Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
Sounds Like a Lot of Horse Shit
Plenty of people are in need of help right now: federal workers who've been laid off in DOGE's rampant cuts, the families of folks who've been scooped up and dropped in deadly foreign prisons, trans people who are watching their rights get erased in real-time, anyone who relies on social security or Medicaid.
Minnesota Reps. Brad Tabke (DFL-Shakopee) and Ben Bakeberg (R-Jordan) can think of another group in need of government assistance: thoroughbred owners. Yes, if you can believe it, the Minnesota House Agriculture Committee just heard testimony on a bill co-authored by these two that would allocate $7 million over the next two years for a pilot program giving thoroughbred owners $750 every day one of their horses starts a race.
"Think of it as a taxpayer-funded participation trophy for the people rich enough to own a thoroughbred," writes Christopher Ingraham for the Minnesota Reformer, adding that some funds would support “mental health and education grants” for stable workers. Well, in that case!
Supporters say they need a bailout because horse racing is a dying industry, one that supports agricultural and related jobs in the state. (Tabke's district of course includes Canterbury Park, one of two racetracks in Minnesota.) On the other hand (other hoof?), thoroughbreds cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars up front, and thousands more to care for annually. We don't need to tell you that this is not, like, an everyman sport—you've seen the ostentatious hats at the Kentucky Derby. Surely these folks can pull themselves up by their own horse tack.
We'll give the last word to Ingraham: "Economists say trickle-down policies like tax cuts for the wealthy make the rich even richer but otherwise have little to no effect on the broader economy." Just something to think about!
Victims, Witnesses React to Nudieland Sentencing
On Monday, 18-year-old Dominic Burris was sentenced to 23 years in prison for his role in the Nudieland punk house shooting in which he shot and killed August Golden and wounded six others. Many of those who witnessed or were victims of that 2023 south Minneapolis mass shooting spoke out about their grief and their complex feelings regarding the sentencing, reports MPR's Matt Sepic.
“I believe this world and the systems we live under are the reason we are standing in this courtroom today," Golden's partner, Caitlin Angelica, told the court. "I believe this country breeds scarcity and scarcity breeds violence. I believe hurt people hurt people. In turn, I do not believe prison can do much good for the longevity of a human mind and body."
“I do not think that anyone is evil, even with the harm they cause if they stay on the right path for the future. I hope that past his incarceration, I can see his progress and maintain my forgiveness,” said Tonio Alarcon-Borges, who was shot in the torso and had a kidney removed.
Burris made a statement to the court, which he used to apologize to Golden’s loved ones. “I like to pray a lot," he said. "I like to pray for myself every night. I like to pray for August. I think about where he’s at, and I hope that he’s not in a bad place, but in a peaceful place."
Burris was 17 at the time of the attack but was prosecuted as an adult; he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree assault in exchange for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office agreement to drop five other assault counts.
Downtown Minneapolis Lands a New Food Hall
Have we reached peak food hall saturation? Not yet, apparently! Downtown Minneapolis will soon get one of its own, reports Caitlin Anderson for the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. The folks behind The Market at Malcolm Yards in Prospect Park are working with Hempel Real Estate to plan a 30,000-square-foot food hall in the ground floor of LaSalle Plaza. Mayor Jacob Frey, while linking to a sparsely populated illustrated rendering of the development earlier today, declared downtown "back."
Savvy food hall-goers will note that the space is located near two North Loop food halls: North Loop Galley (1.2 miles away) and the recently Travail-ified Graze (.8 miles away). This jointly owned Hempel/TMAMY hall would dwarf both, though, with 700 seats and plans to include 16 restaurant spaces, two bars, and a self-serve beer wall. They're also looking to include an event space, a play area for kiddos, a pickleball court, and shuffleboards. Phew! Construction is scheduled to begin later this year, with the hall opening by summer 2026.
Divorce and More for Sen. Eichorn
The Star Tribune's Elliot Hughes reports that following Minnesota state Sen. Justin Eichorn's March 17 arrest for attempting to solicit sex from a minor, his wife, Brittany M. Eichorn, filed for divorce Monday. The pair have four kids, according to Eichorn's Senate bio.
It's the cherry on top of a terrible week for the senator and "Trump Derangement" bill co-author, whose conditional release was also revoked Monday. Investigators say Eichorn worked with a woman described as a "close associate" to retrieve a computer and other items from a St. Paul apartment where he lived (alone) during legislative sessions. The FBI appears to have made it there first.
Here's the AP:
During their search, agents found a bag on the counter containing $1,000 in cash; a handgun and ammunition; a laptop computer; an SD memory card; an iPhone and several of Eichorn’s Senate business cards, prosecutors said. They said the iPhone appeared to have been reset to its factory settings, which can erase all content on the device. While they said the phone might have been reset before Eichorn’s arrest, the timing hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Eichorn is scheduled to appear in court next on March 26.
