A fraud czar, carrots for more housing and investigating Metro Surge killings: What Klobuchar’s first months as governor would look like

Amy Klobuchar wants a waste and fraud czar.

The U.S. senator and DFL nominee for governor told me that one of her first acts if she’s elected will be appointing an “independent senior leader” who will work with agency commissioners to conduct a thorough audit of state government. 

The senior leader will report to her and not the Legislature. Klobuchar sees the role as a way to confront fraud and waste posthaste as the Legislature works toward establishing the Office of Inspector General. The Inspector General Office does not have to be fully operational until September. 

Klobuchar welcomes the inspector general but in the meantime said, “I don’t want to just sit there and like have some committee look at it. I want to get started right away. And I really have to because of this idea that we’re going to have to have a balanced budget.&r...