Star Tribune
St. Louis County OKs 7.23% max tax levy increase; new development will blunt that
DULUTH – St. Louis County board members were unanimous in their support for a maximum 7.23% property tax levy increase in 2025 — a jump from last year, but still a bit less than the increase in the property tax base.
The levy increase is more than $180 million, and more than half of the money is slotted into two categories: public health and human services and public safety. The county’s tax base grew with about $265 million in new construction last year, mostly residential. The levy is divided among property owners based on the property’s value and classification — including commercial, homestead and seasonal recreation.
“When I look at an increase like this, it is a daunting task to go in public and ask that,” board chair Keith Nelson said during Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting at the St. Louis County Courthouse, adding that he fully supported it. He credited finance and budget chair Annie Harala, of Duluth, for her leadership on the project.
According to the county, a home valued at $400,000 will see a $10 decrease in the county portion of its property taxes compared to last year. Commercial properties are expected to see minimal impact. In Duluth, the county’s portion of the property tax bill is the highest. Forty-one percent of what residents pay goes to the county, while 27% goes to the city and a similar amount to the school district.
By law, counties in Minnesota must set a maximum property tax levy by the end of September. The amount can lower but it cannot increase as commissioners hone next year’s budget — which commissioners are expected to vote on Dec. 17. Meetings for public input on the levy and budget are at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at the St. Louis County Courthouse in Virginia and Nov. 25 at the courthouse in Duluth. The latter meeting will stream live on Facebook.
Minnesota National Guard personnel in active duty status still have to report to work to maintain military operations, but part-time members and their units will not conduct previously scheduled training, drills or exercises during the shutdown.
More than 300 corrections officers at four federal prisons across Minnesota will be working without pay. Minnesota’s four federal district court offices would also operate as usual.
While most government benefits will continue, things like benefit verification letters, updates to earnings records and replacement of Medicare cards will have to wait until the government reopens.
The state’s one national park — Voyageurs in northern Minnesota — along with several national monuments and other sites could temporarily lose staff, but closures are decided on a case-by-case basis. The same applies to national forests, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, as well as other federal lands, including national wildlife refuges.
About a year ago, Congress narrowly averted a shutdown during a spending standoff in the House. The last time government spending lapsed and there was a partial shutdown was in December 2018 over disagreements about funding Trump’s wall on the border with Mexico.
That partial shutdown last 34 days, the longest on record, but it didn’t affect the entire government because Congress had already passed some spending bills.
Star Tribune
Trump’s words of opposition stop a bipartisan budget deal in its tracks with Musk’s help
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” he wrote. He also called it ‘’one of the worst bills ever written.‘’
Sometimes Musk amplified false claims, such as the idea that the legislation included $3 billion for a new football stadium in Washington. In reality, the legislation would transfer ownership of the land from the federal government to the city, paving the way for eventual development.
Musk appeared emboldened by the experience.
‘‘The voice of the people was heard,‘’ Musk wrote. ‘’This was a good day for America.”
Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said the fallout would be Republicans’ fault.
‘‘You break the bipartisan agreement, you own the consequences that follow,” he wrote on X.
A man arrested in Dakota County who exhibited “seizure-like symptoms” during jail intake died days later, according to court records and the Sheriff’s Office.
Kingsley Fifi Bimpong, 50, of Cottage Grove, was taken to the jail in Hastings on Nov. 19 on suspicision of drunken driving in Eagan, a search warrant affidavit made public Wednesday disclosed.
Sheriff Joe Leko said Thursday that Bimpong “was incoherent, and his condition deteriorated. … We rushed him to the hospital as soon as we could see that it wasn’t good.”
Leko suggested that Bimpong might have actually been affected more by whatever medical difficulty he was having at the time, rather than being intoxicated.
The sheriff said Bimpong died a few days later, and “we’re waiting on the medical examiner’s report” for a determination of what led to the death.
An affidavit was filed by Washington County Sheriff’s Office seeking permission to collect Bimpong’s medical records that might shed light on his death. The neighboring Sheriff’s Office is heading the investigation in order to avoid a conflict of interest, Leko said.
According to the affidavit:
At the jail, Bimpong was unable to complete the booking process and “was eventually noticed by correction officers as having seizure-like symptoms while in the intake waiting area.”
