State and local taxes and spending Star Tribune: Minneapolis council, Mayor Frey seek lower property tax hike as budget talks begin MPR News: Minneapolis City Council’s budget committee reduces proposed property tax levy for 2025 Kare 11: Minneapolis City...
The Seattle-Minneapolis fraud connections
One of the most bizarre aspects of the Feeding Our Future scandal has been the deep and recurring connections between the case and the city of Seattle, Washington. It was observed in the earliest days of the Feeding Our Future scandal back in 2022 that many of...
County wants to spend last 300k of pandemic funds–but on what?
After three years the Kandiyohi County commissioners have nearly $300,000 in federal pandemic funding still on hand burning a hole in their pocket. Just one problem. They need to come up with ways to use it by December 31 or else the unthinkable happens. If...
A tale of three cities
We at Center of the American Experiment have long warned of looming budget battles in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Those battles are now here, but the two sides are lining up rather differently on either side of the Mississippi. St. Paul In a report titled “St....
Minnesota to receive $12.5M for electric school buses
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Wednesday its tentative choices for $735 million Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds for clean heavy-duty vehicles. Minneapolis Public Schools and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency are expected to receive...
Minneapolis homeless encampment fire takes out neighboring home – and other top public safety news
More problems for Minneapolis residents near homeless encampment This week another homeless encampment allowed to exist in Minneapolis went up in flames, completely destroying the encampment, and damaging two adjacent homes so badly that 8 adults are now...
In Feeding Our Future 2.0, the FBI raids autism clinics
Reporter Deena Winter of the Minnesota Star Tribune was the first to break the story on Twitter (X) this morning, Winter followed up with a story on the Star Tribune website under the lead, The FBI is searching at least two Minnesota autism centers Thursday...
U.S. energy demand to rise 15% in next 5 years
A new report by Grid Strategies anticipates that U.S. electricity demand will increase five times faster than previously estimated over the next five years. The culprit? Data centers, manufacturing, and increased electrification. U.S. electricity load in 2029...
Gar Gaar nonprofit to dissolve
In a press release issued last week, the state’s Attorney General, Keith Ellison, announced a settlement in which the free-food nonprofit Youth Leadership Academy, d/b/a Gar Gaar Family Services (GGFS), agreed to dissolve. The settlement agreement can be read...
Why the Minneapolis Labor Standards Board is a bad idea
Some good news: the Minneapolis City Council failed to override Mayor Frey’s veto on creating a Labor Standards Board, which “would recommend pay, safety and equity regulations for employers” in Minneapolis. The bad news: work on creating the board will...