By J. Patrick Coolican| Editor-in-chief
Good morning, Reformers,
Madison McVan is at a presser being held by the family of Renee Good and has this dispatch:
The family of Renee Good sued the federal government Thursday morning over Good's killing, seeking compensation and a trial to determine the liability of several federal officials. They include Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who shot her, White House advisor Stephen Miller, former Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem, former Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and others.
Good's brother, Brent Ganger, and her widow, Becca Good, are the lead plaintiffs in the two lawsuits filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which provides for the compensation of people abused by federal employees. A number of others who have alleged abuse by federal agents during Operation Metro Surge — including activists and immigrants who were plaintiffs in an ACLU lawsuit — have filed similar claims under the FTCA.
Reformer reporter Michelle Griffith was at an event with House Speaker Lisa Demuth this morning and she was asked about it: “Clearly, a family can file a lawsuit. Her death is incredibly tragic, and I think as we watch that process go forward, we will learn more on it.”
A revealing (non) answer.
To the Reformer:
Attorney General Todd Blanche appears at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill July 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C.(Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)
By Madison McVan
The complaint stems from interviews given by U.S. District Judges Patrick Schiltz and others to the New York Times earlier this month, in which Schlitz — who until recently was the chief judge for the District of Minnesota — said the federal government’s actions during Operation Metro Surge “created a grave threat to the rule of law.”
The Times wrote that it interviewed six of the seven judges who were active in the District of Minnesota during the federal immigration crackdown, which resulted in the improper arrests of hundreds of immigrants and the deaths of two U.S. citizens.
By KFF Health News, WCCO
We republished this excellent piece from our colleagues:
New Richland is one of 100 U.S. nursing homes that face some of the nation’s worst flood risk — where at least 2 feet of water during a big storm could endanger residents — according to a KFF Health News analysis of peer-reviewed flood hazard mapping provided by Fathom, a United Kingdom-based company considered a leader in flood simulation.
The KFF Health News analysis builds upon a 2025 investigation that used Fathom’s mapping to identify at least 170 U.S. hospitals at risk of significant flooding. Fathom’s estimates are generally seen as more modern than official flood maps released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which are often out of date and don’t account for the changing climate.
By Patrick Hamilton
The author, a fellow with the Science Museum of Minnesota and with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, likens the Earth to a leaky boat:
“We must now acknowledge the daunting implication that our planet’s infrastructure is declining in its capacity to support us. It can be easy to dismiss reports from those responsible for monitoring our planet’s infrastructure that things are amiss, especially when some political leaders won’t acknowledge the seriousness of our current situation and actively deny that there is anything that needs to be done and instead seek to divide our earth ship into spheres of influence.
Imagine being a passenger on a vessel where different factions seek to establish domains over various portions of it, dismissing the fact that its infrastructure cannot be divided up. The ship either functions as a whole or eventually fails to function.”
IN OTHER NEWS
Justice Department indicts 10 noncitizens in quest to prove Trump claims of election fraud | Reformer via States Newsroom
US Senate Dems block bill curbing congressional stock trading, calling it too weak | Reformer via States Newsroom
How America, led by FDR, became antifascist | New Yorker
OH BY THE WAY
Turning to another January ICE shooting, this one by ICE agent Christian Castro of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.
When then-assistant U.S. attorney Matthew Evans was overruled in his effort to get Castro charged with something more serious than lying to the FBI, he wrote a letter to Cesar Sosa-Celis’ attorney, as ProPublica first reported, explaining that he’d attempted to make a civil rights case but was overruled by higher-ups.
I was reading this illuminating New Yorker story about the dilemma of the honorable people of the U.S. Department of Justice — headline: “Should I stay or should I go?” — noting that Evans, having already been fired, is now under criminal investigation himself.
This news was buried in some other stories and dropped during my Labor Day break and I missed it, but, just, wow.
And now, DOJ has launched a complaint against all but one of the federal judges in the Minnesota district for … talking. (See above.)
We’ll need accountability once these poltroons leave office, and Todd Blanche should be at the top of the list, though of course they’ll all get pardons on their way out the door.
It’s a Neil Young “Rockin’ in the Free World” kind of day.
Have a good one. JPC
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