>>School Safety Bill Gets Hearing in Minnesota House
(St. Paul, MN) — For the first time in 13 years, the funding Minnesota spends on school safety expenses could increase if a new bill passes. The proposal would increase safe school revenue from $36 per pupil to $100 per pupil for fiscal year 2027. Safe school revenue is primarily spent on school resource officers but can also be used for security, drug abuse and gang resistance programs, counseling, and chemical dependency services. The bill was laid over by the House Education committee.
>>Senate Committee Hears Infertility Treatment Legislation
(St. Paul, MN) — Infertility treatments could soon be required to be covered by insurance companies in Minnesota. A bill paving the way has cleared the first hurdle in the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, but there was opposition. Maggee Hangee with the Minnesota Catholic Conference told senators, “We should not be using taxpayer dollars to coerce people including religious employers into paying for a practice that is not good medicine or sound ethics.” Bill author Senator Erin Maye Quade of Apple Valley said, “This is something that is affecting our generations tremendously. There are so many life goals that we are not able to achieve for myriad of reasons. One of them is we want to start families and we can’t afford to.” The bill passed on a 6-5 vote and is now headed to the Senate Health and Huiman Services Committee for further debate.
>>Mental Health Advocates Warn Withholding Medicaid Funds Could Impact Services
(St. Paul, MN) — Mental-health advocates warn that more than $240 million in withheld Medicaid funding could have a devastating impact across Minnesota. NAMI Minnesota executive director Marcus Schmit says Medicaid is essential for tens of thousands of children and adults who rely on school-linked services, community-based treatment, and crisis care. He says Medicaid is the single largest funder of mental-health services in Minnesota and withholding funds would result in the loss of care, and they believe the loss of lives. The Trump Administration says the funds are being held back because of how Minnesota has handled fraud. Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a lawsuit to block the cuts.
>>Push for Passenger Rail Line from Twin Cities to Kansas City
(St. Paul, MN) — There’s a push at the state legislature this year for a new passenger rail line along the I-35 corridor. Brian Nelson of All Aboard Minnesota says there are bills in the House and Senate that would direct MnDOT to apply for another state-run corridor passenger train between the Twin Cities and Kansas City. Nelson says that would begin studies of the economic impact, cost to run, ridership projections, and scheduling. He says the Missouri D-O-T and Iowa D-O-T support the proposal. The Amtrak Borealis between St. Paul and Chicago received federal matching funds.
>>Little Falls Man Convicted of Killing 14-Month-Old Girl
(Little Falls, MN) — A Little Falls man will be sentenced May 7th for the killing of a toddler he was caring for in July of 2023. A Morrison County jury found 42-year-old Erik Blanco guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter in the death of 14-month-old Riverlynn VanNorman. First responders found the girl unresponsive and not breathing with bruising to her face and marks on her neck and her ears. She died in the hospital, and the medical examiner determined her injuries were consistent with homicidal violence. Blanco was arrested in September 2023.
>>Valleyfair and 6 Other Parks Sold by Six Flags
(Shakopee, MN) — Valleyfair amusement park in Shakopee and six other parks are under new ownership. Six Flags announced that it sold all seven parks to real estate investment fire E-P-R properties for more than 340 million dollars. E-P-R plans to partner with Enchanted Parks to operate Valleyfair. All current employees are expected to stay on with the new operator.
>>Wolves Top Raptors for 5th Straight Win
(Minneapolis, MN) — The Timberwolves topped the Raptors 115-107 at Target Center last night for their fifth straight win. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 22 points, Rudy Gobert had 18 and 12 rebounds, Julius Randle added 17 points, and Donte Di Vincenzo scored 16. The 40-23 Wolves made 13 three-pointers. The Orlando Magic come to Target Center Saturday afternoon.
>>Boys State High School Hockey Semifinals in St. Paul
(St. Paul, MN) — The semifinals of the Boys State High School Hockey Tournament are being played today (Fri) at Grand Casino Arena. In the Class 2-A quarterfinals Thursday, Minnetonka shut out Gentry Academy 5-0, Rosemount topped Grand Rapids 3-2 in overtime, Moorhead beat Lakeville South 4-1, and Edina skated past Andover 3-1. Minnetonka and Rosemount face off in the first 2-A semifinal tonight(Fri 6pm), and Moorhead takes on Edina in the late game. The 1-A semifinals feature Hibbing-Chisholm against Mahtomedi at 11 a.m. and Delano vs. Warroad in the afternoon game (1pm).
