Legislature advances bill to preempt local paid leave ordinances

For the Star Tribune, Erin Golden writes: “A bill aimed at repealing Minneapolis and St. Paul’s new paid sick leave ordinances — and preventing other Minnesota cities from passing their own labor rules — cleared a first hurdle in the Minnesota Legislature on Thursday. The proposal, introduced by Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, would prohibit cities from enacting ordinances that would mandate a higher minimum wage, paid sick leave or other types of leave or requirements about scheduling workers.”

Someone’s feeling empowered. Also in the Strib, Miguel Otaroia says, “Two Somali Muslim women said they were verbally harassed because of their religion and nationality Saturday by two employees and a customer at a Smashburger restaurant in Edina. … They ordered milkshakes, paid for them and waited. When they asked about the status of their order, Abdi said, they were met with hostility by a female employee and the restaurant’s assistant manager. According to Abdi, the assistant manager told them, ‘Welcome to America,’ and that ‘You think you’re better than other people’ because they were Somali.”

We gotta get back to drilling. John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune writes, “While efforts are underway in Washington and St. Paul to roll-back solar and wind energy efforts and return to a coal-and-oil future for domestic energy, a Minnesota group says renewable energy is creating thousands of jobs in the state. Minnesota now has more than 100 companies serving wind power and solar energy markets in manufacturing, financing, designing, engineering, installing and maintaining renewable energy projects, according to a study released Thursday by the Environmental Law & Policy Center. The report identified 82 companies involved in the solar power supply chain and 49 companies involved in the wind energy supply chain.”

It was only 21 years ago. KARE-TV has a clip up of “the Coldest Night Ever.” “On February 2, 1996, two Minnesota towns had their sights set on breaking the state’s all-time record low temperature. Supporters in Tower and Embarrass kept track throughout the historically cold day hoping their respective cities would win the battle to the bottom of the thermostats. A spot near Tower, in St. Louis County, claimed the frozen victory at -60 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Department of Natural Resources.”

Interesting story from Ted Haller at KMSP-TV. “A Minnesota company is fighting with a German company over money, and the issue of war crimes. Orbital ATK, based in Minnesota, and Heckler & Koch, based in Germany, worked together on a weapon for the military that allows soldiers to fire a 25mm round that explodes at a preset distance. The weapon, called the XM25, is intended to target enemies who are hiding, like behind a brick wall. However, the project started to go sour with delays in shipments. ATK accused H&K of delays, and H&K raised concerns about the weapon possibly violating international laws of war.” That is an oxymoron, right?

This from David Pitt of the AP, “A Minnesota federal judge must hold hearings to determine whether a proposed settlement for about 100 million Target customers who were victims of a 2013 security breach treats all customers fairly, a federal appeals court says. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in an opinion filed Wednesday that Judge Paul Magnuson must review the class certification he approved in November 2015. Under the settlement, Minneapolis-based Target must establish a $10 million fund. Consumers can claim up to $10,000 if they can document unreimbursed losses.”

Healthy, for some. At MPR Mark Zdechlik reports, “A study by Minnesota Community Measurement found Minnesotans who are white and who live in the Twin Cities area tend to be healthier than residents of rural Minnesota. The third annual health equity study indicates American Indians and African Americans had the worst health outcomes. ‘Minnesota is one of the healthiest states in the nation,’ said Jim Chase, president of Minnesota Community Measurement. ‘But, at the same time, we have some clear and persistent inequities in health outcomes for people and our medical groups across the state.’”

File under “Inevitable.” Tim Pugmire at MPR says, “Legislation introduced Thursday in the Minnesota House would significantly restructure the governing body of U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis. The bill would expand the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority (MSFA) board from five to seven members. The governor would appoint one member, the mayor of Minneapolis would appoint one member and the Minnesota Legislature would appoint the rest. The board chair would be elected, rather than an appointee of the governor. The board would also hire an executive director.”