The Minnesota Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the state. You would think that they would be at least mildly interested in the Somali fraud scandal engulfing the state right now, wouldn’t you?
Well, as is often common in media bias, it is not only what the media does report but what they do not report, and they obviously do not want to report on this story.
The Star Tribune just did a year end review of the biggest stories and did not mention the fraud scandal at all.
For the left, there are a few problems with this story. First, there are no Republicans to blame for the scandal. Minnesota is run by Democrats and has been for decades. Second, the story involves the Somali community in Minnesota and liberals in the media are terrified of being called racists. Finally, the Minnesota Star Tribune has a direct connection to Governor Tim Walz.
A man named Steve Grove is the publisher of the Minnesota Star Tribune and before he got that job, he worked for the Tim Walz administration. You could not make this up.
This is from the Niskanen Center (bolding is ours):
Steve Grove is the publisher and CEO of the Minnesota Star Tribune. For many years, he had been a high-flying executive in Silicon Valley, working for firms like Google and YouTube. Then in 2018, he and his wife — who worked for a venture capital firm investing in startups outside of the coasts along with AOL founder Steve Case and now-Vice President JD Vance — decided to return to Minnesota, where Grove had grown up. His recent book, How I Found Myself in the Midwest: A Memoir of Reinvention, is about leaving the global hub of innovation for what’s often disparaged as “flyover country.” It’s also a story of recommitting to civic and political involvement, as Grove went to work for Minnesota governor (and future Democratic vice-presidential nominee) Tim Walz as head of the state’s departments of economic and workforce development. He was in this role when the pandemic struck the state, making him the principal liaison with a business community struggling to cope with restrictions meant to stem the spread of COVID.
This is from a 2023 press release put out by Walz’s own office:
Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan today congratulated departing Commissioner Steve Grove and thanked him for his years of service at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Grove will depart from his position to serve as CEO & Publisher of the Star Tribune. Commissioner Grove was appointed by Governor Walz in January 2019.
“Commissioner Grove has truly exemplified what it means to be a public servant and advocate for the state of Minnesota,” said Governor Walz.
Do you think that might have something to do with the paper’s disinterest in a story that has the potential to end Walz’s career and even get him prosecuted?
Hellbound and Down 