Minnesota Court of Appeals OKs rejection of nonprofit meals program

This from Kelly Smith in the Strib, “The Minnesota Court of Appeals determined the state followed federal rules when it rejected a Minneapolis nonprofit from a meals program — the same program now under scrutiny amid the massive Feeding Our Future fraud investigation. This week, the Court of Appeals upheld the Minnesota Department of Education’s decision to deny Gar Gaar Family Services from participating in federally funded programs that reimburse organizations to provide food to low-income kids after school. An attorney for Gar Gaar, also known as Youth Leadership Academy, argued the Education Department rushed to take action and arbitrarily denied the nonprofit from participating in the meals program in the wake of the Feeding Our Future case.”

For marijuanamoment.net Kyle Jaeger writes, “A ninth Minnesota House committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana—bringing the proposal another step closer on its exhaustive path to the floor as a Senate companion version also advances. This time, the House Education Finance Committee passed the bill, sponsored by Rep. Zack Stephenson (D), in a voice vote.”

A BringMeTheNews story by Christine Schuster says, “Three Minnesota music educators have been recognized on Yamaha’s ‘40 under 40’ list for their achievements and success strengthening school music programs.  Yamaha launched the list in 2021 to celebrate and recognize outstanding music educators across the country. The 2023 list for excellence in music education includes Logan Burnside, band director at Jordan High School in Jordan; David Davis, the music teacher at Park Spanish Immersion Elementary School in St. Louis Park; and Matt Gullickson, band director at Eastview High School in Apple Valley.”

Another story by Schuster says, “The first mammal nursery patients of the year arrived especially early at Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Roseville. ‘We never know what to expect through our doors, and four tiny red fox kits, on Valentine’s Day, is a perfect example,’ said WRC Executive Director Tami Vogel. The kits’ arrival marked the third year out of the past five that fox kits are the first mammal nursery patients of the year, although the admission date for the young foxes landed two weeks earlier than the previous record.”

A Bloomberg opinion piece by Brooke Sutherland says, “Not many chief executive officers can oversee a more than $50 billion plunge in a company’s market value and keep their jobs. And yet 3M Co.’s Michael Roman is coming up on his five-year anniversary as CEO of the industrial conglomerate with no clear, imminent resolution to serious legal quagmires and no expectation that the company’s performance will improve materially anytime soon. … It’s the second-worst performance by any member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. 3M’s market capitalization is now about $60 billion — roughly what it was a decade ago even though the S&P 500 Index and the industrial subsector have both more than doubled in value.”

For Eau Claire’s Leader-Telegram, Chris Vetter says, “Minnesota-based 3M has laid off several dozen workers at their production facility in Menomonie this week, as part of a plan to reduce its workforce by 2,500 employees. Jennifer Ehrlich, a 3M spokesperson, confirmed to the Leader-Telegram on Wednesday that 53 positions were cut this week at the 3M Menomonie plant.”

Says Stribber Susan Du, “Minneapolis officials are ordering a popular but unlicensed neighborhood sauna club to close next month. While the city noted Embrace North’s lack of a license and health violations, its owners say a 1980s zoning law labeling saunas as sexually oriented adult businesses contributed. In recent years, traditional Scandinavian wellness practices have gained steam among modern adherents of heat and cold therapy for cardiovascular and metabolic health. Embrace North has signed up about 900 members in its year and a half in business in the city’s Linden Hills neighborhood.”

Says Richard Chin for the Strib, “If a Chinese spy balloon had floated over southwest Minneapolis, it would’ve spotted the unmistakable profile of one of the most famous flying objects of all time — the Millennium Falcon. A giant mockup of Han Solo’s starship from ‘Star Wars’ has been parked outside a nondescript building in an industrial park for the past seven years. Built by a small army of kids at Leonardo’s Basement, the longtime Minneapolis creative workshop and maker space, the Minneapolis Millennium Falcon is so big it can be seen on Google Maps satellite view. But this Saturday, a ragtag group of volunteers armed with reciprocating saws will do something that Darth Vader and the entire Galactic Empire never could: destroy the Millennium Falcon.”

For WITI-TV in Milwaukee Bryan Polcyn reports, “If you want to cut hair in the state of Wisconsin, you need more than 1,000 hours of training to get a license. If you want to wear a badge and carry a gun, three hours is enough. That’s because of a change in state law that made firearms training for private security guards optional. As police resources are stretched, more business owners are turning to private security agencies to protect their property. Many of those security guards have guns, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they know how or when to use them.”