Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
Hiltoff and On Again
A tweet today from the official Homeland Security account alleges that Hilton Hotels have "launched a coordinated campaign" to "REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement."
"NO ROOM AT THE INN!" the @DHSgov tweet begins, and y'know, we've always said that the federal agents forcibly removing people from their homes and cars are a lot like Jesus Christ. Just a very Jesus-y energy to their whole thing, really.
"When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations," Homeland Security's post continues. (Such creative use of all-caps from the agency, as always.) Included are screenshots of emails from the Hampton Inn Lakeville in which hotel management say they've seen an "influx" of reservations from DHS, and that they are "not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property."
But not so fast! Hilton HQ quickly blamed the reservation denial on a hotel franchisee. “We have been in direct contact with the hotel, and they have apologized for the actions of their team," a rep tells Joseph Cox for 404 Media. "They have taken immediate action to resolve this matter.”
Last month, more than 100 people gathered to protest outside of a Homewood Suites by Hilton in Edina, and WCCO is reporting that 2,000 more federal agents are headed to town in the next few days.
Optum? Damn Near Killed 'Em.
Know how UnitedHealth Group is just the worst? Well now, you can thank the evil insurance giant for yet another mess: The company's data analytics division, Optum, is responsible for stopping payments to trusted providers as part of MN's new fraud crackdown.
For the Star Tribune, contributing columnist David M. Perry writes (gift link) about how the new anti-fraud prepayment system, which went into effect in late December, is stalling payments to organizations like the Holland Center in Excelsior, an autism center that's been serving local families for more than two decades. On the last Monday in December, Perry writes, "the Holland Center expected to receive about $212,000 in payments from the state for the claims submitted over the past two weeks, but instead received only about $22,000."
That kind of shortage would be enough to shut down the center and others like it, and it's a result of the Walz administration's introduction of a new screening service from Optum intended to cut down on fraud. The system is uh, not exactly working as intended. Here's more from the Strib column:
Sara Grafstrom, a senior director at ARRM, an Eagan-based nonprofit that connects providers of housing services to disabled Minnesotans (including in-home support, group homes, etc.), told me she and many others initially thought that Optum would screen individual claims for red flags and pause those claims, but allow the vast bulk to go through. Instead, it seems the Minnesota Department of Human Services is just putting blanket holds on everything, creating huge cashflow crises, she said.
Sen. Jim Abeler (R-Anoka) tells the Strib that providers in his district and beyond are reaching out to his office about similar problems. “[I] warned that this prepayment review would be a disaster," he says. "It is.”
Walz Ends Third-Term Campaign for Governor
You probably heard the news this morning, but we’re still going to talk about it: Gov. Tim Walz will not seek re-election this year, ending a campaign announced back in September. “I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all,” Walz says via statement. “Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity.”
Back in December, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced an extended investigation into Minnesota’s ever-growing list of fraudulent social programs, an issue that would (rightfully) have haunted Walz on the campaign trail. But the truth is never enough for some people, so the MAGA crazy train has been piling it on these past couple weeks. A viral video from a far-right YouTuber claimed to capture more daycare fraud (it did not) and, on Saturday, Trump accused Walz of orchestrating the assassination of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.
Meanwhile, the New York Times writes that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (DFL-MN) is considering a run for the gig (gift link). In case you were wondering, vodka magnate/former congressman/presidential also-ran Dean Phillips has already alerted the Twitterverse that he will not be running for governor or senator.
Speaking of Third Terms...
This afternoon Jacob Frey was sworn in for his third term as Minneapolis mayor, along with elected City Council, Minneapolis Park Board, and Board of Estimate and Taxation officials. There were cheers and jeers at the event, including a few hecklers who interrupted Frey's speech and had to be escorted out (according to Susan Du for the Star Tribune, the group was there to protest the MPD's handling of domestic violence cases).
As for City Council, this succinct vibe check from Kyle Stokes at Axios details how its four new members don't necessarily mean a slam-dunk for Frey; while there is no longer a veto-proof majority for the left(er) leaning, that doesn't necessarily mean they're suddenly all going to get along.
