Star Tribune
Student driver sends SUV nose-first into Twin Cities license center
It didn’t take long for someone to realize that passing the driving test was not going to happen.
A driver taking a road test midday Wednesday at the Chaska License Center sent the SUV front-end first into the building while trying to park, police said.
The driver mistook the gas pedal for the brake and struck two other vehicles before hitting the building, according to police.
No one was injured, police said, and that includes the employee who took the day off and was not at the desk on the other side of the damaged wall at the center on Pine Street.
Police confirmed the obvious: the driver failed and will have to try again another time.
Who was the driver? Police did a good job of showing empathy and kept the name out of its statement and also blotted out the license plate of the vehicle in the photo they posted on social media.
The humorous aspect of this oops moment aside, “we’re here to remind you that these unexpected turn of events highlight the importance of treating the privilege to drive with care,” the police statement read. “Vehicles are powerful machines that come with significant responsibility, and we ask that every driver — whether seasoned or still learning — gives driving the diligence and respect it deserves.”
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Trump’s new demands for a debt limit increase are ”premature.”
”This reckless Republican driven shutdown can be avoided,” Jeffries said. Republicans should ”simply do what is right for the American people and stick with the bipartisan agreement that they themselves negotiated.”
While Democrats have floated their own ideas in the past for lifting, or even doing away with the debt limit caps that have created some of the toughest debates in Congress, they appear to be in no bargaining mood to save Johnson from Trump — even before the president-elect is sworn into office.
”Here we are once again in chaos,” said House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, who detailed the harm a government shutdown would cause Americans. ”And what for? Because Elon Musk, an unelected man, said, ‘We’re not doing this deal, and Donald Trump followed along.”’
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget had provided initial communication to agencies about lapse planning last week, according to an official at the agency.
Late Wednesday, the Republicans floated a new idea for a scaled-back bill that would simply keep the government running and provide the disaster assistance to hurricane ravaged regions.
“MCPA had two totally contrary orders, one to follow federal law, and one from the Legislature to not follow federal law, and they got caught in that trap,” said Hudston Kingston, the legal director of CURE. “Luckily, the EPA is not bound by state law.”
The documents Kingston received from the case end in August. It’s unclear what has happened in EPA’s enforcement case since then.
EPA Region 5 spokeswoman Macy Pressley said the case was still active, but did not answer a list of detailed questions.
Separately, U.S. Steel is arguing in court that it should receive a legal exception to the rule it’s accused of violating.
The standard is allowed in law, but the company has to prove the change won’t harm the rice. In April, MPCA said U.S. Steel had not met that bar and denied the request. The company appealed the decision.
Sen. Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, sponsored this bill after she had to pay $500 for a wig because insurance didn’t cover it after she was diagnosed with cancer and began chemotherapy.
“I want to make sure that others who don’t have the resources can get a wig,” Dziedzich said in May. “Research shows that losing hair related to cancer has a negative impact on quality of life. Loss of self-esteem. Do you wear a cap, do you wear a scarf, what do you do?”
Landlords are now prohibited from retaliating against residents who want to establish a tenants’ rights association. Property owners must also keep common areas “reasonably maintained” and the law requires landlords to notify tenants about energy assistance programs for low-income families and individuals by Sept. 30 of each year.
Landlords must now offer alternative housing, or the right to end a lease, if construction delays on new buildings prevent tenants from moving into their units.
