Right now, I literally don't think they'd have the time to help us.

[B]

They just wouldn't have it. But more importantly, if they're not being handled at the local or the state level, who the hell is supposed to be doing this? Because even if the bad guy is apprehended and they're brought forward to someone like Mary Moriarty, she's not gonna prosecute them. The entire judicial system, from the Hennepin county attorney or the state attorney, Keith Ellison, it's a joke.

[A]

So we're going back to the sanctuary city thing because you made a really good point, Reivers. If just in the natural course of business over the last 20 years, if we would have arrested somebody, right? And then we found out that they weren't a citizen, and then we found out when we arrested them, we proved that they were guilty of some crime, we could have detained them and said to ice, hey, here's someone, you can deport them. Right?

[B]

Right. But I'm gonna help you. Yeah, they can't.

[A]

No, they can't today. But if we could have just done the basics right, we could have said, oh, this person, we don't have any background on them, they're not legal to be in the state of Minnesota, they just committed a felony, let's deport them. If we would have just done that, we won't be going through what we're going through now.

[B]

Well, that's just it, Mike, because I remember there was, and I believe it was Florida, because have you seen the videos from this sheriff? He's gone viral a couple of times with some of his stuff I'm sure I have on Florida. But basically there was a small number of protesters that were trying to prevent ICE from taking. And he said, what these people don't understand is why ICE agents were there. This was a 30 year old man and he was accused later convicted of raping an 11 year old girl. He was also charged with drug trafficking and things like that. And that's my point. You as a harebrained citizen wanna prevent that guy from being detained. What is wrong with you?

[A]

So, okay, because you don't know.

[B]

And again, I don't know. And either. And you don't know either. You don't know. I'm not saying you, I'm saying the protest. I'm saying John Q. Public. You also don't know why ICE is there.

[A]

Sure, I'm having a real hard time with this. I'm telling you. I really am having a hard time with it. I don't want to Minneapolis police to work with the hand of the federal government. First of all, they can't do it. They're too busy. They don't have enough to do it.

[B]

They don't have too much shit going on.

[A]

They have enough stuff to handle. But do I want them? I mean, I am worrying about government overreach. I am really worried about government overreach. And I wasn't so worried about government overreach three weeks ago because the federal government wasn't running roughshod through our city. I mean, why did we have to have policies of sanctuary cities? Why couldn't we have done what we did during the Obama administration? You had a criminal, you caught the criminal, you said, wow, that's unacceptable to do. Oh, and by the way, you're not legal to be here. We're gonna deport you like Barack Obama did over 3 million times.

[B]

Well, here's where I think I would lean towards your line of thinking because this also surfaced earlier today. And if this happens, I do think that George Floyd weekend in Minneapolis will look like a birthday party. Let me get to it from KSTP.com President Donald Trump today threatened to invoke the Insurrection act, allowing him to deploy troops as protests against Immigration and and Customs Enforcement persists in Minneapolis. Trump made the threat after a federal officer shot a man in the leg in Minneapolis Wednesday night after being attacked with a shovel and a broom handle. The incident further heightened the sense of fear and anger radiating across the city a week after an immigration agent fatally shot a woman. Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the rarely used federal law to deploy the US Military or to federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement over the objections of state governors. Quote from President Trump. If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the patriots of ICE who are only trying to do their job. I will institute the Insurrection act, which many presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great state. He said in a social media post.

[A]

It hasn't been used since May of 1992.

[B]

Rodney King.

[A]

Correct. During Rodney King, during the LA riots. Right.

[B]

That was President Bush.

[A]

That was President George H.W.

[B]

H.W. Thank you.

[A]

So that's what I'm talking about. Reverse. Okay, we have ICS here.

[B]

Let me finish one thing about this story and then I want to hear your thoughts. I will give. And I've been a little bit critical of Police Chief Brian o', Hara, mpd. But he did say during a news conference that the gathering was an unlikely unlawful assembly and quote, people need to leave. So at least o' Hara can kind of sense that this isn't helpful. None of this is helpful, whether it's words from the governor. And I will say I am almost praying that President Trump does not do this because of what will happen in the aftermath.

[A]

Yeah. And he shouldn't do it. Right. I don't know how to express this. I don't want ICE agents being hurt. I don't want John Q. Public being hurt. Please protest as safely as. And I think there's something to be said about this type of protest reivers to say to ICE agents. And this might be naive, Mike, just being a doofus saying, please don't do this, ICE agents, you're on the wrong side of this story. Please don't do this. Saying that having that message to the ICE agents instead of screaming abruptly in their face. Right. Instead of just yelling at them and blocking them and then hitting them with shovels and doing that. It's not going to work that way. You're going to create more issues every day. We do that. There's a different way. There's a peaceful protest that I think can work.

[B]

And I think the other dynamic about this, and we saw this play out with Floyd, you and I spent a lot of time talking about the George Floyd weekend in the aftermath of what took place here, man, almost six years ago. Holy crap. Five and a half years ago. My point is there's a certain of the, of the protesting contingency. Right. And there's a lot of them. And it's growing. And that's why I'm afraid of if President Trump doesn't act this way, that will grow even. It'll be like setting diesel fuel on a campfire is basically what will happen. Here's my point. My Point is, there's the group, the protesting contingent. I would guess 25% of those people have their heart in the right place they want to stand up for, whether it's a family member, whether it's a co worker, whatever it is. There's 25% of the people who think their heart's in the right place, but they're screaming their virtue. And I'm talking about the. The angry liberal woman that, you know, the Karens of the world that want to scream and shout, even though they really don't have a connection to this, other than they live in Minneapolis. But then there's the other 50% of the people that are there because they just want to cause trouble. I think it's 50%.

[A]

I don't think so. You think it's that high?

[B]

Oh, because it's. We have. And I'll tell you why I think it's that high. We have become a generation fueled by social media. We have to show everybody where we are 100% of the time. We have to check in at all these spots and let everybody know how active our social life is. And most of the people that are doing that just want to take a video and post it to Instagram. And I think. I do think it's 50% of the people that are protesting.

[A]

I'm jumping a little bit from that. Could Donald Trump have said there's no such thing as a sanctuary city? You can't do that. We're gonna send. I'm making this up. We're gonna send no federal funds to the state of Minnesota because you have sanctuary cities. Because sanctuary cities don't allow standard ICE practices. We have to come in with 4,500 or 3,500 ICE agents and rip through this town for a month or whatever it's gonna be. If we would have just not allowed sanctuary cities. Help me understand this. Like, why does the concept of sanctuary city. Why does St. Paul get to say, we're a sanctuary city? We're gonna do it, we don't care. And the federal government says, no, this is a federal thing. This isn't a state thing. You can't have illegal immigrants in your city. And as people get arrested, we're gonna deport them. And, oh, by the way, you're not gonna get federal funds. I don't know. But that would have been a better idea in my book than sending 3,500 armed troops. I'm gonna call them troops, ICE agents. And I have nothing against ICE agents. They're doing their job. But. And I'M gonna tell you, I bet you anything they don't want to be here in mass running door to door. There's a segment of their brain that says, this does not feel right. This cannot feel right. We shouldn't be going door to door looking for people and saying, hey, do you have some papers? When you're walking by me. What do you mean, do I have papers? I don't want that concept in this country Reverse where someone looks at me and says, where are your papers? That is the talk about insurrection. That's when insurrection hits home for a ton of people, right? Because you're like, oh, I'm not accepting that. We're not doing that in America. That's what we're doing right now. I don't like this feeling. It does not feel good. Go ahead and send federal troops in. Then we really got a big problem. Then we really have a big problem. I don't know what the hell to do.

[B]

I don't either. Let's switch gears after this message from North American banking. Company banking done differently since 1998. And back then, they made a promise to deliver a better banking experience for their customers where you know your banker and they know you. And while a lot has changed since then, this commitment to being a true community banker in the Twin Cities, that has not. And you get that feeling anytime that you walk into any one of their six Twin Cities locations, whether it's Roseville, 50th in France, Woodbury, Hastings, Shoreview, and also in Maple Grove. They offer all of the same online and updated mobile banking tools as all of those other big national banks. But the key difference is you're going to get the unparalleled service of a community bank. And they are also locally owned and operated. Here's why that's important. And that means loan decisions are made right here in the Twin Cities. They are not sent out of state. This helps all of you business owners solve problems quickly and also expand your business with confidence. You see, they deal with numbers every single day. But you, your family and your business are never going to be one of them. So check them out online. Today it's nabankco.com to learn more. Once again, it's banking done differently. North American Banking Company member FDIC is an equal housing lender. The weekly scramble. We will be right back. I desperately want to switch gears. I really do. It's one of those things, Mike, where you know, whether it's our show gl, you have to talk about it. But there's no good answers.

[A]

There's no good answer. And people on both sides of this are contacting me.

[B]

And I will say, we get so much mail when it comes to stuff like this or email when it comes to stuff like this that, you know, no one is going to change their opinion. No one is going to see a different angle on this particular story. Everyone is kind of set in their ways. And again, that's what makes this country great, is you can have a different opinion from somebody else. So that's what kind of makes a story like this so freaking exhausting. In fact, do you know what we did for show prep today?

[A]

I had a cigarette.

[B]

No. I was explaining to Joe what war is in baseball.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Wins above replacement. Because I had said, John Height and I, we were able to get away with talking about baseball before the show started because Kenny wasn't here today. That's the only reason why. And so we started talking about that. Joe goes, I've never understood war. And then I talked about the great tirade that Royce had years ago. But I don't need war to tell me that Willie Mays was a good baseball player. Anyway, that's what we talked about before the show.

[A]

Nice.

[B]

And I said, can we just talk about this today?

[A]

Can we just record this for a while? I quickly looked up, why can't the federal government make sure that towns are not sanctuary cities? The 10th Amendment. I don't know the Constitution well enough. The 10th Amendment reserves power not given to the federal government for the states and people, preventing the federal government from forcing states or localities to enforce federal immigration law. Then the anti commandeering doctrine. The Supreme Court had interpreted the 10th Amendment to mean that the federal government can't issue directive or commands or commands state and local officials to administer federal programs, including immigration enforcement. So there is legislative and constitutional law that says the federal government can't demand that. St. Paul's not a sanctuary city. Right?

[B]

Here's the text of that.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

[A]

Okay, I want that. I want the state to be in command. But what we did as a state might have opened up a huge can of worms. Is not the right term, right? This huge, horrible can of worms? Because if we would have just been dealing with immigrants, illegal immigrants that were here and were breaking laws like you could have just every couple of days somebody leaves, it wouldn't have had to be, we need to go get 5,000 people in a weekend.

[B]

But what, What Would you say then? Because I saw this pointed out a couple of days ago, and I don't know. Again, I don't know how I feel about this either. But many of these people, when the Trump administration took office, many of these people who are here illegally, either law abiding or are non law abiding, they were offered. Was it $5,000? Is that what it was? Here's $5,000 and you can leave the country.

[A]

And I was in favor of that.

[B]

And no one. You won't be arrested. Nothing will happen. Here's your check. You go back wherever and you can.

[A]

Try to file to become a. And you could try to enter this country legal.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. And I think many did take up that offer, but obviously many more did not.

[A]

Yeah, voluntary deportation. You know why? Many more did not. Reverse. We looked up the stats last show. There's 100,000 illegal immigrants in Minnesota, approximately, and 46% of them have been here for 20 years. They don't feel Mexican anymore. They don't feel Peruvian anymore. They feel Minnesotan, like they're part of the United States. I wish I could figure this shit out. I wish. You know, and the worst part is.

[B]

You have a much bigger job, if you could.

[A]

Yeah. The problem is people are gonna be mad the way I'm talking about this show, right? They're gonna be mad saying, hey, come on, you know, let's get everybody out of here. And then there's gonna be the other side that says, are you kidding? These people are part of our community. And, boy, I kinda. I'm like fully not understanding what to do. The big caveat is I don't want federal troops rolling through my town, period.

[B]

The other problem that I have is when someone else decides to take it upon themselves to point out the opinion of some others, and that's how they're gonna base a judgment on them. You know what I'm saying?

[A]

It happens.

[B]

Right. Well, I mean, the other day I kind of got eyeballed. Cause I was buying gas, and I never get gas in the city ever. I literally never do anymore. But I was getting eyeballed because, you know, you've seen me when I've got my black GL hat on, my black outfit, and my aviator sunglasses. It's like, oh, this guy must be a cop. I mean, I know what that look is like. I'm just getting gas.

[A]

Maybe they were attracted to you.

[B]

No, trust me, it was not that at all.

[A]

Maybe they thought you were a thief, all blacked out.

[B]

Could be. Maybe.

[A]

I mean, do I I don't see cop when I look at you, but kind of do a little bit.

[B]

The vehicle I drive, I drive a black Chevy Traverse. Sure.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

In fact, see that feeling you didn't like.

[A]

The feeling you didn't like. There's someone standing on a street corner that ice may be eyeballing them.

[B]

That's true.

[A]

And they're saying, hey, I don't like this feeling.

[B]

So I got to share a quick story with you. So I know a guy, and he operates a business, and he's basically a mechanic. And once or twice a month, he has to drive to an auto parts store. It's a specialized auto parts store that's here in the city. It's right off of Broadway. And he had to come up here a day or two ago. I can't remember. And so I was part of a text chain, and another guy in the group said, well, I think what I'm gonna do is make a bunch of magnetic signs and put ice on the side of your vehicle. I thought, that's really not a good idea. That is really, really not a good idea. And so, thankfully, that sanity prevent.

[A]

And he didn't do that.

[B]

You could think that that's a funny joke, but that's not funny.

[A]

No. And it's not gonna work. It is not funny at the moment we're going through. I think you're absolutely right. This could become a tinderbox.

[B]

If he does invoke that act, I think hide the women and children.

[A]

He shouldn't do that. You know, it's funny. Cause there are a bunch of charity events, right? This is charity event season, right? So downtown Minneapolis, they have all these charity events at the Depot and these other hotels and all the stuff that. Well, the charity event organizers are freaking out because they can't invite 700 people down to Minneapolis because they're afraid that, one, the venue's not going to have any damn employees, and two, that it won't be safe for people. It's like, okay, what are we doing? Not that the charity events are that important to have happen. Right? But they're good causes, right? They've been playing for a long time. It's just. We don't need to do it this way. We don't need to do it this way. I don't know the answer. Let's talk. Honest to God, I don't care if we talk about chicks or skateboarding or some other beer. Let's talk about anything.

[B]

When have we ever talked about skateboarding?

[A]

I don't know, but I did Were you a skateboarder? Oh, my God, yes. Okay, Can I tell you a little story?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I was driving past one of my stores yesterday, right down in St. Paul, we have a store down on Plato and South Robert, a service center. And we had went to get tacos at a place called Taco House. Okay, Boca Chica's Taco House. Right. If you've never been to Boca Chica, Taco House, they make fantastic tacos. I didn't even think about this ice thing. I just went there and I thought, oh, well, you know, I didn't. My daughter. I was with my daughter. She actually said, do you think it'll be open? And I said, well, it's early. It's seven o'. Clock. Yeah, why wouldn't they? She goes, oh, no. But because of ice. I thought, oh, crap. I didn't. Are all the people working there? I have no idea. And it was totally open. Everything was fine. The food's fantastic. On the way out of there, Reivers. We're driving by down Robert street, and my daughter says, hey, there's a rock climbing gym. And I said, and I'm on that road almost every day. I said, no, there's not a rock climbing gym. And she goes, it was right there off the road. And I said, honey, I'm on this road almost every day. There's not a rock climbing gym. I was a real avid rock climber at one point in time. So she said, yes, it is. I said, let me prove to you. So I turn around, flip around and drive around. Sure enough, there's a 200,000 square foot rock climbing gym, brand new, on a road that I drive down every day. So I drop her off and I go back to this rock climbing gym because I just turned 55 and I'm just becoming this lazy turd. And I said, I gotta do something. So I go into this rock climbing gym and there was this kid named Brad. Brad could sell Ferraris. This kid was unbelievable. Sure, let me show you. Here's the community that we have. Foghorn community. Here's the group of friends you're gonna make. Here's the plunge. There's a plunge pool and a sauna and private showers and a big workout area. And the whole thing. He did the whole thing right. I get done. What I don't need is another membership to a club I'm not gonna use. What did I do?

[B]

Bought a membership to a club you're not gonna use.

[A]

Bought a membership, and I don't even think I can rock climb anymore. I used to be real avid. 15 years ago. Well, my body's changed a little bit in the last 15 years, so I was so damn proud of this kid. I'm like, you need a name tag on. I'm like, are you management? What's going on? He's like, no, I just work here. And I'm like, I need to steal him and go sell jets or whatever. Cause this kid was just such a. Just a gentleman. So new ROC in St. Paul. It's called Bouldering Project.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I guess there's 15.

[B]

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

[A]

There's one in Minneapolis.

[B]

Is their logo the state of Minnesota with a guy hanging from, like, the.

[A]

No, no.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. I think that's Vertical Endeavors.

[B]

Is that what that is?

[A]

Yeah, that's Vertical Endeavors.

[B]

I saw that logo. I forget where I was driving. I saw that logo. I went, oh, my God.

[A]

That's right off of 280. And we're right next to one of vertical endeavors. It's 280 and 94.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Like, you know where those storage units are on 280 and 94? It's right behind there is Vertical Endeav.

[B]

Cause I saw that logo. I'm like, that is a very. It's a cool logo because I know exactly what they're doing with that, you know?

[A]

So let me tell you a little story. So on one of my very first dates, my second date with my pick, right, with Nicole, I said, hey, do you want to see something cool? And so we went.

[B]

She said, no. Yes.

[A]

I didn't say big. I said, cool.

[B]

Gotcha.

[A]

And I said, let me show you this. So we drove down on the south side of the Mississippi River River Road, down by the St. Paul Yacht Club under the high bridge. And I said, let's go up. Let me show you something behind this. So you have to kind of walk up through the dirt, and there's mattresses laying there and drug needles, and just. It's sketchy. And she's thinking to herself, is he gonna kill me at the second date? She doesn't really know me. She knew I was a gentleman on the first date, but she had no idea what kind of maniac I was gonna be. So we get around on the backside of this big bridge. So it's 200ft tall, approximately. It's really, really tall. And someone at some point, I know who did it, but I can't say put a rock climbing route on the inside of the bridge. So if you're rock climbing, you can't see anybody on the Bridge. Cause it's from the bridge embankment to the dirt, right? And it's the largest climb in the state of Minnesota. So you have to climb for, like, 15ft without a rope. And then your rope would hook in because he put clips to hook in, and you can climb all the way up on the bridge.

[B]

Oh, my God. I'm getting the elevator stomach.

[A]

So, so, so cool. And she thought, I don't know why you really needed to show me that, right? But that those rock climbing things. There's a company in Minnesota called nycros. They make those hand holds, right? They're worldwide. They make these things. And they're great, great, great people. But if you love rock climbing and haven't done it for 15 years, like me, I'm going to be there tonight at Boulder Project. Bouldering project.

[B]

Is this a frat pack gathering?

[A]

If you're there. If you're there. I just got a new watch, too. And do you hear it making a beep noise?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't know how to shut that off.

[B]

Oh, it's a big day.

[A]

My life is crashing. This was a birthday gift for my wife.

[B]

Happy birthday.

[A]

It tracks me, FYI.

[B]

Oh, boy.

[A]

She knows exactly where I am, and it's always on my wrist. And if my wrist is doing something fast, she could track that.

[B]

Oh, we got to use the other hand.

[A]

Reavers.

[B]

You know what? What's that?

[A]

What do you call an alligator that wants to be a detective?

[B]

I have no idea.

[A]

An investigator.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Rivers, you are the best.

[B]

Do us a favor and rate and review the show wherever you happen to be listening to the weekly Scramble podcast. It helps others find the show. It helps us out as well. And we appreciate each and every single one of you. His name is Mike Fratelloni. My name is Chris Rivers. Thank you so very much for listening to the weekly Scramble Podcast. We'll talk to you again next time. Until then, cheers.