>>MN Chamber of Commerce Calls for State Tax Code Changes
(St. Paul, MN) – The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce says the state’s 17-billion-dollar budget surplus is an opportunity to update the state’s tax code to make Minnesota more attractive to businesses. Chamber President Doug Loon says Minnesota income taxes are the sixth-highest in the country, affecting many small business owners. He says Minnesota is number two in the country – second only to New Jersey — in corporate taxes. Governor Tim Walz says he will not be proposing a tax cut for the wealthiest Minnesotans. Business advocates respond that a better tax climate will encourage investment and keep Minnesota’s economy strong.
>>Video Shows Apparent Exchange of Gunfire Between St. Paul Officer, Suspect
(St. Paul, MN) — The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says surveillance video appears to show an exchange of gunfire between an officer and a man killed during a Monday night encounter in Saint Paul. Investigators say police had formed a perimeter after getting a report of a domestic assault by an armed man. They say a woman left the business, got into her car, and told officers as she started to pull away, 24-year-old Howard Johnson pointed a gun at her. The video shows a squad car striking Johnson and pushing him to the ground. Johnson then gets up, and that’s when the video shows an apparent exchange of gunfire during which he was hit. Johnson is Black and his family is demanding answers.
>>Moorhead Murder Victim’s Vehicle Found in Wahpeton, ND
(Wahpeton, ND) — The vehicle of a Moorhead murder victim has been located at a manufacturing plant in Wahpeton (WAH-puh-tun), North Dakota, and will be taken to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Investigators say 25-year-old James Kollie stabbed his mother, 56-year-old Receia Kollie multiple times, then took her 2016 Honda Pilot. The mother’s body was found in her Moorhead home Thursday and her son was arrested Friday night in Wahpeton. Anyone who might have seen the suspect between last Tuesday and Friday should call the Red River Regional Dispatch Center.
>>Rochester Police Investigate 3rd Possible Fatal Overdose in Apartment
(Rochester, MN) — Police are investigating the third death at an apartment in southeast Rochester — this time the resident — where last week the bodies of a 58-year-old man and 54-year-old woman were found, who the tenant said he let stay overnight to get them out of the cold. A police captain says investigators suspect drug overdoses in all three deaths. The tenant’s body was found after a social worker asked the landlord to check, after not hearing from the 58-year-old man for an extended time. Police said last week that foul play was not suspected in the deaths of the other two people.
>>Major Winter Storm Could Hit Minnesota Next Week
(Chanhassen, MN) — Minnesota could get hit by a major winter storm early next week. National Weather Service meteorologist Tyler Hasenstein says the exact track of the system is uncertain, but one model suggests big snow across the state. He says that the forecast indicates at least three to four inches and up to double-digit snowfall. Hasenstein says it’s a pretty safe bet Minnesota will receive some precipitation on Tuesday and Wednesday. He says the big question mark is the form and severity.
>>Wildcat Sanctuary Cheers Passage of Big Cat Public Safety Act
(Sandstone, MN) — The Big Cat Public Safety Act is awaiting President Biden’s signature after unanimous passage in the U-S Senate. Tammy Thies from The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone says they’ve been working on this bill for more than a decade. She says it will make it illegal for anybody in America to have a big cat as a pet moving forward. Thies says it addresses the so-called “big cat” crisis of people buying, breeding, and selling lion and tiger cubs as pets. The Wildcat Sanctuary rescued four animals from the “Tiger King” park on the Netflix series.