The controversy is raising questions about who holds power in City Hall and what will become of the city’s Racial Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Department.
Under a deal announced Tuesday at the Minnesota Legislature, Xcel said it would increase a yearly payment from $2.5 million to $10 million, a hike that Prairie Island leaders said would bring benefits to the tribe more in line with the tax revenue that nearby local governments like Red Wing get.
A person found with 100 or more pills would be charged with first-degree possession, 50 or more would be a second-degree charge and 25 a third-degree charge.
The proposed quarter-cent sales tax would raise around $200 million a year with the money being sent in three directions: seven counties, cities and a state rental assistance program.
A recent policy change in Minnesota promotes quick evaluations and care for people with substance use disorders. But because of gaps riddling rural treatment systems nationwide, the promise of swift care isn’t reaching rural Minnesotans.
Despite setbacks, the mining industry has not given up hopes of establishing a new era of mining in the state to extract nickel, copper, cobalt and perhaps other metals, incentivized by the prospects the United States will need more of these materials to shift to clean energy and a greener economy.
The Minnesota Department of Health has weighed in on many of the proposed programs, which cover areas from funding patient care to COVID responses, research and increasing access to various health care services.
