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Minnesota legislators work on spending details, deals for key reforms

Minnesotans anxiously await rent help as a fraction of federal aid has gone out Minn. program seen as model but start date is behind national average.  May 26, 2021 — 6:10pm Text size Copy shortlink: It's been a stressful week and a half since Nicole LaFavor-Bostwick applied for state help covering $5,000 in rent and utilities payments she owes on her Hastings home. Every day matters to LaFavor-Bostwick, who fears her landlord will kick her out in early June if she doesn't get the money — despite a state ban on such evictions. ...

Legislators still debating 'dollar amounts' in last days of session Jessie Van Berkel, Stephen Montemayor, Star Tribune © Star Tribune/Star Tribune/Leila Navidi, Star Tribune/Star Tribune/TNS Gov. Tim Walz talked to children on the playground at the Wilder Child Development Center in St. Paul after holding a news conference there on Monday, May 10. Gov. Tim Walz marked the final stretch of end-of-session budget talks Monday by lamenting how far apart legislative leaders remained and how little time is left to strike an accord. Leaders have yet to agree on big picture budget...

Copy shortlink: Minnesota's divided Legislature blew past a self-imposed deadline on Friday to agree to big picture numbers in the debate over the state's two-year budget, dimming prospects that they will finish their work on time. Leaders had hoped to agree on spending targets in areas such as education, health and human services and public safety by Friday to guide the work of conference committees, which have been hashing out differences between House and Senate budget bills. With COVID-19 staffing restrictions, failing to meet the Friday deadline makes things "very...

Editorial Roundup: Minnesota Minneapolis Star Tribune. May 3, 2021. Editorial: Criminal justice fees in Minnesota pose an unfair burden A just system needs proportionality, and the state places too large a burden on poorest residents. Fines, fees and mandatory surcharges can turn even a minor parking or traffic ticket into a costly affair that can quickly spiral out of control. A story in Sunday’s Star Tribune by Jessie Van Berkel details how a $30 ticket for expired license tabs can quickly mushroom to $130, thanks to a hefty “state surcharge” that eclipses the cost of the ticket its...