News from the Crabby Coffee Shop

While most of us were just trying to pay our taxes and keep the lights on, fraudsters sitting in refugee camps in Kenya were casually chatting about how they were going to rip off Minnesota taxpayers. That’s right—thousands of miles away, in Kenyan refugee camps, these operators were openly discussing and plotting fraud schemes targeting our state. If you want the straight story on how your tax dollars were being schemed away before they even left the state, this is the episode. Grab your coffee (or something stronger), settle in, and hear Jay Swanson, Jay Kolls, and Kenny Olson, drop the truth that some of the Minnesota political class would rather you didn’t hear. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Grab your cup and settle in because David Shultz, distinguished professor of political science at Hamline University, takes a step inside the Shop. He helps break down Representative Ilhan Omar's controversies that keep her top of the headlines in fraud, net worth, and immigration. Honest discussion, real insights, and a little speculation are everything you expect in an earful of the Crabby Coffee Shop. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this raw and eye-opening conversation in The Crabby Coffee Shop, Shannon Lausten — owner of Hub 71, the beloved restaurant and convenience store in Sebeka, Minnesota — sits down to share the harsh reality facing small businesses in rural America. What starts as a local tax issue quickly becomes a conversation about survival, community decline, and the real-world impact of government spending on everyday entrepreneurs who are just trying to keep the lights on and people employed in their small towns. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Curious about how government benefits really work? Rob Undersander breaks down exactly what he found, how the system is designed, why millionaires can qualify for food assistance, and what it says about broader issues with government benefits. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Minneapolis City Council Member Latrisha Vetaw (Ward 4) joins Jay and Kenny at the Crabby Coffee Shop for an in-depth conversation on the current state of Minneapolis politics. She opens up about the deep divisions within the City Council — particularly the split with the Democratic Socialists — and shares her perspective on how a city should actually be run. From public safety and housing to economic development and quality of life, Vetaw discusses what’s working, what’s broken, and the practical steps needed to create a safer, stronger, and more thriving Minneapolis for everyone. Raw, honest, and insightful — this episode pulls back the curtain on local governance in one of America’s most watched cities. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Liz Collin, a career investigative reporter in Minnesota, takes a step inside The Crabby Coffee Shop. Liz is the producer of The Fall of Minneapolis and Minnesota v We the People documentaries, author of They’re Lying: The Media, the Left, and The Death of George Floyd, and senior producer of Alpha News. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, in the Crabby Coffee Shop we host George Bumann, an animal language expert, sculpture, and naturalist. He provided intresting insight into his stories which compromised his book, Eavesdropping on Animals: What We Can Learn From Wild Conversations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Crabby Coffee Shop hosts Faye Bernstein, a 20-year employee at the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Bernstein gives her first-hand report by telling you what happened when she questioned the suspicious activities occurring at DHS. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's episode, we hear from a DHS whistle-blower who says he warned of fraud more than a decade ago. We had a friend join us from Channel 5 KSTP to give insight into yet another high-risk program which raises more questions than available answers. Deep insights and unasked questions were not uncommon. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode we learn exactly what the title says. We wonder why the human services system is set up to dish money out as easily as a dog wags its tail. Lawmakers claim this way of conducting business opened the door to widespread massive fraud. We talked with Minnesota State Representative Patti Anderson whose committee assignments are as follows: Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight PolicyTaxesTransportation Finance and Policy See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

MN Whistleblower: Forensic investigator says 10's of Billions in Fraud dates back to 2009 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

EXCLUSIVE: Senator Heather Gustafson reacts to her anti-fraud bill being gutted. Here is a link to See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Linda Sears who shot a 700 lb black bear in 1963 joins to share her story. plus: Wisconsin woman's 911 call reveals terrifying bear attack outside her rural home A 69-year-old woman from Barron County, Wisconsin, showed remarkable composure during a 911 call after being attacked by a bear outside her rural home. Karen Frye was outside her home in Comstock when she encountered a black bear that attacked her, leaving her bleeding from multiple wounds. Frye had dropped her cell phone during the attack but managed to reach emergency services. Despite her injuries, she remained relatively calm during the call. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Former US Attorney Rachel Paulose speaks out on ICE, court rulings and fraud. Rachel Kunjummen Paulose is an American attorney. She was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as a United States Attorney. She was the youngest person and the first woman to lead the District of Minnesota and the first Indian American woman to be nominated by a president and confirmed by the Senate for any federal position. Paulose's legal career began in 1997 when she worked as a law clerk under Judge James B. Loken of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. She then worked as a trial attorney in the Attorney General's Honors Program from 1998 to 1999. There, she prosecuted violations of the federal civil rights laws in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division. From 1999 until 2002, she worked as an Assistant United States Attorney. She first-chaired many trials in federal district court. She also briefed and argued many appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Cases involved narcotics, violent crime, economic crime. Jury trial and Eighth circuit appellate highlights: precedent-setting detention of suspect based on economic threat alone; precedent-setting appellate work rejecting expansion of alien criminal defendants' claims of rights under Vienna Convention. She worked in private practice after 2002 with the Williams & Connolly law firm in Washington D.C. until 2003, where her work focused on health care litigation and business. She was with the Dorsey & Whitney law firm in Minneapolis from 2003 until December 2005. Work included defense of health care providers, commercial litigation, and constitutional advocacy. Paulose was appointed as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota in August 2006 and remained in that position until November 2007. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Former ICE agent Eric O'Denius joins the show today to discuss the presence of agents here in the Twin Cities. O’Denius, 51-years-old, worked as a deportation officer for U.S. Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement for twenty-four years. Since retiring in 2021, he says there’s been a change in how agents are interacting with the public. O’Denius says during his tenure, if ICE officers encountered push-back in the field, they might leave and return, try to negotiate, and or get a criminal warrant. We also have EXCLUSIVE video from outside of the St Paul Police Dept where ICE attempts to arrest someone. Here is a link to the KSTP story : Former ICE agent talks about the agency’s presence in the Twin Cities — and the actions of field agents See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The state of Minnesota is the epicenter of the political universe as ICE agents flood the streets to mixed reactions here and abroad. Two guests joined Kenny and Jay today, the first Constitutional Law expert David Schultz, the second former attorney for the Minnesota Hospitals Association David Feinwachs, as they broke down the latest in ICE operations and courtroom drama. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A day of major breaking news in the state of Minnesota as an ICE agent shoots and kills a protestor in South Minneapolis. Kenny and Jay have former Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek on the show to react to the incident, review the aftermath and wonder aloud what's next in the coming hours, days and weeks for the city and state. We also hear from Mayor Jacob Frey and Governor Tim Walz on the incident and react to their comments on the situation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Double guest episode! Eric O'Neill is an American former FBI counter terrorism and counterintelligence operative and joins Kenny and Jay to talk the latest surrounding the shooting at Brown University plus we examine the world of cybersecurity and dive into Eric's latest book, "Spies, Lies and Cybercrime". https://www.amazon.com/Spies-Lies-Cybercrime-Cybersecurity-Outsmart/dp/0063398176 We follow that up with a visit from Mike King, who is an internationally recognized criminal investigator, and author with more than 40 years of experience in law enforcement, intelligence, and public safety technology. Trained by the FBI in profiling, Mike served as co-chair of the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) and created UTAP, the Utah Criminal Tracking and Analysis Project. He has his own YouTube channel where he talks the latest in true crime and much more. http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVxvknxY87GXuteBkjkaj8A See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stefan Egan is a retired combat veteran & counterintelligence spracial agent who has developed a keen interest in the cultivation and breeding of cannabis and stops by to chat with Jay and Kenny about everything cannabis. Here's a link to learn more about Stefan : See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Former St. Paul Mayor And Senator Norm Coleman Joins Kenny And Jay To Discuss Cheating Death. From 1994 to 2002, Norm Coleman was the mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Shortly thereafter, he was elected to Congress in 2002 and is the last Republican to have represented the state in the U.S. Senate. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.