In the PiPress, Doug Belden asks what the tab will be for winning The Super Bowl? “It’s still not clear what taxpayers will pay to bring the 52nd Super Bowl to town. Carlson Nelson originally had said the bid proposal would be released publicly after the NFL owners’ vote Tuesday, but lawyers for Meet Minneapolis and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority later said the data was nonpublic and would not be released until after the 2018 Super Bowl is played.” Which is as we’re accustomed.
The St. Paul school district paid $17,846 into the retirement account of an accused sex abuser — after failing to report two abuse cases to police, the Strib’s Chao Xiong writes. Walter J. Happel now faces eight charges of sexual misconduct, and officials are promising to make reporting changes. Happel has not been convicted, and the payments are likely guaranteed by union contracts, though the story doesn’t specify.
The Most Fascinating Man at the Fed, Minneapolis Fed president Narayana Kocherlakota, continues to persistently argue against the nation’s 35-year inflation-fighting mania as hurting employment. The Strib’s Adam Belz lays out Kocherlakota’s reasoning: the Fed’s 2 percent inflation target hasn’t come close to being met, running at about 1.3 percent, which at that rate hurts wages and home values. Given the cushion, the Fed should exceed 2 percent in the next few years.
The rejoinder is probably along the lines of, “We stole it fair and square.” Stribber Curt Brown says, “In a new lawsuit rekindling an old dispute, descendants of so-called ‘friendly’ Dakota Indians are asking a federal judge to help them reclaim 12 square miles in southern Minnesota that Congress promised them more than 150 years ago. The class-action lawsuit was filed this week in U.S. District Court on behalf of up to 20,000 great-great-grandchildren of Dakota who helped white settlers during the bloody U.S.-Dakota War in 1862.”
Do we have disclose speeding tickets? Kelly Smith of the Strib reports, “A growing number of Minnesotans like her are traveling out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) using the expedited screening program TSA PreCheck, which allows passengers who pay an $85 fee and submit to a background check to bypass long security lines and avoid the hassle of taking shoes or jackets. Out of an average of 30,000 daily passengers at MSP, more than 7,000 are using the program each day — an 8 percent increase from last year, according to the Transportation Security Administration.”
$60 billion here, $60 billion there … . Allison Sherry of the Strib says, “Rep. Rick Nolan is appalled that of the $100 billion American dollars spent on construction in Afghanistan, more than $60 billion is unaccounted for, according to an Inspector General’s report. The 8th Congressional District DFLer has a proposed amendment, which he got into the National Defense Authorization Act, that will prohibit funding for any new construction projects over $500,000, unless the U.S. government can physically inspect or audit those projects.” The stunner is that this isn’t already the case.
Despite the Exodus-like inflow of Minnesota millionaires and job creators … . The AP tells us, “A federal lawsuit filed by four gay couples in Montana leaves just two states — North Dakota and South Dakota — with gay marriage bans and no legal challenges aiming to overturn them. But that’s likely to change as same-sex marriage advocates there gear up for a legal fight.”
A Fox News presenter, Gregg Jarrett, was arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, the Strib’s Joy Powell reports. “Police had been called about an intoxicated man at the grill. Officers reported Jarrett refused to follow orders and was arrested for obstruction of the legal process and taken to jail, where he remained Wednesday night.”
Bonnie Parker she isn’t … . The AP says, “A 23-year-old Minnesota woman accused of robbing five banks within a few weeks has been sentenced to 3½ years in federal prison. Ranya Al-Huthaili of Roseville was sentenced Wednesday. She also was ordered to pay restitution to all the banks. … Prosecutors say in all five robberies, Al-Huthaili walked into the banks, handed the teller a note demanding money and took off with more than $20,000 in total.”
In the National Review, none other than George Will himself dials in on Minnesota’s campaign finance laws. “Minnesota says it has 10,000 lakes. The state also has, according to Anthony Sanders, ‘10,000 campaign finance laws.’ … As an attorney for Minnesota’s chapter of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public-interest law firm, Sanders represents several Minnesotans whose First Amendment rights of free speech and association are burdened by an obviously arbitrary, notably complex, and certainly unconstitutional restriction.” Remind us, George, what did Jefferson have to say about transparency?
I’m sure each of the (billionaire) owners will treasure it forever. John Vomhof of the Business Journal tells his readers, “Each prospective Super Bowl host was allowed to include one gift valued at $100 or less in the bid package it sent to NFL owners, and Minnesota’s bid committee sent throw blankets from Faribault Woolen Mills. Each of the 32 blankets was embroidered with the owner’s team name in its team colors, and with the words ‘Minnesota Super Bowl LII.’” Jerry Jones will look so cute with one over his knees … .
