Star Tribune
Hennepin Board approves raises for themselves, county attorney and sheriff
Witt and Moriarty previously expressed support for increasing the pay for their positions. They also asked commissioners to take a closer look at the pay for their staffs, to ensure salaries remain competitive.
Commissioners’ pay will climb 5% each of the next two years, from the current $122,225 to $128,336 in 2025 and $134,753 by 2026. Commissioners Angela Conley and Kevin Anderson, who proposed the increases, said they were more in line with what employees historically received and they would help make up for a pay freeze between 2016 and 2022.
Both pay changes were approved with 6-0 votes with minimal discussion. Commissioner Debbie Goettel was absent but previously supported the salary increases.
Salaries are just part of the total compensation for board members and countywide elected leaders. They are eligible for benefits like health and dental insurance, disability insurance and a pension.
In 2024, benefits for commissioners averaged $34,385, the county attorney’s cost $31,052 and the sheriff’s cost $63,618, according to data provided by the county. The cost of pension contributions was not available Tuesday afternoon.
Board Chair Irene Fernando acknowledged the rigorous push back her original proposal received to increase commissioners’ pay by 49% and also give the sheriff and county attorney big raises.
LAFAYETTE, Wis. — About 25 children and adults were injured Wednesday when a wagon carrying them overturned at a western Wisconsin apple orchard.
The children, parents and chaperones were on a field trip to the orchard in Lafayette when one of two wagons being pulled by a tractor turned sideways and rolled over, Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes told reporters. Hakes said the tractor was traveling at a low speed when the wagon rolled over while going downhill.
Three people suffered critical injuries, while injuries to five others were considered serious. Authorities didn’t say how many of the injured were children.
The elementary school-age children attend a school in Eau Claire. Lafayette is northeast of Eau Claire.
After about five minutes and several warnings that students participating in the protest would be suspended,, the protesters exited Northrop and Cunningham continued her speech. They later gathered outside on the mall afterwards to shout, “Cunningham, you will see, Palestine will be free.”
Cunningham recounted the story of Norman Borlaug, the U alumnus and agronomist whose research in wheat saved millions from starvation, and said she would prioritize keeping a college education affordable for students.
Cunningham actually took over presidential duties on July 1, replacing Interim President Jeff Ettinger. She oversees a budget of more than $4 billion to run the university’s five campuses, which enrolled more than 68,000 students and employed 27,000 people during the last academic year.
She was chosen for the job last winter over two other candidates: Laura Bloomberg, president of Cleveland State University and former dean of the U’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and James Holloway, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico. She is the U’s second woman president, following Joan Gabel who held the office from 2019 to 2023.
Cunningham will be paid more than $1 million per year — about $975,000 in base pay and an additional $120,000 in retirement contributions. The compensation puts her in the top quarter of Big Ten university presidents.
Sgt. Gordon Blackey, once a security guard to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, allegedly admitted to tracking the woman’s movements in her vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
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