Here's the latest news from across the state to start your day. ☕
WEATHER
🥶 We’re nearing the end of our latest cold snap. Temperatures will be back toward normal by Thursday, which is also our next chance at some light snow showers.
The Minneapolis City Council approved an agreement for additional court-ordered oversight of the city’s police department, this time by the federal government. The federal consent decree follows a similar state-level agreement already in effect, setting up Minneapolis to be the only city in the country with both state and federal oversight.
Due to a massive construction project in the Capitol’s shadow, Minnesota House members will be displaced throughout the session that starts next Tuesday. They’ll be working from cubicles down the street and will have to find other ways to hold private meetings with constituents and others trying to sway them.
NEWS ROUNDUP
🏛️ Minnesota session agendas start to emerge as power fight drags on, acrimony picks up. The session is due to begin next Tuesday with a shifted political power. Republicans are set to hold a one-vote advantage in the House and the Senate will be evenly split 33-33 with no tiebreaker.
🚨 Large fire destroys Minneapolis encampment. Minneapolis police assisted in evacuating residents. According to the fire department, about 20 people remained in the area when authorities cleared the encampment, but first responders weren’t sure exactly how many residents lived in the encampment.
🍪 Facing rising costs, a Minnesota home baker makes a career pivot. Maddie Gartmann, owner of Garty Goodies in the Twin Cities, started as a home baker and has grown her business into something else entirely.
🌿 Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management will get new interim director. Charlene Briner is stepping down. She’ll be replaced as interim director by Eric Taubel, who has served as the Office of Cannabis Management’s general counsel for the past year. The office is still awaiting a permanent director.
🏥 First bird flu death reported in the U.S., according to the CDC. The U.S. has recorded its first death of a person infected with bird flu. The patient was a resident of southwest Louisiana who was hospitalized last month with the first known severe case of bird flu in the country.
✅ Trump is certified as the 2024 election winner without challenge, in stark contrast to 2021 violence. Layers of tall black fencing flank the U.S. Capitol complex in a stark reminder of what happened four years ago, when a defeated Trump sent his mob to “fight like hell."
🎧 Co-buying homes: Why some friends are buying houses together. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with her guests about a new trend in home ownership — co-buying homes. With rising home prices and evolving ideas of shared ownership, more people are teaming up with friends and family to buy a house.
