In a letter dated July 2, Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz asked–pleaded with–the Federal Emergency Management Agency for money to help pay for the damages caused by rioters and arsonists in Minneapolis. Walz’s letter is disingenuous in its description of how $500,000,000 in destruction came about:
The resources of local, tribal, county and state governments were already stretched thin due to our ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, all levels of government surged available resources for immediate response to preserve life and safety and to protect property and infrastructure from additional damage.
Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, under Governor Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minnesota and Minneapolis have among the most dysfunctional governance in the United States. For the true story of how sheer incompetence on the part of Frey and Walz facilitated the rioting, looting and arson for which Walz is now seeking reimbursement from taxpayers in other states, see the article in the upcoming issue of Thinking Minnesota by John Phelan and Tom Steward that is embedded below.
Today the Star Tribune reports that Walz’s funding request has been denied:
The governor’s spokesman, Teddy Tschann, confirmed late Friday that the request for federal aid was denied.
“The Governor is disappointed that the federal government declined his request for financial support,” Tschann said in a statement. “As we navigate one of the most difficult periods in our state’s history, we look for support from our federal government to help us through.”
Walz’s request for aid was made under the Stafford Act, and I haven’t researched that law to assess the appropriateness of the request under whatever statutory standards apply. As a matter of fairness, however, it would be outrageous for taxpayers in other states to be forced to subsidize the ineptitude of Minnesota’s political leaders.
Here is the true story of how Minnesota’s politicians allowed the Minneapolis riots to spiral out of control:
