Access to Democracy
Since 1999, Access to Democracy has been a staple of Minnesota television. The program has featured more than 2,000 half-hour interviews with politicians, legislators, judges, academics, athletes, public figures, and everyday residents. Guests often share their expertise and debate with the host.
Access to Democracy
Patrick Coolican
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For interesting, independent, analytical, insightful news coverage and perspectives on Minnesota politics and local and state government in Minnesota, look to Minnesota Reformer. Editor Patrick Coolican has a conversation with host Bill Raker explaining what, why and how the online publication works to inform the public and to "reform" politics and government. For examples, Patrick cites articles Minnesota Reformer published regarding actions and outcomes from the latest state legislative session in St. Paul. Guest and host exchange comments on candidates in the August Primary and November General Elections. Checkout minnesotareformer.com for access to the free non-profit publication.
Hello and welcome to another edition of Access to Democracy. Whether you're joining us on the TV version of the program or whether you're tuning us in on the new podcast format that we have for our program, we're glad that you're with us today. I'm Bill Raker, your host for this edition of the program. I'd like to take a moment to recognize and thank our sponsors, Recalibra Health, 45th Parallel Distillery, Sharon and Dulas PA Law Firm, and Truestone Financial Credit Union. We thank those sponsors for supporting our program. I'd also like to take a moment before we meet today's guest to say that we are proudly entering into our 27th year of being on the air with Access to Democracy. As I said, we've grown from the beginning here in Egan TV with one station to 35 market outlets around Minnesota. We're on YouTube, we have our own access2democracy.com. And we thank all of our guests who've been with us over the years. I'd also like to say thank you to the professional team at Egan TV, to all of the dedicated volunteers, to the sponsors, to the thousands of guests that we've had over the years, and to you, our audience, for making this program possible. Today we're welcoming back a guest who's been with us before, Patrick Kouligan, who is the editor of the Minnesota Reformer. Patrick, welcome back. It's delight to have you. Good to be here. I think this is your third appearance on the program. Yeah. Hat trick. Patrick. Sorry.
SPEAKER_02No, hat-trick, I think.
SPEAKER_01Oh, a hat-trick! Well, yes, maybe it is. You know, it's always a pleasure to have you on the program because you come in with a voice that's uh interesting, it's independent, it's analytical, it's insightful, and it's mostly about Minnesota politics. And that's what we want to talk with you today about Minnesota governance, Minnesota politics. And before we get too deeply into that, Patrick, uh tell us a little bit more about Minnesota Reformer. What is it? What do you do? How do you do it? Why do you do it?
SPEAKER_02So we're a small uh nonprofit, independent uh news outlet that focuses on Minnesota politics and policy. We try to do the deep dives, the investigations, the analysis, and the storytelling that I felt like uh was needed here. I was formerly at the Star Tribune for five years as a capital reporter. Well, we're also part of a larger uh nonprofit called States Newsroom, which has similar operations uh in 39 states. And the idea is that so much that happens that affects people's daily lives is happening in city halls and in legislatures, and it really was loot, we were losing coverage of those important institutions uh because of the collapse of newspapers and local radio stations. And so we're trying to fill that gap. And uh we are free, uh, no paywall. Um you can sign up for our daily newsletter, and we're also free to republish. So other publications um are free, and when and actually we encourage republication to to pick up any of the articles that that you produce.
SPEAKER_01And do you have a staff of reporters that you that work with you?
SPEAKER_02We have four reporters uh and a uh mostly full-time photographer, plus me, uh, and then we have uh freelancers. So uh the key is, and and people say this, and I I hope it's accurate, that we punch above our weight, uh above our weight.
SPEAKER_01Well, it it sounds like you probably do, which is a challenge when you're in journalism these days, right?
SPEAKER_02It's a tough business. Um and but I will say I think in Minnesota we have we still have a strong media ecosystem of uh the Star Tribune, of course, and MPR, um, and then a lot of community um community outlets uh and nonprofit outlets, as well as the TV stations continue to do good work on uh politics.
SPEAKER_01Just to be clear, Minnesota Reformer is not a print uh media kind of newspaper, is it?
SPEAKER_02No, we uh we are full full digital. Um and uh I think that was uh that was the right move. I think in you know, and before very long, uh people are gonna look back uh and wonder uh about the days when we used to get our news from a pile of paper landing on our doorsteps.
SPEAKER_01Well, it seems like the the the print newspapers are are shrinking daily in terms of their size and their content, and certainly their their advertisers are all gone away. They've gone over to the virtual, the digital side of things.
SPEAKER_02Right. And that uh, of course, that's created a massive uh financial problem uh for those companies, and certainly most recently the Star Tribune, where uh they unfortunately they've had layoffs. Um, and so that's been a very tough transition for the industry. And as a result, uh there's only about half as many journalists in the United States today as there were 20 years ago. Um and so we're trying with the nonprofit model to alleviate uh some of that news desert uh problem.
SPEAKER_01Well, I'm certain, Patrick, that many of our viewers uh would want to know how they can get Minnesota Reformer to share with us that information.
SPEAKER_02Sure, go to the website MinnesotaReformer.com. Like I said, no ads, no paywall, all free. Uh sign up for our newsletter, uh, which is uh six days a week, uh, where you're gonna learn about the work that we're doing, but also uh just the general uh politics and policy scene here in Minnesota and and actually around the country. Um and uh and of course we'd always welcome um people to to donate to our work as well.
SPEAKER_01I was going to ask how uh being free, how you were supported financially. Talk a little bit about that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean it's just a nonprofit model. Um we we started the the original founders, um uh was of uh a billionaire, uh this is often the case, but who uh wanted to leave a legacy, and so he gave a bunch of money to a foundation to create uh state's newsroom. So that's the bulk of our money. But right now uh we're raising significant money from Minnesotans, and um when they donate to us, uh that stays with us. Um and so I mean, like other uh charitable uh organizations, uh we rely on uh supporters, and uh monthly supporters are the best of all.
SPEAKER_01So go to Minnesota Reformer.com and it's all right there. You have access to the newspaper, your newsletter. There's the opportunity to make a contribution, a donation to to keep the can I say, presses going in the case of a digital uh newspaper.
SPEAKER_02I mean the other thing people can do is share our work. I mean, uh alert your your uh friends and family and colleagues uh that you found a place that has rigorous uh re and independent reporting on Minnesota politics.
SPEAKER_01Well, I will say, Patrick, that's how I found out about you. One of my friends, an associate who does some work for access to democracy, uh, forwarded an article that had come out of Minnesota Reformer, and that's where I found out about you and thought you'd be a great guest, and you have been uh on our program. Great to be here. Yeah. So we mentioned that we're going to be talking about Minnesota politics, Minnesota governance. And uh, Patrick, we just a few months ago concluded the most recent legislative session here in Minnesota. And it was an entering, interesting composition of the legislature and the uh governor's office. Um how what were some of the challenges uh and the controversies that grew out of this unusual composition?
SPEAKER_02Well, the uh the two parties share control of the Minnesota House, so uh nothing could pass uh without bipartisan support, um, which in a way I suppose encouraged um collaboration. Uh then, of course, you have a governor who's uh a lame duck, he's he's leaving um after two terms. The Senate has a very narrowly controlled uh by Democrats. Uh you also had the Speaker of the House, Lisa Damath, um had already declared that her candidacy for governor. So whenever you have a position where someone with legislative authority is running for another office, that creates a real challenge because even if they say they're not considering the political and electoral ramifications of their legislating, the reality is they are, even if unconsciously. So I think we went into the session with very low expectations. Um I thought they came out of it with some uh with with more than I anticipated. Uh the biggest thing was the the bailout of uh HCMC, the the important, the state's most important safety net hospital. Um they did a bonding bill um and and they actually did a couple things on uh internet safety. Um uh they they banned uh prediction markets, uh, which are sort of an unregulated uh expansion of gambling here. That has now been uh challenged and overturned. Right. It's been overturned in court for the moment. Uh they also did a ban on uh it's called nudefication. Uh it's it's the use of AI uh to uh create nude images of someone without their consent. So there was there was quite a bit of bipartisan cooperation on issues like that. Um and then, like I said, the uh the the infrastructure bill, which they do typically every other year. Uh and so that's um water uh treatment and roads and bridges and all kinds of other public works. So they actually had a decently productive session considering that it was an election year and the Speaker of the House is running for governor.
SPEAKER_01You answered the question I was going to ask next, even before I asked it, Patrick, Patrick. The question was what were some of the consequential happenings or outcomes, both positive and negative, uh, that happened in the legislature? Yeah, so and you listed several of them all that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think that's on the positive side. The negative side, I would say um that the state was unable to put up a sort of united front of response to Operation Metro Surge. Um and uh you know, I think there there could have been in a different time, uh there there could have been a legislative response that was uh we are uh we stand united against the constitutional violations that occurred during Operation Metro Surge, and we're gonna help the people who are who are uh whose businesses and lives and livelihoods were damaged during that. That was uh of course did not happen. And in fact, uh when Democrats made proposals along those lines, it it devolved into uh some pretty uh expected partisan um division on that. Republicans, of course, stood with uh President Trump and his uh mass deportation effort. Um I mean it was almost as if it was really a microcosm of of the country's political conflict right now because it seemed as if the people that the legislators lived through very different experiences of Operation Metro surge. And some of that might be just pure geographic. Many of the Republicans are outstate, they weren't seeing what was happening here in the Twin Cities metro area uh day to day. Um, but that was certainly a disappointment. Um, interestingly, another uh achievement that they they got was uh they agreed on a $40 million uh help for renters and uh people struggling to pay their mortgage. It was not sold as a response to Operation Metro Surge. Um, but as soon as it passed, Democrats said this is relief for people who were hurt and in Operation Metro Surge.
SPEAKER_01Want to follow on with another topic that was in the headlines and still is in the headlines, but right now we're going to take a brief pause for some important messages from our sponsors. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER_00Access to democracy is made possible thanks to the following organizations. Recaliber Health, a new nationwide telehealth platform designed to provide safe and effective health and wellness products at affordable prices, all administered under the direct supervision of expert physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Visit RecaliberHealth.com for more information. By Sheridan and Douloss PA, a family and criminal defense law firm that has been serving clients in Dakota County and throughout Minnesota for over 40 years. Ranked a Tier 1 best law firm by U.S. News and World Report every year since 2009, Sheridan and Dulas are here to help you in your most difficult life circumstances. Learn more at ssdpa.com. Established in 2007 and based in New Richmond, Wisconsin, 45th Parallel Distillery was among the first 50 micro distilleries in the United States. All aspects of production occur at their facility. If you're interested in learning more about the 45th Parallel Distillery, please check their website and plan a visit to tour their facility and taste their spirits. That's 45th Parallel Distillery.com. And by True Stone Financial, with locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. It's proudly served as members since 1939. True Stone engages, educates, and supports its members to ensure they have the tools to empower their financial well-being. Truestone Financial, your neighborhood credit union. You can learn more at True Stone.
SPEAKER_01Well, welcome back to Access to Democracy. We're here with Patrick Kudakan, the editor of the Minnesota Reformer, and we're talking Minnesota politics and Minnesota governance. And Patrick just was uh talking with us about one of the uh events that was in the headlines a great deal, not here just in Minnesota, but across the country, maybe around the world, about the uh ice surge on the immigrants here. But there was another topic here in Minnesota that's been in the headlines uh quite a bit, uh unfortunately, and it's fraud. What do you have to say about that, Patrick? Why, how did it happen? Why didn't it get caught quicker? I mean, did you investigate into some of the departments within the state to try to answer those questions?
SPEAKER_02We did a we've done a lot of uh work on this issue, and I'm proud of it because I think people think of us as a kind of left-of-center outlet, and yet this reporting that we were doing was deeply embarrassing for the Democratic Farmer Labor Party. Um, primarily, this starts in the pandemic when they uh I mean it actually starts before then, but let's start the pandemic, and uh Congress was trying to do their best to get money out the door to people who needed it, and specifically in this case, food, uh, to kids who often the best meal that they would get during a day would be their the free school uh meal that they would uh have. Um, but schools were out of session, and so the idea was let's stand up these uh uh food delivery operations quickly to feed families who need it. Unfortunately, it was uh there just weren't enough uh controls on it, and again, it's during the pandemic, um, and so everything was kind of haywire, and there was a uh really a massive uh defrauding of the program to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. So then uh what we decided to do in the wake of that was we looked at all the defendants at the time, there were 60-something defendants at the time, and we said, do they have other state government contracts? And we discovered that they a lot of about half of them did. Um they had set up operations uh because we we do a lot of social services in Minnesota in a privatized fashion. We we have nonprofits and for-profit companies that that deliver services, social services. And so autism was a big one um uh uh at the time, and another one uh later was uh something called housing stabilization. There was a number of Medicaid um financed um social service programs uh where the folks who were had been indicted or convicted in the feeding our future fraud also had contracts in these other areas. Um and so then what we came to discover was that um there were a lot of problems in some of these Medicaid uh social service programs. Um and it was hard to get the Walls administration in particular to really focus on this until uh there was just uh until it it completely blew up in their face. Um and uh it actually ended up sort of leading to Operation Metro Surge in an indirect way. Um the legislature, as we were speaking previously, uh they they did manage to to do some bipartisan work on this. They created uh um an independent uh monitor of state spending that uh will hopefully um examine these programs and figure out uh where the vulnerabilities are. I mean, I think in a in a bigger sense, Minnesota has a reputation for uh a uh for having really generous um safety net programs. Um and uh I think that speaks well of us. But the people who are engaged in that work, they're really interested in helping people. They're not interested in ferreting out fraud. They don't that's not why they got into it. Um and so there really has had to be a kind of a shift in thinking there at places like the Department of Human Services, where uh they have to pay attention to helping people, of course, but also program integrity.
SPEAKER_01Well, that's that's a hard and embarrassing lesson for for us here in Minnesota to learn that we need to pay more attention to the administration of these kinds of programs uh so that they are serving the people that they are intended to serve. Uh you know, a blemish on on Minnesota, but uh I think they're working on it, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean the the politics now, I think it's it's clear to the Democrats that this is really broken through with the public. I mean, it's it's a top issue um and not just for Republicans. Um I think for all Minnesotans it's it's become something that um, you know, because uh if you were to um that money could go to something else, um you know it's it's the fact that that money is gone means that that's a missed opportunity. So no matter where you are in the political spectrum, uh the defrauding government programs um is uh is bad and should be stopped. Um and I think that has broken through. It took a long time, but it has broken through uh to the Democrats who are uh certainly in control of the government right now.
SPEAKER_01So this may be uh a segue to for this next question. What other kinds of opportunities did the legislature miss when they were in session? You know, what could they have done, should they have done, but they either missed it because they didn't see it or they didn't want to address it?
SPEAKER_02Well, I I think we need a complete rethink of how we deliver these kinds of services, social services. Um and because it's an election year, I think uh because Walls is on his way out and we're gonna have a new governor, um, and the fact that the speaker is running for uh for governor made it difficult uh to do something like that. It's also a shorter session. Um but I think that's a big task. I mean, how how do we make these programs uh work better for both the recipients, for program integrity, for the taxpayer, um and um and how do they actually maybe help people uh progress and in some cases maybe be able to get off of these programs? Uh how do we deliver Medicaid um uh services um so that um we're looking at the wellness of the of the person um and not just um um kind of moving forward paying out um without getting the results um that will
SPEAKER_01Help people uh flourish. So so Patrick, we're we're in the primary election season uh here. And this program may not air before the election, the primary elections are concluded, but we can talk about this subject anyway because it kind of bridges into maybe the the general election in November. There were there are multiple candidates running for various elective offices here in Minnesota for the governorship, for the the Senate, both of the Senate seats that are up for uh election this time because uh Senator Smith and Senator Klobuchar are not going back to the Senate. And then uh the the representative race here in District 2. How does the Minnesota reformer cover those candidates and and and the election process?
SPEAKER_02Well, we're interested uh primarily in um what is the what does the candidates say they want to do if they're elected? Uh A and B what in their character suggests that they'll be able to achieve that or not. Um I to me political reporting has gotten uh too much into uh horse race coverage, uh who's up and who's down, and um what does this ad say and who's raising money uh from whom and who has more money and all that. I mean, and that's important. Uh, but to me, to really help readers uh understand, uh make a choice, which is what we're in the business, we're trying to inform people to make the best kinds of choices. Um, those are the real questions that need to be asked is uh, what do you want to do, and what about you suggest that you can make that happen based on your past performance, either in politics or not.
SPEAKER_01And so you really dive into the issues like fraud, like the metro surge, and try to discover and report on what the candidates are not just saying, but maybe how they really feel about those issues.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and also they're uh I mean it's not just what you say, it's what you do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um very often these things diverge in politics.
SPEAKER_01And so once the election is over and these the candidates that won are in office, you you follow them to see if they really do what they said they were going to do?
SPEAKER_02We should be doing that if if we're doing our jobs correctly. That's right. Um, and so for instance, Amy Klobuchar is the is the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor. Um, she's put out uh a few plans already, one on fraud, for instance, another on housing. And so uh in a year, um we'll want to be looking back and saying, okay, has she done what she said she was gonna do? Sure, sure.
SPEAKER_01Well, as we uh come into the last two or three minutes of the program, uh Patrick, what are some of the things that we should be watching for that that may develop? We don't know for sure. We're not, you know, political prognosticators, but what should we be watching for or expect as we move out of the primaries and into the general election?
SPEAKER_02I would say on the uh on the Democratic side, um they have to be concerned about unease amongst Minnesotans about the direction of the state, um, especially after now four consecutive terms of Democratic governors. Um this we certainly are a democratic state. We haven't gone for a Republican for president since 1972. But there can be um a fatigue, and especially when it feels like things are kind of off the rails. And you mentioned fraud, um school scores have not been great, especially since the pandemic. Um, you know, the the Southwest Light Rail line, uh way over budget, took way too long to build, and so there's this kind of unease. And I think there's a the if it were a different kind of year, uh it would be a great Republican year, because I think there's just an exhaustion with DFL leadership in the DFL machine. The problem for Republicans is they are not great at picking candidates, uh, the right kind of candidate who can win in a state like Minnesota. And then of course they're having to deal with uh they they are uh completely obesant to the president of the United States, who's very unpopular here and getting even less popular by the day as long as the the war in Iran drags on and et cetera.
SPEAKER_01So we're in for some interesting times, it sounds like always between now uh and and the election. Um well we may have to have you back after the election to to give us some more insight on what you can see and tell us about that maybe most of us are not aware of if we're not reading the Minnesota Reformer, right?
SPEAKER_02Well, you should if you as long as you're reading the reformer, you'll be completely up to date on everything that's happening.
SPEAKER_01Any final thoughts in the last minute uh on the program, Patrick?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean I I think that Minnesotans should know that the response to Operation Metro Surge, which I consider to be have been really quite successful, despite the the pain it caused, was due to our strong social and and civic fabric. And so I think um people who are out there volunteering for civic organizations and and churches and and everything else that Minnesotans volunteer for, I mean, that work is meaningful, and I and I hope they'll continue to do it.
SPEAKER_01Well, there's a lot of work to be done in that area, and uh we we want to thank you and your staff at the Minnesota Reformer for the work that you are doing. I think it fills a great need to give readers, viewers an opportunity to see the issues a little bit differently than what they might see in the more popular, more prevalent uh media. Great to be here. Our guest today on Access to Democracy has been Patrick Kulagan, who is the editor of Minnesota Reformer. You can subscribe to the Minnesota Reformer at Minnesotareformer.com. Thank you for being with us. Thank you for tuning in on TV. And if you're listening to us on the podcast, thank you for that as well. With the podcast now, you can take Access to Democracy with you anywhere that you go. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00Access to Democracy is produced by Alan and Sharon Miller, directed by Mary Dolke. Live audio mixed by Sharon Miller, technical and post production services provided by Egan Television. This program was recorded at Egan High School. The views and opinions expressed on this program are solely those of the producers andor the persons appearing on the program, and do not reflect the views and opinions of ETV or those of District 196 schools.