The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating after a deadly shooting in Cloquet late last night. Our colleagues report that the alleged gunman and two other people were killed in the incident at a Super 8 motel that spurred a shelter-in-place order for the region. Law enforcement are expected to release additional information this morning about what happened. Gov. Tim Walz on X (formerly Twitter) said the state stood ready to offer help to local authorities.
After passing landmark changes to Minnesota’s energy policies in 2023, heads of state climate committees say they’ll focus on the cost to ratepayers during the 2024 session. Lawmakers and green energy groups told Kirsti Marohn that they’d likely bring forward smaller proposals this year. And they said that they hoped to hold hearings on reliability and the cost of the clean energy transition. Both have been a concern as the state set a 2040 goal to transition the state’s sources of electricity to 100 percent carbon-free energy.
Attorney General Keith Ellison is suing a Stearns County dairy farm. According to the lawsuit filed Monday, dairy producer Evergreen Acres allegedly failed to pay at least $3 million in worker’s wages. Ellie reports that many of the workers employed by the company are unauthorized workers from Mexico and speak little or no English. The lawsuit alleges that workers received threats from the company’s ownership and managers related to their immigration status in order to discourage them from complaining about rent and pay. On top of that, Ellison said the onsite housing provided to workers violated the state’s health and safety laws and rent was illegally deducted from employees’ paychecks. Ellison left us with this closing note at the news conference Monday: “If you’re not abiding by the law, you probably should.”
Freelance legal interpreters in Minnesota courts began a work stoppage yesterday. The interpreters are refusing to accept new court assignments amid a long-running dispute with the state over pay. Matt Sepic reports that while a new rate of $65 an hour took effect Monday, interpreters say it’s nowhere near enough to keep up with a quarter-century of inflation. The interpreters play a crucial role in court cases in which participants have limited English proficiency. Interpreters for the deaf or those who are hard of hearing are paid up to $120 an hour.
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday rejected a request from several fossil fuel companies to take up a Minnesota lawsuit alleging the companies engaged in deceptive advertising. The move means the case Ellison filed in 2020 can move forward in Minnesota courts. Several other states and municipalities have brought similar lawsuits alleging the companies misled customers about the impact that burning their fuels can have on the planet. The Minnesota Reformer has more on the lawsuit and what inspired it.
The Supreme Court could also decide as soon as this week whether it will take up a case dealing with cities’ ability to punish unhoused people who violate anti-camping rules when they don’t have access to other housing. The Star Tribune reports that the court is expected to announce soon whether it will take up a challenge to a 2018 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that stems from Boise. The case could have ripple effects in Minnesota cities and around the country impacting how communities address encampments of unhoused people.
Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan met with regional Planned Parenthood leaders on Monday to double down on their support for the organization and to commit to maintaining safeguards for abortion and gender-affirming care in Minnesota. Dana reports that the DFLers said they would make sure abortion is a top campaign issue this fall and seemed supportive of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to reproductive health care. “I think it's more important that we keep this at the forefront of people's minds,” Walz said. “We'll certainly explore when it comes forward.” The DFL-led Legislature last year guaranteed the right to reproductive health care, including abortion, eliminated restrictions that had been in law for decades and set in place legal protections for patients seeking abortion or gender-affirming care in Minnesota and those who provide it.
Asked whether a proposed Equal Rights Amendment could cover access to abortion and gender-affirming care, Walz said he wasn’t sure. Legislative leaders have been weighing whether they should put forward a constitutional amendment that cements the right to abortion in Minnesota. Some have said the ERA could be sufficient to guarantee that right. The Senate approved the amendment last year but the House of Representatives didn’t.
In Washington, legislative leaders are reported to have reached a deal that will prevent a government shutdown, according to NPR. The leaders agreed to topline spending levels. Now, it’ll be up to appropriations committees to fill out the details. And Congress will have to approve the spending plan by their Jan. 19 deadline.
St. Paul is set to have its first all-female city council starting today. (Cue Beyonce here). The Star Tribune has a breakdown of council members who blazed a trail for women in St. Paul city government and notes that the council will be the youngest and racially diverse in the capital city’s history. St. Paul may also be the largest city in the country to elect all women to serve on its governing council. | 