Sorry ICE, no dice. The Pioneer Press’s Frederick Melo reports: “Over the objection of federal authorities, Ramsey County has alerted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement it will no longer house immigration detainees. … Federal immigration authorities will have to look to other county jails throughout the Midwest to house prisoners suspected of violating immigration rules. Ramsey County Sheriff Jack Serier alerted ICE in late 2017 that the county’s correctional facility in St. Paul would no longer hold their detainees as of Jan. 1. … ‘We’re losing money every time we hold somebody,’ said Ramsey County Chief Deputy Steve Frazer, who noted that ICE reimbursed the county $80 per day for what amounts to a $160 daily expense.”
Will be interesting to see how this plays out. The Star Tribune’s Chris Serres reports: “Three convicted rapists are suing the city of Dayton over an ordinance that virtually bans them from the city, arguing that the measure violates their Constitutional rights and is trumped by state law. … The men are challenging a far-reaching 2016 ordinance that bars convicted sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of any school, day care facility, park, playground — or even pumpkin patch and apple orchard — within the city of Dayton, a rural community of about 5,000 residents northwest of the Twin Cities. … Their suit argues that, because of the ordinance, the three offenders remain unjustly confined at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) facility in St. Peter — more than a year after they were cleared for conditional release to a group home in Dayton. The lawsuit was filed this month in Hennepin County District Court.”
That’s a lot of shoveling. KMSP’s reports: “Monday’s storm left its mark on most of the metro dropping the most snow we’ve seen in one storm since 2011. SNOW TOTALS: Minneapolis: 9.5”; St. Paul: 9.8”; MSP Airport: 12.4”; Prior Lake: 16.5”; Chanhassen: 11.0″; White Bear Lake: 10.0″; Edina: 8.0″; Maple Grove: 5.8″; Rogers: 2.5″; Owatonna: 17.0″; Cannon Falls: 13.5″; Burnsville: 13.3″; Stillwater: 11.0″”
Ice caves a bust so far. The Duluth News Tribune reports: “Staff was back to work Tuesday at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore following the federal government shutdown, but they returned to ice-free sea caves. … Strong northeasterly winds on Sunday and Monday blew the ice completely away from the sea caves, the park posted on its Facebook page on Tuesday. A photo from the park’s sea caves camera shows open water with only a few smaller chunks of floating ice in front of the sea caves. … ‘The ice that blew out was very poor quality — hopefully there’s still time for a higher quality ice sheet to form,’ the park wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.”
In other news…
Some of you may have objections to this argument: “Super Bowl’s Minneapolis Stadium Brings a Surge in Development” [New York Times]
Worth a shot: “Prime Place rebrands as The Arrow in an attempt to escape criticism” [Minnesota Daily]
But it’d be so easy to take that high-speed train from Rochester up to the … oh wait: “Is Super Bowl a super bust for local hotels?” [Rochester Post Bulletin]
Pay more: “Low unemployment in Mpls. leaves Super Bowl parties looking for help” [Star Tribune]
Just give one of these to every Minnesotan: “Polaris teams up with Mpls. Police for Super Bowl 52” [KARE]
We’re acting like this is a thing: “6 Reasons An Amazon-Target Merger Could Be Bad For Shoppers” [Forbes]
Not very good TV, honestly: “Vikings’ other loss: TV viewership tanked as game got out of hand” [Star Tribune]
Keep it clean: “Fantasy Maids bring topless cleaning to Mankato area” [Mankato Free Press]
Nice Q&A with a true star: “Maya Moore: A Pioneering Spirit” [The Undefeated]
What timing: “West St. Paul’s oldest resident, a ‘straightforward and refreshing’ woman, dies on 106th birthday ” [Pioneer Press]
Sad, and a strange way to go: “Ex-UMD hockey team captain dies after fall at Chicago airport” [Fargo Forum]
ICE will have to transport illegal immigrants to the nearest federal prison. Tough way to wait for deportation…which, come to think of it, might act as a deterrent.