Trainwreck Tim Walz Took Minnesota From A $19 Billion Surplus To A $6 Billion Deficit

Tim Walz’s record as governor of Minnesota grows more troubling as the consequences of his policies have played out.

Americans have seen a lot of Tim Walz lately as the failed vice-presidential candidate has held town halls nationally criticizing national Republicans. In a telling interview, he admitted to the New York Magazine this week, “90% of the time, I can be really good, but about 10% of the time, I can be a train wreck.”

And in an interview with Jake Tapper that was itself something of a train wreck, he rejected the conclusion that every American with a pulse now acknowledges: that Walz and other Democrats should have forced Joe Biden off the presidential ticket in light of his obvious cognitive decline.

Walz is indeed often a train wreck, and as Walz tramps around the country seeking to place himself as the foil to congressional Republicans and Donald Trump, to really understand what a disaster he is, we only need to look at the ongoing mess he has left behind in Minnesota.

It is not hyperbole to say that Minnesota’s finances are in free fall. After boasting a record-setting $19 billion surplus in 2022 — larger than the full budgets of 20 U.S. states — the Minnesotans learned earlier this month that it faces a staggering $6 billion budget deficit. How did this happen? In 2023, Walz and his Democrat allies in the legislature embarked on the most reckless spending spree in Minnesota history, funneling billions into pet projects and giveaways for every left-wing constituency imaginable. The surplus wasn’t used to shore up Minnesota’s long-term financial stability or to return money to taxpayers. Instead, it was squandered in the most reckless fiscal step taken in Minnesota’s modern history.

Walz’s relationship with the truth has always been a distant one, and this case was no exception. Walz tried to falsely pin the financial crisis on the new Trump administration, despite state officials confirming that federal policy did not affect their budget projections.

Among the drivers of the state’s coming deficit is a stagnant Minnesota economy. Although once among the strongest in the country, the state now routinely ranks in the bottom 10 states for GDP growth. Job creation has stagnated, and businesses are increasingly looking elsewhere to expand or move. Meanwhile, Walz has increased tax burdens on individuals and businesses and made Minnesota one of the least competitive states for economic growth.

Contributing to the state’s fiscal woes is the immense fraud in Minnesota state programs, unlike anything in the state’s history. The Feeding Our Future scandal alone saw over $250 million stolen under Walz’s watch — the largest case of Covid-era fraud in the nation.

But it doesn’t stop there. Federal officials estimate that fraud across Minnesota’s public assistance programs under Walz exceeds $600 million, a scale described by the state’s former Democrat U.S. attorney as fundamentally different than anywhere else in the country. To date, Walz and his administration have fired no one for the immense incompetence and malfeasance that enabled such fraud.

As Walz hemorrhages taxpayer dollars due to fraud, Minnesota’s educational system has cratered. From 2014 to 2023, reading proficiency dropped by 8.2 percentage points, and math proficiency fell by 14.2 percentage points, despite significant increases in education spending. Under Tim Walz, most Minnesota kids can’t read or do math at grade level.

Compounding the issue, schools are facing financial turmoil due to reckless spending mandates and a focus on the woke agenda items passed by the Democrat legislature. According to an association representing Minnesota school districts, over 40 districts are running massive deficits, with some facing budget shortfalls in the tens of millions.

Tim Walz — the former schoolteacher — has left Minnesota’s education system in crisis.

Under Tim Walz’s leadership, public safety in Minnesota has collapsed. Violent crime has surged — Minneapolis saw 79 homicides last year, up nearly 160 percent since 2019 — while far-left prosecutors like Soros-backed Mary Moriarty let criminals walk and attack police.

Moriarty’s unethical prosecution of Trooper Ryan Londregan revealed the radical agenda now driving Minnesota’s justice system. Walz stayed silent, signaling to criminals that politics matter more than public safety. Police morale has cratered, recruitment lags, and victims’ families are left without justice.

The result? Minnesotans no longer feel safe in their own neighborhoods. That’s not just failed leadership — it’s a betrayal of government’s most basic duty: to protect its citizens.

Tim Walz has been a train wreck, and not just 10 percent of the time. And although Americans were given a glimpse of his record in Minnesota in 2024, that record grows more troubling as the consequences of his policies have played out. All of America should know that Minnesota was once the “State that Worked”. Under Tim Walz, that’s as gone, just like its absentee governor.

Contributing to Walz’s fiscal woes is the immense fraud in Minnesota state programs, unlike anything in the state’s history. The organized Somali “Feeding Our Future” fraud alone saw over $250 million stolen under Walz’s watch — the largest case of Covid-era fraud in the nation.

Somali Democrat donors charged in Somali food fraud
By Anthony Gockowski -September 23, 2022, Minnesota we the people

pic-—Liban Yasin Alishire used money stolen from the federal Child Nutrition Programs to purchase resort in Kenya. Campaign finance records show the 42-year-old Somali donated $2,500 to campaign of Democrat AG Keith Ellison.

At least nine of the 48 Somalis accused of defrauding the government of $250 million meant to feed hungry children have donated to Democratic officeholders in Minnesota. The number is likely higher and Alpha News is working to confirm the identities of additional defendants.

Campaign finance records show 42-year-old Liban Yasin Alishire donated $2,500 in May of this year to the reelection campaign of Attorney General Keith Ellison. Alishire listed Hoodo Properties as his employer, which was a shell company he created to purchase luxury items and real estate with money he stole from the government, according to an indictment. “[A]s the list of those indicted in the federal fraud investigation into Feeding Our Future became public, we became aware of a donation to our campaign from one of the individuals charged. We immediately refunded the donation in full,” Ellison’s campaign said in a statement provided to Alpha News.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced charges against 48 Minnesotans Tuesday for allegedly defrauding the federal government’s Child Nutrition Programs of $250 million in a little over 20 months. “These [48] defendants engaged in a brazen scheme of staggering proportions,” U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said during a press conference announcing the charges.

At the center of the charges is Aimee Bock, the founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit whose offices were raided in January. “Feeding Our Future” participated in the Summer Food Service Program and the Child and Adult Care Food Programs, both belonging to the US Dept of Agriculture’s Child Nutrition Programs.

These programs provide reimbursements for meals distributed to low-income children by food sites, like schools, nonprofits, restaurants, and more. Each food site must have a sponsor organization, in this case Feeding Our Future. The food sites submit reports on how many meals they are serving to the sponsor organization, which then submits the reports to the government for reimbursement.

In Minnesota, the federal reimbursements are wired to the sponsor organizations via the Department of Education, hence the recent criticism of this state agency. The sponsor organization then disburses the money among the food sites.

In some cases, the money flowed to the “fake meal sites” and then back to Somalis Feeding Our Future in the form of kickbacks, according to Luger. Somali Alishire was the president of an organization called Community Enhancement Services, located in the JigJiga Business Center in Minneapolis.

His company operated a food site under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future, falsely claiming to serve as many as 2,700 meals a day, seven days a week, according to an indictment. In total, Community Enhancement Services falsely claimed to have served more than 800,000 meals to low-income children between February and October 2021, the indictment says.

Liban Yasin Alishire, right, pictured with Minnesota Sen. Omar Fateh, center and his Somali co-defendants received more than $1.6 million tax dollars in Child Nutrition Programs funds. He allegedly transferred this money to shell companies and used it to purchase property in Kenya, a truck, and a boat.

Alishire also paid more than $200,000 in kickbacks to a Feeding Our Future employee in exchange for Feeding Our Future’s sponsorship of his company’s “fraudulent participation” in the program, according to the indictment. Alishire operated a second fake food site with his co-defendants, which received $180,000 in reimbursements, the indictment says.

During his first court appearance Thursday, prosecutors said Alishire purchased a resort in Kenya using the stolen funds, KARE 11’s Lou Raguse reports. A judge ordered his release, despite concerns from the prosecution about him fleeing the country. At least three defendants have already left the country, according to Raguse.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, Minnesota Sen. Omar Fateh, and Minneapolis Council Member Jeremiah Ellison, the attorney general’s son, have all received donations from defendants in the case. Three of the defendants previously served in appointed positions in the Minneapolis city government. Omar, Fateh, and Frey have said in previous statements to the media that they’ve returned the donations. None of them replied to requests for comment.

Liban Yasin Alishire
Attorney General Keith Ellison: $2,500 (5/27/22)
Abdinasir Mahamed Abshir
Sen. Omar Fateh: $1,000 (6/6/21)
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: $1,000 (7/27/21)
Minneapolis Council Member Jeremiah Ellison: $600 (12/20/21)
Asad Mohamed Abshir
Sen. Omar Fateh: $1,000 (6/6/21)
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: $1,000 (7/27/21)
Abdihakim Ali Ahmed
Sen. Omar Fateh: $1,000 (6/6/2021)
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: $1,000 (7/27/21)
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar: $2,700 (3/31/2021)
Ahmed Abdullahi Ghedi
Sen. Omar Fateh: $1,000 (6/6/21)
Minneapolis Council Member Jeremiah Ellison: $600 (12/20/21)
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: $1,000 (7/27/21)
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar: $2,700 (2/23/21)
Salim Ahmed Said
Sen. Omar Fateh: $1,000 (6/6/21)
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: $1,000 (7/27/21)
Minneapolis Council Member Jeremiah Ellison: $600 (12/20/21)
Abdulkadir Nur Salah
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: $1,000 (7/26/21)
Minneapolis Council Member Jeremiah Ellison: $600 (12/20/21)
Abdikadir Ainanshe Mohamud, previously served on Mayor Frey’s community safety working group
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: $1,000 (7/26/21)
Abdi Nur Salah, former aide to Mayor Frey
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: $1,000 (7/27/21)

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