This from MPR News: “Boys volleyball will soon join the roster of high school sports sanctioned by the Minnesota State High School League. The league’s 48-member Representative Assembly approved the proposal Tuesday with 39 votes in favor. It needed 32 votes — a two-thirds’ majority — to pass. … Boys volleyball will become a sanctioned sport in Minnesota in the 2024-25 school year. The league still needs to decide what season boys’ volleyball will play.”
The AP says, “Tuition at Minnesota’s public colleges would be free to residents whose families earn less than $80,000 annually, starting in the 2024-2025 academic year, under an agreement reached by legislative negotiators. If the full House and Senate accept the language, which would be part of a broader higher education budget bill, qualifying Minnesotans would no longer have to take on debt to get a public college degree … .”
For the Pioneer Press, Kristi Miller writes, “Funeral services will be held Friday for western Wisconsin sheriff’s Deputy Kaitlin ‘Kaitie’ Leising, who was fatally shot last weekend by a suspected drunken driver who later killed himself in rural St. Croix County. The 29-year-old Leising, of New Richmond, was lovingly nicknamed ‘Bug’ and will be remembered as ‘small, but feisty’ according to her obituary. She loved reading, puzzles, camping, hiking, kayaking, waterskiing and playing basketball. In addition she loved Harry Potter, crime shows and the Denver Broncos.”
Says Brian Bakst for MPR News, “Minnesota lawmakers appear within reach of an agreement on significant restrictions to no-knock warrant searches conducted by law enforcement. Discussion over exact wording is continuing. But deliberations Tuesday in a House-Senate conference committee indicated that lawmakers involved in the negotiations are prepared to bar courts from allowing the warrants in most cases. A remaining sticking point is over protocol for carrying out high-risk searches.”
For Bring Me The News, Tommy Wiita says, “A multi-agency effort is once again underway in Minnesota to curb street racing and dangerous driving as summer arrives. Col. Matt Langer with the Minnesota State Patrol said during a Tuesday press conference that in 2022, officers pulled over nearly 2,000 vehicles connected to street racing. Of those, over 800 were stopped for speeding, 167 drivers were arrested and 66 of those arrests involved the driver being impaired to some degree.”
For Patch William Bornhoft writes, “Three of the top five most popular vehicles in Minnesota are trucks, according to a new report analyzing sales in 2022. Car shopping website Edmunds collected data on new vehicles purchased by individuals and found that the Chevrolet Silverado was the most popular in Minnesota. Coming in at No. 2 was the Ford F-Series, followed by the Ram 1500/2500/3500 in No. 3.”
This also from Mr. Bornhoft, “U.S. News and World Report said in new Best Senior Living ratings released Thursday that 35 retirement communities in Minnesota are worth consideration for older Americans as they plan for increasing medical needs. … In Minnesota, U.S. News evaluated 87 senior living communities and recognized 25 of them, including:
- Amira Choice Roseville at Lexington — Roseville
- Arbor Glen — Lake Elmo
- Arbor Lane — Burnsville
- Aurora on France — Edina
- Bethany on the Lake — Alexandria
- Brookdale Winona — Winona
- Deephaven Woods Senior Living — Deephaven … .”
For si.com Joe Nelson writes, “A video of a Minnesota college baseball player being ejected for flipping his bat after crushing a mammoth home run has gone viral. Drake Siens, a junior at Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter, Minnesota, was thrown out of the second game of a doubleheader between the Gusties and St. Olaf on Monday after he crushed a no-doubter over the left-field wall and flipped his bat. As Siens crossed home plate, the umpire ejected him for the bat flip. And it didn’t take long for the ump to toss head coach Brad Baker for arguing the ejection. A fan in the stands can be heard in the video yelling to the ump ‘Are you enjoying your power?’”
Says Nick Halter for Axios, “Amazon’s plan to enter the Twin Cities grocery store market with its Fresh brand appears dead. The latest: The company has put six properties where it had been planning to open stores up for sublease. Why it matters: A couple years ago, it looked like Amazon was ready to make a splash in the competitive Twin Cities grocery market. But it has re-thought its retail strategy nationwide and won’t make a go of it in Minnesota. Details: Axios has previously confirmed that Amazon was planning — and had built out — stores in Eagan, Eden Prairie, Arden Hills, Lakeville, Coon Rapids and Burnsville.”
Says Trisha Ahmed for the AP, “Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz used purple ink on Tuesday to sign the bill dedicating the roadway formerly known as Minnesota Highway 5. Now, the path through the Minneapolis suburbs of Chanhassen and Eden Prairie will be called the Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway. Purple road signs will soon go up along the highway declaring the new name, paid for by Prince’s friends and fans.”
Poor people get all the breaks, eh? Now they’re getting free college, next thing you know they’ll be competing for all the good jobs and that could lead to them not being poor anymore…do we really want that? Seriously, for those worrying about where the money comes from, I am someone who went to college late in life and used every program I could to help pay for it. I left college with minimal debt and a pretty decent job. I calculate that in the first three years of my employment I paid more in income taxes than I got in Grants for the four years I was in school. Much more than I had paid in the low wage and seasonal construction jobs I’d worked the 10-15 years before entering college. I was single when I left college with few deductions so I was paying a lot . By year four the State and Federal governments were reaping the benefits of their investment.
I also qualified for large Pell Grants (and Stafford Loans), and I have no doubt that I have more than paid everything back many-fold, including my loans.
These programs work to break generational poverty cycles.
The rest of America would do well to follow Minnesotas lead on the tuition deal. It will trickle down to family values, like younger siblings eating better…