By Michelle Griffith | Reporter
Good morning, Reformers.
The Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office yesterday announced the arrest of an 18-year-old man who allegedly planned to carry out a mass shooting at the Mall of America.
Federal authorities said that a confidential source spoke to Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud through online platforms for nearly two years, and Mohamud — who was just 16 when the conversations began — said he wanted to fight for terrorist organizations and plan an attack in Minnesota.
Mohamud was arrested on Tuesday after purchasing an AK-47, magazines and ammunition from an undercover officer whom Mohamud believed was a member of ISIS.
Elected officials quickly praised the law enforcement effort, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic nominee for Minnesota governor.
“I'm grateful for the heroic work of law enforcement that prevented a mass shooting and terrorist attack at the Mall of America,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “This shows why we continue to need major coordinated investments in anti-terrorism and local law enforcement to stop attacks like these.”
Klobuchar, who served as Hennepin County attorney for eight years prior to her tenure in the U.S. Senate, assumed the role of the county’s top prosecutor in 1999, a few years after the New York Times dubbed Minneapolis “Murderapolis.”
During her time as county attorney, Klobuchar sought stiffer sentences, more criminal trials and more convictions. That record came under scrutiny during her 2020 presidential campaign, when doubts were raised about the conviction of Myon Burrell in the killing of Tyesha Edwards. Klobuchar’s background as a prosecutor may be driving her to quickly praise law enforcement’s handling of the case.
But it’s probably also her political instincts to quickly get on the side of public opinion.
In another example, DFL politicians often struggled, especially in the early going, about how to respond to the burgeoning crisis of fraud in the state’s safety net programs. As the Star Tribune reported last month, “Leah Montgomery, (Gov. Tim ) Walz’s deputy chief of staff for legislative affairs, referred to fraud as a Republican talking point in conversations with two DFL state legislators.”
Klobuchar, by contrast, distanced herself from Walz and his response to fraud in the very first press conference of her campaign and now is coming out hard in favor of the feds.
Onto today’s Reformer.
The Elmer L. Andersen Human Services Building in St. Paul, MN Thursday Jan. 15, 2026. (Photo by Alyssa Chen/Minnesota Reformer)
By Alyssa Chen
The Minnesota Department of Human Services is planning to replace Housing Stabilization Services, a Medicaid program that was so riddled with fraud it was shut down by the Walz administration last year.
The agency plans to develop a new program and a legislative proposal for 2028 as part of the Olmstead Plan, which is the state’s blueprint for helping people with disabilities live in the community instead of institutions.
Minnesota pioneered the Medicaid-funded housing stabilization program in 2020, geared toward elderly and disabled people, Minnesotans transitioning out of residential care, and people with substance use disorders seeking treatment.
But HSS quickly drew people looking for fast cash, according to federal prosecutors who have charged over a dozen people in fraud cases involving at least $26 million.
By Ashley Murray
A growing number of voters will likely take their anger about affordability to the polls this midterm election and blame President Donald Trump’s tariffs as a culprit for rising expenses.
“The real top line is that for maybe the first time ever, tariffs are a salient issue at the ballot box,” said Scott Lincicome of the libertarian Cato Institute. “You know, normally trade is a boring issue that nobody really thinks about or cares about.”
Research shows Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs on imported goods have cost business owners and consumers billions of dollars.
By Maxwell Fjeld
A University of Minnesota student who grew up in Greater Minnesota argues that rural and urban Minnesotans can overcome misconceptions and work together to build a better Minnesota.
“Simply put, Minnesota nice is statewide,” Fjeld writes.
IN OTHER NEWS
Greece Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle pushed donor to wire $100,000 to her Amex account | Wall Street Journal
The battle for the post-Trump right | New Yorker
OH BY THE WAY
KARE 11 obtained the footage of Rep. Elliott Engen’s DWI arrest earlier this year. Rep. Walter Hudson was a passenger in the car, armed with a handgun and intoxicated. It’s a misdemeanor to carry while intoxicated, but officers never conducted a screening test on Hudson, and he was never charged.
Then-White Bear Lake Police Chief Dale Hager told me earlier this year that Hudson exemplified good behavior during the police encounter, and the officer decided to respond “in kind” by not pursuing charges.
It appears Hudson in the moment understood that was the deal, even if it appears nothing was explicitly communicated.
An unnamed passenger in the car asks, "Yeah, you're a politician though, right?"
"That's correct, but I'm a very pro-cop politician," Hudson responds. "So we'll see."
A moment later, Hudson adds: "He's cutting me a break. He's cutting me a major break.”
Hudson also said that Engen was pulled over because he was driving like a “f***ing r**ard.” After KARE 11 published its story, Hudson doubled down on his use of the r-word.
“It's so hilarious that the mainstream media thinks that's controversial,” Hudson wrote on X, using the slur again.
That’s all from me. Have a great Thursday.
Correspond: [email protected]
Thanks for reading Daily Reformer. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.