Kare11
Legislature passed tax hikes for transportation
House and Senate Sunday passed a sweeping bill that includes new taxes to help pay for roads and bridges
ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota lawmakers Sunday passed the biggest transportation bill since 2008, including $650 million that will be used to leverage $7.8 billion in federal dollars set aside for qualified projects in the state.
The measure includes tax increases that drew fire from Republicans, but Sen. Scott Dibble, who chairs the Senate transportation committee, reminded his colleagues that this part of the budget is separate from the rest of state government.
“There is no surplus in transportation in Minnesota. Sources and resources we rely on to support transportation are outside of the General Fund and they’re stagnate or in decline.”
The bill, if signed by Gov. Walz, will for the first time index the state gas tax to inflation in highway costs starting in January of 2024. Democrats say that will translate to 3 cents per gallon in January, and less than a penny per year after that.
The bill also imposes a three-quarter cent sales tax increase in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area dedicated to transit and roads. It also features 75-cent retail delivery fee on orders over $100. All food, whether grocery items or dishes made in restaurants, would be exempt from the new fee.
“We have not had a bill like this ever in Minnesota that is so comprehensive, so forward looking,” Rep. Frank Hornstein, the Minneapolis Democrat who leads the House Transportation Committee, told KARE.
One of the projects that will employ state funding to match a larger amount of federal infrastructure dollars is the Northern Lights Express passenger rail service from the Twin Cities to Duluth.
“We match every single dollar the federal government is going to give us for roads, bridges and transit with this bill.”
Republicans warned against investing state money in intercity rail projects rather than road work that can expand highway capacity and relieve congestion.
“If you want to get to Duluth and take more time than it takes to drive there, the train will actually do that for you!” Rep. Kurt Daudt, a Crown Republican and former House Speaker, told his colleagues.
Republicans acknowledge transportation is supposed to pay for itself, and that most of the state’s general fund surplus isn’t available for under current law for roads and bridges. But they argue that the Democrat majority could change that if they made it a priority.
They asserted there’s no reason to raise any taxes when the state began the session with a record $17 billion budget surplus. They often point out the actual size of the surplus is larger, if one removes estimated inflation.
“We’ve got the nearly $19 billion surplus, so Minnesotans were really looking to have some of that money returned to them. You would never expect to have tax increases, right?” Sen. Mark Johnson of East Grand Forks, the Senate Minority Leader, told KARE.
Earlier in the day Sunday the Senate wrapped up work on the Omnibus Tax Bill, which has $3 billion in tax breaks and at least $1 billion in new taxes.
That includes an expansion of the number of Social Security recipients who are exempt from paying income taxes on their benefits. Couples who earn less than $100,000 and individuals who make less than $78,000 wouldn’t have to pay taxes on their Social Security checks.
The package includes rebate checks of $260 per person, or $520 per married couple, plus $260 for each child up to three children. So the maximum check would be $1,300 for a family of five.
But that’s means tested, too. It would only be available to couples earning less than $150,000 per year and single filers who make less than $75,000 per year.
The bill also includes new childcare credits, that start at $1,750 per child for households making $38,000 or less. It would gradually phase out to zero for families making $96,000 or more.
“Republicans would’ve given the money to everyone including millionaires, billionaires. We chose to give money back to childcare workers, nursing home workers, people who are raising children,” DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman told KARE.
The revenue raisers in the bill would come mainly from larger companies with a corporate presence overseas and from higher income earners. That includes a new 1% tax on all net income from investments — annuities, royalties, interest, and other gains that don’t come from a business. It excludes gains from agricultural land sales.
CHANHASSEN, Minn. — Predicted weather conditions have triggered a Red Flag Warning for virtually the entire state of Minnesota Thursday, indicating an extreme danger for wildfires.
The National Weather Service (NWS) says the forecast – extremely low humidity and dewpoints and wind gusts in the neighborhood of 40 mph – will exacerbate already tinder-dry conditions, increasing the likelihood that a wildfire could spark and quickly spread.
Here are the counties impacted, and when Red Flag Warnings will be in effect.
8:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m. – Northwest Minnesota: Becker, Beltrami, Clay, Clearwater, Grant, Hubbard, Kittson, Lake Of The Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, Roseau, Wadena and Wilkin.
11:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m. – Central and southern Minnesota: Anoka, Benton, Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Carver, Chippewa, Chisago, Cottonwood, Dakota, Dodge, Douglas, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Hennepin, Houston, Isanti, Jackson, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Lac Qui Parle, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, McLeod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Mower, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Olmsted, Pipestone, Pope, Ramsey, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Rock, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, Stearns, Steele, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Traverse, Wabasha, Waseca, Washington, Watonwan, Winona, Wright and Yellow Medicine.
12:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m. – Northeast Minnesota: Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Crow Wing, Itasca, Koochiching, Pine, and St. Louis.
Additionally a Special Weather Statement has been issued for Cook and Lake counties in northeast Minnesota where wind and relative humidity are predicted to produce near-critical fire weather conditions. Outdoor burning is not advised.
Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is telling residents to refrain from burning in counties where a Red Flag Warning is in effect, and to check any recent burning to ensure the fire is completely out. The DNR will not issue or activate open burning permits for large vegetative debris burning during a Red Flag Warning, and campfires are strongly discouraged.
“When fire risk is this high it’s important to be careful with anything could spark a wildfire,” said Karen Harrison, DNR wildfire prevention specialist.
Justin Ekelman’s business, Shrimply the Best, has a fan following.
MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — There are things you expect to see along a desert highway and then there are Justin Ekelman’s hand-painted signs.
Drivers on State Route 347 between Phoenix and Maricopa usually pass them before they see the old, white cargo van Ekelman parks in a dirt lot off Riggs Road.
He is a man, with a van, who sells seafood.
“I do this year-round, I sweat it out and then when the winter comes, the snowbirds come back and it’s amazing,” Ekelman said. “You can’t bring enough; you can’t fill this thing enough.”
He is also not oblivious to what some people think when they see his Pike Place Market on four wheels: Seafood from a van in the desert? It seems a little sketchy. And a little dangerous.
But if you stop, Ekelman will proudly show you his frozen food vendor permit and other licenses one needs to sell shrimp and scallops on the side of the road.
Ekelman’s business, Shrimply the Best, has a fan following. In fact, one-third of voters in a recent InMaricopa poll named his seafood van their favorite food source.
Shrimp from Rocky Point are his bestsellers but Ekelman keeps his chest freezer stocked with Caribbean lobster tails, mussels and a variety of fish, too. An extension cord plugged into a gas-powered generator keeps everything frozen even when it’s 115 degrees outside.
“If it was sitting in a cooler in ice, it may be a little weird,” Ekelman said.
Selling seafood out of a van has provided Ekelman, a single father of two teenage boys, with enough to pay his bills and keep a roof over their heads. He feels more blessed than he did 15 years ago during the Great Recession.
Ekelman bought his first home in 2008, then lost his job as a carpet and air duct cleaner.
“Long story short, I ended up having to short sell my home, lived with my parents for a year and a half. My dad said come do this,” Ekelman said.
His father, a former door-to-door meat salesman, ventured into the roadside seafood business 40 years ago. Ekelman said his dad used wet rags to keep himself cool during the summer months.
“I did it one year like that. Why would you do that when you could buy a $130 air conditioner? I made a stand, put it in my window, now I have a little cold room,” Ekelman said, pointing to the curtains at the front of his van.
His father retired more than a decade ago and Ekelman retained many loyal customers. The business has not changed much since then, including the rudimentary hand-painted signs along the highway. Those are informative – and nostalgic.
“Ahead: Rocky Point Shrimp,” one of them reads.
“I go to Home Depot, get the wood, get them cut and paint them up, that’s how my dad always did it,” Ekelman said. “I have people stopping all the time saying ‘I can make you professional signs’ and I‘m like, ‘Bro, this is what people see. It’s a lot cheaper.’”
Ekelman also gets his seafood from the same source: His dad’s friend who owns a distributing company and gets seafood shipped to the Valley from across the globe. The company supplies seafood to restaurants, cruise liners and small fry (we couldn’t resist) like Ekelman.
“A lot of people assume I am getting it all from Mexico, it’s not,” Ekelman said. “A lot of the shrimp do but I just had salmon from Alaska, my lobster tails right now are out of the Bahamas, I have got orange roughy from New Zealand, the catfish is from here in the U.S., all sorts of different places but it is wild caught.”
Ekelman said he gets a good deal buying wholesale but the COVID pandemic forced him to raise his prices.
“My lobster tails, I was paying $5 a tail cheaper near 2019, COVID hit and everything went up,” Ekelman said. “I have tried to keep it pretty reasonable but my profit margins have gone down.”
Shrimply the Best accepts cash and credit cards.
A pound of raw, frozen shrimp ranges from $9 to $12 per pound depending on the size and type. Ekelman sells a 5-pound bag of extra jumbo, U-15 size tiger shrimp for $60 a bag. Chilean black mussel meat is $10 per pound. Wild-caught U.S. catfish sells for $6 per pound and orange roughy, a deep-sea perch caught in the waters off New Zealand goes for $12 per pound.
When Ekelman has no customers, he sits in the cab of the van with his makeshift air conditioning unit and reads his Bible.
He’s especially proud of his lobster tails, which are nearly as big as his forearm. An 18–20-ounce tail goes for $36 or two for $68.
“Mother’s Day is crazy; I could fill this thing with lobster and it’s just gone,” Ekelman said. “Father’s Day? Well, we don’t get treated as well as the ladies do sometimes.”
Watch 12News+ for free
You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app!
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like “Today in AZ” and “12 News” and our daily lifestyle program, “Arizona Midday”—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.
Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.
Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for “12 News KPNX.”
Amazon Fire TV: Search for “12 News KPNX” to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.
12News Digital Exclusives
Go beyond the TV broadcast and learn more about unique Arizona stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe for more digital-exclusive content!
The crash occurred at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday in Welcome, Minnesota after the bus driver failed to yield to the truck, which had the right-of-way.
WELCOME, Minn. — Nine students were injured Wednesday morning when a truck crashed into a bus in southern Minnesota.
The crash occurred at 8:15 a.m. in Welcome, Minnesota after the bus driver failed to yield to the truck, which had the right-of-way at the intersection of County Road 7 and 280th Street, according to the Redwood County Sheriff’s Office. In a press release, officials say the nine students sustained “minor injuries” and were transported to a nearby hospital.
The initial investigation indicates that the truck, an F550, was traveling north on County Road 7, while the bus, which was providing service to the Wabasso Public School District, was traveling east on 280th Street. The news release says the truck had the right-of-way at the intersection.
“We are grateful that no serious injuries happened to our students, the driver or the other driver, however, nine students were transported to area hospitals for follow-up treatment,” Superintendent Jon Fulton said in a letter to parents. “… The District and 4.0 bus transportation company is praying for a speedy recovery for the students and families involved.”
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings