Good morning, and look, we made it to Wednesday. 

Minnesota tax rebates should be arriving soon. MPR’s Brian Bakst reports  that more than $1.1 billion will make its way from state government coffers to the bank accounts or mailboxes of qualifying Minnesotans starting this week.  The first wave of payments will be direct deposits – $260 per person and up to $1,300 for a household – and paper checks in the mail will follow for those who haven’t supplied bank information to the state previously. The Revenue Department expects nearly 2.1 million rebate payments to be distributed by the end of September. The Legislature carved the one-time rebates out of a projected $17.6 billion budget surplus, opting for smaller payments than DFL Gov. Tim Walz recommended and campaigned on. Not all taxpayers will get money from the program. Rebates were reserved for married filers with an adjusted gross income below $150,000 in 2021 or single filers beneath $75,000. Earnings even one dollar above the thresholds are disqualifying. Republicans say the rebates are too small. Walz will have more to say about the payments later today. 

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Tuesday outlined a proposed $1.8 billion city budget for next year, which includes a 6.2 percent hike in the property tax levy. MPR’s Jon Collins reports that among the funding priorities are $10 million for the city’s climate initiative, $18 million for the affordable housing trust and $16 million to cover costs associated with court-enforced agreements over the Minneapolis Police Department. The items in the budget prove that the city is on the rebound, Frey said. “Not only does this budget keep promises, it lays out generational investments in the city we love. It lays out a plan for the future. Making these investments and standing by them for the long haul will take courage, but the ideals set in this budget are more than just courageous, they’re realistic,” Frey said. The Minneapolis City Council will start work on amending the mayor's plan next month and will take a final vote in December. 

Uber and Lyft say they’ll stop doing business in Minneapolis if the city enacts an ordinance that gives drivers more protections and higher pay. MPR's Jon Collins reports: Rideshare drivers have been pressing the city council to pass legislation that would set a minimum compensation for drivers and create a process for them to appeal deactivations. The push at the city level comes a few months after Gov. Tim Walz vetoed a similar bill that passed both houses of the state Legislature.  In an email to the Minneapolis City Council, a Lyft official said the city ordinance would make fares too high. Uber asked customers to contact the council and mayor and tell them to reject the measure. Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement to MPR News that more information is needed about the ordinance, and that he'll continue to talk to stakeholders before he makes a final decision. The council is scheduled to take up the ordinance on Thursday.

The Duluth City Council has voted to ban smoking marijuana in all city parks, including the popular Lakewalk pedestrian path along Lake Superior, Bayfront Festival Park and Spirit Mountain. MPR’s Dan Kraker reports the ordinance that passed Monday also bans vaping marijuana, and extends a ban on smoking tobacco to all city parks. It previously was only forbidden in select parks. Consuming cannabis in other forms, such as gummies, is still allowed. Duluth is one of several cities around Minnesota to consider bans on smoking cannabis in parks and other public places, including Lakeville and Alexandria. The state law legalizing cannabis allows it in private residences, but left it up to cities to decide whether to ban its use in public spaces. “I want to protect clean air for folks in our public spaces and our parks,” said Duluth City Council Vice President Roz Randorf. She co-sponsored the ordinance, which passed 8-1.

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar will face at least one challenger in her effort to secure the DFL nomination to a fourth term next year. The Star Tribune reports: Sarah Gad, 36, filed with the Federal Election Commission last month. Gad's campaign website was not operational Tuesday morning, but her entry into the race marks the start of what could be another busy election cycle for Omar, who narrowly overcame a primary challenge last year on her way to winning a third term representing the deep blue Fifth District. "If I was thrilled with what Ilhan Omar was doing, I would not be running for Congress," said Gad, a Minnesota native who is Muslim. She said that her parents are immigrants from Egypt, and that she earned her license to practice law in Minnesota last summer. Other DFL contenders could also challenge Omar, the first Somali American and one of the first two Muslim women ever elected to Congress. But unseating an incumbent is a difficult task. After overcoming other DFL challengers in her last two elections, Omar has shown an ability to win her seat despite well-financed challengers.