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Open and shut quesadilla. Stephen Montemayor at the Star Tribune reports on a recently-unsealed federal grand jury indictment against the former owner of El Parian restaurants: “A Twin Cities area restaurateur used his three suburban Mexican cantinas as fronts for a vast, six-year drug operation that trafficked marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine, according to a federal grand jury indictment unsealed this week.”
Getting down to the important work at the Legislature. The AP has a brief on a state lawmaker wanting to lift the yoke of taxation from our Olympic athletes: “Republican Rep. Pat Garofalo said Wednesday he’d introduce a bill next year to exempt Rio’s medal winners from state taxes… U.S. Olympians get $25,000 for a gold medal, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. Those cash winnings and the value of medals are taxed as income by the federal government and the state.”
Big box of low expectations. Sam Schaust at Twin Cities Business breaks down the numbers behind Best Buy’s recent growth: “The retailer’s $8.5 billion in revenue slightly edged out the previous year’s quarter, while its year-over-year-profits climbed by more than 20 percent from $164 million to $198 million. Best Buy’s 57 cents in earnings per share for the second quarter also handedly beat Wall Street expectations of 43 cents, as well as the company’s own guidance of 38 to 42 cents. Sales of home theater products, TVs, major appliances, computing equipment, and digital health products, such as wearables, helped lift Best Buy’s sales declines in smartphones and video games.”
Clean energy coming to the Northland. John Myers in the Bemidji Pioneer has a piece on a northern Minnesota solar farm preparing to go online: “A solar farm that will generate enough electricity to power more than 150 homes, or about 10 percent of the Black Bear Casino’s electric needs, was unveiled Tuesday by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa… The 1-megawatt solar farm, built on five acres of a reclaimed gravel pit near the casino, is expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 2.6 million pounds per year compared to coal-generated electricity.”
In other news…
Pie chart using a cookie though: “Miles of footlongs and other State Fair yardsticks” [Star Tribune]
Masters of warble: “Ellison and Hornstein to sing Dylan for Southwest High School benefit” [Southwest Journal]
Good dog: “Barking dog saves Rochester couple” [Rochester Post-Bulletin]
Coming Sept. 8: “Timberwolves’ Towns to be face of NBA 2K17 mobile app” [WCCO-TV]
😳 “In defense of the drunkest texts in Minneapolis history” [City Pages]
Beat the beetles: “At Minnesota State Fair, a last stand for ash trees?” [MPR News]
Juiced, barred: “Brock Lesnar suspended by UFC after failing 2 drug tests” [Star Tribune]
You saw the outside last week in Duluth: “Inside the world’s largest rubber duck” [Duluth News Tribune]
Sen. Al Franken on Conan O’Brien Tuesday night discussing the lack of humor in politics:
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Who is it that complains about taxes – Republicans
If we didn’t give stadium construction Projects all the tax breaks they get and if we didn’t give businesses all the tax breaks they get, and if we didn’t look for places to give more tax breaks the taxes for the rest of us wouldn’t have to be complained about. I enjoyed the Olympics, the Americans did a fabulous job of displaying their talents, but I do a fabulous job as well and don’t get any tax breaks. Rep. Garafalo needs to look for a more pressing “state” problem the legislature can work to move the state forward.
In addition . . . .
It’s not as if these athletes are doing this on their own dime. They are sponsored supported and subsidized to the max. Yes, they give greatly of their own time and effort. But at the level they’re at, I can’t imagine they’re being asked to fork over anything financially, and I bet the money they get for the medals doesn’t come back to them personally, either.
(If anyone knows differently, feel free to chime in here.)
Tom Christensen
is ‘spot on’ with his reply…..and to Republican Garofalo, are you a closet socialist ?