LIVE NEWS | DOJ on fraud, Aimee Bock sentenced & more

Added: 2026-05-22

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[00:05:31]Oh, thanks for joining us here on Fox 9 all day. I'm Courtney Godfrey and I'll be your host this afternoon. It is currently 20:05 here in the Twin Cities metro and 61 degrees. I couldn't do this show without my trusty sidekick, producer Paul Milgate. Paul, glad to have you back. You were out sick for several days. So, welcome back.

[00:05:52]>> Well, thank you for h Can you hear me?

[00:05:54]Am I >> Can you hear me?

[00:05:55]>> Can you hear me? You can hear me. Um yeah, I'm glad to be back. Happy to be back. Feeling better. Just uh I'm glad I'm ready for this Memorial long uh Memorial Day long weekend.

[00:06:05]>> Yes, it's going to be great. Now, you guys don't do you guys have something like Memorial Day in Australia?

[00:06:09]>> We do. We We have something called Anzac Day. So, Australian New Zealand uh Army Corps is the acronym. Um and so we just celebrate the or honor celebrate is probably the wrong word, but honor the days of of the the Australians and New Zealanders that have fought in the wars over the time.

[00:06:29]>> And do you also eat a co copious amounts of hot dogs and beer? And >> it's more about it's beer. It's definitely beer. Um all the returned servicemen can turn up to what we have in Australia called return servicemen's leagues. They're a bit like the Legion that you have here.

[00:06:43]>> And uh it's if discounted, if not free, uh beers for the for the return servicemen. And we're also allowed to indulge in a in a game called two-up that is um illegal every other day of the year. It's Yeah. So it's this one It's the one day of the year that you're allowed to play two-up. Um, you turn up to the return service league, you stand in this giant circle and there's someone in the middle called the spinner and they've got a like a paddle with two coins on it and they flip it and it's basically like a beefed up version of um, heads or tails really. But the the fun part about it and the reason that you're allowed to do it on Anzac Day and you're not allowed to do it any other time of the year is because you are gambling. And so you decide how much you're going to play each round. So you could hold up a $100 bill and if someone else in that circle is willing to take the opposite bet to you for that $100, you walk across, you meet them, you cheers your beer with them, you take the $100 off them, and then you wait and see who wins and then you go and hand it back over. You cheers the beer or you take away the 200 bucks.

[00:07:47]>> Okay. I mean, I prefer pull tabs, but it sounds fun.

[00:07:50]>> It is a lot of fun. And the crowd goes wild for it. Everyone loves it.

[00:07:55]>> The crowd. But I mean this sounds like isn't this like a yard game?

[00:07:58]>> No, this is in like massive clubs and so it's like there was one club in my where I lived in Bondi, they actually built um bleaches for stadium seating for this game of two. Yeah, it's really entrenched in Anzac Day culture.

[00:08:13]>> Okay, there you go. You can gamble one day of the year in Australia and play two up.

[00:08:17]>> Two up.

[00:08:18]>> Who knew? All right. Um okay, let's hop into some headlines here because we do have a lot to talk about. Uh Amy Bach has been sentenced. Now, this is the woman at the center of a $250 million government fraud scandal. She was sentenced to more than 41 years in prison today. She was sentenced to that broke down to about 500 months and ordered to repay nearly $243 million to the federal government. Bach is the convicted ring leader of the Feeding Our Future scheme. A jury found her guilty on multiple criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs, bribery, and prosecutors said that she orchestrated one of the largest pandemic fraud schemes in the country's history.

[00:09:08]In other news, uh the ICE agent accused of pointing a gun at a motorist along a Minneapolis highway back in February is expected to make his first court appearance tomorrow. Gregory Morgan was charged last month with two counts of assault for threatening two people during a brief altercation alongside Highway 62. The federal agent, who lives in Maryland, had a federal warrant issued for his arrest. and his attorney released a statement just yesterday saying that the charg charging documents only tell one side of the story asking the public to reserve judgment until all evidence, context, and testimony are presented in court. And top officials within the Trump administration, including Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz, were in Minnesota today. uh they announced criminal charges against 15 motans in connection with schemes that targeted more than $90 million in taxpayer dollars from seven different state managed Medicaid programs. Uh the assistant attorney general for the justice department's national fraud enforcement division called these charges unprecedented and said this is not the end of their work here in Minnesota to combat fraud. It is just the beginning. Uh, okay. We're going to get into a lot more on that. We're even going to have one of our reporters in uh who covered um that press conference today to break it all down for us. We're also going to be um talking about a whole lot of other stuff throughout the day, including that Amy Bach sentencing.

[00:10:42]We'll have another reporter in to break that sentencing down for us. Um but for right now, we're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back after this.

[00:13:39]Welcome back to Fox 9 all day. Well, we showed you this video yesterday, but it's just incredible. Um, crews with the Minnesota Air Rescue Team rescued two people out of the Boundary Waters this past Thursday. Uh, they were stranded in the wilderness after their canoe capsized and sank. The rescue team said the people did not have the gear to make it through the night and that when they were called in to assist, water levels and strong currents complicated ground rescue efforts. Uh, I should also note that this mission marked the team's very first nighttime hoist rescue.

[00:14:17]All right. And to talk all about it is someone who is there who lived this rescue mission. Steve Mirthth uh with the St. Paul Fire Department and also with um MART with the Minnesota Air Rescue Team joins me now. Steve, thanks for joining me.

[00:14:32]>> Yeah, thank you Courtney.

[00:14:34]>> Take me to that moment on Thursday night when you had to rescue these individuals.

[00:14:40]Uh, we got the call and I was I was working on shift at the fire department and I got the call that there may have been somebody um having an emergency in the Boundary Waters. So, we headed down to the airport and um it was uh well past dark at that point and we knew it was going to take a little while to get up there and um we were able to make very good time with the tailwind and went up there and everything the information we got beforehand was very good. So, we were able to go right to where the two people were stranded and um we're able to find them right away and everything went very well with the hoist and we were able to get them both in the helicopter and get them to the airport.

[00:15:23]>> How does that work when you're looking for people in the dark? Are you using um night vision cameras to try and seek them out? Because obviously they give you an approximate location, but it's the boundary waters. You can't know exactly where they are.

[00:15:37]>> Yes. Yeah. There's very very little ambient light up there, but um there is a camera on the helicopter and we also have night vision that we can use and the pilots pretty much the whole time they're flying at night, they're using night vision. So um any any light that the people on the ground can um can use, fire or flashlights, cell phones even, make it much easier for us to find them.

[00:16:05]They stand out very well with the night vision. So, why did they I mean, you know, people camp in the Boundary Waters all the time. What was the issue here? I know it said their canoe capsized, but um why were they stuck?

[00:16:20]>> Uh they mentioned when we got to them that their canoe was on the other side of the river, and from what I heard from um the other rescuers on the ground, too, it sounds like the water levels were higher than people were expecting.

[00:16:32]And so, their gear was on the other side of the river, so it wasn't safe for them. And I think it's still fairly cold up there, so they were wet and cold already from their canoe capsizing. So they they mentioned that their other gear was out of reach. And um they did have a fire going when we got to them, but I think it was still it was pretty cold that night, so it was pretty uncomfortable for them. It was not good that we were able to go. They were they still had contact with their phone, so we were able to find right where they were.

[00:17:00]>> Okay. Were these individuals equipped to go into the boundary waters?

[00:17:05]I believe they were. I don't It sound like it was a day trip though, so I don't think they're planning on spending the night. No.

[00:17:13]>> Okay. Because, you know, we hear these horror stories of people that go in there who are not equipped. Is there anything that you want to say? I mean, you know, if people are thinking about going on an excursion into the Boundary Waters, uh what advice do you have?

[00:17:26]>> Uh it it's a remote place. That's what makes it so cool. So, um, plan on staying if you need to plan on if if you get something comes up, um, make sure you have the stuff beforehand, flashlights, uh, a way to start a fire so that, um, if the plan, if your original plan doesn't go well, then you have that stuff with you. And then have a way to communicate. There's, uh, different things to get a call out. A lot of places a cell phone isn't going to work, so there's GPS and there's other things that you can use. So have a way to get in contact with someone if you need to in an emergency and then have a plan for what you're going to do if um you have to spend more time there than you think. Steve, I'm just interested to get your take on this. How many people do you think head into the Boundary Waters completely illprepared for what that experience is like? It's it's phenomenal. Don't get me wrong.

[00:18:21]Courtney, have you have you had a chance to do a Boundary Waters portage trip before?

[00:18:24]>> I have. Only a day trip. Yeah, but I I like I've done a several night portaging trip and I think looking back on it, I was illprepared for just how remote and wild this is. How many people do you think are in my shoes generally heading out into the Boundary Waters underprepared for what it could what could go wrong?

[00:18:45]I think that the a lot of stories you hear are the the day trip, the people who think they're going to just go in and come back right away. So, they don't think they need the extra stuff and then um when something doesn't go according to plan, that's when they they're stuck without that. And so, um yeah, so even if it's just a day trip, even if you're just going to uh paddle around and come back, it's still a good idea to have some of the emergency supplies with you. And sorry, you go, Courtney.

[00:19:15]>> No, go ahead, Paul.

[00:19:16]>> I was going to say, you said these people had their phone, so they were able to still kind of send their location, and obviously that's how it triggered for help. I remember even just a few years ago when I did the trip, there was no cell service up there. Now, what are we looking like inside the Boundary Waters in ways of communication?

[00:19:32]>> There are um I in reach is one of them.

[00:19:35]There are certain um GPS locators and um emergency text message equipment that you can use and um they are expensive and they are uh they're kind of an emergency only thing. But um something like that and then um letting somebody you know uh letting somebody know your plan so that if you aren't in touch when you they expect you to be that they can um alert us and alert the proper authorities to start looking for you.

[00:20:08]>> Yeah, there are parts of the Boundary Waters now that do have cell service. Um whereas like even 10 years ago, you know, you couldn't get a cell signal out of there at all. And I I believe that there are some counties up there that passed new laws to allow for cell towers to be built for this very reason because they were concerned about safety and people being out there. So, always have your cell phone on you just in case it does turn on and that you do get a signal. But those GPS beacons are really important. Um logistically, Steve, I want to ask you, um you know, you're in St. Paul at St. Paul Fire Department.

[00:20:43]That certainly is a long distance away from the Boundary Waters.

[00:20:47]you. Why? What is the partnership with Mart and St. Paul? Because I would think that there would be somebody in St. Louis County who would be closer to go get those guys.

[00:20:57]>> Yes. Um there are some very good rescue teams in the St. Louis County is one of them and then the local fire department up there is another one. But the helicopter, the partnership is between the state patrol and uh St. Paul fire department for MART. So the helicopter is piloted by the state patrol pilots and um we as on St. Paul provide the rescuers and we we're staffed uh 247 so there's always somebody there and we can get down to the airport in a matter of minutes but then yes it does take a while to um get the helicopter from there and the with the new hoist capability of the new helicopter and it's also a little bit faster that that time that it takes us to get up there is a little bit shorter but yes in in a perfect world it would be optimal to have that helicopter opter up north somewhere. Um it's just right now the staffing and it's just where the helicopter is now is going to be out of St. Paul and um maybe maybe that's the future is have something stationed up there. But for now between us on St. Paul being able to staff the helicopter right away and then the pilots uh being stationed there, it's the location we're working out of right now. And I know it was your first nighttime rescue. Uh how did that go for you? And had you trained for that?

[00:22:25]>> Yes, we do train. Um right now we're training about 5050 um with the hoist 50/50 night and day and um it seems like a lot of uh late nights and a lot of training extra training for that but it it uh it it did help a lot because there there are a lot of different things that you don't think about that come up all the lighting we have to use and the night vision and um so we did have been able to put in a lot of night hours with the hoist and it uh went very well. I'm keen to know, we saw that amazing footage um that was posted online um that's going viral right now. As part of that dramatic rescue, what what was your role from that when you were up in the helicopter? Like what were you doing?

[00:23:10]>> So I am the rescue specialist. So I um am the one who rides on the hook of the hoist and then we have the pilot um who you know obviously controls the helicopter. And then there's another rescuer that um you can see on the video, he's standing on the skid and he is the hoist operator. So he him and the pilot are communicating constantly to get the the helicopter in the right spot and then he lowers me on the hoist and my job is to bring the gear down to um secure them and package the people on the ground and then um stay in communication with the other two in the helicopter for when we're ready to pick them up and bring them back in. So you're like the claw on the end of the claw machine.

[00:23:53]>> Yes.

[00:23:54]>> Whoa. What is that like when you like just have to comm I guess you just have to commit. What is What is that like?

[00:24:01]>> It's uh we train a lot so we're very I'm able to hear the communication constantly. So it's uh kind of a group effort and um the pilots and the other rescuers are very good at what they do.

[00:24:14]So, um I just trust that they're going to put me in the right spot and we communicate and make sure everything's going according to plan and stay on the same page. And it's uh I'm trying not to just be along for the ride. Try to be an active participant and and make things go smoothly.

[00:24:34]>> It's so wooded up there. Do you have did you have to ask the people to move or how? Because I can't imagine being able to get lowered down there without getting stabbed by a tree branch.

[00:24:45]the crew that they were in communication with on the ground, the rescue team up there, I think it was the local fire department, they were able to uh advise them that we were coming and then tell them to get in a good spot so that there weren't you as it's very thick up there, but they were able to find a good spot with a big enough opening for us to drop the hoist in there. So, they um they did a good job moving to where we could get to them and then having their lights and fire to bring us right in. And lastly, when you rescued these two individuals, what was their reaction when you showed up?

[00:25:17]>> Uh they they said thanks for being there and um hopefully you get to meet them and they were very appreciative and um could happen to anybody.

[00:25:27]>> Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure they were very happy to see you uh when you got lowered down to save them. So, thank you for all you do, Steve Murth. I appreciate you making the time and joining us today.

[00:25:40]>> Well, nice to meet you. Thank you. All right, let's take one more watch of that video, Paul, because it is just incredible. Uh, we were just talking to Steve Mirthth with U Minnesota Air Rescue Team. He is the individual that you'll see in this video who actually gets lowered down into the Boundary Waters to rescue two canoers who uh who their canoe capsized um and and sank.

[00:26:04]And so they did not have the gear to make it through the night. They called first responders, asked for help, and in swoops these heroes with Mart Steve Mirthth again on the end of that cable lifting those individuals to safety um in the boundary waters. This all happened on Thursday, May 14th. And they said that when they were called in to assist, water levels and strong currents complicated the ground rescue. So, they had to go in um and do an aerial effort.

[00:26:37]just incredible. These individuals are true heroes. We thank them for the work that they do. And a great reminder here to um always go in prepared. Like Steve said, when you go into the Boundary Waters, you want to make sure that you have plenty of water and enough to survive overnight. So, great reminder there. Uh okay, we are going to take a quick break, but we're going to be back with our very own Paul Bloom talking about this big announcement from the Feds earlier today. Stay with us.

[00:29:56]All right, thanks for joining us here on Fox 9 all day. I am joined by one of our stellar investigative reporters, Paul Bloom, a long longtime colleague of mine. Uh Paul, today we had top officials within the Trump administration, including uh the Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr., we had Dr. Oz there >> uh to announce charges against 15 motans in a big fraud scandal. Tell us what we learned.

[00:30:22]>> This is the next step in that fraud fight, Courtney. It's a two cell phone kind of day. I actually started the Amy Bach sentencing because this was all about fraud, fraud, fraud today uh at the uh US District Courthouse in Minneapolis. But yes, top Trump administration officials from uh the DOJ, Health and Human Services, they came to Minneapolis to basically announce the next step in their fraud fight, and that includes uh the prosecution indictments of 15 individuals. We still haven't heard from the DOJ exactly which 15. There are some some indictments that are becoming unsealed, charges that are hitting the court records that we're assuming based on what we heard today, but they're targeting housing stabilization. That's of course a fund that was rife with fraud has previously been shut down. So to me, as a reporter who's been covering fraud ongoing, I think it almost felt like the Trump administration came here to play this nationally as if um locally we've been on this. We know that that that program has long been shut down, but they indicted on on on that on that uh in that program. Uh they went after child care. Remember a few weeks ago they raided all those child care centers or child care and then autism. And that's exactly what RFK Jr. was here to talk about. He talked about uh what happens when fraudsters rip off people.

[00:31:35]I mean, there are a lot of children in need of proper and adequate autism care programs, and he feels like there are a whole bunch of motans who who treated the autism program like their own personal piggy bank, their own personal ATM. We heard that type of verbiage today. And we have a we have a sound bite from the secretary if you'd like to roll that.

[00:31:52]>> Yeah, let's take a listen.

[00:31:53]>> Investigators uncovered brazen schemes that build taxpayers for non-existent services, fraudulent diagnosis, and fake care. While criminals enrich themselves at public expense, every fraudulent autism diagnosis has steal time, care, and resources from the children for whom this program was this for whom this program was denied and who desperately need this care. Families with autistic children already face enormous challenges navigating therapies, specialists, and support systems. Fraud makes those barriers even steeper.

[00:32:35]America is facing a real autism crisis.

[00:32:39]Today, approximately one in every 31 children is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Medicaid finances a significant share of autism related services nationwide and spending has risen dramatically over the last decade and a lot of that spending is because of fraud. When criminals exploit these programs, taxpayers lose billions and v vulnerable children lose their access to care. Healthc care fraud now cost the United States tens of billions of dollars every year. Some estimates place the broader cost of health care fraud and improper payments at a hundred billion dollars annually.

[00:33:22]That fraud drives up health care costs for all Americans. It weakens public trust. It drains taxpayer resources and threatens the long-term stability of both Medicaid and Medicare.

[00:33:35]If we fail to confront the fraud aggressively, these programs will not survive for future generations in the form Americans rely upon them today.

[00:33:46]>> Leaders, >> I mean, you heard him say ear I don't I don't know if he said it in that way, but earlier in the press conference that these centers were they had fake um cases. They were doing kickbacks to the parents in some cases. Um the details were were quite quite scary. I mean, >> well, thousands of dollars, bogus uh thousands of dollars in bogus um you know, reimbursements for care that wasn't even provided for like families of four where they they claim they're treating the whole family for autism and and there was it wasn't happening, you know.

[00:34:18]>> And then they also mentioned that there were even Yeah. Allegedly. Yeah. And then they mentioned there were even like fake fake people, you know, fake patients. Not only were they, you know, saying kids had autism when they didn't and then giving kickbacks to the parents, but that there were fake um cases. Uh >> and that this of course makes barriers even steeper for those who truly have autism. You heard a RFK Jr. say there.

[00:34:41]And what well one thing before we move on to the next subject just kind of ties into all of the programs is you know they these these again top DOJ top uh you know health and human services officials came here and said you know the system was set up to sort of there was like a basic level of trust in all of these programs especially here in Minnesota. I know we've talked about like how much the state sort of wants to care for its most vulnerable. We have additional Medicaid programs that might not be available elsewhere, whether it's finding housing for the homeless or, you know, paying for different things to make sure people get care, but it was not set up with like three triple check layers of fraud enforcement. And I think we're paying the piper right now because of it. But the prosecution that they're not going to they don't they don't want the I know some of it is is bullishness, but they don't want these fraudsters getting away by ripping off people who real people. You know, I know they make up fake people, but every dollar that's taken then doesn't go to a real person.

[00:35:38]And and they are serious about cracking down. And I think as we've talked about, what the state is doing now is we are shutting down some of those vulnerabilities, those loopholes. And we we saw some of that today come out.

[00:35:48]>> Unfortunately, a lot of that money that's been stolen will never be recouped.

[00:35:52]>> Yeah. Long long out the door. And you know, we talked about earlier in your show Amy Bach and and the sentencing. I mean, she has a $243 million restitution package. Do you think the government's ever going to see a sliver of that amount?

[00:36:03]>> Yeah. No. Unlikely that she can just give him back the 243 million. I think that money is probably long gone.

[00:36:10]>> Um let's talk about they did release the well video but and then they froze it on it upper a closeup of the guy.

[00:36:17]>> Uh they are looking for someone who they say ran from them when they tried to arrest him. It sounded like.

[00:36:23]>> Yeah. So this is his name is Muhammad Omar, one of the alleged fraudsters who who was indicted uh in this package of 15 people, 90 plus million dollars of Medicaid fraud. And he apparently was on a fourth floor balcony as police moved in on him and he jumped he jumped from the fourth floor today and uh I mean this was news to us. I mean this all unfolded like we were in the >> room in the video limping away. So clearly it was a long fall for him. But the asked tonight is if you if you know him, if you've seen him, police are actively looking for him.

[00:36:53]>> They know his name.

[00:36:54]>> Oh, they know his name. And then they didn't say where he had jumped from. But with that limp, I don't know how far he would have gotten, but we do have some sound. Again, we queued up for the viewers.

[00:37:03]>> On the screen, you will see a subject uh you will see a subject depicted on the screen here of an individual was a target of the investigation this morning. That individual is currently on the run after having jumped out of a fourth store fourthstory balcony. I want you to get a good look at him right now.

[00:37:20]You'll see him uh you'll see him running here. Uh he is currently on the run. We need your help. If you recognize this individual, if you know this individual, if you if you can provide any information related to this in related to this individual, I would encourage you to call 1800 call FBI CA LFBI or go to the internet at www.tips.fbi.gov or call your local law enforcement.

[00:37:52]>> Okay, so that is one of the individuals that they're looking for. They did arrest the other 14, right?

[00:37:57]>> That is our understanding. But again, it was a really odd uh situation.

[00:38:00]Typically, when we have these big news conferences where big announcements are made with big charges and and and numerous indictments, we we have it. I don't want to say we need the handout, but it's easier if the DOJ kind of presents us with here's who we have indicted. Here are the corresponding complaints, indictments, what have you.

[00:38:17]They did not do that today. So again, we're going into the court system trying to figure out recently unsealed things and trying to jigsaw puzzle this together.

[00:38:26]>> We requested that. I'm sure you did.

[00:38:28]>> Oh yeah. No. Yeah. Yeah. We've done we've done that. We're not we're not exactly sure why. Um it's an unusual sort of situation. Um obviously um it was a hectic day at the courthouse today, right? Fraud, fraud, fraud. Amy Bach being sentenced. Um she was up on the 13th floor. The news conference was on the sixth floor. They kind of over overlapped just barely. I had to leave the courtroom a little bit early to get down to the DOJ, but uh the DOJ news conference. But I do have one other sound bite. They actually took a question from me and I had asked them in the the crowd because, you know, housing stabilization, some of the other programs, the autism, some of the um fraud allegations go back, you know, several years. It get felt like, you know, is this are we going back to kind of prosecute the fraud? I wanted to know is when they raided those child care centers and others that they're still investigating, is the fraud ongoing?

[00:39:15]Like, have people learned their lesson yet? Like, are we are are there still fraudsters trying to scheme the system?

[00:39:20]>> That'd be pretty amazing if they were, but let's hear what they had to say.

[00:39:24]>> Within the recent raids, uh, first off, Paul Gloom with Fox Channel 9 here in town. I'm just wondering, within the recent raids, do you continue to see ongoing fraud being committed or are these obviously these charges go back several years. I mean, are are the crooks still trying to get away with these schemes?

[00:39:43]>> Yes. What we're seeing is these these schemes are active. They are ongoing and they and they frequently metastasize uh when when law enforcement shines a microscope on one area, they shift to another area. What we're seeing is that a lot of these fraudsters will actually cross-pollinate between different programs. They might be simultaneously defrauding a USDA program, feeding our futures for instance, while also simultaneously defrauding Medicaid. They don't they are the fraudsters are agnostic as to whose money or what program they are defrauding. They just want our money. Um and so yes, we are seeing that the that the fraud is ongoing. Um and we are interested in rooting it out.

[00:40:24]>> Wow. I mean that just proves that these people are almost career fraudsters possibly because if they're as he put it cross-pollinating in different programs. So they're they're not only taking from this pot, but they're going to take from this pot and this pot and this pot.

[00:40:40]>> And we saw in a recent indictment unsealed earlier this week was a woman connected to feeding our future. She has a child care center that during the pandemic, right, kind was was was claiming to be feeding, you know, thousands of children at her child care center. Well, come to find out, maybe not surprisingly, she was also allegedly missilling, like fraudulently billing for child care after the pandemic that she was having this many people and and was entitled to this much in in reimbursements. And she has now been indicted in in both cases now. So, yes, it's it's not uncommon, you know, to be, you know, if you're you're in adult daycare, you know, maybe you're in a a nursing home type, you know, a small nursing home license. So there are definitely some programs and and and and remember Joe Thompson's big news conference back in January where he talked about the buckets of like 14 fraud likely ridden programs and and so it's not uncommon to see licenses in multiple you know even autism autism you autism centers that were feeding sites or that maybe you have an autism center and a child care and those things and they overlap and um >> you know it's it's a these are difficult investigations. So this strike force we talked about, you know, they're they're surging resources here, not just law enforcement, not just prosecutors, but also some just some brain power to look through the paperwork, look through the bookkeepings, look through forensic accountants, those types of things, because, you know, it might have been some bluster, but but these officials that came from Washington today made it clear they are going to have an aggressive tact on this and they are going to go after it. And if you think you're, you know, you're going to get away with it and treat the American taxpayer like it's your ATM like it's your own piggy bank, the gig's up. And, you know, that there was definitely some of that like bluster like we're coming after you hard.

[00:42:25]>> Well, and that was a great question. You know, does do does this fraud continue?

[00:42:29]Because you would think if you're watching on TV, you're paying attention to the news at all, uh, you know, they're here and they're after you and they're looking. But I guess also it looks fishy if you just shut down right away. And also, I guess if you're a fraudster, maybe you just don't care.

[00:42:42]>> Yeah. No, I obviously hard to get in their minds. I'm curious because I know you want to talk about Amy Bach. Yeah.

[00:42:47]But 41 years now, what kind of, you know, we talk about deterrence and the criminal justice system. Does that have an impact on some of these people who might be looking around over their shoulders now at this point? Wow. 41 years you could go to prison for. That's >> But she was the ring leader. I mean, you've had people who um you know, because you've covered the Feeding Our Futures case for since its inception. Um you you have had some people who get, you know, seven months in jail and there has been some criticism that well that person stole a million dollars from hungry kids um and they only got seven months. Yeah.

[00:43:22]>> So I think we're seeing both of it. Amy Bach got the book thrown at her, but some of them are >> No, it's an interesting point and I have thought that especially if if if it doesn't quite get over into federal court. you know, some of these cases that we've we've been focusing a lot out of the Minnesota's Medicaid fraud control unit that are in the state courts, there is a decent amount of money, you know, you know, $10 million schemes where somebody has, you know, is credited with time served or has a jail sentence um stayed over their heads for the time being. Um, but you do wonder though, you know, whether the headlines of of a of a big prison number, but but again, you you are right. No doubt Amy Bach is is is the mastermind, the ring leader. I was in court for her sentencing today for for for the first kind of hour, hour and a half or so.

[00:44:04]>> Did you hear did she did she express any remorse?

[00:44:07]>> I I I had to leave because of security reasons to get to the news conference.

[00:44:11]So I wasn't in the courtroom when she spoke. Um I I have seen some of the quotes that that she did that she was crying. Um but you know the way the judge I mean obviously a jury weighed in. Uh so there there were you know seven convictions, seven counts that she was clearly convicted upon. But then the judge has to make some decisions as she's nud Judge Nancy Brazzle has to make some decisions um to to to to sort of justify the federal prison sentence.

[00:44:38]So I was there when the judge was rattling through kind of the check boxes and what uh she found and she absolutely believed you know Bach had her hand in everything. She was the bank and and not you know she signed off. She brought in the uh the the meal sites. She was supposed to um you know investigate you know or check in to make sure that what she was you know signing off on was not fraudulent. Uh she was responsible for signing the checks. And then furthermore to add to it was she found her you know basically guilty. I mean a judge wouldn't use that terminology today but basically found that she perjured herself significantly during trial testimony. And the judge said she gives uh defendants who take the stand in their own defense a long leash. like she does not find perjury lightly and she absolutely believed you know that that Bach was lying through her teeth on several aspects of the fraud scheme on the witness stand. So the the hits just kept going and going and in the end she gets 41 years by guidelines she she was facing up to 100. Um so you know in that sense I mean she's in her 40s. I I don't know if a 40-year life sentence, you know, is is technically a life >> actually serve 41 years.

[00:45:49]>> Uh in federal on the federal side, you know, in state court, you serve 67% as long as you behave yourselves and, you know, kind of do your time right. Uh in federal court, that number goes up to about 80%. So, you got to think that's 30 plus years for a mid-40s year old woman. I mean, maybe not quite a death sentence in prison, but um >> pretty close.

[00:46:07]>> It's a long time. And uh you know, she didn't have a lot of time to think about what what she was. And I mean, you see the, you know, I I I didn't I didn't I didn't cover the trial. Rob Olsson on our staff did, but but reading the transcripts and seeing, you know, the exhibits like I am, we are the mob and and kind of how she felt, you know, empowered and emboldened and and just that that scheme and and and to pull it off for for years during the pandemic and and again, it was meant for needy children. It was I mean, how much more >> that's the that's the hardest part about the whole thing. Yeah. you know that and that's what they said today at this press conference was this is money >> that people need >> right >> you know this people in need whether they have autism or food insecurity or they're on Medicaid this is money that should be going to those people and instead fraudsters are exploiting the system and that's why they're going at this hard >> right no they are and um yeah it's uh you know 15 more are indicted today they said it's not over I'm not I'm not going to be able to paraphrase the assistant attorney general but he said it's not the it's not the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning. It's the beginning of the middle of the beginning. We're at the beginning. He's he's his claim even though we've seen the feeding our future. We've seen, you know, a myriad of of prosecutions. You know, the the question came up again today. Joe Thompson, the former acting US attorney who has since left that office for political reasons, as you know. Um in that same room six months ago said he could see this overall Medicaid fraud in Minnesota topping 9 billion dollar. They wouldn't touch that number today. He the the the team said they're interested in going after individuals, schemes, you know, um uh organizations, what have you. And and we'll we'll tally it all up at the end.

[00:47:45]He said we'll see if N billion's on point. A little low, a little high, we don't know. But uh again, today they're they're charging 90 million.

[00:47:52]>> Yeah. And they they're calling this the Healthcare Fraud Midwest Strike Force.

[00:47:56]So they're going to be sending investigators um here to continue these investigations. And like you said, they said it's not over.

[00:48:04]>> It's not. No.

[00:48:05]again the very beginning and and and then then that strike force comes with additional resources with with an emphasis right now here in Minnesota.

[00:48:12]You know who was in the crowd today? Did you see them kind of acknowledge Nick Shirley?

[00:48:16]>> Yes, Nick Shirley.

[00:48:17]>> Which is interesting. You know, I know >> he's the YouTuber who originally um that video was what prompted the a lot of the federal interest in this is his YouTube video where he went around to child care centers and knocked on the door. Very controversial, but >> it is. And you know, as a local media, I mean, we don't need to toot our own horns, but you know, we we've been covering this and and again, like we talked about today with with the folks coming in from Washington. You know, I I was led to believe that what was going to be announced today was going to blow the Amy Bach sentencing, sort of make it a secondary headline today. I don't necessarily know if their announcement today did that. I I thought they were playing for a larger audience here today. I mean, there's no, you know, to bring the Health and Human Service Secretary, to bring Dr. Oz, to bring, you know, a top eight. We were supposed to see the attorney acting ag. I don't know. We weren't told why he didn't end up showing up, Todd Blanch. But we got his one of his deputies, um, Colin McDonald, who's in charge of fraud.

[00:49:08]>> Uh, but they they came here to send a message again, you know, housing stabilization, a fund we already knew had been looted and had been shut down.

[00:49:16]Um, I don't know how many, you know, new new, you know, newly uncovered fraud occurred here today that we learned about, but um, yeah, $90 million now on the table to add to the 243 million of Feeding Our Future, adding to the, you know, all the other schemes we've seen.

[00:49:31]>> And more to come, sounds like.

[00:49:32]>> Exactly. Yeah.

[00:49:33]>> All right. Thanks, Paul. We sure appreciate you joining us. Uh, we're going to take a quick break and we're going to be back after this.

[00:52:06]Welcome back to Fox sign all day. Thanks for joining us today. Well, as any parent of teenagers knows, it is currently prom season across the country, but it's not just our high school seniors who are celebrating prom.

[00:52:21]The Waters Senior Living in Plymouth is holding its own its own seniors prom.

[00:52:27]And we are so lucky that they took a break from the prom because it's happening right now uh to join us. Donna Powers is actually a resident who's partaking in the prom. And then Amy Perkins um works at the waters. Thanks for joining us, ladies.

[00:52:42]>> You're welcome.

[00:52:43]>> You're welcome.

[00:52:44]>> Thanks for having us.

[00:52:45]>> First of all, Donna, how is prom so far?

[00:52:49]>> Wonderful. I've enjoyed every minute of it.

[00:52:52]>> What's your favorite part?

[00:52:55]>> Watching people dance.

[00:52:58]>> The dancing is great. And I hear that one of your staff members is the DJ, so I hope he's got some good tunes working for you.

[00:53:05]Yeah.

[00:53:06]>> Does this I know that you know prom for you was decades ago. Uh how does this compare to your high school prom or did you have a high school prom?

[00:53:16]>> I did have a high school prom uh many years ago. It was, I guess, more organized because it was done in the high school gymnasium and we had dates and it the theme was Mexican holiday >> and yeah, so we decorated the gymnasium and uh had a band that played and everything. So, it was really good.

[00:53:46]>> And how is the prom today compared to your high school prom? What's changed since then?

[00:53:52]>> The people have changed a lot.

[00:53:55]We uh have seen a lot of different faces here with different attire that they wouldn't normally wear every day. So, it it's changed in that respect.

[00:54:09]>> Uh Amy, why is why did you guys want to do this? Why was it important for you to hold this event?

[00:54:14]>> Because I figured it would be so fun.

[00:54:17]Not just high schoolers go to prom.

[00:54:19]Let's have all of our seniors and our all of our residents come to prom as well.

[00:54:24]>> You know, I think what's important that people forget is that seniors want to have t fun, too. They want to let loose.

[00:54:31]Um they want to partake in social events, you know, um and this is just an opportunity to socialize. A lot of people often get stuck in their rooms.

[00:54:42]Talk to me about, you know, just getting people out and together.

[00:54:47]Absolutely.

[00:54:47]>> Yeah.

[00:54:51]>> So important for their for their mental and their physical. Talk to me about the benefits of getting them together.

[00:54:57]>> Yeah. The benefits um lots of socialization. They're seeing all of like our staff members dance and we're really highly encouraging them to come out and dance as well. It's kind of a time to just let loose, have fun. Even some of our dining room servers that recently went to high school this past weekend showed up in their prom attire as well.

[00:55:20]>> Yeah.

[00:55:21]>> Oh, that's great. Donna, how do you do you like seeing everybody in their prom dresses?

[00:55:26]>> Oh, absolutely.

[00:55:27]>> Yeah.

[00:55:29]>> Have you have you um asked anyone to dance, Donna, or are you old school and you're waiting for the men to approach you?

[00:55:38]>> I'm sorry. What?

[00:55:40]Are you old school or are you waiting and waiting for the guys to approach you?

[00:55:44]>> No, I'm old school.

[00:55:47]>> They gota approach you. Did Now, did you have a date or did you did you go um solo to the dance and and um and leave your options open?

[00:55:58]>> Well, my high school prom I had a date and so it was really nice because you dressed up and he had on a tux. I had on a dress and And it was really a nice date.

[00:56:11]>> A lovely picture.

[00:56:15]>> I hear that you maybe have a photo from your high school prom.

[00:56:18]>> Yeah.

[00:56:19]>> Can we see that?

[00:56:23]>> Oh my. And what year was that?

[00:56:26]>> 1967.

[00:56:28]>> 1967.

[00:56:30]Wow.

[00:56:32]>> Okay. Now these days for prom, the girls are wearing like tennis shoes and um you know they they go to the gym for a dance. Did you guys when when back in 1967 when you did prom, did you do the whole thing where you went out to dinner, you took pictures?

[00:56:52]>> We went out to dinner, we did pictures, we actually went out to breakfast the next morning.

[00:56:59]>> Okay. So, not much has changed with prom, I guess. You know, you still get your day to cor, you still you still uh go to dinner before you get dressed up.

[00:57:08]I think I think the only thing that's changed is the girls are wearing tennis shoes now, but I hope I hope the trend is going back towards high heels personally, but >> I've got a quick question. I'd like to know like a proper prom, has anyone spiked the punch yet?

[00:57:25]We are passing our own champagne, but nobody has liked the punch.

[00:57:29]>> I suppose I suppose now since that's allowed, happy hours in senior's homes where you can have you can have a drink at this prom.

[00:57:35]>> We love having a good happy hour here for sure.

[00:57:39]>> Maybe I should talk to Chris, our culinary director, and say, "Hey, you want to spike it a little bit?"

[00:57:44]>> Yeah.

[00:57:45]Well, that's wonderful. Um, Donna, Amy, we so appreciate you joining us. I hope you have so much fun at your at what's left of your prom. It look I think it goes until 3:30. Uh do you guys think that you'll be doing this at other um at your other locations or is this specific to Plymouth?

[00:58:04]>> This was just specific to Plymouth. I h came up with this idea last summer and I said I think seniors get to have fun too. So I had to make sure to make this idea a reality.

[00:58:16]>> That's wonderful. That's so wonderful.

[00:58:19]uh living life on purpose as we say. Uh I appreciate you guys joining us and have so much fun at what remains of your prom.

[00:58:28]>> Thank you. Have a great one.

[00:58:30]>> All right, we are going to take a quick break here. Uh but when we come back, we are going to cover more news. We've got our own Mary Magguire coming in to talk about the Amy Bach sentencing that Paul touched on just a bit ago. We're also going to do another check of your headlines and also look at what's trending on social media. You won't want to miss it. Stay with us.

[01:01:03]Heat.

[01:01:18]Heat.

[01:01:36]Welcome back. Thanks for joining us. I We just talked to some seniors who were enjoying a little prom uh at their senior living community. I'm just curious, Paul, you didn't grow up in the United States. I don't even know if prom is a thing in Australia, but >> yeah, we don't have prom as it's as you I mean, we have a farewell dinner and then where I went to school, you actually invited your parents.

[01:02:01]>> Okay.

[01:02:02]>> So, you brought your parents and you brought a date. So, you sort of had it sat around and had a very sort of sophisticated thank you for 13 years dinner and off you went.

[01:02:10]>> I'm so sorry you missed out on the prom experience.

[01:02:12]>> What was your prom like? Who did you take to prom?

[01:02:15]>> You know, I went to prom, senior prom.

[01:02:17]So, usually, you know, most schools have junior prom and senior prom. Junior prom I went with my best friend Johnny, uh, which was so fun. And I grew up in the Bay Area outside San Francisco. And so, junior prom was on a big like charter boat in the Bay, which >> year is junior prom?

[01:02:36]>> You mean how old?

[01:02:37]>> Like, how old are you when you go to junior prom?

[01:02:39]>> You're 17. You're 16 or 17. You're a junior in high school. So, you're in 11th grade. And then senior year, so that was on a big boat in the bay. It was so fun. Um, chaos ensued after.

[01:02:50]There's always an afterparty. Sorry, mom and dad. Um, and then senior prom was at the at the Mark Hotel in downtown San Francisco, which was a blast. And then, uh, my parents actually let me host the afterparty.

[01:03:06]>> Wow.

[01:03:06]>> Yep. Uh, my dad owned a recording studio at the time. My dad is in the music business. And so we had it at the recording studio cuz it was soundproof walls. So my parents took everybody's keys. When they got there, nobody was allowed to drive. And >> how very progressive of the Godfree.

[01:03:23]>> Well, they had an afterprom with my sister when she was in prom a few years later >> and they got in a bit of trouble for that. So >> yeah, when the police show up and they find that your parents are there and they're okay with it, >> then it's even more of a problem if it was just some rogue kids.

[01:03:45]>> Yeah. It's not acceptable anymore to do that. But back in my day, my parents were like, "Well, we'd rather have you here and take the keys and know that you guys are safe." And all the other parents knew that the afterparty was at our place. So, um, >> that logic holds. I mean I want to know though at prom is the whole process is it like what we see in the movies growing up. It's every you're waiting for the person to ask you to prom.

[01:04:11]>> So my so my niece just we're going to go on for 15.

[01:04:15]>> You were like I don't know if we can talk about prom for five minutes and I was like I think we can.

[01:04:20]>> So my niece just went to prom. Okay.

[01:04:23]She's again in California. And these days, the big thing is, and this was not a thing when I was in high school, is the prom proposals. So these poor young men have to fully embarrass themselves and put themselves out there, which for a teenage boy, I'm like, "Oh my goodness."

[01:04:41]>> And so they usually make like a big sign and they do something.

[01:04:45]>> Sometimes it's very ornate and like out there and they ask them with, you know, a a banner in the sky pulled behind a plane. I mean, they're getting really out there the way that they're doing these prom posals.

[01:04:58]>> What are those women going to expect for a wedding engagement?

[01:05:01]>> Listen.

[01:05:02]>> Oh, speaking of, I should I can I do a quick shout out because I haven't bought a gift yet.

[01:05:06]>> Happy wedding anniversary, Kaylee.

[01:05:09]>> I love you.

[01:05:10]>> It's our fifth wedding anniversary today.

[01:05:12]>> My dad is just going to judge you even more. My dad already judges you.

[01:05:17]>> Yeah, but my buttons are done up today.

[01:05:19]>> Your buttons are done up. You did get your haircut so my dad can stop texting me about how badly you need to shave your beard >> just about how badly I treat my wife.

[01:05:27]>> But now he's going to be like he didn't even get his wife an anniversary present.

[01:05:31]>> She knows I love her. She knows I love her >> and that's all that matters. Okay. Um let's take a check of headlines. Enough fun for now. We talked about it a few times already on this show, but probably one of the biggest stories of the day.

[01:05:45]The woman at the center of a $250 million government fraud scandal has been sentenced to more than 41 years in prison. She's also been ordered to pay back the nearly $243 million that she stole from the federal government. Um Bach is the convicted ring leader of the Feeding Our Future scheme. Uh and she faced various charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. In just a little bit, we're actually going to have one of our Fox 9 reporters who was in the courtroom this morning for that sentencing on our show just to break down exactly what happened. So, that'll just be in about 10 minutes now from now. Um, and in other news today, the ICE agent accused of pointing a gun at a fellow motorist on a Minneapolis highway back in February is expected to make his first court appearance tomorrow. Gregory Morgan was charged last month with two counts of assault for threatening two people during an altercation along a Highway 62. The federal agent, who actually lives in Maryland, had a federal warrant issued for his arrest.

[01:06:50]His attorney released a statement yesterday saying that the charging documents only tell one side of the story, and he asks that the public reserve judgment until all evidence, context, and testimony are presented.

[01:07:05]And finally, uh, in other big news here in the Twin Cities metro today, top Trump administration officials were in Minneapolis. Uh, this included RFK Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, um, as well as Dr. Oz uh who announced criminal charges against 15 motans that they claim were involved in uh government fraud schemes, ripping off the government for more than $90 million in taxpayer dollars from seven different state- managed Medicaid programs. Uh the assistant attorney general for the justice department called these charges unprecedented and said this is not uh the end of their time here in Minnesota.

[01:07:46]It's actually just the beginning as they announced uh the start of a of a strike force that they called the healthc care fraud Midwest Strike Force which will focus on cracking down on Medicare fraud here in um in Minnesota and beyond. Uh those are your headlines. Uh I believe do we have Erica Marisek on the line for weather? Cool. Okay. Um let's talk about some weather that hit New York City this week as well. um before we talk to Erica because this is just wild. Um severe thunderstorms struck the New York City area just yesterday leading to flash flooding in several burrows. Look at that. Just incredible to see uh an urban area as busy as New York City covered in water. You can see the city bikes underwater. That woman is almost up to her knees in water as she crosses the street. This footage um was taken in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn yesterday. The National Weather Service said it received numerous reports of flooding down trees, lightning strikes, and hail in New York and Connecticut during those severe storms. What I wonder, Paul, is what do those people think they're doing there with those brooms?

[01:08:59]Are they Are they clearing the leaves under?

[01:09:03]>> I didn't even clock that before. What are they doing? I guess you know what?

[01:09:07]Now that I laugh at them, they're actually being really smart. I think they're probably moving debris away from the drains, >> so it's actually quite logical, but you're right. It does feel a little silly. Yeah.

[01:09:18]>> Yeah. I'm not sure it's helping, but anyway.

[01:09:21]>> Uh, all right. On that note, on our on our giggly on our giggly laughing note, let's bring in our other friend, Erica Morzik, meteorologist with Fox 9. Uh, the weather is uh looking up for the weekend. Erica, >> it is looking up. It's going to get a lot warmer. So, it's been pretty chilly uh through the week, but we are going to see some summer lake temperatures by next week, which is very exciting cuz the holiday, so it's perfect timing.

[01:09:44]>> Yeah, we like to see those warm temperatures for the Memorial Day weekend, especially as many people head to the cabin or out on the lake.

[01:09:49]>> Right. Right. And then also circling back for a second to people uh with the brooms and the flood. That's giving the same energy as like trying to mop the ocean.

[01:09:58]>> It really is.

[01:09:59]>> That's why I mean Erica, I didn't know if you could see the video soon. I can't. But I I in my head I was playing it because you guys were describing.

[01:10:06]>> I did not. And I'm sorry, Paul. And I just because I also didn't notice this when we watched the video earlier, you know, when we brought it into the system, but all of a sudden I look over on the screen and I just see like three people with brooms and they're like knee deep in water. I mean, you're right.

[01:10:24]They are probably clearing the drains, but I don't think it's accomplishing anything >> except the good news here is we should say that hopefully the flood waters drown all the rats cuz they have quite the rat.

[01:10:36]>> Rats are very very adept swimmers.

[01:10:39]They're very good swimmers.

[01:10:40]>> Rats are.

[01:10:41]>> Yeah, >> actually.

[01:10:42]>> Yeah.

[01:10:43]>> Interesting. Paul has all the animal fat.

[01:10:44]>> I'm pretty sure. Well, I'm pretty sure we have rats that swim in Australia. So, >> have you seen the rats in New York City, though? I mean, they are >> Oh my gosh, they're huge.

[01:10:52]>> Yeah, they're gross. They're like little bunnies.

[01:10:54]>> They're huge. And when you see one run down the subway line, like it's >> Yeah, that's when you you're really glad you live in the Twin Cities.

[01:11:04]>> That's exactly right.

[01:11:05]>> Yeah. I haven't seen any rats here, but I have seen a mouse. It was really small, though, and it was outside. It's not like it was inside my apartment.

[01:11:11]>> You're good. You're good.

[01:11:14]>> Um, but yeah, in terms of the rest of the weather forecast for the next couple of days, some passing clouds today. uh more temperatures that are April like than May like for the afternoon. And then at the moment, some passing clouds towards the south. It's uh sunnier in northern Minnesota. And it is not raining uh at all in the metro or outside of it for the most part. Couple uh areas of showers in the upper levels, but they're having a hard time making their way to the lower levels. And then for tonight, expect chilly temperatures in the arrowhead. So, another frost advisory out, cover up the plants. Uh but outside of the arrowhead, temperatures will not be as cool. Lows will be mostly in the 40s. And then for today, started off at about 46°. So another chilly one. And then 65 so far for that high temperature. Uh so 65 in the Twin Cities, temperatures 62 in Owatana, 64 in Heb. So it's just a spread of 60s. Uh we're almost all out of the 50s except for uh closer to Grand Marray. A light breeze from the south and the east. Do you think we need to take >> wind gusts are about uh 10 to 20 m an hour and they're going to still stay that way through the rest of the afternoon but quiet down tonight. And then uh at the moment you can see the breeze is moving around the trees at in Maple Grove. Uh people enjoying the nice dry day and mild day. 65 and it feels like 65. Uh and then looking ahead another Maple Day tomorrow. There is a chance for some showers tomorrow.

[01:12:39]Western Minnesota has better opportunity for rain. Uh it could start there perhaps in the morning and then in the metro maybe just a sprinkle early, but better chances will be during the evening and overnight into early on Saturday. And with that comes a chance for some rumblers too, but no uh severe weather expected. Just some thunder showers if there is enough instability.

[01:13:01]And then after that pattern change, warming up for the rest of the weekend.

[01:13:04]So a Saturday in the afternoon, high temperatures in the 70s. By Sunday, 70s to 80s. And then for Memorial Day, the most perfect day for the holiday. Mostly clear skies to clear conditions, high temperature in the 80s. And next week, uh, we get a summer treat. Temperatures are likely to stay pretty warm with highs in the 80s, uh, for a couple of days next week. So, that's our reward for our cool temperatures from this week.

[01:13:28]>> Yeah, you honestly can't ask for a better Memorial Day forecast. That's incredible, Eric.

[01:13:33]>> I know. Isn't that perfect? I do have to ask you. So Paul came on here a little bit ago and said that it's his fifth wedding anniversary today and he didn't buy his wife a gift. Erica, how would that go over with you?

[01:13:45]>> Um I would be pretty mad. Um I think Paul before you get home when you're leaving work, you need to buy like flowers and then something else or maybe like surprise your wife with a nice dinner.

[01:13:57]>> What about wishing her happy anniversary on all day? That's a pretty big That's a pretty big gift. like a cover up and especially since you admitted that you didn't get anything. Like there's no way you can hide from that now.

[01:14:09]>> A >> that that's recorded. Yeah. Well, she's probably >> maybe she's not watching.

[01:14:14]>> Kaylee does watch this show. So, I'm sorry that we outed you. Actually, you outed yourself. You admitted that you hadn't gotten her a gift. So, >> did you forget Paul?

[01:14:24]>> It's been a It's been a week.

[01:14:26]>> Plead the fifth. Plead the fifth. Paul, plead the fifth. Answer. Never admit to forgetting your wedding anniversary.

[01:14:34]>> It's like forgetting like Valentine's Day or something or like your wife's birthday.

[01:14:38]>> If you would like to remain married, do not admit that you forgot the date.

[01:14:44]>> If she forgot, too, it's okay, but I have a feeling that she probably >> I think she did. I had to remind her this morning that it was our wedding anniversary. So, I think I'm >> What did she say? Was she like >> I was like, "Hey, happy wedding anniversary." And she was like, "Oh, is it?"

[01:14:57]>> Oh, well then you're good.

[01:14:58]>> Okay. In that case, if you're both on the same page with that, then it's all right.

[01:15:01]>> I do recommend stopping and getting a nice orchid or a bouquet of flowers or something.

[01:15:06]>> Okay, I'll do something.

[01:15:06]>> I also recommend that, too.

[01:15:08]>> All right, Erica, thanks for joining us and for ganging up on Paul with us. Uh, it's kind of our pastime around here as of late. Uh, we have Mary Magguire on the line, so we're going to switch gears um and talk about that. So, uh, I mentioned that we're going to have Mary coming on because Mary was in the sentencing hearing for Amy Bach, uh, the woman at the center of a 250 million dollar government fraud scandal. She was sentenced this morning to more than 41 years in prison. Uh, that would break down to 500 months in behind bars, ordered to repay nearly $243 million to the federal government. Um she of course is the convicted ring leader of the feeding our future scheme. Um and that was the scheme that took government dollars that were intended to feed uh children who were food insecure during the pandemic. Uh and in a lot of these cases very few children or no children at all were receiving food. Um they were just shell companies that claimed to be feeding kids and they were not. Uh, a jury found her guilty on multiple criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit federal programs, uh, bribery.

[01:16:23]And I do we have Mary on the line now?

[01:16:27]Okay, we're going to have some tech we have some technical issues getting Mary on the line. So, let's take a quick break. We'll come back. We'll have Mary and she's going to break down that sentencing hearing.

[01:18:29]Heat. Heat.

[01:19:05]Welcome back to Fox 9. All day we've fixed our technical problems. So, like I said, we're going to have Mary Magcguire, our very own reporter here at Fox9 who's covering the Amy Bach sentencing, um, join us. Uh, Amy Boach is at the center of a $250 million government fraud scandal. This all has to do with the feeding our futures uh case and Mary joins us now. Mary, fill us in on what happened in court today.

[01:19:31]Well, Courtney, uh Amy Bach, the ring leader of the massive Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, was sentenced to just under 42 years in prison. She was also ordered to pay back $243 million of that pandemic era relief funds that she fraudulently got through her nonprofit feeding our f that put Minnesota on the map when it came to fraud and led to so many investigations of other federally funded programs and Medicaid funded programs in our state. Now, I was in the courtroom earlier today. It was jam-packed. Uh there was no open seating there. There was uh some former prosecutors that had worked on the case there and there was also some jurors who came to see the last uh final step in this case. They wanted to see Amy Bach being sentenced.

[01:20:25]Now prosecutors had asked for her to be sentenced to 50 years. Her defense team asking for just three years with also some probation. Prosecutors were harsh on Bach uh when she was uh they were speaking before the judge before that sentencing today, saying that not one dollar of this fraud scheme would have been able to happen if it were not for Bach, that her name, her signature was on each one of those checks. And they said that this sentence will prevent her from ever meaningfully participating in society again, even going so far as to say that the state of Minnesota will never be the same because of Amy Bach.

[01:21:04]Now, Amy Amy Bach, she entered the courtroom wearing a lime green court jumpsuit. She I was watching her as the prosecutors were speaking to the judge and as the judge was speaking and she was shaking her head a lot, kind of lightly uh disagreeing with what was being said. She also did have a chance to speak before the court. She was sobbing, very emotional, and it was the first time that we had ever hear her say that she was sorry for uh her actions, for what she did. She said that she understand that she failed. She failed the public, she failed her family, and she failed everyone. But in the end, Judge Nancy Brazzle uh said that she uh did not mince words when she was sentencing Bach. also saying that she found that she committed perjury multiple times during her testimony. And I did ask her attorney if she plans on appealing that sentence. He told me that she has not retained him as a part of her defense team as of now, but he can't imagine that she wouldn't appeal this sentence. This saga not over uh though.

[01:22:08]Nearly 80 people have been in charged in connection with the wide-ranging feeding our future fraud scheme. And we know that many of those trials are underway, Courtney, and I apologize. I can't really hear what's going on in my IFB.

[01:22:20]So, if you have any questions for me, maybe Doug can uh relay them or uh we can just send it back to you.

[01:22:27]>> That's okay, Mary. You know, Mary and I have worked together a long time. As soon as I saw her take her IFB out, I said she doesn't have any audio, so we knew we wouldn't be able to ask you any questions. Uh your reporting was so thorough. I think we got the point. So, I appreciate you, Mary. Thanks so much.

[01:22:40]Uh Doug, let Mary know that we really appreciate her time. Thank you.

[01:22:47]Our reporters are working so hard in the field. I just appreciate everything they do and for them to make the time to join our show uh is really appreciated. So, thanks again to Mary Maguire. Such a pro. Thanks for filling us in on the Amy Bach case. Again, Amy Bach, the ring leader of that $250 million government fraud scandal. Sentenced this morning to more than 41 years in prison and ordered to repay the federal government $243 million. We're going to take a quick break, but we'll be back after this.

[01:23:26]Yeah.

[01:23:32]All right. Uh instead of going to a break, we are hearing that we do have some breaking news. news. Um, apparently this ICE agent that was charged with pointing a gun on an individual uh along Highway 62 has shown up to turn himself in at the Henipin County Government Center. Do we have a live feed? It's okay. We are working on getting that live feed. It sounds like our photojournalist Kemp Peterson is chasing down um the suspect along with his attorney. He's being represented by Ryan Paca, who's one of uh one of the biggest names in criminal defense here in Minnesota. Uh let's take it live.

[01:24:10]>> Check. Mic check.

[01:24:12]>> Yep. Go ahead.

[01:24:13]>> Just another minute.

[01:24:14]>> Yeah. Yep. We'll wait for you.

[01:24:16]>> You bet.

[01:24:20]>> Come on up. Right over by here. Okay.

[01:24:22]Can you guys see you all like that?

[01:24:24]Okay.

[01:24:26]Ready?

[01:24:28]>> Okay.

[01:24:33]You should be a lawyer. We always have our tech screw up right before we start.

[01:25:06]You okay?

[01:25:18]Okay, we are just taking a live look in uh outside the Henipin County Courthouse right now. That is um a criminal defense attorney Ryan representing this ICE agent Gregory Morgan who was charged last month. Let's take a listen.

[01:25:31]>> My name is Ryan Pigga >> and I represent Gregory Morgan and I'm happy to do it today. Today, I want to ask the public and the media to take a step back from the anger and assumptions that too often surround cases involving law enforcement and firearms before all of the facts are known.

[01:25:53]Greg Morgan is not a caricature and he is not a headline.

[01:26:00]He's a man of Christian faith who has spent approximately eight years serving in law enforcement and much of his life serving others, including vulnerable people in his community.

[01:26:14]Importantly, his primary federal assignment back at his unit on the east coast was not focused on detention or removal operations.

[01:26:26]He was ordered to be up here during Metro Surge, a condition of his employment.

[01:26:33]Mr. Morgan was on duty during the alleged incident, contrary to the criminal complaint, and he remained on duty for several hours after this alleged incident, also contrary to the criminal complaint. And I've got proof of that.

[01:26:52]While we know that there were plenty of people in our community that were afraid of the ICE operations, it's also true that many good ICE officers were being harassed and even threatened by members of our community and by other people from other communities that came here during Metro Surge to exact some sort of perhaps revenge on ICE officers. I also think it's fair to say that both citizens and ICE officers were concerned for their safety during Operation Metro Surge. And Greg Greg uh Morgan is no exception to that. He was also concerned for his safety during that operation, including on the date of this alleged incident.

[01:27:40]There were things that led up to this situation that the short video clip that we've all seen in the news by now does not depict. There is much more to this story than that very brief video clip.

[01:27:54]That is only one small part of the full story here. The vehicle in the clip aggressively swerved at Mr. Morgan, who he and his partner were in an unmarked rental vehicle while they were on duty.

[01:28:09]Mr. Morgan did not know what that other driver and that other vehicle occupants intention was when it swerved so aggressively at him. But it happened fast. It was alarming and it was during an extraordinarily tense period in our Twin Cities metro area. Both for citizens and law enforcement alike.

[01:28:30]Human beings under stress can perceive anger uh danger differently and make split-second decisions in rapidly evolving situations.

[01:28:44]That does not mean that we ignore concerns raised by this incident. We understand why people hear allegations involving a firearm react emotionally.

[01:28:56]But it also does not mean we should rush to strip away someone's humanity before all evidence is presented fairly and fully.

[01:29:06]Greg Morgan is deeply affected by what has happened. He understands the seriousness of these allegations and he understands the public concerns surrounding them. There is much more to this story and he has been cooperating with this process as evidenced by him traveling across the United States. me having me communicate with the Henipin County Attorney's Office, which I've been doing for multiple weeks, and finding a way to come and go through the process lawfully and respectfully and cooperatively while at the same time not having to be arrested out on the East Coast and face extradition. And that took some time to put that all together.

[01:29:57]Okay, at this point the public has heard only one side of the story through the charging document. We are confident that additional evidence, additional context, and the full circumstances surrounding this encounter matter greatly. And we all know how unfair it can be to only hear one side of the story, and that's what we've only heard.

[01:30:23]so far is one side and in fact one little bit of a much bigger story.

[01:30:30]We ask everyone including commentators, activists, public officials to allow this case to proceed through the judicial process calmly, responsibly, and based on all the evidence, not emotion or political narratives. We all deserve that, don't we?

[01:30:52]I'm not going to have Greg answer any questions at this point because there's an open criminal case, but I will take perhaps a few limited questions. Thank you.

[01:30:59]>> Are there any other videos that you will excavate your clients?

[01:31:03]>> I don't know yet. Um I'm personally waiting for some more evidence from the Department of Justice, which takes a while. And of course, I haven't received yet the discovery from the Henipin County Attorney's Office. We just filed for that a day or two ago. I would anticipate because they charged this case out a month ago that it shouldn't take them very long to get that evidence to me, but we'll see.

[01:31:28]>> Does Mr. Morgan's uh training align to the actions that he took that day?

[01:31:33]>> At this point, I'm not going to discuss uh his his training or how this could could play into the case until I have all of the evidence as well as certain materials I'm waiting for.

[01:31:44]>> Is anybody supporting Mr. Morgan's legal defense either with post somebody to travel here and maybe be able to travel home. Is there anybody that's supporting him financially?

[01:31:55]>> Well, he's a he's an employee of the ICE agency and and the Department of Justice as a part of that.

[01:32:01]>> Does he remain on duty and has he been conducting his job in that occurrence?

[01:32:07]>> He does. He's been a career I mean an 8-year law enforcement officer with no history of any crimes, no disciplinary history. He is known as a good officer and he continues to be one.

[01:32:18]>> Is there any do you have any intention to file to have this removed from Henip County District Court because of >> I will be filing a petition to remove to federal court. That's one of the the key differences here is that there's an allegation that he was basically ending duty and just returning. That wasn't the case. I have the time logs for the shifts that day. He was on duty for several hours after this incident. He was on duty when this alleged incident occurred and continued to be on duty afterward and that is something that will play in fact in fact to the petition to remove to federal court.

[01:32:52]>> We've heard virtually nothing from ICE agents about what Metro Surge was like from their standpoint. From what you've heard from your client, can you summarize what they experienced, what they felt they were up against, and whether they had the tools and the circumstances to succeed in their mission?

[01:33:09]>> Those are great questions. So, I'm not going to tell you what my client has told me for attorney client purposes, but I'm a citizen of this community. I was born and raised here, and I've lived here my entire life. And uh we I think anybody who's been on the ground in Minnesota for this past 6-month period is well aware of what's been happening including but not limited to during Metro Surge both in terms of some of the fears I think that some citizens were facing and some other alleged behaviors of law enforcement if you will but indeed also different v varying scales of behaviors by citizens passive passive people who have just been watching from the sidewalk. People who have flooded the streets, people who have bl been blowing whistles, people who have gotten right in the faces of law enforcement, people who have threatened law enforcement, people have been tailing their vehicles, people who have been keeping track of those vehicles with license plates and giving out advanced notice, people who I think have intentionally agitated law enforcement, um, and people who presented either verbal or physical threats to law enforcement as well. The scale, right? I mean, we've seen anybody who's lived here and been around this has probably seen all of that to be fair. And there were a number of citizens who who acted like we would all want to act. And then I think there were some other citizens who genuinely posed a a danger or a perceived danger to law enforcement, whether they're state, local, or federal.

[01:34:39]>> You mentioned that this wasn't his normal job. What is his job? He's he's an ICE agent in in the >> He's an He's an ICE agent in the removal, but his particular duties were not removal. Actually, >> one of the things that he likes about his employment is that he has the opportunity often to help immigrants stay in the United States, especially those without the most egregious prior offenses like murder convictions or the like. they in in a way sometimes they function like a probation officer in that role where they actually get to work with the immigrants keep some tabs on them and help them to actually do things constructively to stay in the United States and that's part of his why as a law enforcement officer and I want people to see that about him because I think sometimes when we think about ICE maybe an image comes to mind of somebody in jack boots or that enjoyed enjoyed beating people up or shooting them or threatening them or was just out to find any any immigrant and remove them.

[01:35:42]That's not who Greg Morgan is. That's not who a lot of these ICE agents were.

[01:35:47]And of course, you're going to get the the whole spectrum when you get into any job. Lawyers, doctors, law enforcement, you name it.

[01:35:57]There are a lot of good law enforcement agents out there, state, local, and federal. We need them. He was ordered up here for a job to do and he is he is a servant. He cares about people. He's a good man in his community and people are going to get to know a lot more about him while I'm representing him. But he is not who some people may think of when they think of ICE and they have this immediate negative reaction to who ICE is. That is not Morgan that I've gotten to know and I'm going to make damn sure that a jury knows about it if this case goes to trial.

[01:36:33]Um, has your client been the victim of some of these things that you're listing off in terms of retaliation?

[01:36:42]>> I won't speak directly to him, but I would I would say that probably any ICE agent that was known to be an ICE agent on the ground during Metro Surge was experiencing some sor form of uh public retaliation for from certain members of the community. I think citizens were afraid for their own safety, you know, in the community and I also think that there were a number of law enforcements that were rightfully concerned for their own safety during these operations as well.

[01:37:11]And I don't think that's unique to Greg Morgan, but I think it was a common experience for law enforcement as well as some citizens during this whole metro surge, which was really a pressure cooker.

[01:37:25]>> Can you explain what you're doing here today?

[01:37:28]>> Yeah, today. So, he's going to post a bond right now and then he's going to be booked because he wants to com to comply with the process and uh then we're going to appear at 1:15 p.m. tomorrow in front of Judge Scoggin for a first appearance right right over here in this courthouse.

[01:37:45]>> If he were convicted of assault at the end of this >> yeah process, can he remain a federal law enforcement?

[01:37:52]>> That would be up to the federal government, but it would be tough with a felony conviction. you you're you're not allowed to possess a firearm, right? Um there's a whole lot more to it than that. There's a whole lot more to it than his job. I mean, his job is a part of this. It is part of who he is, and he loves serving the community that way, right? But there's more to it than that.

[01:38:11]That's this is his honor. This is his name. People do not yet know what was going through his mind or what he was experiencing. And it's easy to get, I think, riled up and think, well, he allegedly pointed a gun at at a vehicle that swerved at him and that's it, right? But there's so much more to the story here. I can tell you, I can guarantee you that he meant no harm and he did not intend to cause fear to those people, okay? But you don't know what lit up led up to this for him yet. And even if you look at the video and you look at it from perhaps his standpoint instead of these other drivers, maybe you'll start to come to some other thoughts about what he may have been experiencing and why he may have taken certain actions that I won't get into.

[01:38:56]But, you know, coming under threat in our community as well. He didn't know what these other people were up to in that vehicle. He didn't know who they were. He didn't know what their intentions were other than, I would say, they violently swerved at him. And there's even more to it than that that led up to it that nobody knows about it yet. That will come out later.

[01:39:15]>> Mr. Ba, the Trump administration has been reluctant at best to aid prosecutors and law enforcement in this state with their investigative materials related to certain um use of force incidents involving.

[01:39:30]>> Sure. Do you expect them to be working with you to understand the actions of your client and to give context to that as it pertains to operation metro surge to the training that they had and some of the materials that have been hard for law enforcement prosecutors to get into?

[01:39:44]>> I would hope so because all I want is the truth and I want a jury to have the truth if it goes that far and I want judges to have the truth. And you know what else I want to have the truth? The public. And Greg Morgan wants them to have the truth as well because you can't imagine how painful it's been for him.

[01:39:59]believe it or not, to have these allegations come and to be painted in a certain light without knowing his why, without knowing his truth, without knowing what else happened that day, the days up to that, the week up to that while he was here. There is a lot more here. And we want more. We're not here to hide information. We want more information because we believe that with all of the information out, the important decision makers will have what they need to see everything in the context. And I think once that comes out, it'll be shown that he's not guilty of these serious charges.

[01:40:37]>> The complaint suggests that um Mr. Morgan didn't report the incident to his supervisor. Is that correct?

[01:40:44]>> Not at all. that >> thank you.

[01:40:50]>> No, there will be information that will come out later that will be in indication to the contrary that he did infor in fact report this incident immediately.

[01:41:02]>> Do you feel any need for Mr. Morgan to say an apology at this point?

[01:41:07]>> I can't have him speak about anything at this point. I can tell you that he's he doesn't take this cavalerely. He's a human being and he doesn't one thing that's important to him is that he believes in the service aspect of law enforcement. So he's not here to try to scare people. He wasn't here to try to beat people up or assault them or do anything. He was up here on orders. And there's a human, very human aspect to this case for this human being. And there's a human aspect for the people who ended up being frightened or concerned as well. But that's not who he is and that's not what this was about.

[01:41:44]>> Ryan, was he surprised when the charges came out?

[01:41:47]>> Yes. Absolutely. I mean, he told he gave a partial interview to a trooper the day after, right? Um there was more to it than that, right? But there was a certain context to that interview that he wasn't fully aware of. That will come more of that will come out as well later. Um but there's a lot more to it.

[01:42:06]And yeah, he was he thought there was an understanding here of the situation. So he was floored when that happened as well. You know, this has been really heavy on Greg. It has been. He takes it seriously and um you know, we've done I mean, we've prayed together.

[01:42:27]>> He's shed some tears together. This is this is a real human story here.

[01:42:33]>> Yeah.

[01:42:35]What's your what's your take on this city is famous for its trials. It's famous for its politics. It's famous for strong feeling of a very large voting block.

[01:42:47]>> Yeah.

[01:42:50]>> What's your thought here?

[01:43:03]Well, I got to believe in that.

[01:43:07]I got to believe in that. You know, I think of course there's going to be some people, right, where they're not they're not going to be interested in a fair trial, but I think there's a lot of citizens who do care and who will be interested in that. And I'm counting on that because where there's been a lot of talk from our politicians and everybody else how about how good Minneapolis can do, right? how good our metro area can do, how how we can rise up to challenges. And we've seen our series of challenges here in the last 5 years, haven't we? We know what they are. But if we're going to continue to try to be better and we're going to continue to rise, then it then we've got to believe in this in our Constitution and our Bill of Rights. And we got to believe in the integrity of this court process. We got to believe in all those things. And I'm going to believe in jurors. I'm going to believe in them. and I'm going to believe in our court process and he's going to believe in it too. And that's why he came back here to do this because we're going to participate in this process because we do believe in it and we love it. It's one of the things that we think makes our country a wonderful place.

[01:44:13]>> All right.

[01:44:14]>> Thanks everybody.

[01:44:17]>> All right.

[01:44:19]>> All right. You were just hearing from criminal defense attorney Ryan Paca who's representing an ICE agent from Maryland who is here working during Operation Metro Surge. His name is Gregory Morgan. The Henipin County Attorney's Office last month charged Morgan with two counts of assault for threatening two people during a brief altercation along along Highway 62 in Minneapolis. Uh the criminal complaint uh alleged that Gregory Morgan pointed his gun at the other motorists as they attempted to block his car um alongside Highway 62. Morgan's attorney just there during that press briefing, Ryan Paca said that there is quote so much more to this story and that Morgan intended no harm to those people. So Ryan Paca claims that his um client uh that it's not the story that's laid out in the criminal complaint that the car swerved quickly into Morgan and that he reacted to a perceived threat. And that reaction of course was pulling out his gun and pointed it at the individual according to the Henipin County Attorney's Office.

[01:45:28]Um they contend, Ryan Paca contends that the public has only heard one side of the story and they asked the public to withhold judgment until all the evidence um is presented. Um he also added that Morgan is a servant, a community servant, that he cares about his community and that he's not who most people think of when they think of ICE agents today. So again, that was Gregory Morgan, an ICE agent out of Maryland who has been charged with two counts of assault after pointing his allegedly pointing his gun um at fellow motorists alongside Highway 62. His attorney saying that there is so much more to the story and that he intended no harm to those people as they um as they plan to fight those charges. We're going to take a quick break, but we'll be back right after this.

[01:46:20]Heat. Heat. N.

[01:49:11]Okay, I'm screwed.

[01:49:24]All right, welcome back to Fox 9 all day. Uh my lovely producer Grace Henry joining us um for one of our favorite segments. We do this every Thursday for everybody looking for something to do this weekend. We're going to give you some ideas on various budgets. This is the segment that we call >> bougie basic budget.

[01:49:46]>> Uh this is the best day of the week.

[01:49:48]>> It really is.

[01:49:49]>> Uh who's going to start here? because we love to break down like ideas for things to do on the weekend. This one's a unique one because it is Memorial Day weekend. So, uh that either means there's a lot going on or that means there's a little going on. It depends on where you are. Uh who wants to start?

[01:50:05]>> I'll go ahead and start.

[01:50:07]>> Let's start with bougie.

[01:50:08]>> I was given the bougie budget. You know, as a 23 year old, it's always nice to have a $500 budget. Yeah. I norm every weekend I just go and I spend the always do the bougie budget. truly can't wait to see what a 23-year-old does with $500.

[01:50:21]>> Well, it is Memorial Day weekend and what else is there to do Memorial Day weekend besides go on a boat on a lake.

[01:50:28]So, >> if you're bougie.

[01:50:29]>> If you're bougie. If you're bougie. So, that's how I'm going to spend my entire budget this week. We're going to go and we're going to rent a boat. And I have a couple different areas around the Twin Cities where you can um rent pontoons um all for different prices, of course. So, um, let's kick it off with the most expensive one. Um, this is at Bay toboat Club in Excelsier on Lake Minnetonka.

[01:50:52]Um, it costs about $625 for half a day and then about 800 for a full day to rent.

[01:51:00]>> So, you're not doing that, Grace.

[01:51:02]>> I won't be doing that. But hey, if you really want to blow the bougie budget even out of the water by 200 bucks, rent the full rent the pot for the full day.

[01:51:11]Um, but what's really interesting about this boat rental is they are the oldest independently owned boat club in the country.

[01:51:18]>> Oh, yeah.

[01:51:19]>> It's really interesting. I don't know.

[01:51:20]>> And is gas on top of that? Do you need to pay gas on top of that rental?

[01:51:24]>> You're really challenging my research on this. I know for the one that I am going to use, you do need to pay for >> Okay. So, the gas is on top.

[01:51:32]>> You need to pay for gas on top of it.

[01:51:35]Um, and of course there's different rates for different days of the week.

[01:51:38]This being Memorial Day weekend, the prices are going to be a little bit higher. So, I think typically if you were to rent on a Wednesday, it' be a lot cheaper, but of course, we're doing it for this weekend. So, about $625 to $800 um for a pontoon in Excelsier if and then we're going to head to Still Water where it's a little bit more affordable and you can spend the day on the St. Croy and you can rent from uh the Still Water Boat Club and a boat club and rentals and there you will spend about 370 for a half day and then 500 plus for a full day.

[01:52:13]>> You got to go full day.

[01:52:14]>> You have to do a full day. Um I'm going to read a little synopsis from their website because it was it was really this is this is the option I would pick.

[01:52:21]I would pick this the $500 >> still water's nice and then you can avoid Big Island on Lake Minnetonka and not get E.coli. Okay.

[01:52:27]>> Oh, okay. Interesting, huh? Okay. E coli outbreaks on Bill Island. Yes, because lots of people in the water.

[01:52:35]>> Oh, >> there's no bathroom story on next week.

[01:52:38]Next week.

[01:52:39]>> No bathrooms nearby.

[01:52:40]>> That's okay. Let's move on. Cruise north of Still Water, 5 miles, and enjoy p picturesque limestone bluffs and quiet river banks. Um, and head to the sandy beaches in Wisconsin. I'm like, there's sandy beaches in Wisconsin.

[01:52:54]>> Yeah, it's beautiful.

[01:52:55]>> That sounds lovely. So, that's what I would opt for if I want to stay in budget. I go over budget $3 plus gas. So >> yeah, Still Water's great. The St. Croy is fun.

[01:53:04]>> Yep. And uh you can head to their website, Stillwaterbat Reynolds.com to look to check their availability. Um but another option um if you're in the southern metro, is to go to Naughty Orina on Prior Lake. There you can spend $300 to about over $700. And it all depends on how many hours you want to rent for. If you want to rent for three hours, that'll be the 300. if you want to spend 700, that's the full day. Um, and yeah, their website, naughtyormarina.com, is where you can find all the details and book your reservations there. Um, but yeah, you will also need to pay for gas there, but most of these pontoons, they um include avail like open. They're pretty open actually. They still have availability. Um, and each pontoon holds about 10 to 11 people and are fully stocked. But if you're on my budget, the basic budget, you could just show up at um Manhattan Beach Bar um on Cross Lake and just >> ask somebody if you can ride in their boat.

[01:54:01]>> Yeah. So that's my bougie budget. So >> I think that that is a very good way to spend their memorial uh memorial long weekend is to go out on a boat. I can vouch. I've spent many many a lovely day on the St. Croy out there in Still Water and it is those sandy beaches in Wisconsin are great.

[01:54:18]>> Who would have known? And you have the basic budget, so you'll be spending a little bit less.

[01:54:22]>> I do have the basic budget. And my thoughts were Memorial Day long weekend is almost like the official start of summer, right? Like, or is it the unofficial start of summer? I'm not sure. It's the start of summer. Um, and what I was excited to find out today is that it's actually the kickoff to summer at the state fair this weekend, happening uh all over the weekend. But I looked at Saturday in particular. Um I'm just going to give you an just a quick glance at what my sort of rundown what I went with and then we can talk about it after. Um the kickoff to summer at the state fair is like your first taste of what we can expect to see at the state fair. We see some of the most loved vendors, some returning vendors, some new vendors. Um so the tickets are going to set you back uh 28 uh $14 each if you buy them online ahead of it. Uh they do recommend that you do book in advance because other it's a ticketed event so there it's limited you they don't want you rammed in like you get rammed in at the state fair. Um going to spend some tickets for Kaylee and I go there get some food and drinks. Spend most of our money on the food and drinks and then Courtney and Erica made me feel guilty about not getting Kaye at a wedding anniversary. So, uh, I've decided I'm going to get her a gift at Alohana Creations, which are a new vendor at the state fair, uh, this year. Free parking and comes in at a total of 138. So, I'm under budget.

[01:55:47]>> That's wonderful.

[01:55:48]>> Under budget. I do there's a couple of other things that are happening as well, um, that I just that are new this year at uh, kickoff to summer at the state fair. There is second what do they call it? Second glance crop art. It's the crop art event that everyone loves but just put out again for everyone to see.

[01:56:07]Uh everything from the last state fair, all the ones that did really well. Um and then the other one that I thought was interesting is do you know your blood type?

[01:56:14]>> No.

[01:56:15]>> Off the top of your head?

[01:56:16]>> Don't.

[01:56:16]>> I don't know my blood type.

[01:56:17]>> So you at this uh at the state at the kickoff to summer at the state fair, you can head into um uh what's it called?

[01:56:24]The big amphitheater and you can find out your blood type and you can decide whether you want to donate as well. Go.

[01:56:28]So that's kind of >> But most importantly, you get to taste state fair food long before the state fair kicks off.

[01:56:35]>> Yeah. Really get you excited for the end of summer.

[01:56:37]>> Bring us back some fried pickles. Those are my favorite.

[01:56:40]>> We'll do.

[01:56:40]>> Okay. Um it's my turn. I got the budget budget. And um because it's Memorial Day, I wanted to stick with Memorial Day things. Not always easy because >> here in Minnesota, the culture is that you go to the lake. So, a lot of things, the cities kind of is quiet on Memorial Day. There's not a ton of events. And trust me, with little kids, I've looked for parades. There's not a lot going on.

[01:57:03]Um, there is a great parade in Elk River, though. If you want to go to a parade, Elk River has a good parade.

[01:57:07]>> Um, we're going to go to historic Fort Snelling because I want to teach the kids all about Memorial Day and take in a little bit of history. So, the historic fort will be open from 10:00 am until 4 pm. Um, there's no guided tour necessary, so you can do, you know, selfexploration, but the museum and visitor center will be open until 4:30. Uh, but there's going to be a bunch of historic demonstrations throughout the day, including musical performances, um, drum core. There's also going to be a historic baseball game at 3 o'clock. I don't know a lot about it, but it sounds intriguing.

[01:57:44]>> It sounds patriotic.

[01:57:45]>> It sounds very patriotic. But they're going to do a flag raising at 10:15, uh 10:30, the FIF and drum concert, Brooklyn big band concert, a musket firing. I mean, my six-year-old would lose his marbles over a musket firing.

[01:58:02]>> Really exciting. This sounds like a really great way to spend the day, >> but it's just super historic, and so I love that. And then at 3:45 they lower the flag. So $12 for adults. I'm sorry I thought I think you had the graphic up earlier, but it's $12 per adult. So for me and my husband it'll be um $24 and then $8 for kids over the age of five.

[01:58:25]Five and under are free. So my three-year-old gets him for free. I got to pay for the six-year-old. Um you know, I'm I'm thinking that they probably have some snacks there like at least in the visitor center and stuff.

[01:58:35]So, and the kids might want to buy like an American flag or some kind of historic memorabilia. So, we saved uh $18. Yeah.

[01:58:43]>> If there's one thing I know about America, if there's a crowd, there's going to be merch.

[01:58:47]>> 100%.

[01:58:48]>> That is 100% going to happen. You're going to >> You are definitely going to have a way to spend that $18. They won't >> God bless America.

[01:58:55]>> God bless America. Okay. And on that note, >> that was our Memorial Day edition of >> Bougie Basic Budget.

[01:59:08]>> All right. We hope you guys got some good ideas for things you can do this weekend. We are wishing you all a happy Memorial Day weekend. I'll be off tomorrow. Um, but we'll be back on Tuesday following the Memorial Day