SCRAMBLE: School graduation celebrations have gotten completely out of control!!

Summary

Garage Logic Weekly Scramble – May 21, 2026
Episode: "SCRAMBLE: School graduation celebrations have gotten completely out of control!!"
Hosts: Chris Reivers and Mike Fratelloni
Podcast: Garage Logic (Gamut Podcast Network)

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Garage Logic Weekly Scramble dives into the growing trend of elaborate and disruptive celebrations at school graduations—particularly those driven by social media antics—and what the hosts see as a loss of decorum and common sense. The conversation blends light-hearted banter with genuine concern about societal changes, then shifts into commentary on high-profile fraud cases in Minnesota, government response, and some humorous asides on local culture, music, and even Mount Everest.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The "Out of Control" Graduation Trend

[03:29–13:20]

• Hosts' Frustrations:
  Both Chris Reivers and Mike Fratelloni express irritation with students hijacking graduation ceremonies for self-centered, social media-fueled performances (e.g., dancing, backflips, high kicks).

  • “I've never been more stunned in the 26 years I have been doing broadcasting than I am than the last 30 seconds.” — Chris [04:30]
  • “Let's act like we've been here before. Let's act like we have a little decorum. We don't. Everyone doesn't need to be a dancer. … You could just see the fatigue in his eyes of like, what is going on?” — Mike [06:54]
  • Notable Examples:
    • Students performing choreography or acrobatic moves, which interrupts and overshadows the event for others.
    • Families in the crowd screaming so loud that subsequent graduates cannot hear their names called.
      • “You're ruining that kid's moment.” — Chris [09:35]
  • Drivers of This Trend:
    • Social media’s role in encouraging attention-seeking.
      • “This isn't about your TikTok video that you're gonna be posting later on social media.” — Chris [08:31]

• Cultural & Generational Commentary:

  • While recognizing graduation as a meaningful achievement, the hosts lament the perceived shift from collective celebration to individual spectacle.
  • Chris and Mike both relate personal stories and family perspectives on graduation decorum.

• Suggested Solutions:

  • Mike facetiously proposes withholding diplomas from students who disrupt the ceremony.
    • “They should say, if you do anything stupid besides walk across here ... you're not gonna get your diploma.” — Mike [12:52]

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2. Technology’s Clumsy Entrance:

[10:14–11:46]

• AI Mishap at a Graduation:
  • The University of Minnesota used an AI name reader, which skipped reading the names of half the graduates.
    • “We implemented a new AI reader this time to read the names, and it skipped roughly half of you.” — Mike [10:14]
  • Crowd responded with boos; Mike jokes, “Don't boo AI because it's watching you.” [10:48]
  • Light-hearted aside about being polite to Siri, suggesting AI may eventually control more aspects of life.

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3. The "Feeding Our Future" Fraud Scandal

[15:33–21:33]

• News Recap:

  • Amy Bock, founder of Feeding Our Future, sentenced to over 41 years for orchestrating a massive $250 million fraud exploiting child nutrition programs during the pandemic.
  • “Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Bock to 50 years in prison, while her attorney asked for either time served or a maximum of 37 months. Good one.” — Chris [15:34]
  • Most funds are untraceable, with over 60 convictions linked to the scheme.
  • Discussion of others allegedly involved or aware, including political figures.

• Host Commentary:

  • Surprise that Bock did not attempt to plea bargain by exposing others.
    • "If I thought I was going to go to jail for 500 months, I'd be like, hey, I'm rolling over on everybody.” — Mike [18:24]
  • Fiscal impact broken down:
    • Each top 1% Minnesota taxpayer effectively lost ~$2,800 due to the fraud.
      • “250 million bucks divided by these, the 1% top payers, is roughly 2,800 bucks per 1% payer.” — Mike [20:48]
  • Satirical speculation that Bock’s unusual name spelling “Aimee” might have driven her to crime.
  • Criticism of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison for taking a “victory lap” without having led the prosecution.
    • “Now is not the time for you to be taking a victory lap ... you were probably supposed to handle a couple of years ago, but basically looked the other way…” — Chris [19:45]

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4. Broader Issues of State Fraud and Government Accountability

[26:04–30:54]

• Further Fraud Cases:

  • New charges announced against 15 more defendants for $90 million in misappropriated Minnesota Medicaid, autism, housing, and child care funds.
  • Criticism that fraud detection and enforcement lagged despite obvious red flags.
    • “They could have found them in two minutes.” — Mike [28:54]
  • Frustration at officials (notably Ellison) for claiming credit without taking action.
    • “Keith Ellison is the kid on the team … who did nothing yet he's the first one to go run and grab the … trophy.” — Chris [29:05]
  • Commentary that whistleblowers who tried to raise alarms were ignored or threatened.

• Satire & Political Frustrations:

  • Critique of Governor Walz’s universal free school meals policy.
    • “Some kids drive a G wagon to school, they can probably afford their own breakfast … We don't need to be a socialist society that gives everybody everything.” — Mike [22:14]
  • Chris and Mike agree that targeted aid should suffice, and that anonymity for those receiving assistance is easily achievable with modern technology.

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5. Local Color: Music, Venues, and Side Stories

[32:55–37:50]

• Jazz, Local Venues, and Musicians:
  • The Dakota, a legendary Minnesota music venue, is discussed fondly for its ambience and history, formerly located in Bandana Square.
    • “I spent, I mean, hundreds of nights at the Dakota when it was in Bandana Square.” — Mike [35:50]
  • Anecdote about attending an impromptu concert by Stephen C. Anderson at a house party.
    • “He jumps onto a piano ... And I was like, holy crap. Is that cool?” — Mike [34:00]
  • Nostalgia for old local shops—like a surf shop inexplicably set up in Minnesota.

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6. Lighthearted Moments & Signature GL Banter

[38:41–40:17]

• Mount Everest Dead Body Jokes:
  • Gallows humor about bodies of climbers frozen on Everest being used as trail markers.
• Quips and Playful Self-Deprecation:
  • Hosts tease each other about taking unearned credit at work, reflect on their own flaws, and joke about the perils of modern life and technology.

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Timestamp Guide to Key Segments

| Topic | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------|---------------| | Graduation Celebrations Out of Control | 03:29–13:20 | | AI Name Reader Fiasco at University Graduation | 10:14–11:46 | | Feeding Our Future Fraud Case Analysis | 15:33–21:33 | | Statewide Medicaid/Childcare Fraud Charges | 26:04–30:54 | | Discussion on Free School Meals Policy | 21:33–23:40 | | Local Venue: The Dakota, Music Stories | 32:55–37:50 | | Everest Jokes & Banter | 38:41–40:17 |

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the TikTok Graduation Trend:
  • “This isn't about your TikTok video that you're gonna be posting later on social media.” — Chris [08:31]
• On Audience Disruptions:
  • “You're ruining that kid's moment.” — Chris [09:35]
• On Fraud and Political Response:
  • “Now is not the time for you to be taking a victory lap … you were probably supposed to handle a couple of years ago, but basically looked the other way…” — Chris [19:45]
  • “Keith Ellison is the kid on the team … who did nothing yet he's the first one to go run and grab the … trophy.” — Chris [29:05]
• On AI in Graduations:
  • “Don't boo AI because it's watching you.” — Mike [10:48]

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Tone & Style

The conversation is classic Garage Logic: observant, irreverent, quick-witted, and deeply local in flavor. Chris and Mike combine cranky common sense, self-deprecating humor, and frustration with bureaucratic failings, all in a manner that makes even the serious discussions engaging and approachable for their dedicated Minnesota audience.

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In Summary:
This Weekly Scramble episode is a whirlwind of gripes, laughs, and pointed commentary, sharply critiquing both the "look-at-me" era of graduation ceremonies and the persistent problem of public fraud—while hitting all the notes (and offbeat jokes) that Garage Logic listeners appreciate.

Transcript

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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. Chris Reivers with me as always. His name is Mike Fratelloni. Hello, Michael.

[A]

How you doing, Reivers?

[B]

I'm doing well. And I really didn't prepare you for the first item that I wanted to bring up. And we're gonna get to some of the heavier news of the day today. Cause we're.

[A]

It's a big news day.

[B]

Holy crap.

[A]

Ding dong, the witch is dead is what I like to say.

[B]

But I wanted to bring this up because I'm seeing something that's become a trend and it's really, really, really starting to irritate me.

[A]

Ooh.

[B]

And I know I'm the old man yelling, I know. That's fine.

[A]

People graduating from college and doing dances for like. Is that it? Was that it? I knew that had to be it. Reavers just got up and ran out of the studio. Because I knew that would piss him off. Because it drives me absolutely. It drives me absolutely nuts watching them. Absolutely nuts.

[B]

Okay. I'm not joking. I'm literally not joking.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Remember the thing you said about women that spend too much time together in their cycle, sir? Is that what's happening?

[A]

Yeah. We're on one brain now.

[B]

I have never been more stunned in the 26 years I have been doing broadcasting than I am than the last 30 seconds. Really? I cannot believe.

[A]

I'm glad you called that. We must have the same algorithm on social media. Cause it's feeding me these videos and I cannot believe the actions of some people. I cannot believe the actions. Like. What are you doing?

[B]

I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen. I have never been this stunned before.

[A]

That's cool. I'm so glad.

[B]

Holy crap.

[A]

People will know. If you're watching this on YouTube. You're gonna know we didn't fake this. Cause Reavers you are not that good actor.

[B]

No, I'm a terrible actor. That's why Twin Cities Live doesn't have me on doing TV anymore. Oh, my God. Okay, so. Wow, Mike, that's awesome. I literally can't believe you nailed it.

[A]

Drives me nuts. Drives me nuts.

[B]

And here's what I don't understand. This is obviously a product of a number of things. This is obviously a product of a generation. It's a product of social media. But between that and I think what's happening here is this is someone that has clearly made it a point to have either whether it's a friend, a family member, whoever it is, taking a video of them walking across the stage, grabbing their diploma and then doing their ridiculous. Whatever it is. There was one girl, I don't have any idea what school it was, and it doesn't even matter, but I'm gonna guess just based upon her age, I'm gonna guess this was a college graduation. And I get that in some families, like, that's a pretty big deal.

[A]

It's a big deal, period.

[B]

I was one of a few people that went to college on both sides of my family. So for me, I took a real, you know, like, that was a pretty big accomplishment for me. But I guess my point is. So I get you've been special.

[A]

That's not so easy to get through college.

[B]

Well, but. And sorry. And so for some of the families that either whether it's fight financial or just the environment with which they grew up, I get that. It's a huge deal. No kidding. No question about it. But when there was. There was this one gal who grabbed the diploma, started doing the dance on the stage, and then had to do like the gymnastics, theatrical, backflip and everything else, I'm thinking there's 300 other kids that are doing the same. This isn't just about you.

[A]

That girl was a beautiful girl too.

[B]

You know exactly what you do.

[A]

I saw the video. She was a beautiful young college graduate. She could have just walked off classily, but instead she kicks off her shoes. When she get. At least she's off the stage at this point, kicks off her shoes, does some weird. Not weird, like indigenous dance move. Yes, right. And then does some round off backflip type of thing. And I thought, what? The other one that I really love is the girl who does the super high kick and her feet just fly out from under her and she goes boom. Lands on the ground and then pops back up and you can see the guy handing her the diploma. And it was maybe A historically black college, Right. And he hands it to her like, come on, kids or adults, let's act like we've been here before. Let's act like we have a little decorum. We don't. Everyone doesn't need to be a dancer. Everyone doesn't need to scream. Everyone doesn't need to do a kick into the air. You could just see the fatigue in his eyes of like, what is going on?

[B]

And there was another one, too, where. And this was clearly done because he knew he was being recorded by one of his buddies for social media, where he gets up. So it's a guy, I would say, you could tell he's probably a high school football player. He's probably about my height, but a nice thick kid. And there was those stanchions that sit next to the podium. And it must have been the school's. What would you call it? The school's logo or. Not the school's logo, one of their brand. And he went to go pick it, and this is a big, big piece of wood. And he goes to pick it up to hoist it. And the president's like, no, put that down.

[A]

You don't need to do that.

[B]

This isn't about you. Right. This isn't about your TikTok video that you're gonna be posting later on social media. Is that.

[A]

What do you think it is? Is it just what it has to be?

[B]

It has to be. I mean, what other. Unless it's, hey, I clearly want everybody to know that this is about me. It's gotta be driven by social media. It has to be.

[A]

It's not a race thing. No, I don't want it to sound like a race thing.

[B]

And the kid I was talking about, he was a white kid with red, curly hair.

[A]

Yeah, there you go. But I did see, See, my friend's son graduated from the University of Minnesota this year.

[B]

Congratulations. Because that was last week.

[A]

Yeah. Tuesday, I think, or Tuesday.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And big deal. Big deal. And I said, how was the crowd? And he said, the crowd was super respectful, except for a handful of people that lost their mind, screaming, making a. And he's like, the hell is going on here? He's like, who's doing that? They said, because, I mean, it's huge, right? A lot of people to go through. So you couldn't hear the next person's name and then the next person's name because people kept screaming.

[B]

And now. What are you doing? You're ruining that kid's moment.

[A]

Yes, exactly.

[B]

Because their family, all the people that made the Effort to come. Mom, dad, Grandma, Grandpa, whoever it is, all made the effort to come and sit down for hours just to hear their kid being called or their relative's name be called. Yet it's interrupted by a handful of disrespectful asshats.

[A]

Yeah, that's really. You know, you graduated from college. You're at a whole nother level socially now. Right. I'm air quoting that right now. You've attained something now. Go win. Right? Go win. You don't need to act like a fool. This last day, one other quick thing, and I don't know.

[B]

Keep going, keep going.

[A]

So they had the provost or something gets up and says, hey, for all of you that are still standing, I apologize. We implemented a new AI reader this time to read the names, and it skipped roughly half of you. Oh, my God.

[B]

And it just skipped them. Oh, my God.

[A]

And they're like, so we need you to come. Come up, tell us your name. We'll announce your name.

[B]

You are kidding me.

[A]

And you could just hear the booze. Like, here's one thing you got to be careful of. Reverse. Don't boo social media. Not social media.

[B]

Don't boo AI because it's watching you.

[A]

It knows what you're doing. Sometimes I'm rough to Siri, and then I apologize and I say, siri, sorry, baby.

[B]

It's my fault.

[A]

You know what? I love you too much for me to yell you like that. We have something special. I would never yell at you normally, but you just made me mad that time. Just like a standard abuser. Right?

[B]

Right.

[A]

Hopefully she's in a mood when she takes over to say, mike, he's one of the okay guys.

[B]

Right?

[A]

He's. So don't rip on AI too much. Oh, no, because it's listening. We had a business meeting today, and we're talking about AI and. And a lot of the guys in the business meeting said, you know, when our team starts to use AI And I said, hey, time out. Our team doesn't have to use AI. AI is going to teach us how to run our jobs. AI is going to say, oh, no, you do it this way. That's the only way you can do it. Now we don't have to learn AI. AI has to learn us. Right? And it will learn us in a couple of days. In a couple of years. Couple of weeks. Couple of months. But, yeah, those are great stories. I'm so glad I guessed what you were going to talk about.

[B]

You absolutely floored me. And I guess that's what's Kind of ironic about all of this, especially with college graduations, is most of these kids that are either going to take up a field in, you pick the category codings, whatever they're going to be doing, little do they realize, well, AI is probably going to take your job in a number of years, depending on what

[A]

it's going to be.

[B]

True. But I guess it's almost like, well, yeah, you've embraced this awesome new way of life and technology, yet little do you know, it's probably going to cost you your gig down the road.

[A]

It might be. It might be. The AI overlords might just say, we don't need you anymore.

[B]

And I know. I guess I'll wrap it up here with this. But I guess I know that I have brought this up before, but I was astounded at just the behavior. And I'm not even saying about the kids, but you mentioned the crowd, the behavior at graduations. It's really gone downhill. And I would say I probably attend a graduation once every three or four years, maybe, Right. And so I'm probably not the best person to gauge that, but I've noticed a trend of the behavior's just gotten terrible.

[A]

You know what we should do? They should do is they should say, if you do anything stupid besides walk across here, shake our hands, take the diploma. We're not gonna give you your diploma. Yeah, your family can scream if they're gonna scream, let it be right. We can't stop everybody in the crowd. But if you do something stupid, we send you off to the right stage, Right. And you don't get your diploma.

[B]

Good luck with you. Off with you.

[A]

I think you have to do that in today's society to level, set and get some decorum back in this world.

[B]

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[A]

What's that?

[B]

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[A]

If my teenager starts calling me Leslie,

[B]

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[A]

If you know you verbo terms apply.

[B]

See verbo.com trust for details. I'm still kind of rattled that you, that you called that.

[A]

I'm so glad. I mean, it's pretty obvious that's a story that is going to be told for a while. Yeah, we'll have a few more weeks of those.

[B]

Well, and I, you know, with Memorial Day and with everything else, it was just kind of like I was just blown away. So that's the first time I think you've ever really shocked me. So thank you, Michael. I really, you seem to shock the

[A]

crap out of me all the time.

[B]

All right, so we have to get to it. Please tell me about this break into

[A]

the book about her. Please tell me.

[B]

Amy Bach. Amy Gal, your gal, the founder of Feeding Our Future, was sentenced to over 41 years, that's 500 months for her role in the sprawling fraud scheme. This morning, Amy Bach, 45, was convicted on all counts following a more than six week federal jury trial last year. Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Bock to 50 years in prison, while her attorney asked for either time served or a maximum of 37 months. Good one. The former prosecution team, Joe Thompson, Harry Jacobs, Matthew Ebert and Daniel Boebert attended the sentencing. Joining them were law enforcement who worked in the case and even Several jurors from the six week trial prosecutors have described Brock as the ringleader of the scheme to defraud the federal child nutrition program out of roughly $250 million, the largest pandemic related fraud scheme in the country. According to the prosecutors, a federal judge approved the government's request for bach to pay 5.2 million in restitution in December. 5 Eyewitness News reporter Eric Rasmussen questioned Bo about her role in the fraud scheme during a remote video interview earlier this week. While she expressed some regrets, Bach largely blamed others and denied knowingly committed the fraud. At least 79 people have been charged in connection to defeating our future scheme, still denying it. More than 60 have been convicted so far.

[A]

So she's 45 years old.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

She got 500 months. This is federal crime. So there's no like time, there's no like good behavior things. Right. You can get out early if you have good behavior in jail. Right. So she could spend as little as 33 and a third years in federal prison. That's the minimum she's going to spend. 45 plus 33, what is that? 88 years old. That's a penalty they got her.

[B]

And I will say this because I know she was starting to name, I believe because we played this audio on gl, she did say that Ilhan Omar knew about the program and didn't specifically say that she was involved in the program. But I think we all can draw our own conclusions with that.

[A]

You don't think she would say to the prosecutor, hey, prosecutor, I don't want to go to jail for the rest of my entire life.

[B]

That's where I was going. That's where I was going. So I'm kind of surprised that she didn't. But I guess because Joe kind of, he asked this earlier today about, well, why wouldn't she? And my only conclusion that I can come up with is maybe she somehow fears for her safety. I don't know. But if she's in federal prison, 50

[A]

years in jail or 500 months in

[B]

jail, so I guess, I don't know. I don't know the answer to that. But if she does have information, I'm kind of surprised that she wouldn't be more forthcoming with it.

[A]

I would, I would be forthcoming. If I thought I was going to go to jail for 500 months, I'd be like, hey, I'm rolling over on everybody.

[B]

Yeah, I would do the same thing. I mean, granted, I don't think either one of us would be in that position in the first place. But I'm saying, oh, yeah, I'd be singing like a canary. Absolutely. Yeah, I absolutely would be.

[A]

They said she's also has to pay back 250 million bucks. So I'm sure that's going to be

[B]

easy for her, especially when half of that money is overseas, just totally gone.

[A]

Right, Right. I think. You know how we foghorn names on garagelogic.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Maybe, just maybe, right from the get go, 45 years ago, her parents made a mistake.

[B]

What do you mean?

[A]

When they named her Amy. A I M E E, not A M Y. Bach. Amy Bach. And maybe for a lifetime of saying, no, my name is spelled A I

[B]

M E E. So this is how she's gonna get back.

[A]

She finally is like, maybe just lost it. Maybe she always hears foghorn. Maybe she was a fan of GL and every time someone called in with a name and it got foghorned and she just slowly lost her mind and said, I'm gonna move to a life of crime because I can't take it anymore. Cause I'm A I M E E. Bach.

[B]

The best part about this story, at least for me anyway. Did you see the victory lap that Keith Ellison took about this?

[A]

Oh, was he so proud of what he did.

[B]

I thought it was satire.

[A]

Oh, really?

[B]

He said, just so glad that we're finally able to hold the fraud leader in this. Keith, now is not the time for you to be taking a victory lap, you know, but he can't help himself, you know? You mean Keith, the fraud that you were probably supposed to handle a couple of years ago, but basically looked the

[A]

other way could have saved us 250 million bucks. Okay, I have some numbers here, but one good joke that I have, okay? Like, she is obviously not the Terminator because she will not get it. That's not bad. I mean, I read a lot. I get a lot of stupid, stupid jokes coming my way. But if you are a 1% taxpayer and you're the top 1% of Minnesota taxpayers, right? So that's if I think you make 600,000 bucks or more, you're in the top 1%. That's roughly 10% of all taxpayers. It makes up about 29,000 people, right? With that 250,000, that works out to about 2,800 bucks per person. 1% taxpayer.

[B]

I'm with you.

[A]

So if you're sticking with me, I'm saying a lot of numbers, but I think let's pretend you and I are both 1% top taxpayers in Minnesota.

[B]

Let me just do this here and

[A]

let's Just pretend, okay? I mean, if Amy Bach stole $2800 from me and then say, my parents and then my siblings and then my best friends, and then I'd be pretty pissed. But that's exactly what happened. That's exactly what happened. 250 million bucks divided by these, the 1% top payers, is roughly 2,800 bucks per 1% payer. I'm like, well, we should be pissed. I mean, I know people that would probably kill somebody over 2,800 bucks. Not me, for sure. Not me. But, boy, when you really start adding it up, I find it alarming. When you break it down to the people who are paying the taxes really got stolen from here.

[B]

Oh, for sure.

[A]

Are you gonna get. Do you think when we have another $9 billion surplus, they're gonna say, hey, all of you that paid that extra taxes and we allowed this fraud to happen, we're gonna pay you back a $2800 check?

[B]

Mike. Tim Walls had recorded a video this morning talking about how the cuts to Medicaid are affecting Minnesotans. It's like, bro. And he of course, blames Trump. And I'm saying, governor, read the bleeping room. You know, quit, quit. And just don't get. I have Walls derangements.

[A]

But I know what else he said right after he said that. He said, but my administration is feeding every child breakfast, and you don't need to feed every child breakfast in school.

[B]

I'm good.

[A]

Some kids drive a G wagon to school, they can probably afford their own breakfast. We don't need to. We don't need to be a socialist society that gives everybody everything. Some people have enough. The people that don't have enough should be able to get it. Yeah, right. You don't need to pay my kids to go. My kids go to private school. They don't get free lunch too. Why don't my kids then get private free lunch? I don't get. Always bothers me that the one thing. If you said to Governor Walz. Governor Walz, and again, he might be a nice guy, don't know Governor Walz. But if you said to him, governor Walz, what are you most proud of? I guarantee you he'd say the one stupid socialist bullshit thing he did. Oh, every child in Minnesota gets free lunch and free breakfast at school. It's like, why?

[B]

I didn't want that.

[A]

Many kids don't need that.

[B]

Yeah, I didn't want that to happen.

[A]

Yeah, I didn't. That's not a logical use. The government is to give to others that aren't in need. I think you and I can say, well, if they're in need, we want to help them. Of course, if a kid doesn't have breakfast, I want that kid to have breakfast, I'll pay for that.

[B]

Well, and the reason they did that, and I guess I do understand why, but I understand the meaning behind it is, I guess a better way to say it because they didn't want the kids that did need this program to feel singled out, which I completely understand totally sucks. But it's an easy fix. All you do is every kid gets the same lunch card. Right.

[A]

With technology, we don't know if there's cash in the thing or not.

[B]

We have no idea.

[A]

We don't know.

[B]

Yeah, that's just a very easy fix.

[A]

But if we put the money on a card, then kids would be selling their EBT lunch cards to other kids to go buy sodas at the gas station for nine bucks a piece.

[B]

Yep, absolutely.

[A]

That's what happens.

[B]

Let's talk about Quick links golf and quicklinksgolf.com Ladies and gentlemen, the golf season is here, as you all are. Well, well, let's go. And here's the thing about Quick Links Golf. They make their projects so easy to access. If you go online to quicklinksgolf.com you can see all sorts of really cool past projects that they have been working on. And you can also book your free consultation. But you don't just have to use this in the winter. You can save time right now by practicing at home instead of heading to the driving range or between kids sporting events. You can practice with realistic feedback instant video recording, or you can just play the courses that the pros play. Quick Links works with contractors to add spaces to home floor plans or to create fun spaces for your employees at your office. But you gotta book that appointment online today. It's Quicklinksgolf.com a wonderful company based right here in Chaska, Minnesota.

[A]

Quicklinksgolf.com yesterday REIVERS I played golf late in the day. It's men's league. Played golf. I had a pretty damn good round. I put it into my gin number, my golf number, right. So I can find out what my handicap is. And and I knocked off one of my great rounds. So my handicap actually went up yesterday. Oh no, I can't tell you reverse how much I would pay to have a lower handicap. And I think it would be all the amount of money that Quick Links Golf wants to charge me. If I had a perfect spot for it, I would do it because I played with a guy who was a seven handicap. He was just cooler than me, just better at everything. Life just better. Right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

He was tanner than I am. His hair was better. He just is better at golf. And if I could go from what I am to what he is because I do something with Quick Links golf, there's no amount of money I wouldn't pay for that.

[B]

Well, you need to go to quicklinksgolf.com There you go.

[A]

I just wanted to tell you that

[B]

Mike Fredalotti approved and please book that appointment. Let him know you heard about him on the weekly scramble podcast. And we will be right back. There was another story that surfaced from me from the Twin Cities, Michael, earlier today. Hang on one second while I just jot this down because you know, fraud is on the tip of everybody's tongue. It really is.

[A]

It has to be.

[B]

And this story also was datelined today. Hang on one second. Top federal officials today announced prosecutions against 15 more defendants accused of defrauding government services. Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald, the head of the Department of Justice's Texas Fraud Enforcement Division, said the charges brought this week targeted, quote, shocking schemes that reaped $90 million in taxpayer funds.

[A]

My goodness.

[B]

McDonald said alleged fraudsters exploited programs meant to help vulnerable populations, including the now defunct Housing Stabilization Services program, which was designed to connect homeless, designed to connect homeless Minnesotans with housing and the Early Intensive Behavioral Development Intervention EIBDI program for children with autism. Our cases today involved, excuse me, seven different state managed Medicaid programs that have been systematically pilfered by fraudsters who treated Minnesota run programs as their personal piggy bank, McDonald said. On Wednesday, federal prosecutors unveiled charges against at least 10 more of those defendants accused of fraud across programs covering childcare, autism centers, housing support and in home health care. Some of their cases remain under seal. McDonald's said Minnesotans cooperation in combating fraud has fallen significantly short, an assertion that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has pushed back on. Boy, I'm shocked. That's editorial comment from the news deliverer.

[A]

That was not in the article.

[B]

That was not in the article. Ellison's office runs the state. Okay, I can't read any more of this.

[A]

So they got quite. They had the assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald in Health and Human Services Director Bobby F. Kennedy.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

I call him Bobby because we're close, Junior. And then Dr. Mehmet Oz came into this as well. I'm like, Dr. Oz, how you doing? One thing that I think we made a big mistake on reverse. Remember when the right side of the aisle was so excited when Doge came out and Doge just started randomly shutting things down and firing people. We shouldn't have allowed them to have Doge do that. What Doge should have done is used data analytics to say, we don't know, but this looks like fraud. We don't know, but this looks like fraud. And then allow the attorney general to go after them. Right. And so we could have said, doge keep finding, using data analysis, all of these errors because they're super easy. I mean, they could have found them in two minutes. Right. But they got so arrogant and the right got so arrogant with Doge letting them fire people, doing all this random stuff. And, you know, I was kind of excited about it too, a little bit. Right. Catching the fraud. They should have just brought the fraud to the federal government and had the federal government go after it.

[B]

Do you know what this is? And I get very annoyed by Keith Ellison because of course he's got a post on social media about us getting to the bottom. Well, Keith, you had no role in this. You literally didn't do anything.

[A]

You weren't invited.

[B]

Do you know what this is? I'm going to do a link because I'm knee deep in the travel baseball season right now. Keith Ellison, you ready to go? Here's your. Here we go. Keith Ellison is the kid on the team that won the tournament in. I'll just use this as an example. My kid was just playing in Richfield last weekend. He's the kid on the team that played in Richfield. They won the Richfield 11U baseball tournament. Yet Keith made 16 errors, struck out every at bat, but he's the first one to go run and grab the, you know, the little poster or the trophy or whatever. That's Keith Ellison.

[A]

He's carrying the plaque. Yet he didn't actually do it.

[B]

He didn't do jack. Yet he's sitting here trying to pat himself in his office on the back by saying, look at what we took care of. You had no role in any of this.

[A]

That's why I said he and Walz are screwed because they can't go after fraud. Because then everyone says, well, too late, too late. You already missed out.

[B]

Right?

[A]

So every time they bring up fraud, guys like us say, too late, dude. Well, you had your opportunity to say you could stop fraud.

[B]

And meanwhile countless whistleblowers have come forward to said, we tried to tell you and you ignored us and threatened our jobs.

[A]

Yeah, and Doge could have just found that out and technically would have been able to find it out in 10 minutes. Any of this stuff. Right. They could have said, oh, that one person doesn't need $1.9 million worth care question. Right.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And sadly, I think we did it wrong. But it's very cool to have Mehmet Oz, a Kennedy in town. Even though he's a junior. That's still kind of cool. I mean, the assistant Attorney General. I don't know why we didn't. Do we even have an attorney general right now? Is, are they in between jobs?

[B]

No, it's Ellison.

[A]

No, United States.

[B]

Oh, I'm sorry, General. I'm sorry.

[A]

I'm trying to think who that would be.

[B]

I guess I, I, we do have one. I can't know the name seems to

[A]

be a little bit in a flip, like he's just randomly sending people in and out.

[B]

But that's. It's. I, I just. My, my head spins when I think about this stuff because I, I cannot tell you how much it bothers me when people take credit for work they had no business.

[A]

Let's not get crazy, because I do that almost every day.

[B]

But we like having you around, you know.

[A]

But pretty much that's kind of my job title. At my other job. That's kind of what I do.

[B]

Sorry, I didn't mean to.

[A]

Don't get too crazy with that.

[B]

We are nuts. And we are nutsmn.com a very cool promotion going on right now through the end of the month of May when you stop at any one of the participating Quick Trip locations. And you have to be a quick rewards member, by the way. You purchase your jar of we are nuts and you are gonna SA $0.05 off per gallon of gas on an upcoming future fuel purchase. My goodness. You think I've done this before, but that's really cool. In fact, I stopped. Where did I. I stopped at the Elko Quick Trip two days ago and got myself a jar of the maple bourbon toffee almonds. And I'm gonna save at the pump because Lord knows I'm putting on a lot of miles these days with baseball season.

[A]

It's a good deal, actually.

[B]

It actually is. And you're gonna get gas anyway, right? So stop in a quick trip. But you also know that you can pick them up at Fratelloni's hardware and garden stores, Mac's Hardware, Lund's and Barley's, Kowalski's Markets, Cub Foods, Coburn's County Market, Jerry's Foods. It's all there for you. You can also purchase them online as well, by the way. And you can see their entire lineup

[A]

of quality snacks when you buy them at Fratelloni's. You know what we do for you?

[B]

What?

[A]

Nothing. We just say, hey, thank you.

[B]

Thanks for coming.

[A]

We don't get 5 cents. We're not giving you 5 cents for gas money. We don't have that kind of money. Right. We're just saying thank you so very much. We'll carry it out to your car. What? If you buy it at Fraloni, you're not getting gas money like you do at Quick Trip, but we'll carry them to your car for you.

[B]

Oh, that's really nice. See, that's very something. That's added value right there. But let them know you heard about him here on the weekly scramble podcast. And we will be right back. You know, you're just. You just triggered something that I wanted to mention anyway. Do you think if Dr. Oz and Bobby Kennedy and. Who else did you mention?

[A]

The veteran assistant attorney general. Assistant attorney general.

[B]

So if they're all in town, you know what they could do to night? I know the twins are out of town. Oh, they could go see Jeff Dayton at the Dakota.

[A]

Really?

[B]

I'm actually, I'm. I'm on the fence. Okay. Because it's the one night where I haven't had to run to a kid's baseball game, which kind of works out for my schedule, but it's also the one night that I haven't had to go anywhere. But I love Jeff, so.

[A]

Yeah, that would be cool.

[B]

I'm like 5050 about whether or not I should go to the show because it kind of works out with my schedule. And. And he's. Anytime he's in town, I've always had something come up. So I'm kind of like, should I go? Should I not go? Because I frickin love Jeff and he's so awesome, and his band is really good.

[A]

Can I tell you something that happened to me the other day? All right, so I was out at this party, and Stephen C. Anderson was there. Oh, you're kidding, right? And I'm like, I know who Stephen C. Is. Right? And so did other people. And we kind of talked for a little bit, and he knew who I was through the shows, through Garage Logic. And he's very, very nice. And I'm kind of bragging about what Stephen C. Does to the guests that I was with. Like, hey, this is it. And then, then Stephen says, someone said, hey, hey. Impromptu concert. And he jumps onto a piano.

[B]

Shut up.

[A]

And he plays in this. And I was like, holy crap. Is that cool?

[B]

Was it his piano?

[A]

No, it was a piano.

[B]

You're joking.

[A]

No. And I just thought that's what talent looks like.

[B]

Yeah, right, right.

[A]

That guy can just say, hey, why don't I play something for you?

[B]

Watch this.

[A]

And he's doing a series of concerts, too, at the cathedral. He's doing more than he just does for, you know, the end of the season, Christmas time. But I thought that was so cool that he does like Garage Logic.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

He knew who I was.

[B]

Yeah, He's a great dude.

[A]

Kind of cool because I was like, hey, everybody, it's my buddy, Stephen C. That's awesome. I wonder if he's gonna be there tonight.

[B]

Well, they played together last night. Jeff, Stephen C. And Pat Donahue played last night. I forget where, because Johnny Height was thinking about going down. We promoted on gl.

[A]

Oh, he did? Okay.

[B]

But it was a little bit of a smaller venue, so I knew it was going to be absolutely packed, which is cool, though. And I had other duties with kids in baseball and whatnot, so I wasn't able to make it. But that's why I'm thinking I might go, because it's been a minute since I've seen a show, and it's been a long time since I've been to the Dakota. I love that spot. The Dakota is such a cool spot.

[A]

The Dakota used to be an Energy park square. Right. Do you remember this? No. So do you know where Energy park or Energy Drive. I'm forgetting. So they went and built that. They took the old train stations and they turned Energy park into this great place, and the Dakota was in there. Reverse.

[B]

Okay. I did not know that.

[A]

Those buildings still to this day are some of my favorite buildings in Minnesota. You go in there and you see these big timber trusses, and the tracks are still embedded in the ground. I wanted to buy one of the buildings and park cars in it. I mean, I just. It was, like, way out of my league. I just couldn't do it. But my little boy dream said I should park cars here. This would be so cool. And the Dakota was. I lived in Roseville, so I would go down to the Dakota, and I would sit at the backside of the bar, and if you were eating, you didn't have to pay to get in. So you could watch these jazz musicians play.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

And I would go there, and I was like, right out of college, I didn't have a lot of money. Right. So I would sit down and just watch these guys play. The only problem with jazz music that the Dakota is famous for is they don't allow you to talk to your neighbor while they're playing. They kind of frown if you're like, hey, yeah, no, I live in Roseville. I like to play soccer. This fraud thing is driving everybody. You know, they want you to really pay attention. And I'm not good at that part. But I spent, I mean, hundreds of nights at the Dakota when it was in Bandana Square.

[B]

Okay, now I know exactly where you're talking. Okay, that's cool.

[A]

Those buildings were so cool.

[B]

The last time I was at the Dakota, this was a while ago. In fact, I don't even remember if I had kids at the time. So it's been a minute. But it was a cool show. In fact, I went out with a bunch of our friends from Twin Cities live. Okay. It might have been Post State Fair. Somebody knew somebody that was playing there. So we all and said, that sounds like fun. Let's go do that. And so, yeah, I think this was. Or either that or my oldest was probably less than one year. I think that's around that. It doesn't matter. But I remember going, God, this place is so freaking cool.

[A]

Bandana Square. The Dakota opened in Bandana Square in August of 85. Wow. And so I was like a freshman in high school in 85, right? And I remember going to Bandana Square. Cause again, I lived in Roseville, right? I went there and there was a Ron Johns surfer shop, right? And I am not the brightest guy in the world, right? But I grew up in a family of retailing. And I thought, what the hell are you doing with the Ron Johns surf shop in St. Paul, Minnesota? And they had like 40 different surfboards. I thought, we. FYI, we don't surf here.

[B]

Where are you going to take that?

[A]

You can't do that here, right? And it wasn't surfboards that you pull behind a boat. This was surfboards. But then I remember finding that sex wack. Magoo's Sex Wack Wax. Remember that? And I came home with a thing of Magoo's sex wax. And it was to put on your board so your feet stick. And my mom was like, what did you buy? And I was like, it's surfboard wax. And then she looked at me the same way I looked at them, like, the hell are you gonna do with surfboard wax? Little did you know, it was like, I liked it because it said sex wax. And that was really cool.

[B]

Look at this.

[A]

Yeah, I got some sex wax. So August of 85, then moved to Nicollet Mall. To Minneapolis, Downtown Minneapolis in 2003.

[B]

So it has been since 03. I was wondering when that transition.

[A]

Yeah, I don't know if you.

[B]

I. Well, I remember. Well, I guess because I was working at a different radio station at the time. And I remember when, well, quote, unquote, that opened. I had no idea it had a previous history.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Here in the 20s, a long run.

[A]

I mean, from 85 to 2003, that was a really long run.

[B]

That's cool.

[A]

I don't know if you saw that TV show on the people climbing Everest.

[B]

No.

[A]

Oh, so. So they. It's a story about this guy who climbs Everest and he collapses on the mountain.

[B]

Oh my God.

[A]

Authorities found him. Authorities found him Himalayan there. Authorities found Himalayan there. God, I screwed that joke up. Authorities found Himalayan there.

[B]

You gotta watch. There's a video of. I don't know if it was part of a document or whatever, but there's this because my brothers and I sent it to each other of like, well, that joke didn't pan out or whatever. And so it's that viral video of these women screaming their heads up as basically frozen dead bodies are sliding down Mount Everest. And it's basically our way of telling the other person that that wasn't funny. Is that. Do you just hear going. Cause I can see the bodies.

[A]

They actually have routes that you turn at the name of the person still frozen in the ground.

[B]

Are you kidding me? The right on the walkway, this Jim

[A]

Anderson turns the U turn. I mean they actually have that and no one has the. They don't have the power to get them off the mountain. Right. They don't have the strength to get them off the mountain.

[B]

As a family member, wouldn't you go get them.

[A]

There's something to remember, right? If you ever think you're not doing well, just remember that some guy spent a fortune, worked his ass off, struggled, tried to climb there and is locked in ice on Mount Everest right now for eternity. For eternity.

[B]

Oh my God.

[A]

And that's just a sad, sad, some one day global warming, we'll let those guys melt right down to the river. Exactly. Reivers, you are the best.

[B]

Do us a favor, 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 Fratellone. My name is Chris Reivers. Thank you so very much for listening to the weekly Scramble podcast. We'll talk to you again next time. Until then, cheers.