Good News 4/26/26 - 5/2/26
4/28/26
Good News
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Minneapolis is planning a Prince sing-a-long on June 6, and is planning for over 15,000 signing to participate.
Tuesday, May 5th, for Cinco de Mayo, ICE OUT Projection in collaboration with Second Sight Visuals will display protest art on the Witchâs Hat Water Tower at 5 Malcolm Avenue SE in Minneapolis.
True Friends, Minnesota non-profit that provides independence and confidence-building experiences such as camps, retreats, team-building, therapy, adaptive riding, and travel opportunities to children and adults with disability is opening a new rec center with a gym and aquatic center.
Four community leaders will accept the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award on behalf of the people of the Twin Cities for their response to Operation Metro Surge.
Yusuf Abdulle, Somali American Leadership Table co-founder
Natalie Ehret, founder of Haven Watch
Carolina Ortiz, executive director of COPAL
Zena Stenvik, superintendent of Columbia Heights schools, Yusuf Abdulle
A series of Support & Processing groups organized by social workers to address collective PTSD and trauma is creating safe and supportive spaces to talk about healing. These groups will be happening across the cities at libraries and public spaces.
Saturday, April 25 was Independent Bookstore Day honoring dozens of locally owned mom and pop small business bookstores in the metro area.
Minnesota has the 3rd lowest poverty rate in the nation.
Minneapolis City Council brought forward an ordinance creating protections to ensure residents are not prevented from obtaining rental housing or made to feel unsafe in their rental housing due to their immigration status. It was approved.
Becca Good, Renee Goodâs wife, is asking a federal judge to order the return of their Honda Pilot that ICE took into evidence.
Will Stancil just revealed that during the surge he worked with a group of local women on a âhoneypotâ operation. These young women matched with ICE agents on the dating app Tinder, where the ICE agents revealed information about their operations to these young women who then shared them with local rapid response networks. The ICE agents would share videos of raids, tell the women where they were staying, and provide all kinds of useful information to women who would pretend to be impressed by it. In some cases, these women were able to locate the agentsâ wives in Texas and forward them the message history.
Thanks for giving a shit.
I love you all fiercely.
TeriLeighđ
4/29/26
Good News: Fraud, Minnesota, and the Follow-Through
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
During the COVID pandemic, fraud surged across the country. When a $250 million scheme surfaced in Minnesota, it showed the scale of what was happening. Minnesota had the oversight to catch it and act on it, while much of that same fraud continues quietly undetected in other states.
Nationwide enforcement efforts recently identified $14.6 billion in healthcare fraud schemes across the United States, reinforcing that this issue spans every state.
Minnesotaâs Medicaid Fraud Control Unit ranks: 5th in fraud charges, 8th in convictions, Top 10 nationally overall.
Minnesotaâs Medicaid improper payment rate is about 2.2%âwell below the national average of 6%, which means that Minnesota has stronger baseline controls than many states.
Yesterday, 22 search warrants were executed across Minnesota, coordinated between state and federal investigators after Minnesota agencies flagged suspicious billing patterns themselves. Fraud follows money everywhere, and Minnesotaâs numbers reflect a system that continues to identify, investigate, and complete cases through the full legal process.
In Minnesota 79 people have been charged and 65+ already convicted, including dozens of guilty pleas where individuals admitted the fraud in court because they knew Minnesota has the evidence to convict.
Minnesota ranks Top 5 nationally in Medicaid fraud convictions, holding that position consistently over multiple years. Across states, the pattern shows audits and flagged dollars, while Minnesotaâs pattern shows charges filed, guilty pleas entered, convictions secured, and sentences issued. Minnesota catches the bad guys.
A federal review (2020â2022) found Minnesota secured more fraud convictions than similarly sized states like Wisconsin, Colorado, and Maryland operating within the same federal programs.
During that same period, audits in peer states uncovered significant improper payments: Colorado ($77.8M), Wisconsin ($18.5M), Indiana ($56M), and Maine ($45.6M), with errors identified in 100% of sampled autism service claims.
Minnesotaâs largest case alone brought nearly 80 defendants into one coordinated prosecution, with dozens already convicted and additional trials ongoing. This is because Minnesota is diligent about records, evidence, and tracking.
Across states, the pattern shows audits and flagged dollars, while Minnesotaâs pattern shows charges filed, guilty pleas entered, convictions secured, and sentences issued.
You canât tell me that Minnesota is the âbad guyâ in terms of fraud in the United States. We are actually the one state that caught the fraud and have been systematically dealing with it case by case. Plus, the United States President was convicted of massive fraud and has yet to be held accountable for those actions.
Thanks for giving a shit.
I love you all fiercely.
TeriLeighđ
4/30/26
Good News - Voterâs Rights Edition
Thursday, April 30, 2026
This week, the Supreme Court weakened protections against racial gerrymandering in Louisiana v. Callais. And yet, people, courts, and communities are already responding. When one state seemingly suffers, the others pick up the slack. Minnesota is often one of the states leading the way, which is the case in terms of voterâs rights too.
In Minnesota, same-day voter registration is still lawâover 500,000 voters have used it in recent election cycles, one of the highest participation tools in the country.
Minnesota continues to rank #1 or #2 in voter turnout nationally, regularly hitting 75%+ participation in presidential electionsâmeaning maps donât stop people here from showing up.
Minnesotaâs 2022 redistricting map was drawn by a court-appointed panel, not politicians, after a deadlockâan existing safeguard that remains in place regardless of federal changes.
ISAIAH helped mobilize thousands of voters and volunteers statewide during recent election cycles and has active infrastructure ready for rapid response organizing.
TakeAction Minnesota has already run statewide voter protection and turnout campaigns reaching tens of thousands of residentsâsystems that remain intact today.
In Michigan, voters passed Proposal 2 (2022), locking anti-gerrymandering and voting protections into the state constitutionâproof that voters can override partisan maps directly.
In California, an independent redistricting commission continues to draw mapsâone of several states where fair maps are structurally protected regardless of this ruling.
The ACLU and NAACP Legal Defense Fund both announced immediate legal strategy shifts within hours of the rulingâthese cases are already moving back into court under new arguments.
After Shelby County v. Holder weakened the Voting Rights Act, voter turnout among Black voters increased in multiple states in subsequent elections, showing organizing adapts faster than suppression.
Grassroots organizers in states like Georgia and Arizona have already built year-round voter outreach systems, registering and mobilizing voters between elections, not just during them.
Community-based effortsârides to the polls, ballot curing, neighborhood canvassingâhave scaled up nationwide since 2020, reaching millions of voters each cycle.
Thanks for giving a shit.
I love you all fiercely.
TeriLeighđ
Good News May Day
Friday, May 1, 2026
The Minneapolis May Day march is expected to include labor unions, immigrant rights groups, and faith leadersâthe same coalition that brought 75,000+ people into the streets on January 23. ISAIAH and other interfaith groups are coordinating turnout, bringing clergy, congregations, and community networks into the streets again. Organizers across Minnesota are planning workplace walkouts, student actions, and coordinated demonstrations throughout the dayânot just one central march.
In Minneapolis, May Day organizers are gathering at Powderhorn Park before marching through the cityâcontinuing a decades-long tradition of one of the largest May Day events in the country.
In Duluth, local unions and community groups are hosting a May Day rally and march in Canal Park, connecting labor rights to regional economic issues.
In Rochester, organizers are holding a public gathering downtown focused on healthcare workers, service workers, and immigrant communities.
In Mankato, students and community members are organizing a May Day demonstration tied to campus and local labor issues.
In St. Cloud, grassroots groups are planning a smaller-scale rally bringing together workers and immigrant advocates.
Across the country, organizers are using May Day to coordinate strikes, boycotts, and mass call-insâtactics that research consistently shows increase the success of social movements.
In Chicago, thousands are expected downtown for one of the largest May Day labor rallies in the country, continuing the cityâs historic role in the labor movement.
In Los Angeles, organizers are planning a major march focused on immigrant rights, with participation from major unions and community groups.
In New York City, multiple May Day events are scheduled across boroughs, including rallies in Union Square and Foley Square.
In Washington, D.C., national advocacy groups are gathering for coordinated demonstrations near the White House and Capitol.
In Atlanta and across the Southeast, May Day actions are centering voting rights and worker protections in states directly impacted by recent court decisions.
This yearâs May Day actions are being coordinated through national networks connecting hundreds of local groups, allowing cities to act together instead of in isolation.
Thanks for giving a shit.
I love you all fiercely.
TeriLeighđ
Good News - Minnesota
Saturday, May 2, 2026
Minnesota has been getting dragged hard in the national conversation lately. Todayâs list is proof that the feds chose the wrong state to bully.
đ They say Minnesota is âfraud-filled.â Minnesota built systems strong enough to detect fraud, investigate it, and prosecute itâwhile many states donât even know what theyâre missing.
đ They say Minnesota has âterrible leadership.â Minnesota consistently ranks near the top for quality of life, with strong systems in education, healthcare, and economic stability.
đ They say Minnesota is âtoo political.â Minnesota has one of the most engaged citizen populations in the country, with some of the highest voter turnout rates in the U.S. for decades.
đ They say Minnesota spends too much and taxes too much. Minnesota invests in public systems that workâparks, schools, healthcare, infrastructureâand consistently lands on âbest states to liveâ lists because of it.
đ They say Minnesota is âsoft.â Minnesotans show up in subzero temperatures, organize, vote, volunteer, donate, and keep communities running through literal blizzards.
đ They say Minnesota âlets people in.â Minnesota became home to the largest Somali and Hmong populations in the countryâand those communities now staff hospitals, lead cities, run businesses, and care for neighbors every single day.
đ They say Minnesota is âtoo generous.â Minnesota consistently ranks among the most charitable and volunteer-driven states in the country, with people giving time, money, and care at scale.
đ They say Minnesota is âoverregulated.â Minnesota protects its water, land, and public health systems with intentionâbecause 10,000+ lakes and a major river system require people who actually give a shit. And btw - those lakes can provide fresh water to the entire world.
Minnesota is a case study in what happens when people vote, participate, build systems, welcome neighbors, and keep showing up for each other year after year. I, for one, am proud to be a Minnesotan.
Thanks for giving a shit.
I love you all fiercely.
TeriLeighđ