The company has struggled for years following a scandal that began with the arrest of its former chairman Carlos Ghosn in late 2018 on charges of fraud and misuse of company assets, allegations that he denies. He eventually was released on bail and fled to Lebanon.

Honda reported its profits slipped nearly 20% in the first half of the April-March fiscal year from a year earlier, as sales suffered in China.

Toyota made 11.5 million vehicles in 2023, while Honda rolled out 4 million and Nissan produced 3.4 million. Mitsubishi Motors made just over 1 million. Even after a merger Toyota would remain the leading Japanese automaker.

All the global automakers are facing potential shocks if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on threats to raise or impose tariffs on imports of foreign products, even from allies like Japan and neighboring countries like Canada and Mexico. Nissan is among the major car companies that have adjusted their supply chains to include vehicles assembled in Mexico.

Meanwhile, analysts say there is an ‘’affordability shift’’ taking place across the industry, led by people who feel they cannot afford to pay nearly $50,000 for a new vehicle. In American, a vital market for companies like Nissan, Honda and Toyota, that’s forcing automakers to consider lower pricing, which will eat further into industry profits.

About 67 bodies of water in Minnesota already have dangerous levels of chloride and 75 more are nearing the danger zone, according to the MPCA. Salt also infiltrates groundwater, the source of most drinking water in the state.

This winter the West Metro Water Alliance is focusing on faith-based organizations, which are some of the biggest users of salt to melt ice in parking lots and on sidewalks so parishioners can make it to services.

John Daniels, a volunteer at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, signed up for a consultation to learn more about how to use less salt and better protect the environment. His church has a snow removal contractor, but Daniels helps make sure the sidewalks are clear on busy days.

“It makes a lot of sense to me,” Daniels said of the information Barcelow and Rachel Dunlap, a MPCA GreenCorps member shared with him on a recent frigid morning. “We want to use best practices, whenever we can.”

Some key takeaways from the consultation included how little salt is needed to melt ice — roughly one granule per 3 square inches, or about a coffee cup for 10 sidewalk squares.

He said a phoenix was chosen for the display for its typical interpretation as a symbol of rebirth, transformation and self-determination, especially with the new year approaching. The mythical bird is also surrounded by black cranes with crescent moons, which “reinforces the power of intention and renewal.”

“So we took all of that together and we found it pretty inspiring, and we wanted to share that with the great state of Minnesota,” he said.

When asked, Sion declined to say how many members are part of his congregation. But he said the group organizes a series of meetings to discuss current events “in the Satanic world, so to speak,” along with board game nights, craft days and charitable endeavors – “real dark stuff,” he joked.

“We do good in the world,” he said. “We do things like charity drives a couple times a year to benefit things like [homelessness].”