Star Tribune
Gov. Tim Walz’s clean-car emissions rule survives legal challenge from auto dealers
Minnesota’s vehicle emissions standards are poised to take effect next year, after the U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to take up a lawsuit filed by Minnesota auto dealers challenging the new state rule.
Championed by Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota became the first state in the Midwest to adopt California’s stricter tailpipe emissions standards in an effort to combat climate change.
The new rule, which encountered stiff opposition from Republicans, also includes a mandate for automakers to bolster their stock of all-electric and hybrid vehicles across the state.
But not everyone was on board. The Minnesota Auto Dealers Association (MADA) filed suit against the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), claiming regulatory overreach.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the state’s clean-car mandate in January, and the state Supreme Court denied the case in May — prompting the appeal to the nation’s highest court.
In its petition to the high court, MADA’s lawyers claimed tying the state’s air-quality regulations to California’s is folly. “Minnesota is not California,” the brief states. “It does not have California’s smog and air pollution problems — so long as Canada keeps its forests from burning down.”
MADA President Scott Lambert said auto dealers were disappointed with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision.
“We believe using California’s rules is not a good fit for Minnesota,” Lambert said in an email. “Minnesota dealers are happy to sell customers electric vehicles if those customers choose to purchase them. But we are not in favor of a mandate that requires us to stock vehicles that have very little demand.”
Transportation is the state’s leading source of global-warming emissions. The new clean-car rule takes effect Jan. 1, covering 2025 car and truck models.
Environmental advocates in Minnesota relished the legal win.
“Clean transportation is not only important for our health, but it’s necessary for our economy,” said J. Drake Hamilton, senior director for science policy for the St. Paul-based nonprofit Fresh Energy, in a news release. “Transitioning to a zero emissions vehicle fleet will provide good paying jobs and save consumers money at the pump.”
On its website, MPCA notes the new rule does not apply to existing vehicles or used vehicles for sale, nor does it require emissions testing or the outright purchase of an electric vehicle (EV).
In a statement, MPCA spokeswoman Andrea Cournoyer applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, saying the agency “continues to focus on implementing the standards and building out the EV charging infrastructure to provide Minnesotans with more access to cleaner vehicles and a network of charging stations making them more convenient to drive.”
In addition to action on the state level, the Biden administration has set a goal calling for electric vehicles to comprise half of all new vehicle sales by 2030. In that vein, the administration has set aside $5 billion to help build out the nation’s EV charging network — since taking office in 2021, the number of electric vehicle charging ports has increased by 40%.
Although most EV owners charge their vehicles at home, a recent study by the Pew Research Center found that an incomplete charging structure was one of the main obstacles would-be buyers cited when contemplating an EV purchase.
At the same time, 38% of those surveyed said they were “very” or “somewhat” likely to consider an EV when buying their next vehicle, the Pew study found.
Minnesota has launched a program for rebates of $2,500 and $600 for new and used EV purchases, respectively, although the program hasn’t formally launched, according to the Department of Commerce website.
Federal law created rebates of $7,500 for new purchases of EVs and $4,000 for used vehicles, but they must be assembled in the United States.
Northern State 35, Concordia (St. Paul) 34: Wyatt Block’s 2-yard TD run and the PAT with 10 seconds remaining lifted the Wolves past the host Golden Bears. Block’s touchdown capped an 11-play, 72-yard drive by the Wolves, who trailed 24-7 in the second quarter. Jeff Isotalo-McGuire’s 34-yard field goal with three minutes, 32 seconds remaining gave the Golden Bears a 34-28 lead.
Winona State 31, Bemidji State 28: Cade Stenstrom rushed for two TDs and passed for 150 yards and a TD to help the host Warriors outlast the Beavers. Stenstrom’s 1-yard TD run and the PAT with two minutes, 10 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a 31-21 lead. The Beavers responded with an 11-play, 93-yard drive to pull within 31-28 with 18 seconds remaining but the Warriors recovered the ensuing kickoff.
Div. I-AA
North Dakota State 59, Murray State 6: The top-ranked Bison built a 42-3 lead in the first half and went on to defeat the host Racers in Murray, Ken. CharMar Brown ran for 97 yards and three TDs for the Bison.
South Dakota State 20, South Dakota 17 (OT): Amar Johnson’s 3-yard TD run in overtime lifted the host Jackrabbits to the victory. The Coyotes opened the OT with a 40-yard field goal.
Youngstown State 41, North Dakota 40 (OT): The host Penguins went first in OT and scored and then stopped North Dakota’s two-point conversion to hold on for the victory. The Penguins sent the game into OT on a 35-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining.
Div. III
Augsburg 35, St. Olaf 34 (OT): The host Auggies stopped a two-point conversion in overtime to outlast the Oles. The Auggies went first in the overtime and scored on a 25-yard pass from Ryan Harvey to Tyrone Wilson. It was Harvey’s fifth TD pass — the fourth to Wilson. After the Auggies’ PAT, the Oles scored on a 25-yard TD pass from Theo Doran to Braden Menz. But the Oles’ pass attempt for the conversion failed.
After splitting their two-game West Coast trip to begin the season, the Wolves improved to 2-1 with a 112-101 win over Toronto in their home opener. It was a wire-to-wire win that featured some strong bursts of play from the Wolves and other times when their decision-making was suspect. But those moments when they were on, specifically the start of the game and most of the third quarter, were enough to carry them against a shorthanded Raptors team that was without RJ Barrett, Bruce Brown and Immanuel Quickley.
Julius Randle had 24 points while Anthony Edwards had 24 on 21 shot attempts. Donte DiVincenzo had 16 off the bench. Nickeil Alexander-Walker left the game in the fourth quarter and did not return, though he was in the bench area for the final minutes after going to the locker room briefly.
The Wolves’ starting lineup had its best stretch of basketball on the season after that unit started off sluggish in the first two games. Mike Conley, who was 3-for-16 to open the year, hit two early threes to set the tone, though Conley would finish 2-for-8.
Donte DiVincenzo replaced him at point guard halfway through the quarter and continued the hot shooting from the point guard slot with three threes of his own. The Wolves forced five Toronto turnovers and had a 32-18 lead after one.
Coach Chris Finch toyed with some different lineup combinations in the first half as he had Conley and DiVincenzo begin the quarter together while having Joe Ingles run the point later in the quarter. It led to an uneven second, and the Wolves led 56-44 at halftime.
But the Wolves played inspired coming out of the break. Jaden McDaniels, who didn’t take a shot in the first half, had nine points in the opening minutes of the third. Edwards hit a pair of threes as they pushed their lead to 22. The Wolves weren’t sharp closing the night, and the Raptors had the game within right inside of two minutes, but the Wolves had built enough of a cushion.
Rudy Gobert. Gobert had 15 points and 13 rebounds and was the beneficiary of some lobs from his teammates like Edwards, Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Joe Ingles. Gobert also finished with four blocks.
Gobert had two blocks on one possession in the fourth quarter that got the crowd off its feet and Gobert pounding his chest. Gobert blocked D.J. Carton and Jamison Battle.
Star Tribune
Trump denigrates Detroit while appealing for votes in a suburb of Michigan’s largest city
NOVI, Mich. — Donald Trump further denigrated Detroit while appealing for votes Saturday in a suburb of the largest city in swing state Michigan.
”I think Detroit and some of our areas makes us a developing nation,” the former president told supporters in Novi. He said people want him to say Detroit is ”great,” but he thinks it ”needs help.”
The Republican nominee for the White House had told an economic group in Detroit earlier this month that the ”whole country will end up being like Detroit” if Democrat Kamala Harris wins the presidency. That comment drew harsh criticism from Democrats who praised the city for its recent drop in crime and growing population.
Trump’s stop in Novi, after an event Friday night in Traverse City, is a sign of Michigan’s importance in the tight race. Harris is scheduled for a rally in Kalamazoo later Saturday with former first lady Michelle Obama on the first day that early in-person voting becomes available across Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots have already been submitted, representing 20% of registered voters. Trump won the state in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden carried it four years later.
Michigan is home to major car companies and the nation’s largest concentration of members of the United Auto Workers. It also has a significant Arab American population, and many have been frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza after the attack by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
During his rally, Trump spotlighted local Muslim and Arab American leaders who joined him on stage. These voters ”could turn the election one way or the other,” Trump said, adding that he was banking on ”overwhelming support” from those voters in Michigan.
“When President Trump was president, it was peace,” said one of those leaders, Mayor Bill Bazzi of Dearborn Heights. ”We didn’t have any issues. There was no wars.”
While Trump is trying to capitalize on the community’s frustration with the Democratic administration, he has a history of policies hostile to this group, including a travel ban targeting Muslim countries while in office and a pledge to expand it to include refugees from Gaza if he wins on Nov. 5.
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