New suit filed against Walz’s mask mandate

Not the first and probably not the last. The Star Tribune’s Jessie Van Berkel reports: “A group of 16 individuals, churches and businesses are suing Gov. Tim Walz over his statewide mask mandate for indoor spaces. … Their suit, filed Thursday in Ramsey County District Court, argues that the requirement is unconstitutional, conflicts with state laws, and imposes an undue burden on business owners. It also demands that Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom either show it is consistent with state law or end enforcement of the mandate.”

Union booze. In Workday Minnesota, Michael Moore writes: “Collective bargaining is in the mix for workers at Tattersall Distilling in Minneapolis after they voted in favor of joining together in a union. … The Twin Cities hospitality union, UNITE HERE Local 17, announced the news on social media today. Tattersall employees are the first at any craft distillery in the U.S. to form a union, UNITE HERE said, and the first distillery workers to do so in Minnesota.”

Also in collective bargaining. The Star Tribune’s John Ewoldt reports: “Seward Community Co-op in Minneapolis now leads the wage race among unionized Twin Cities supermarkets and co-ops. … On Wednesday, members of the Seward Co-op United Food & Commercial Workers Local 663 ratified their contract for $15 an hour starting Monday. … Seward became the first unionized supermarket in the Twin Cities to guarantee the $15 an hour wage to supermarket employees. Target, whose workers are not unionized, raised its minimum wage to $15 an hour in July.”

And yet more union news. KARE’s Diane Sandberg and Ellery McCardle report: “The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) and a coalition of other community groups plan to deliver a 250,000 signature petition calling for the firing of Minneapolis Police Federation President Bob Kroll to Minneapolis city leaders Friday. … According to a press release, the signatures were collected by Color Of Change, and by Police Unions Exposed via MoveOn’s petition platform. … The groups have planned a press conference at the Mayor Jacob Frey’s office at the Minneapolis city hall.”

In other news…

These things tend to grow: “Ford, state expand probe of toxic waste dump near St. Paul’s Ford site” [Star Tribune]

Nonprofit drama: “Midway United board is ousted by new members, leaving fate of $800K in donations in question” [Pioneer Press]

Back to normal: “Metro Transit Bus, Light Rail Service To Return To Pre-Pandemic Levels Next Month” [WCCO]

Nice: “Michelle Obama’s ‘Vote’ necklace gives local jeweler Larissa Loden a sales boost” [Star Tribune]

Auction coming: “Otter Tail County farmer prepares to sell huge convertible car collection” [Fargo Forum]