Jan. 26, 2021
Expect increasing cloud cover this evening across much of the state — with lows around zero degrees — tomorrow looks more sunny, with highs in the teens. A chance of snow is popping up for the weekend. Find the latest from Updraft. Gov. Tim Walz is proposing a tax increase on the state’s top earners to help balance the budget and to further fund Minnesota’s response to COVID-19. Walz announced a two-year budget plan Tuesday that would establish a fifth-tier income tax rate for an estimated 21,000 households, including married couples making more than $1 million and single filers making $500,000. The change would raise an estimated $403 million over the next two years. Walz stressed that less than 1 percent of taxpayers would see an increase while others would see a tax cut.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka says the budget can be balanced through the use of reserves, and a cut in spending by state agencies.
The daily number of COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota remained in single digits for the second day in a row. The Health Department on Tuesday reported 727 confirmed or probable cases of the disease — along with eight more deaths. That new daily case count was the lowest since Sept. 29, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
The pandemic has killed more than 6,000 Minnesotans, with immigrants and some people of color and Indigenous residents hit hardest. You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. — Nina Moini | MPR News | 