The fraud continues at flood stage, with the governor, Tim Walz, and his agency heads expressing no more embarrassment or regret than they might for failing to set the table correctly for a picnic.

Joe Soucheray

“We forgot the mustard, but steps have been taken to prevent forgetting mustard going forward.”

“Ketchup?”

“That too.”

More than $10 million has been fraudulently stolen from Housing Stabilization Services alone, a program developed by the Minnesota Department of Human Services to help people with disabilities in need, many of whom remain in need. We learn this the same week that Walz has made it public that he intends to seek an unprecedented third term in a row. It is perversely fascinating that Walz can receive a new report of fraud under his watch and then excuse himself to go play Regular Guy by patting the fender of his prop International Scout for a new campaign ad.

Mostly, Walz’s agency heads – he hired them – conveniently got a sail full of wind and disappeared when the going got too fraudy. Heather Mueller was the Department of Education commissioner, but when the food fraudsters claimed they were feeding 6,000 kids a day from a grimy storefront the size of her waiting room, she vanished.

Jodi Harpstead was commissioner of Human Services, but her agency was gushing money from a fire hose of fraud, autism care, day care, Medicaid, housing stabilization, and she vamoosed in February of this year, replaced by Shireen Gandhi.

Gandhi is a veteran of DHS and was for many years the budgeting and financial chief of the outfit. Gandhi has been visible and usually available for the cameras, offering nothing of substance except vowing not to forget the condiments the next time.

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Some of Walz’s people are unlucky. Eric Grumdahl, an assistant commissioner in DHS whose responsibilities apparently included Housing Stabilization Services, apparently was fired, making him probably the first employee in the long Walz tenure of fraud to actually suffer a consequence.

In fact, Grumdahl was fired this past Tuesday, one day before DHS was to appear before the new Fraud Prevention Committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives. To Grumdahl’s presumed regret, he didn’t catch a gust and sail away like the others but is conveniently unavailable nonetheless.

“This is yet another example of DHS and the Walz administration dodging accountability for their failures,” Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, the fraud committee’s chair, was quoted saying by Alpha News. “I would have expected Assistant Commissioner Grumdahl to attend the hearing and answer questions today, but DHS never intended for him to come.”

Having never stolen anything of taxpayer consequence, a pack of chewing gum once and a car tire, I can only offer an amateur’s theory on what happened to this once functioning state. COVID hit. Americans were essentially told to shut everything down. Stay at home. Don’t go to work. For God’s sake, don’t patronize a restaurant or small business. The government pumped money into new programs to make up for losses in services and income. It became a perfect storm of incompetent governments flush with cash. When fraudsters realized they could get money by claiming to feed children, they were on that like ants on spilled sugar. New scams developed overnight, all seemingly competing to top the food fraud scam, which is nearly at $250 million stolen and the trials not near completion. It was as hedonistic as lighting cigars with $100 bills. The U.S. attorney has estimated the total amount of fraud under investigation could total $1 billion.

Are our government employees in on it? Are they crooks, too? Does it go to the top? Probably not, although, gratefully, we are fated to find out because acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson is just getting warmed up. It’s more likely that our worthies were overmatched, bamboozled, tricked, conned, duped, bilked, fleeced, swindled and hoodwinked. If they were hockey players, the fraudsters undressed them with the spin-o-rama move.

And the impossibly obtuse man in charge actually believes he deserves a third turn.

Joe Soucheray can be reached at jsoucheray@pioneerpress.com. Soucheray’s “Garage Logic’’ podcast can be heard at garagelogic.com.

Today is Saturday, Sept. 20, the 263rd day of 2025. There are 102 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria, the strongest storm to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years, struck the island, wiping out as much as 75 percent of power distribution lines and causing an island-wide blackout.

Also on this date:

In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on five ships to find a western passage to the Spice Islands. (Magellan was killed en route, but one of his ships completed the first circumnavigation of the globe three years later.)

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In 1946, the first Cannes Film Festival, lasting 16 days, opened in France.

In 1962, James Meredith, a Black student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Democratic Gov. Ross R. Barnett.

In 1964, The Beatles concluded their first full-fledged U.S. tour by performing in a charity concert at the Paramount Theater in New York.

In 1967, the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 was christened by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in Clydebank, Scotland.

In 1973, in their so-called “Battle of the Sexes,” tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, in the Houston Astrodome.

In 2011, the repeal of the U.S. military’s 18-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” compromise took effect, allowing gay and lesbian service members to serve openly.

In 2019, Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, the 1979 site of the nation’s worst commercial nuclear power accident, was shut down by its owner after producing electricity for 45 years.

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor Sophia Loren is 91.
Author George R. R. Martin is 77.
Actor Gary Cole is 69.
TV news correspondent Deborah Roberts is 65.
Actor Maggie Cheung is 61.
Actor Kristen Johnston is 58.
Rock singers Gunnar and Matthew Nelson are 58.
Race car driver Juan Pablo Montoya is 50.
Actor Jon Bernthal is 49.
Actor Aldis Hodge is 39.
Mixed martial artist Khabib Nurmagomedov is 37.
Singer-songwriter Phillip Phillips is 35.

Junior wide receiver Carter Zollar and his teammates had to weather — pardon the pun — a lot Friday night.

But neither three separate weather delays, nor an injury to the starting quarterback slowed down the Stillwater offense.

Zollar hauled in three touchdown passes as the Ponies rolled past Mounds View 37-14 in a game that didn’t end until after 11 p.m. Even with a full rainbow arcing the field on Homecoming night at Mustang Stadium, the game’s start was delayed 30 minutes due to inclement weather.

With 5:28 to go in the first quarter, action was paused again due to lightning with Stillwater on the Mounds View 5-yard line. That came after the Mustangs recovered a fumble at the Ponies’ 25 on the game’s opening possession but actually lost a yard and turned the ball over on downs.

When play resumed after a break of about an hour, junior quarterback Jack Runk connected with senior Chase Edstrom on a 5-yard touchdown pass. Then, after the Ponies defense held the Mustangs to a three-and-out, Runk scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

The extra point was blocked, but Stillwater took a 13-0 lead with 1:05 to play in the first quarter.

Mounds View again turned the ball over on downs at the Stillwater 41 on its next possession, setting up a 14-yard touchdown pass from Runk to Zollar. The Mustangs fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Runk connected with Zollar on a 4-yard scoring strike to extend the Ponies’ lead to 27-0 with 4:36 remaining in the second quarter.

The defense next came up big after Mounds View reached the Stillwater 12 just before halftime. But junior defensive back Liam McGlynn recorded an interception to keep the Mustangs off the board.

The weather then reared its head once more, delaying the start of the second half by about 30 minutes.

When play again started back up, it was more of the same. McGlynn picked off a pass at his own 11, Runk connected with Edstrom on an 80-yard pass down the Ponies’ sideline and senior Colin Johnston kicked a 30-yard field goal.

But the drive was costly for Stillwater as Runk left the game after carrying for a loss of 2 on 3rd-and-goal.

He did not return. But — after Mounds View got on the board on a 17-yard touchdown catch by senior Cayden Tran — senior backup Ben Fredericks connected with Zollar on a 33-yard touchdown pass with 11:09 to play.

A 20-yard touchdown catch by Mustangs senior Godson Rufus-Okomhanru closed out the scoring.

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Chanhassen entered with a powerful offense; the St. Thomas Academy defense is stout.

Yet, it was Dominic Baez and the Cadets’ offense that were the difference Friday.

Baez scored on two long runs and a short touchdown reception, and St. Thomas Academy beat Chanhassen 28-13 in a matchup of two top Class 5A teams. The game started two hours late due to lightning and was called 43 seconds into the fourth quarter due to thunder and lightning.

“Obviously, we wanted to win in full-time regulation, but it definitely keeps the momentum going for the season,” said Todd Rogalski, aka “Big Play Todd,” who had his ninth career punt block for the Cadets.

Baez finished with 157 rushing yards on 11 carries, including scores from 42 yards and what turned out to be a 77-yard sprint midway through the third quarter.

“I’ve been playing with the boys up front since freshman year and the continuity we have is unmatched,” he said. “We know we’ll get our passing game going. We have great athletes. (Wide receivers) Jay Warford, Manny Sims, (quarterback Tristan) Karl’s slinging the rock. It’s amazing to have all these pieces to support the team.”

Chanhassen quarterback Nathan Ramler threw for 165 yards but was sacked by Kristian Cercioglu on fourth down inside the Cadets’ 30-yard line late in the third.

Ramler leads a balanced attack for the No. 2 Storm (3-1) who averaged more than 43 points per game in their first three outings. In its first three games, the stout St. Thomas Academy defense allowed 13 combined points in the first three quarters.

Chanhassen matched that total in the opening 12 minutes, but third-ranked St. Thomas Academy (4-0) has still yet to be scored on in the second and third quarters.

“It was hard coming into a delayed game. Our coaches just said we’re ready for them, we’ve planned for this. We just stayed true to our techniques, and we got it done,” Rogalski said.

Chanhassen led 13-7 after one quarter as Ramler and James Kopfmann connected for scores from 16 and 51 yards. They were sandwiched around a 42-yard jaunt by Baez.

“I can’t do it without the boys up front,” Baez said. “They spring all those holes for me. They attack the line of scrimmage, they move the line. I don’t have to do anything until 3 yards. I’m very grateful for them.”

The second quarter belonged to St. Thomas Academy for a 21-13 Cadets’ lead at the break, a margin that could have been greater.

After an early Luke Hudson 10-yard touchdown reception put St. Thomas Academy up by one point, Chanhassen went three-and-out.

Bursting through the line, Rogalski blocked the ensuing punt and returned it to the 2. Three plays later, Karl rolled out and connected with Baez in the front corner of the end zone.

“I thought I got in the end zone, but the offense finished it off,” Rogalski said.

And about his “Big Play Todd” nickname?

“Our AD called me it one time and the guys kind of joke around and stuff,” he said with a big grin. “I’m a team guy.”

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