Star Tribune
Rochester MN voters to weigh in on $19.4 million school referendum
The request marks the second straight year that the district has put a referendum on the ballot. Last year’s request for a $10.1 million technology levy failed by 318 votes, prompting Mayo Clinic to step in and make a onetime donation of $10 million to the district.
The district, the seventh-largest in the state with 17,300 students, says this year’s operating referendum is needed to maintain a variety of programs and positions, including those supporting students struggling academically, accelerated learning opportunities, vocational training and mental health services.
If the referendum fails, the district has said it will need to make at least $16.7 million in cuts to next year’s budget, including the closure of three elementary schools. Class sizes would also go up by three students across the board, the district said. Popular programs, including field trips to Mayo High School’s planetarium and Quarry Hill Nature Center, could also be on the chopping block.
The district estimates the 10-year referendum would raise taxes on a $350,000 home by $29 a month. Because of changes made by the Legislature in 2023, the district would have the ability to extend the levy for another decade without voter approval, something it has already done with a 2015 voter-approved levy.
Among the groups that have come out in support of the referendum are the Rochester branch of the NAACP and the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber said the referendum is needed to “ensure that Rochester remains competitive as a community.”
Walz made his final campaign swing Monday in the critical “Blue Wall” states of Wisconsin and Michigan, and he was set to visit Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning before heading to Washington, D.C., for the campaign’s election-night party at Howard University.
The governor reflected on his whirlwind journey as the gravity of the moment sunk in on Monday. The Democrat who grew up in rural Nebraska and was first elected to public office just 18 years ago could soon find himself in the White House.
“How amazing is it that a kid from Butte, Neb., and a kid from Oakland, Calif. — middle-class kids, her with a single mom trying to buy a home, me with a dad who dies when I’m a teenager and my little brother’s in elementary school, my mom’s a stay-at-home mom — but because of what this country has given us and the opportunities, we are going to be the next president and vice president of the United States,” Walz said.
A Harris-Walz victory in Tuesday’s general election would be historically significant nationally and in Minnesota. Harris would be the first woman elected as president of the United States. And the elevation of Walz would make way for Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to become Minnesota’s first female and first Native American governor.
A man shot in one part of St. Paul turned up dead in a vehicle near the State Capitol soon afterward, officials said Tuesday.
Police were called about 7:30 p.m. to the 500 block of Front Avenue in the city’s North End by a man who reported being assaulted while in a vehicle, a statement from police read.
The caller added that he shot a man who was assaulting him and may have wounded him, the statement continued. Police said that the man got in a red vehicle and left.
A brief time later, the vehicle crashed about 2 miles away at the intersection of E. 12th and Cedar Streets, just south of the Capitol, according to police.
“An adult male with a gunshot injury was located inside of the red vehicle,” the statement read. “He was unconscious and not breathing.”
Police said passersby assisted officers in tending to the man and Fire Department medics soon arrived, but the man was declared dead at the scene. Officials have yet to release his identity.
The original caller has spoken to homicide investigators “as they are currently working to determine what led to the shooting,” the police statement noted.
There have been 27 homicides in St. Paul so far this year, according to a Star Tribune database. There were 28 homicides in the city at this time last year.
Badel vs. Lunde
In District 1, Gulled Ahmed Badel is running against incumbent Jeffrey Lunde for a seat representing the northeastern corner of Hennepin County, including Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, New Hope, Osseo and Robbinsdale.
Badel is based in Brooklyn Center, according to his candidate filing. Information beyond that isn’t readily available online.
Lunde, who was Brooklyn Park’s mayor for 10 years, wants to increase support for veterans facing homelessness, create a team of advocates for crime victims and expand services for students who fell behind during the pandemic, his website states.
Beck vs. Goettel
In District 5, Jeffrey A. Beck is challenging incumbent Debbie Goettel in the district that includes Bloomington, south Eden Prairie, Richfield and part of southwest Minneapolis.
Beck, who ran unsuccessfully for County Board in 2004 and 2014, said at a candidate forum that housing stability is his top priority. He added that he wants to build thousands of low-income units across the county’s southern portion.
Goettel’s priorities include scoring funding to repair infrastructure, supporting small businesses and expanding transit options, her website states. She served as Richfield mayor before joining the County Board in 2016.
