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Eastern Oregon Moves Closer to Joining Idaho

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From Heartland Daily News

By Eileen Griffin

Eastern Oregon moves closer to joining Idaho with voters in Crook County approving a measure supporting Greater Idaho.

Another county supports the move away from Oregon to join the state of Idaho.

Voters in Crook County, Oregon passed a measure supporting the effort to move the Oregon/Idaho border such that Crook County would become part of Idaho, KTVZ reports.

Passing the measure makes Crook County the 13th Oregon County in favor of joining Idaho.

The Greater Idaho effort has been sweeping through eastern Oregon after years of being subjected to the far left policies driven by the population center of Portland, as Heartland Daily News previously reported.  By March 2023, 11 counties had approved the Greater Idaho measure.

Although the measure is set to pass, the vote will not be certified until June, KREM reports. Approval of the measure does not mean the border will necessarily be moved. It means that the legislature is notified of the preference of voters in the eastern Oregon counties.

With 13 counties voting in support, it is clear the people of eastern Oregon would like to secede from western Oregon.

After the Crook County vote, Greater Idaho Executive Director Matt McCaw issued a statement on the organization’s website.

“The voters of eastern Oregon have spoken loudly and clearly about their desire to see border talks move forward,” McCaw said. “With this latest result in Crook County, there’s no excuse left for the Legislature and Governor to continue to ignore the people’s wishes.”

“We call on the Governor, Speaker of the House, and Senate President to sit down with us and discuss next steps toward changing governance for eastern Oregonians, as well as for the legislature to begin holding hearings on what a potential border change will look like,” McCaw said.

Greater Idaho President, Mike McCarter said, “For the last three years we’ve been going directly to voters and asking them what they want for their state government.  What they’re telling us through these votes is that they want their leaders to move the border.”

If the border is moved, Oregon stands to lose a significant amount of land, including rural country, Newsweek reports. While the state would lose 2/3 of the land, it would only lose 10 percent of the population.

The far more populated areas in the western part of the state drive politics. When most people think of Oregon they think of Portland, not the rural eastern portion of the state. Oregon news stories are dominated by Portland’s problems with crimelawlessness, and anarchy.

“The Greater Idaho Movement is an effort by those dissatisfied with lawmakers in Salem and are hoping to live under Idaho’s more conservative government,” write the news staff of Central Oregon Daily.

“Another right-leaning county in eastern Oregon has voted to secede from the Democrat-run state and join neighboring Idaho, according to reports,” writes Alex Oliveira for the New York Post.

“Backers of the plan argue the more conservative areas of eastern and central Oregon are currently dominated by liberal-leaning cities such as Portland and Salem and argue their interests would be better represented in traditionally Republican Idaho,” Jack Bickerton writes for Newsweek.

“Conservative residents in eastern Oregon have been ready to part ways with their liberal neighbors to the west, looking to secede from the state and join Idaho,” writes Devan Markham for News Nation. “Conflicting views on crime and social policies have created a large divide between the bigger cities and rural areas, sparking efforts to secede.”

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DOOR TO DOOR: Feds descend on Minneapolis day cares tied to massive fraud

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Federal agents are now going “DOOR TO DOOR” in Minneapolis, launching what the Department of Homeland Security itself describes as an on-the-ground sweep of businesses and day-care centers tied to Minnesota’s exploding fraud scandal — a case that has already burned through at least $1 billion in taxpayer money and is rapidly closing in on Democrat Gov. Tim Walz and his administration.

ICE agents, working under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security, fanned out across the city this week, showing up unannounced at locations suspected of billing state and federal programs for services that never existed. One day-care worker told reporters Monday that masked agents arrived at her facility, demanded paperwork, and questioned staff about operations and enrollment.

“DHS is on the ground in Minneapolis, going DOOR TO DOOR at suspected fraud sites,” the agency posted on X. “The American people deserve answers on how their taxpayer money is being used and ARRESTS when abuse is found.”

Authorities say the confirmed fraud already totals roughly $300 million tied to fake food programs, $220 million linked to bogus autism services, and more than $300 million charged for housing assistance that never reached the people it was meant to help. Investigators from the FBI, Justice Department, and Department of Labor have now expanded their probes after a viral investigation exposed taxpayer-funded day cares that received more than $1 million each while allegedly serving few — or zero — children.

One of the most glaring examples, the Minneapolis-based Quality “Learing” Center — infamous for its misspelled sign — suddenly appeared busy Monday as national media arrived. Locals told reporters the center is typically empty and often looks permanently closed, despite receiving about $1.9 million in public funds. State inspection records show the facility has racked up 95 violations since 2019. Employees allegedly cursed at reporters while children were bused in during posted afternoon hours.

DHS officials say the “DOOR TO DOOR” operation is deliberate. In videos released online, agents are seen questioning nearby business owners about whether adjacent buildings ever had foot traffic, whether they appeared open, and whether operators used subcontractors or outside partners to pad billing. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted footage of agents pressing workers about business relationships and transportation services used by suspected fraud sites.

“This is a large-scale investigation,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the New York Post, confirming that Homeland Security Investigations and ICE are targeting fraudulent day-care and health-care centers as well as related financial schemes.

FBI Director Kash Patel warned that what investigators have uncovered so far is “just the tip of a very large iceberg.” He pointed to the bureau’s dismantling of a $250 million COVID-era food-aid scam tied to the Feeding Our Future network, a case that resulted in 78 indictments and 57 convictions. Patel has also made clear that denaturalization and deportation remain on the table for convicted fraudsters where the law allows.

Dozens of arrests have already been made across the broader scheme, many involving Somali immigrants, though federal officials stress the investigation targets criminal behavior — not communities. Some local residents say the scandal is hurting law-abiding families. One Somali Uber driver told reporters he works 16-hour days and is furious that “some people are taking advantage of the system,” making the entire community look bad.

Now, with federal agents going “DOOR TO DOOR” across Minneapolis, the era of polite indifference appears to be over. The message from Washington is blunt: the money trail is being followed, the paperwork is being checked, and the days of treating taxpayer-funded programs like an open vault are coming to an end.

 

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Feds pull the plug on small business grants to Minnesota after massive fraud reports

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The Small Business Administration is moving to freeze grant money flowing into Minnesota after explosive allegations of large-scale fraud tied to state oversight failures, with SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler signaling an immediate crackdown following recent independent reporting.

In a series of comments shared publicly by conservative commentator Benny Johnson, Loeffler said the agency is “cutting off and clawing back” SBA grants to the state while investigators dig deeper into what she described as a rapidly expanding fraud network.

Johnson wrote that Loeffler told him she was “disgusted and sickened” after reviewing footage from YouTuber Nick Shirley, whose on-the-ground reporting in Minnesota highlighted what he said were sham daycare and learning centers collecting millions in public funds despite showing little or no sign of legitimate operations.

According to Johnson, Loeffler blamed the situation on Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, accusing his administration of refusing to enforce basic rules governing small businesses and allowing fraud to flourish unchecked.

Johnson said Loeffler told him SBA investigators were able to identify roughly half a billion dollars in suspected fraud within days of focusing on Minnesota, calling the operation an “industrial-scale crime ring” that ripped off American taxpayers.

“Pending further review, SBA is freezing all grant funding to the state in order to stop the rampant waste of taxpayer dollars and uncover the full depth of fraud,” Loeffler said, according to Johnson’s account, adding that the total scope of the scheme remains unknown and could reach into the billions.

The controversy gained national traction after Shirley posted video of himself visiting multiple facilities, including a South Minneapolis site known as the Quality Learning Center, which he reported was approved for federal aid for up to 99 children but appeared inactive during normal business hours.

The center’s sign, Shirley noted, even misspelled the word “learning” as “learing.”

In the footage, a woman inside the building is heard shouting “Don’t open up,” falsely claiming Shirley and his colleague were Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

After the video circulated, Rep. Tom Emmer, a Republican, publicly demanded answers from Walz, questioning how such facilities were approved for millions in taxpayer funding.

Shirley’s reporting followed earlier investigations, including a November report by City Journal alleging that members of Minnesota’s Somali community had sent millions of dollars in stolen taxpayer funds overseas, with some of that money reportedly ending up in the hands of Al-Shabaab, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

While Walz’s administration has insisted it takes fraud seriously, the SBA’s decision to halt grant funding marks one of the most aggressive federal responses yet, underscoring how rapidly a local scandal has escalated into a national reckoning over oversight, enforcement, and accountability in Minnesota.

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