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Land of 10,000 Valentine pitches

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Anything can be news on Valentine’s Day, if you spin it right.

Welcome to the Star Tribune mail bag, where companies work to convince you that the story they want to sell is, in fact, a Valentine’s Day story. Household accidents? Pet products? Online scammers who tell you they love you? Valentine’s Day story! Let’s dive in.

Marketing pitches pour into the newsroom every day, but the pace picks up around the holiday, when reporters start looking for love stories. And there’s nothing Minnesota loves more than a good state ranking. Love means never having to accept that Minnesota ranked 31st on a news release from Rare Carat, charting how much each state spends on engagement rings on average.

“Even though Taylor Swift did not get an engagement ring at the Super Bowl, an unprecedented number of Americans might on Valentine’s Day,” the press release from the online diamond marketplace begins. “A new study found Minnesota residents spend an average of $7,175 on engagement rings – No. 31 most expensive in the nation.”

Who knew there was a national ranking of states with the most “careless cooks?” Take the knowledge contained within this press release from Claim Guide and make sure your Valentine’s Day is hot, but not too hot. Because Minnesota ranks 16th on that Danger Chef list. Happy Valentine’s Day!

“Cooking at home for Valentine’s Day?” the press release asks. “You might want to keep your eyes locked on the stovetop rather than your sweetheart.

Is Minneapolis Cupid-compatible? That’s the question asked and answered by The Matchmaking Company, which scrutinized American cities to find the ones with the most candy shops, matchmaking services and [checks notes] archery ranges. Also, daycare centers, since Cupid is technically a diaper-wearing baby. Minneapolis came in seventh on the list. Congratulations, Minneapolis! We do have a lot of archery ranges.

“If you’re hoping to fall madly in love by Valentine’s Day,” the press release began, “stay just where you are.”

It’s not all hearts and flowers in the mail bag. A site called Social Catfish weighs in with a press release entitled “Five signs your Valentine is a scammer.”

Do they ply you requests for gift cards and crypto? Do they always have an excuse to avoid video chats that would let you see that attractive face from their profile pic? Social Catfish ranks Minnesota 21st in romance scams. I am so sorry you had to find out like this on Valentine’s Day. Do not send anyone any crypto, just in case.

Last but not least, a news release that fails to rank Minnesota on any list, but does offer you a shot at $1,000 this Valentine’s Day.

Thinking of proposing this Valentine’s Day? Include your pet in the engagement photo and enter it in a drawing from pet shopping site Chewy.

“This one is for fur-ever loves,” begins the pitch. “Couples getting married in 2024 or 2025 who share their pet-posal photos or videos on social media using #ChewyPetposals before March 31 will have a chance to win big! 10 lucky couples will win a $1,000 Chewy eGift card toward pet supplies.”

Happy Valentine’s Day, Minnesota! You’re #1 on our list. And if you want to make your own candy hearts, you can do so here.



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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey rebuffs calls for police chief’s firing

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Anti-police brutality activists interrupted a Minneapolis City Council meeting Thursday to call for Police Chief Brian O’Hara’s firing, saying his department failed a Black man who begged police for help for months, to no avail, before he was finally shot in the neck by his white neighbor.

John Sawchak, 54, is charged with shooting Davis Moturi, 34, even though three warrants had been issued for his arrest in connection with threats to Moturi and other neighbors.

Activists showed up at the council meeting and asked for time to talk about the case. Instead, the council recessed and activists took the podium and castigated the city for failing Black people, even as state and federal officials are forcing the police department into court-sanctioned monitoring because of past civil rights violations.

Nekima Levy Armstrong, founder of the Racial Justice Network, said O’Hara needs to be held accountable.

“This is not the first time instance where the community has raised concerns about his poor judgment, poor leadership, blaming the community and excuses. It’s completely unacceptable for him to get away with it,” she said. “How many Black people’s doors have they kicked in for less?”

On Thursday the council voted to request the city auditor review the city’s involvement in and response to the matters between Moturi and Sawchak.

Mayor Jacob Frey released a statement in response saying he supports the council’s call for an independent review of the case, but O’Hara “will continue to be the Minneapolis police chief.”

Protesters also questioned why the public hadn’t heard from Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette, who called a news conference within hours to say he’s not going to fire O’Hara and the city leadership supports him.



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Backyard chickens approved for more areas in Woodbury, but not typical city lot

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A Girl Scout from Troop 58068 told the Woodbury City Council recently that they should allow backyard chickens in the city: They cheer people up, she said.

It turned out that chickens were on an upcoming agenda and, perhaps pushed a bit by the scout’s lobbying, the Woodbury City Council at their next meeting passed a new ordinance allowing for backyard hens.

The new ordinance went into effect on Oct. 23, the night of the council meeting, and will allow people who live on property zoned R-2, a “rural estate” district, to have backyard chickens. A typical city lot is zoned R-4 and those areas still cannot have chickens, the council said.

The city has received requests “here and there” for the last several years about backyard chickens, City Council Member Andrea Date said.

Backyard chickens come have home to roost — and never leave — in a host of other Minnesota cities that allow them, from Hopkins to Thief River Falls. It’s long been allowed in both St. Paul and Minneapolis, and new cities started approving backyard coops during the pandemic, when interest spiked.

In Woodbury, it wasn’t until the question was included on the city’s biannual survey that city staff knew how people felt. The survey found less support for chickens on a typical city lot — just 13% of respondents said they strongly approve of the idea while 43% percent strongly disapproved — but a majority approved of backyard chickens on lots of 1 acre or more.

The city’s rules until recently only allowed chickens on “rural estate” properties of five or more acres.

The new ordinance allows up to six hens, but no roosters, on property less than four acres that meets the zoning requirements. Larger properties can have an additional two chickens per acre above four acres. The ordinance also sets a height limit for chicken coops of 7 feet. No license or permit is required in Woodbury for backyard chickens.



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Anonymous donor pays overdue bill for Fergus Falls home where town’s first Black resident lived

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A $10,000 overdue special assessment bill threatening tax forfeiture of a historic Fergus Falls home was paid off this week thanks to an anonymous donor.

Prince Albert Honeycutt lived at 612 Summit Avenue East, renamed Honeycutt Memorial Drive in 2021. Not only was Honeycutt the town’s first Black resident — settling there in 1872 from Tennessee — he was the state’s first Black professional baseball player, first Black firefighter and first Black mayoral candidate.

He was an early pioneer and prominent businessman who owned a barbershop in town. Missy Hermes, with the Otter Tail County Historical Society, said Honeycutt and his wife were likely the first Black people in Minnesota to testify in a capital murder trial of a man who was convicted and hanged in Fergus Falls.

“In other places, you would never have a Black person testifying against a white person, especially a woman, too, before women could vote even,” Hermes said. “Obviously he was respected enough.”

Nancy Ann and Prince Albert Honeycutt with their children inside the now-historic Honeycutt house in 1914. Photo from the collections of the Otter Tail County Historical Society.

When dozens of people from Kentucky moved to Fergus Falls in April 1898, known as “the first 85,” Honeycutt helped integrate them into the community.

He died in 1924 at age 71 and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Fergus Falls.

Up until 2016, several owners lived in the Honeycutt home. But the city bought and sold the house to nonprofit Flowingbrook Ministry for $1 to take over the tax-exempt property and operate the ministry.

Ministry founder Lynette Higgins-Orr, who previously lived in Fergus Falls, moved to Florida several years ago and little activity has been going on in the historic home since. But she said there are plans to make it into a museum.



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