By Max Nesterak | Deputy Editor
Good morning, Reformers.
We lead today with a scoop from Melissa Whitler on financial improprieties in Minneapolis Public Schools.
After months of wrangling with the district, she obtained a heavily redacted report prepared by an outside law firm that found the district withheld nearly $3 million owed to an employee health care trust account.
The school district’s financial maneuver risked creating a shortfall in the health care account, known as voluntary employee benefits association. Because the district self-insures, money from that account is used to pay health care claims, which is why the fund is supposed to be walled off to prevent raiding for other uses.
The money has been restored but it led to a shake up in the finance department, which Melissa also scooped here.
A lot of details in her story that Minneapolis parents and teachers will gobble up.
(Photo by Will Jacott/Minnesota Reformer)
By Michelle Griffith
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has raised $4.8 million for her campaign since she launched her bid for Minnesota governor at the end of January — without yet holding a single campaign event, sitting for an interview with a Minnesota outlet or filling out her campaign website.
Klobuchar’s total, amassed in just 62 days, suggests she’ll have a staggering cash advantage from now until November, compounded by outside spending by the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and well-funded allies like Alliance for a Better Minnesota.
Her haul is more than six times as much as GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who is a leading GOP candidate for governor. Demuth has raised over $730,000 since she launched her campaign in November, Demuth’s campaign said. Demuth raised about $226,000 in the first quarter.
By A.C. Thompson, ProPublica and Gabrielle Schonder, FRONLINE
We republished this investigation from ProPublica and PBS FRONTLINE into what happened to the people charged with crimes for protesting and observing immigration enforcement actions in cities across America during Trump’s second term.
Reporters identified more than 300 who were arrested by federal agents during immigration enforcement actions and then accused of assaulting law enforcement or other crimes. They found that time and again those accusations didn’t hold up under scrutiny.
“Our reviews of court files found that statements made by the arresting officers were repeatedly debunked by video footage. In more than a third of the cases, prosecutors quickly dismissed charges that couldn’t be substantiated, refused to file charges at all, or lost at trial. The tally of cases that end this way will likely climb as many of the arrests remain unresolved,” they report.
By Thaddeus L. Johnson and Diane Goldstein
In commentary, two former police officers argue that Operation Metro Surge caused significant harm to public safety not just with aggressive federal agents brutalizing residents and killing two Americans, but also by having a chilling effect on crime reporting and disrupting schools and hospitals.
“This climate of fear directly undercut the ability of police to do their jobs. When people believe that any contact with law enforcement could trigger immigration consequences, victims hesitate to call 911 and witnesses think twice before coming forward. Routine policing takes on new risks. Crimes go unreported, offenders get a pass, and public safety suffers,” they write.
They say that immigration enforcement agencies should adopt standards of transparency and accountability including by being identifiable and equipped with body cameras. They should also respect the institutions of public life: schools, hospitals, courthouses and places of worship.
IN OTHER NEWS
Trump’s DOJ wants personal voter data for ‘improper purposes,’ Michigan official says | Reformer via States Newsroom
Hungary’s new leader reveals Viktor Orbán was paying CPAC | The New Republic
OH BY THE WAY
An eagle-eyed Reformer reader (my brother) forwarded me an email from Harvard Business Review advertising their 2026 Leadership Summit, which features a “masterclass” from Stanford Professor Jeff Hancock on “The Rise of AI ‘Workslop’ — and How to Combat It”
“Wasn’t Hancock the guy who submitted ‘workslop’ to the AG’s office?” my brother asked.
He was indeed. In 2024, Chris Ingraham reported that Hancock billed the Minnesota attorney general $600 an hour to draft an expert declaration in a lawsuit that contained multiple fake citations about AI because he used AI to draft it.
Chris’ immortal headline that contributed to a headline writing award: “Misinformation expert used AI to draft testimony containing misinformation about AI”
I shared with Chris, who said, “Teach what you know, I guess.”
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.