Two years into Sunday liquor sales, Minnesota sees modest alcohol tax revenue increase

WCCO’s Pat Kessler reports: “Minnesota now has two years of Sunday liquor sales under its belt, and the numbers are in. For the second year in a row, revenues from state alcohol taxes did not go up as much as predicted. … The Minnesota Department of Revenue reports in the second full year, including Sundays, the state took in $191,551,000 in alcohol taxes. That’s a modest 2.7% year-to-year increase, which is less than promised and lower than past years.”

MPR’s Jon Collins reports: “Minneapolis police are turning on their body cameras during nearly all of their interactions with the public, according to a report presented to the City Council Wednesday. Reviews showed officers used the cameras an average of 95 percent of the time in April, May and June — up from 93 percent in the first quarter of this year.  The reviews indicate a significant improvement since the initial months of the body camera program in 2017, when officers were activating their cameras in less than a third of cases.”

Says Rochelle Olson for the Star Tribune, “The Minnesota Supreme Court overturned a drug possession conviction for a Minneapolis man Wednesday after concluding that a forced body cavity search violated his constitutional rights to dignity, personal privacy and bodily integrity. The search of Guntallwon Brown’s rectum while he was strapped down and sedated is a violation of the Fourth Amendment, the court ruled in a 21-page opinion written by Justice Paul Thissen and signed by four colleagues. Justice Anne McKeig dissented, saying the search was reasonable.”

MPR’s Tim Pugmire says, “A nonprofit Minnesota law firm is suing DFL state Attorney General Keith Ellison over the arrangement that brought a particular lawyer into his office in June. The lawyer, Pete Sudo, is working for Ellison under a fellowship program with the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at New York University’s School of Law.  The center was funded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg in 2017 to address climate issues. … Seaton’s client is Energy Policy Advocates, a nonprofit organization based in Washington state.”

In the Duluth News Tribune, Kelly Busche writes: “After a monthslong process, a new flag design will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration on Monday. The banner features dark blue, white and green ripples cutting across a lighter blue background, with a yellow star placed at the top. … Blane Tetreault said his design team — made up of him, his wife and their two daughters — made around 20 designs. All designs had a common theme: A focus on Duluth’s natural features, while trying to be simple and elegant.”

Kristen Leigh Painter of the Star Tribune says, “Twin Cities-based Compass Airlines, still bearing a logo reflective of its former owner Northwest Airlines, is losing a key contract with its largest customer: Delta Air Lines. Compass is a regional carrier that flies routes under the guise of major airlines. It currently operates about 280 daily flights in the western half of the U.S. for Delta and American Airlines. The company declined to say how it intends to make up the revenue loss or how the contract loss could affect employees, but said it is ‘continuously exploring opportunities that could be a good fit.’ Delta accounts for about two-thirds of its business, based on routes and total aircraft.”

Says an AP story, “A Wisconsin fugitive wanted on child sexual assault and child pornography charges hid out for more than three years in a makeshift bunker powered by solar panels and a pedal generator before a hunter stumbled onto him last week, police said. WSAW-TV reports that several months ago Thomas Nelson of Wausau found a bunker with a log door carved into an embankment on state land in the township of Ringle west of Wausau, about 145 miles north of Madison. He became curious and returned to the bunker on Friday morning to see what was inside. The door was unlatched so he went inside. He discovered 44-year-old Jeremiah Button, who disappeared in February 2016 just weeks before he was scheduled to stand trial on child sexual assault and child pornography charges.”

Joe Carlson of the Star Tribune writes, “The UCare health plan has become the second Minnesota insurer to add a new benefit for members with diabetes — a $25 monthly spending cap on out-of-pocket spending on insulin. ‘As the health plan with the largest enrollment through MNsure, we felt a special responsibility to be part of a solution to this important public health issue,’ UCare CEO Mark Traynor said in a news release. MNsure is the public website where individuals and families can shop for insurance if they don’t get it through an employer.”

An AP story says, “Four people who were target shooting face felony charges after a motorcyclist was wounded by a bullet as he drove on a rural Minnesota road. Three men and a woman are charged in Carver County with intentionally discharging a firearm that endangers safety. … Deputies were called June 25 about a motorcyclist who was shot in the chest.”