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Minnesota lottery a regressive tax on the working class, state data show
The Minnesota Lottery delivers tens of millions of dollars to state coffers each year, funding everything from parks to education to gambling addiction services. “Each dollar spent on a lottery ticket in Minnesota not only fuels the dreams of potential winners, but also drives millions of dollars toward crucial state services and vital projects that […]
The Topline: Minnesota anglers are inadvertently killing off loons
Welcome to The Topline, a weekly roundup of the big numbers driving the Minnesota news cycle, as well as the smaller ones that you might have missed. This week: Midwestern weather predictability; loon deaths from lead tackle; and puddles vs. lakes in Wisconsin. There’s a saying I’ve heard pretty much everywhere I’ve traveled in the […]
Elementary students fundraise to save classroom after voters reject levies
THIEF RIVER FALLS — On the surface, it looked like any other school fundraiser. The kids at Challenger Elementary in Thief River Falls were selling coffee cups, writing thank-you notes, and partnering with local businesses to drum up interest in their cause. But these kids weren’t fundraising for a class trip, a sports team, or […]
The Topline: Pedestrian deaths decline
Welcome to The Topline, a weekly roundup of the big numbers driving the Minnesota news cycle, as well as the smaller ones that you might have missed. This week: Minnesota imprisonment rates; pedestrian deaths continue to fall; Biden’s age in context; and religious diversity (or rather lack thereof) in Minnesota. Minnesota’s imprisonment rate is considerably […]
The key 2024 races that will determine control of the Minnesota Legislature
Minnesota Democrats showed the nation last year just how powerful a trifecta can be — even when their majorities in both chambers are as small as the eye of a needle. They passed paid family leave, universal free school meals, a steeply progressive child tax credit, increased sales taxes for housing and gas taxes for […]
Minnesota companies fund election deniers despite vowing not to
In the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, many leading Minnesota businesses announced they were pausing their political donations to review their giving strategy. Some went further, vowing not to bankroll political candidates who supported Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election. But today, three and a half years […]
The Topline: State revenues continue to defy expectations
Welcome to The Topline, a weekly roundup of the big numbers driving the Minnesota news cycle, as well as the smaller ones that you might have missed. This week: state tax revenues come in well above expectations; excessive heat at work; the United States in hundreds of charts; this year’s pet parasite forecast; and an […]
The Topline: Is Minneapolis really the happiest city in the U.S.?
Welcome to The Topline, a weekly roundup of the big numbers driving the Minnesota news cycle, as well as the smaller ones that you might have missed. This week: Klobuchar approval ratings; the “happiest” city in the U.S.; an extremely high blood alcohol reading in Carver County; satellites fouling up dark skies; and what the […]
Biofuel plants a significant source of air pollution in Midwest, study finds
A report out this week finds that biofuel refineries, which are overwhelmingly concentrated in the Midwest’s corn-producing states, emit significant amounts of compounds that foul the air and threaten public health. The study was produced by the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. It finds that the total quantity of air pollutants […]
GOP-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate mistakes drinking fountains for crime in map mix-up
On Tuesday evening Royce White, the Minnesota GOP-endorsed candidate to challenge U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, posted a map to Twitter, now X, with the following caption: “Crime in Minneapolis…Out of control. Come on now. Refund the police! #Godspeed” The sentiment was standard fare for a political party that often seeks to make crime a centerpiece […]
Fargo woman facing 30 years in prison for bong water
Last year the Legislature decriminalized drug paraphernalia, even if it contains drug residue. The change represented a step back from the drug war tactics of previous decades, with an eye toward treating substance abuse as a public health problem, rather than a criminal justice concern. But one obscure relic of the war on drug paraphernalia […]
The Topline: Minnesota’s long drought is finally over
Welcome to The Topline, a weekly roundup of the big numbers driving the Minnesota news cycle, as well as the smaller ones that you might have missed. This week: Minnesota out of drought for the first time in two years; the Lower 48’s blizzard capital; taxpayers on the hook for questionable addiction services; year-over-year shootings […]