Bet On It: MN First State to Ban Prediction Markets

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.

Who Could Have Predicted This

I have previously railed against sports betting—and the prediction markets that made the practice de facto legal in Minnesota—in the virtual pages of this very publication. So I am pleasantly surprised and delighted to bring you the news that Minnesota just became the first state to ban prediction markets; Gov. Tim Walz signed the bill into law Monday.

That means websites like Kalshi and Polymarket, which allow users to gamble on just about anything, no matter how horrible or what the geopolitical implications, will have to leave the state or face possible felony charges, per NPR.

"We as a state should decide how best and what regulations we think should attach to gambling, to protect public safety, to protect our kids," says Minnesota Rep. Emma Greenman (DFL-Minneapolis), who introduced the measure.

Seven other states have introduced bills that crack down on prediction markets, and Hawaii and North Carolina have pending bills that would ban the industry statewide. And (note to self) don't get all high and mighty too fast; the Trump administration has of course sued to block Minnesota's new law.

On a semi-related note, here's a schadenfreude-inspiring recent headline from Futurism: "If You Used Insider Knowledge to Score Big on Polymarket, You May Now Be in Huge Trouble." Insert Bill Hader "ohhhh, that's terrrrrrrible" meme here. Noooo, we're bummmmed!

Cyber Attacks, Barfing… the Universe Does NOT Want This Guys and Dolls Production to Happen

They're calling it "a double whammy of bad”: Chanhassen Dinner Theatres has been hit by the norovirus outbreak and a cyberattack within the last week, Rohan Preston reports for the Star Tribune.

The norovirus outbreak started Thursday evening, when one of the stars of the current production of Guys and Dolls became ill during a performance. "The scale of things became clear by Friday morning," Preston writes, with appropriate drama—Tamara Kangas Erickson, CDT's president and CEO, says cast members were "calling in left and right" to say they were sick.

And that's around the time Kangas Erickson & Co. learned that the theater had been the victim of a cyberattack, complete with ransom note. “Our computer systems and phone systems went down on Friday morning, so it was really hard for us to communicate with customers because we only had a couple of remote workstations outside of the building that were functioning,” Kangas Erickson says. As a result, the theater has canceled several performances.

Man, things going this comically off the rails for a local dinner theater? Sounds kind of like it could be the plot of a very fun musical...

Housing Prices, Growth Both Trending Down

Ever feel like you don't understand the housing market... at all? Among the housing-related headlines from Tuesday:

• Twin Cities home prices see sharpest decline in 14 years (Star Tribune)
• Home listings rose in Minnesota for April, but inventory remains low (MPR News)

The Strib's Jim Buchta writes that closings in the metro were down 3% last month from April of 2025. It's the sharpest decline in 14 years, he reports, with homebuyers "increasingly cautious" about "various headwinds." But then MPR's Elizabeth Shockman writes that "listings in the Twin Cities metropolitan area rose nearly 9% over the year ending in April," and "pending sales, where there is a signed purchase agreement, also spiked," up 7.4% statewide and 6.9% in the metro area during that same period.

(Both are citing the latest monthly report from Minnesota Realtors.)

So is the market... bad? Good? Fine? Something to worry about? One thing is for certain: There aren't enough houses out there.

“This has been the same story for many spring seasons … low inventory,” Michaela Toohey, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker, tells MPR. “I am really seeing that out there, working with clients, and I’m seeing it not just like with first-time or entry level buyers, but I’m seeing it at … all sorts of price points in the market."

Neat! Metro Transit Debuts New Lost and Found Lockers

If you're the type of transit rider who has a habit of leaving things on the seat when you go—books, keys, ID—Metro Transit has a cool new way to get those items back to ya. Simply fill out the transit agency's lost and found form or give them a call, and then pick up your stuff at this set of nifty lockers near Target Field.

Another win for the scatterbrains!