ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Minnesota House quickly passed a bill Tuesday to send emergency heating aid to people suffering through the brutal winter, setting a rapid pace on the first day of what could be a quick legislative session.
The House, which convened at noon, immediately took up a bill to pump an additional $20 million into a state fund that helps low-income residents pay heating bills. The bill passed unanimously, with Democrats and Republicans alike calling it a necessary step as subzero temperatures linger and propane prices stay high.
“It’s important the state do everything it can to make sure every Minnesotan can keep their homes warm, keep their families warm,” said Rep. Joe Radinovich, DFL-Crosby, who sponsored the House bill.
The state’s energy assistance program got a $115 million federal infusion in recent months, but Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman told a House committee Tuesday morning that the money is due to run out by early March. Meanwhile, he said, while the propane supply has stabilized compared with earlier this month, prices remain above $6 a gallon.
“This is very important to our rural districts. I have heard from a lot of people who are very concerned,” said Rep. Deb Kiel, R-Crookston. About 250,000 Minnesota homes are heated by propane, though they will have to compete with users of other forms of energy who also are eligible for state heating assistance.
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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Several hundred people rallied at Minnesota’s Capitol in favor of an increase in the minimum wage.
House Speaker Paul Thissen said at the Raise the Wage Coalition rally that hiking the state’s minimum hourly pay requirement is probably Democrats’ top priority as a new session gets underway.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk has been more hesitant to back House Democrats and Gov. Mark Dayton’s wish to boost the wage to $9.50 by 2015. But Bakk softened his position at the rally. He now says he believes Senate Democrats will sign on to $9.50, but that it might not get all the way to that level next year but rather phased in more slowly.
Republicans warn a minimum wage increase could make businesses cut jobs.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A group of southern Minnesota banks has sued suing Target Corp., alleging damages from the retailer’s data breach late last year.
The five banks are First Farmers & Merchants banks. The lawsuit was filed Saturday in U.S. District Court in Minnesota.
The complaint doesn’t specify a damage amount but says the banks have had to refund fraudulent charges, close and reopen checking and savings accounts and cancel and re-issue credit and debit cards.
“The way that this has happened, it’s the banks whose exposure is greatest here,” said Garrett Blanchfield, a St. Paul lawyer representing the local banks. “We think the Minnesota laws provide a sound basis for us.”
The banks are in Luverne, Fairmont, Brownsdale, Grand Meadow and Cannon Falls, the Star Tribune (https://strib.mn/MZNyhz) reported.
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ALEXANDRIA, Minn. (AP) - Two North Dakota residents accused of shooting a Minnesota sheriff’s deputy have been found dead, authorities said Tuesday.
The Douglas County deputy, who is now recovering at home, was wearing a bullet-resistant vest when he was shot in the chest while answering a call about a suspicious vehicle in a driveway Monday night near Alexandria, in west-central Minnesota.
Authorities said one of two people in the vehicle shot the deputy in the chest. When the deputy returned fire, the suspects - a 29-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man - fled. They tried to escape in a small car but got stuck in the snow, then ran away and fired more shots, according to the sheriff’s office.
A Minnesota State Patrol helicopter used an infrared imaging device to locate the suspects in the woods about 200 yards from their car. Deputies approached the pair but found both of them dead. Two firearms were recovered, authorities said.
Autopsies will be conducted on the man and woman, whose names haven’t been released.
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