In the Pioneer Press, Mara H. Gottfried writes: “Assistant public defenders and staff in Minnesota authorized a strike in a vote announced Thursday, after they rejected contract offers from the state. Teamsters Local 320, which represents about 700 employees of the Minnesota Board of Public Defense, said in a statement that workers ‘are sounding the alarm as the state continues to fall short on its efforts to reform its broken criminal justice system.’ They represent 80 to 90 percent of people charged with a crimes in Minnesota. The union planned to file its intent to strike Thursday and there will be a mandatory 10-day “cooling off period” when they’ll go back to the bargaining table with the state.”
Brian Bakst writes for MPR: “Minnesota business leaders, many lawmakers and the state agency that oversees unemployment benefits have had March 15 circled on the calendar. That’s when they had hoped to have resolved a $1.3 billion debt in the state’s unemployment trust fund and refill it to a level where automatic tax increases on businesses wouldn’t kick in. … There’s general agreement that a fix of some kind will eventually pass, though it’s unclear when. But the session’s first big skirmish isn’t sending very promising signals about how the rest of the year will go as lawmakers decide what gets done with a projected $9 billion surplus.”
In the Star Tribune, Jessie Van Berkel writes: “Minnesota farmers whose crops were stunted by one of the driest seasons in decades have been waiting six months for state help. The need hasn’t gone away and costs continue to rise, farmers and ranchers said this week as state legislators inched closer to distributing the long-awaited drought relief. … The DFL-controlled House approved more than $10 million in grants and loans for farmers Thursday. In the Senate, where Republicans hold the majority, the agriculture committee signed off Wednesday on $8 million for drought relief. But significant differences between the two bills are holding up a deal.”
For MPR, Jon Collins, Tim Nelson and Andrew Krueger report, “Mediation resumed Thursday as the strike by Minneapolis Public Schools teachers and support staff extended into a third day. The district said several hours of mediation was scheduled for Thursday; as of Thursday evening there were no reports from either side of progress in resolving the dispute. Additional sessions between the district and its teachers or support staff, or both, are planned for Friday and Saturday.”
Says Alexandra Simon at KARE-TV, “Thanks to a recent survey by the Airports Council International, the Twin Cities can once again claim to have the best airport in the country. At least in the 25-40 million passengers-per-year category for 2021. The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport tied with Salt Lake City International Airport for the title of best in North America. MSP was also voted Best in North America from 2016 through 2019.”
This from KMSP-TV, “New Prague Area Schools is under fire for racist behavior again after its fan section flashed a known hate symbol on the big screen of the boys hockey state hockey tournament Wednesday night. The upper elementary students were unaware their hand gestures made at the state tournament Wednesday signaled white supremacy, the Minnesota State High School League and New Prague school district say. The hand gesture was made several times by multiple students on the big screen behind New Prague Trojans head coach Brad Drazan while he was being announced.”
A KSTP-TV story by Eric Chaloux says, “ABC News reports the head of the Russian Space Agency posted on social media threatening to abandon [American astronaut Mark] Vande Hei on the ISS. ‘If you want the right guy to be in that tough situation, it’s Mark,’ said Dr. Tom Kirkman, Professor Emeritus of Physics at Saint John’s University. Vande Hei graduated with a degree in physics from Saint John’s in Collegeville back in 1989, where he was also in the ROTC program. … Vande Hei was scheduled to return to Earth later this month alongside two Russian cosmonauts on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.”
This from Melissa Turtinen at BringMeTheNews, “Parachute, a California-based home essentials brand, is opening its largest store yet in Edina on Thursday. The new 4,000-square-foot store at The Galleria is the first Parachute store in Minnesota. The shop will feature dedicated rooms to showcase product categories, such as a living area with a large fireplace and seating, two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a nursery. …The ‘modern lifestyle brand,’ which has a cult following, started as a bedding company in 2014 and has grown to sell items for nearly every room in the house.”
For ESPN, Jeff Passan says, “Major League Baseball’s owners voted unanimously to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement Thursday, ending the league’s 99-day lockout of the players and salvaging a 162-game season that will begin April 7. ‘I am genuinely thrilled to say Major League Baseball is back and we’re going to play 162 games,’ commissioner Rob Manfred said.
The AP reports: “Wisconsin liberals on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and two other GOP congressmen are insurrectionists in violation of the U.S. Constitution for their words and actions in support of Donald Trump leading up to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The lawsuit, alleging a violation of the ‘Disqualification Clause’ of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, says Johnson and U.S. Reps. Tom Tiffany and Scott Fitzgerald conspired to undermine President Joe Biden’s victory and sow public distrust of the outcome.”
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