By Michelle Griffith | Reporter
Good morning, Reformers.
Trump administration officials — including U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, FBI Director Kash Patel and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz — will be in St. Cloud later today to make an announcement regarding fraud in Minnesota.
Perhaps relatedly, federal and state authorities yesterday executed search warrants at two autism service providers, one in St. Louis Park and another in Edina.
There was a time when this kind of transparent electioneering by government officials like the head of the FBI would have been considered crossing a red line, but those days are well behind us.
Vice President JD Vance was supposed to also be in St. Cloud today, but he canceled his trip. After canceling rallies in Kansas and Iowa, President Donald Trump has rescheduled them for Sunday and will also do “tele-rallies” over the phone.
My colleagues Alyssa Chen and Nicole Neri will be in St. Cloud for the fraud announcement.
In other news, KARE 11 reports that the shuttered, 1,600-bed private prison in Appleton, Minnesota, was on sale for $75 million last year, and the Trump administration purchased it in August to use as an ICE detention center for $495.6 million.
What a deal for CoreCivic.
KARE 11 obtained records that show CoreCivic, the private prison company, offered to sell the Appleton prison to the state in 2025 at $75 million. The amount CoreCivic received from the federal government is six times the amount the company offered to Minnesota.
A CoreCivic spokesperson told KARE 11 that, “independent appraisers used a cost-based methodology” and in bold print, “The federal government ultimately determined the sale price following its assessment process.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of the prison means that the city, county and school district will no longer receive property tax revenue on the prison. CoreCivic has offered to pay Appleton over $1.2 million per year to cover the lost revenue, Madison McVan reported earlier this year.
Onto today’s Reformer.
Kenis Lopez Gonzalez. Courtesy photo.
By Madison McVan
Kenis Lopez Gonzalez fled political persecution in Nicaragua in 2022 and turned himself in to immigration authorities upon arriving in the U.S. Two years later, an immigration judge ruled that he could not be deported back to Nicaragua because he was at risk of being tortured there.
He moved to Shakopee, Minnesota, started a construction company and paid taxes, he said. He has no criminal record.
After his arrest during Operation Metro Surge, Lopez was sent roughly 7,000 miles to the Central African Republic.
“I told them I was scared of going to that country,” Lopez said in Spanish during an interview from detention in the politically unstable Central African Republic.
By Madison McVan
More than nine months after immigration agents disarmed, shot and killed Alex Pretti in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, the site of his death on Nicollet Avenue is marked with carefully arranged flowers, candles, art and other offerings brought by visitors from near and far.
As the snow melted in the spring and the flowers accumulated over the winter began to decay, some neighbors took charge of cleaning and refreshing the memorial every day — replacing wilted flowers, clearing snow and dirt and neatly arranging the memorial’s items.
Lately, these caretakers have been facing another challenge: vandalism.
Raw bacon and raw tuna has been left on the site, it has been drenched in motor oil and covered in spray paint, among other acts of vandalism.
By Stephanie Sutherland
Healthcare advocate Stephanie Sutherland shares her story of being told her daughter with Type 1 diabetes no longer had health insurance. She argues Trump’s economic policies aren’t making life easier either.
“Policies that cut healthcare funding while raising gas and grocery prices put more Minnesotans in danger of financial ruin. Watching federal leaders prioritize unwanted mass deportations sickens me, especially because I know firsthand the importance of affordable health insurance,” Sutherland writes.
IN OTHER NEWS
Binance suspends withdrawals after crypto hackers steal $6.3 billion | New York Times
OH BY THE WAY
I enjoyed seeing the winners of the Star Tribune’s annual Halloween pet costume contest. Check out the great submissions. My favorite is Napoleon the cat, who dressed up as the Pope.
Have a great Halloween, everyone!
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