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Hourly school workers can now apply for summer benefits
The change in state law is a first-of-is-kind in the country and can help workers who were long excluded from benefits if they’re laid off over the summer.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Over the past couple of years, there have been staffing shortages amongst several professions within school districts, including paraprofessionals, bus drivers and food service workers.
A new Minnesota law is trying to retain those workers by giving hourly school workers access to something most other workers already have — unemployment insurance if they can’t find temporary work in the summer.
“People have been working to get this exclusion, to end this exclusion, for decades,” said Rep. Emma Greenman (DFL-Minneapolis). “We’re just doing it now, but I think it’s been long overdue.”
For 80 years, those workers weren’t legally able to access what Rep. Greenman calls a “basic worker’s right.” The workforce is predominately made up of people of color, women and people over the age of 50.
“I think the legacy of this exclusion is really rooted in gendered and racist norms,” said Rep. Greenman.
The positions were also born at a time when unions didn’t exist, making it impossible to fight for protections. Hamline University political science professor David Schultz called the change historic.
“This is an enormously big deal for the workers and really for worker’s rights in Minnesota in terms of setting a precedent across the United States,” said Schultz. “What it really does here, is gives a group of workers, who are otherwise relatively powerless and unable to protect themselves over time, gives them more bargaining power.”
The change has been a decades-long fight, and while it brings unemployment insurance in line with how it covers other seasonal workers, it has also long faced criticism.
“What do you say to the critics who might say, and I’m summarizing, ‘You knew this was a nine-month job when you took it,'” asked KARE 11 reporter Jennifer Hoff.
“It’s actually not the way our economy and job market should run, but what we know is we want these folks to come back,” said Rep. Greenman. “They’ve left for other jobs, especially in this environment.”
The law gives workers a safety net and a reason to return to work when staffing shortages persist. At one point, Anoka-Hennepin, the state’s largest district, was down some 75 paraprofessionals. The bus company, First Student, needed 200 drivers, and when food service workers in Hastings went on strike to fight for higher wages, sometimes students served lunch instead.
“This is really about that economic security to make sure you can pay your bills and feed your families if that job falls through or you don’t get those hours,” said Rep. Greenman.
But critics question how this mandate will be sustainable. Those in favor say, after the program is enacted, they’ll have a better idea of its long-term cost.
The law will start by setting aside $135 million to pay for these benefits beginning this summer. That could impact about 70,000 people, but Rep. Greenman thinks only 30% would apply.
You still have to qualify and in part, be actively looking for additional employment. For answers to more questions regarding eligibility, click here.
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With a 17-member jury finally seated after an arduous selection process, the prosecution and defense on Thursday took the first step in building their cases.
MANKATO, Minn. — With an arduous jury selection process finally in the rearview mirror, both prosecutors and the defense began laying out their cases Thursday in the murder trial of Adam Fravel.
Fravel is charged with four felony counts – first-degree murder, first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree intentional murder, and second-degree unintentional murder while committing a felony offense – in the death of 26-year-old Maddi Kingsbury, his live-in partner and mother of Favel’s two children.
Kingsbury was last seen dropping her young son and daughter off at daycare in Winona the morning of March 31, 2023. She was reported missing by family and friends later that day. Maddi’s decomposing remains were found south of Winona 68 days later. The medical examiner eventually concluded she died of homicidal violence, likely asphyxiation.
Opening statements began shortly after 9 a.m. in Blue Earth County District Court, chosen as the venue after Judge Nancy Buytendorp ruled Fravel’s trial should be moved from Winona County due to extensive pre-trial publicity.
The state was the first to address the jury panel, with prosecutor Phil Prokopowicz immediately painting a picture of Maddi as a successful career woman and mother who had become increasingly frustrated with Fravel and his inability to contribute as their seven-year relationship crumbled.
Prokopowicz told jurors that Kingsbury had met a man, Spencer Sullivan, on a dating app and as their relationship grew Maddi decided to end her partnership with Fravel. Kingsbury contacted her landlord and said she was terminating the least, and that she had found a townhouse where she and the children would live.
The state also laid out a list of electronic and video evidence it says proves Fravel killed Maddi and engaged in an elaborate coverup, also indicating there will be testimony on alleged abuse in the relationship.
Fravel’s defense team began its opening statement with a geography lesson of sorts, with attorney Zach Bauer naming Winona and the small communities of Rushford, Choice, Mable, and the highways and county roads that run through them. Bauer asked jurors to think about the locations as they listen to testimony and absorb the evidence presented in Fravel’s trial.
The defense then began painting its own picture of the relationship between Fravel and Kingsbury, saying like many couples they had disagreements and there were times Maddi would move out the home and other times when Fravel would go home to stay with his parents.
Unlike prosecutors – who said Kingsbury’s relationship with Spencer Sullivan was getting deeper – the defense told jurors about texts from Maddi to her sister saying she was going to marry Adam Fravel. Ultimately, Bauer told the court, Kingsbury and Fravel agreed to separate but were doing so in a cooperative and planned manner.
Bauer told jurors that Fravel cooperated with police after Kingsbury disappeared, saying his defense team would show that investigators ignored evidence and facts that suggested his innocence. He indicated they will challenge the prosecution’s version of how and where the body was found, and who may have had access to the remote site not far from Mabel.
The defense also said they will call a neighbor who will testify they never heard any fighting or signs of discord in the relationship between Kingsbury and Fravel.
The 16-year-old girl was last seen in September in north Minneapolis.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help to find a missing teenage girl.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) shared Thursday on X that 16-year-old Tivona Cardenas was last seen in late September in north Minneapolis.
Cardenas is 5 feet 2 inches and 108 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, according to the Minnesota BCA.
If you have any information on the teen’s whereabouts, call 911.
St. Paul’s Harriet Island will host the event Sunday to raise money for colon cancer awareness and screenings.
ST PAUL, Minn. — St. Paul’s Harriet Island will host runners, walkers and supporters on Sunday for the 20th annual Get Your Rear in Gear event.
The fundraiser boosts money and awareness for colon cancer and the importance of screening for it. Attendees can enjoy music, snacks, a giant inflatable colon, timed 10K and 5K races, untimed 5K and one-mile memory walk and a Kids’ Fun Run.
Chris Evans, the president of the Colon Cancer Coalition, and William Pierce, a caregiver who lost his mom to colorectal cancer, visited KARE 11 News at Noon to share more about the event and the importance of screening.
According to the American Cancer Society, about 2,550 Minnesota residents will be diagnosed and 830 could lose their life to colon cancer in 2024.
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