Mara Klecker writes in the Star Tribune: “Minneapolis Public Schools and its teachers and support staff have reached tentative contract agreements that could end the strike that has shuttered schools for weeks. The school district and the union both announced the news early Friday, and said they would share more details about the agreement at news conferences at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Students may return to class as soon as Monday, pending a union vote on the contract, the district said. … A news release from the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers said the union will hold a ratification vote this weekend on the tentative agreement.”
Krist Marohn writes for MPR: “Some Minnesota lawmakers are proposing to give the state Department of Natural Resources more enforcement tools to hold accountable those who violate permits to use the state’s water. The bill is a response to breaches of underground aquifers by crews installing the Line 3 oil pipeline last year, which caused millions of gallons of groundwater to flow to the surface. … The DNR is pushing for the changes. The agency says its current authority is insufficient to address serious or repeat violations of the state’s water laws.”
Also in the Star Tribune, Liz Navratil writes: “Minneapolis police officers will receive raises, more mental health screenings and faster access to information about people who request their records under a new contract approved Thursday. For nearly an hour, City Council members debated the merits of heeding activists’ demands to reject the deal with the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis against their labor director’s advice that disciplinary changes were better addressed in the police policy manual. They ultimately approved the deal — the first since George Floyd’s murder — in an 8-5 vote.”
Frederick Melo writes in the Pioneer Press: “On Wednesday, the St. Paul City Council authorized moving $4 million in federal American Rescue Plan funding to launch a lead pipe replacement fund. St. Paul Regional Water Services is preparing a 10-year plan to replace all lead service lines at no cost to property owners, with work to begin in 2023, but here’s the catch. Those lead lines — which run from your basement water meter to your curb — are on private property, meaning homeowners will need to be proactive and seek out the service, which will represent an average savings of $6,000 per property.”
Dana Ferguson of the Forum News Service report: “A plan to spend $20 million to research a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS, is a step away from the Minnesota governor’s office after the House of Representatives on Thursday approved it on a 121-9 vote. ALS is a progressive disease of the nervous system that gradually spurs a loss of muscle control. … And one of those Minnesotans living with ALS, Sen. David Tomassoni, introduced the bill that would direct the funds to the Minnesota Officer of Higher Education to award research grants of up to $400,000 to scientists studying the prevention, treatment, causes and cures of ALS.”
KMSP-TV’s Courtney Godfrey reports, “A social media influencer on TikTok is using the app to try to put away a serial thief. The content creator who runs a pawn shop in St. Louis Park has created a video that’s gotten more than 200,000 views trying to track down the crook.”
For BringMeTheNews Joe Nelson writes, “Friday is set to be a bit squirrelly as the National Weather Service is warning of possible snow squalls in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. ‘Gusty winds will occur on Friday with gusts of 35 to 45 mph,’ the Twin Cities office of the NWS says. ‘Snow squalls are possible Friday afternoon across eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.’ The forecast discussion goes a step further, saying there is ‘high potential of snow squalls Friday afternoon.’ Snow squalls are brief bursts of heavy snow and gusty winds that can rapidly reduce visibility, even causing whiteout conditions.”
Another AP story says, “Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside a federal courthouse in a South Dakota city Wednesday to cheer the filing of a federal lawsuit over a hotel owner’s pledge to ban Native Americans from the property. … Messages left at the hotel were not immediately returned. Court documents do not list an attorney for defendants. Red Elk Zephier, the hotel manager, told South Dakota Public Broadcasting that the entire staff at the hotel bar and some hotel workers quit due to the proposed ban. Elk Zephier, who is Yankton Sioux and Oneida, also quit.”
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