Star Tribune
Divided Anoka County Board approves nearly 17% tax levy hike
After months of tense debate, a split Anoka County Board on Tuesday approved a nearly 17% property tax levy increase, the highest hike in recent history, as officials work to close a projected $40 million budget deficit.
In a meeting that became heated at times, with some commissioners calling for civility and an end to dysfunction, the board voted 4-3 to raise the levy by 16.9%. As a result, the owner of a median $327,000 home can expect to see a $116 bump in property taxes next year.
“It pains me. It sickens me that we have the levy in front of us that we do,” said Commissioner Julie Jeppson, who voted in favor of the budget. “Hearing from constituents is gut-wrenching.
“I don’t want to do this, but I have to do this.”
It’s an unusual move for Anoka County, which in recent years had kept its property tax levy relatively flat while others across the metro steadily raised taxes. While divided on the steep increase for next year, commissioners agreed those past decisions created an unsustainable budget, where the county drew down its reserves and failed to fully staff departments.
A municipality setting a higher levy doesn’t mean every homeowner’s taxes will go up by the same amount. Several factors, such as changes to the tax base and assessment trends, determine each property owner’s share of the tax burden.
On Monday night, about 40 residents filed into an Anoka County Board meeting to voice concerns about making ends meet amid rising costs and inflation on top of the tax increase.
The family of 6-year-old Eli Hart, who was shot and killed by his mother in 2022, on Wednesday reached a $2.25 million wrongful death settlement with Dakota County.
The lawsuit, which was filed three months after Eli’s death, accused the county’s Social Services department of gross and willful negligence when it returned Eli to the custody of his mother, Julissa Thaler.
“It is definitely a bit of a relief just to have some resolution to this very long case,” said Josephine Josephson, Eli’s stepmother. “It’s a lot of stress to have an ongoing case with a delicate subject.
“I think Dakota County, obviously, they agreed to our settlement without taking any faults. But I think that they truly know that something did go wrong and that they should make corrective actions.”
The settlement stipulates that $1.2 million be paid to Eli’s father, Tory Hart. Three of the boy’s grandparents will receive $25,000 each. The balance of the settlement will cover attorney fees and other costs.
In the years since Eli’s death, his family has created the Eli Hart Foundation. Josephson said Wednesday that the settlement will help the organization establish a scholarship fund and create a legal assistance service for parents who don’t have the means to fight for custody of their children.
“It’s a scary place to be,” Josephson said.
At least 100 University of Minnesota students living in Comstock Hall had no heat in their dorm rooms this week as temperatures dipped below freezing.
Officials say the issue was expected to be resolved by Wednesday night. About two-thirds of the dorm rooms in Minneapolis on the East Bank were fixed by mid-afternoon.
University officials said about 100 out of the hall’s 356 total rooms were affected by the lack of heat, first reported by FOX 9. Last week, maintenance began receiving a higher-than-normal number of requests to fix heating in dorm rooms, though some reports had been made earlier, said Susan Stubblefield, the U’s director of housing and residential life.
“Due to the nature of the heating system in the building, the scope of the problem was not known until reported by residents in each individual room,” Stubblefield said.
A warm fall season and having students leave for the holiday break meant the “full impact of the issue was unknown until the temperatures dipped in recent days,” she said.
Mechanics began working extended hours, including over the Thanksgiving weekend, to make repairs, Stubblefield said.
Air pockets had entered the heating system when maintenance was conducted during the system’s transition from cooling to heating, and that affects the system’s efficiency. The pockets affected some units more than others, Stubblefield said.
To fix things and regain full efficiency, maintenance staff has to clear out the air pockets from the fan coil unit in each individual room. Students were given electric space heaters until maintenance could get to their rooms, Stubblefield said. It’s possible some additional rooms could be affected.
DULUTH – With freshly selected jurors waiting nearby for the start of an expected days-long trial, a Duluth man facing criminal sexual conduct charges took a last-minute plea deal instead of facing the women he abused when they were children.
Clint Franklin Massie, 49, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning at the St. Louis County Courthouse to the four counts from incidents dating back to 2008-09 when two of his victims were young girls. The deal dismissed one of the counts against him. His sentencing is scheduled for March 20, and he could end up with more than nine years in prison. Massie, who was initially charged in February 2023 and has been out on $300,000 bail, was released until his sentencing.
In each case, the victim was known to Massie — whether they were related or through their shared membership at Old Apostolic Lutheran Church. He was friends with their parents and regarded as a fun, child-free uncle, according to reports from the investigation.
Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Michael Ryan told the court that the victims were satisfied with the deal.
“They have been involved in talking this through,” he said to Judge Dale Harris.
After Massie pleaded guilty, would-be witnesses and their supporters filed into the courtroom filling rows. Massie, dressed in a dark suit coat and khaki pants, turned to look. Ryan questioned him on the victims’ accusations — four specific scenarios where he had touched girls: during a sleepover at his house, when alone on a tractor, or beneath a blanket while others were in the room.
Massie said in court there were a lot of big gatherings and shared meals within this the group. It wasn’t unusual for one of the many children to sit on his lap.
At times Massie paused and said he couldn’t remember exact details or motives. At other times he deferred to what he told investigating officers last year. In each instance he ultimately agreed with the scenario presented by the prosecution.
