Star Tribune
These Twin Cities suburbs are asking voters to hike local sales taxes
City officials are asking voters to approve a 0.5% sales and use tax to help cover the cost of a new Chanhassen Bluffs Community Center. The new center, planned for the intersection of Highway 212 and Powers Boulevard, would include an indoor walking track, an ice arena that doubles as a venue space, field house, indoor playground and other amenities. The project would cost nearly $80 million and would be funded using the new tax, the property tax levy and money from a sale of the existing recreation center and other sources.
The city of Cottage Grove is asking taxpayers to approve a 0.5 % sales and use tax to help pay for projects at three different parks. Each project will be a separate question on the ballot, but whether one project passes or all three pass, taxpayers would only see a 0.5 % sales and use tax increase.
If approved, Hamlet Park would see up to $17 million for a new building, play equipment, skateboard park, athletic facilities, splash pad, and other updates. The Mississippi Dunes Park would see $13 million for improvements including an interpretive center, habitat restoration, a kayak, canoe, and small boat launch, outdoor educational spaces, walking and hiking trails, and a nature-themed playground. The River Oaks Golf Course and Event Center would see $6 million for pickleball courts, indoor multi-sports simulators, a winter mountain biking course, upgrades to the building and patio, and a nine-hole putting green course.
City leaders are asking residents to continue a 0.5% local sales tax until $23 million has been collected. They hope to pay for improvements to Excelsior Commons Park, including walkways, beaches, picnic areas, tree preservation and erosion control efforts.
The city of Oakdale is asking taxpayers to support an extension of an existing 0.5% sales and use tax for five more years, from 2048 to 2053, to help pay for inflationary costs of constructing a new public works facility. The extension would last until an additional $6 million has been raised or for five years, whichever comes first.
Voters will see three questions asking them to approve 0.5% sales and use taxes to fund up to $65 million in park and recreation projects. City leaders hope to bring in $45 million to build a new community center that includes gyms and sports courts, an indoor walking track, meetings rooms and other spaces. They’re seeking $9 million to help update Veterans Park, including replacing the pool liner and basin, upgrading the ice arena and resurfacing trails, among other projects. They also hope to build a new $26 million educational facility at the Wood Lake Nature Center, a project that would also be covered with state and federal funds. More information can be found at www.ourlegacyourfuture.org.
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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