Access To Democracy

Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena, returns to Access to Democracy to discuss with host Steve Francisco the important work of her office on behalf of the residents of Minnesota’s third most populous county.

While prosecuting adult and juvenile offenders is perhaps the most well-known part of her job, Kathy sheds light on other important work of her office in protecting abused children, providing legal advice to and representing the Dakota County Board, and implementing crime prevention strategies.

In this interview, the county attorney highlights efforts to control the ongoing opioid and fentanyl epidemic, legalization of marijuana, and fraud scams targeting seniors and young people using the internet. Having previously served 21 years in both the civil and criminal divisions of the Dakota County Attorney’s office, Kathy Keena’s experience shines through in this informative interview.

As many of you know, our friend and show sponsor Dr. Charles Crutchfield died and Alan Miller, a co-founder of Access to Democracy program, recorded a brief video to express our grief for this loss. The clip is attached to the beginning of this interview.

Amy Miller, Founder of Our Family Encounter and a returning guest to Access to Democracy program, joins host Bill Raker, for an enlightening discussion on what teens need to know about making their own healthcare choices.

She notes steps parents can – and should – take to help their children identify and stipulate in writing their healthcare wishes. Amy references Minnesota’s PRO Act as it relates to healthcare for those under 18. You’ll learn about “Against Medical Advice” (AMA) and how and when you might want to invoke it.

Amy’s mission with “Our Family Encounter” is to encourage families to have that “conversation” sooner rather than later, and she explains why it is important to write down your wishes and make them known to family and care givers. Amy provides advice and guidance on how to “start the conversation.

Our guest Marty Fleischhacker is the Senior Financial Fraud Ombudsman for the MN Department of Commerce. Host Bill Raker interviews Marty to discuss the timely and compelling issue of “How Do Scammers Motivate Victims to Send Money?”

Marty works with many organizations around the state to promote awareness about fraud of Seniors and protection against financial exploitation and scams.

Learn from Marty how common scams like “lottery winners”, “grandparent scare calls”, “romance fraud”, and “investment scams” are perpetrated. He highlights red flags to be alert for, such as demanding payment via gift cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin.) Marty explains that the scammers use highly effective persuasion tactics, including fear, intimidation, threats of arrest, harm to family, scarcity or fear of missing out, phantom riches from lotteries, and profiling to push the targeted victim into a “heightened emotional state” that impairs their rational thinking.

Marty provides helpful hints to help avoid becoming a scam victim: “Stop! Think! Verify!”, “Anyone can be targeted for a scam”, “Spot a Scam – Stop a Scam!” Learn how to contact Marty for help when someone is being victimized.

 
On June 21, we lost a giant with the passing of our longtime friend, Access to Democracy program sponsor, Dr. Charles Cruthfield III.

A medical giant and a pillar of the community, Dr. Crutchfield, maintained a practice in Eagan, and was unique in treating every patient individually, no matter how much time that required.

The son of a mother who was the first black graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School, and a physician father who delivered over 10,000 children during his medical career, Charles was taken from us too early at age 62 after a long battle with cancer.

Charles Crutchfield was always upbeat, jovial, and generous to all. He was one of the top dermatologists in the nation.

A pillar of the Minnesota Black Community, a Mayo educated physician and professor at two medical schools, he was also the team dermatologist to virtually all of Minnesota’s professional sports teams, and active in more civic and charitable organizations than one can mention.

Dr. Crutchfield published hundreds of articles on health related matters and sickle-cell anemia, was among those responsible for the definitive book on the history of the Black Community of Minnesota, and had the unique capacity to leave a person with a better feeling because of his upbeat personality.

Our hearts go out to his family; he will be forever in our memories, as one of life’s irreplaceable individuals.

Seth Boffeli is a Senior Fraud Prevention Advisor for AARP and joins Access to democracy program host Bill Raker for an enlightening discussion on how scammers target and ensnare their victims. Then the victim is instructed to transfer money to the scammer using cryptocurrencies. Seth explains what cryptocurrencies are and how the money transfer transactions work.

Cryptocurrency transfers play a big role in investment and romance scams. Seth provides helpful hints how to recognize “red flags” that signal a scam is in the works. He goes further with steps the consumer can take to avoid becoming a scammer’s victim.

There are pointers on where to report a scam or a scam attempt, and where to get additional information about scams or get help if you or someone you know, is a victim.