Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily midday digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
DFL: Why Let People Know We’re Helping Them?
Gov. Tim Walz’s plan to send $500 “Walz checks” to Minnesotans has been denounced a shameless bid to buy votes. To which we reply, duh, it’s an election year, welcome to politics, you wide-eyed dreamers. But the governor’s fellow Democrats in the Minnesota legislature have other plans for the state’s excess riches, the Minnesota Reformer reports. “We’re going to do something that is targeted and significant to really make a difference,” said Paul Marquart, the chair of the House Taxes Committee chair. The Democrats, who have never met a tweak to the tax code they didn’t love, are proposing a tax credit of $325 for each child 16 or younger for single parents earning up to $70,000 and married parents up to $140,000. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s probably more socially responsible in the long run, I know, I know. But what about us childless yet struggling small business owners?
Now Here’s Something We Hope You Really Like: More Moose!
Even if they are terrible magicians, you can never have too many moose. (Well, you probably can, but we’re not really in any danger of being overrun by moose in Minnesota right now, so chill.) Anyway, it’s good to hear that for the 11th consecutive year, moose counts in Minnesota are stable, and calves account for nearly of a fifth of those critters, the highest percentage since 2005, according to the DNR. Don’t get too complacent: We’re still far from Peak Moose. The DNR estimates that we have little more than half as many as we had in 2006. What’s killing the moose? Parasites, infections, wolves, and bears. But moose seem to be on the upswing, and whether you’re a moose yourself or just fan, more moose is good news. (Just pretend that rhymes.)
Mystery Trunk Delivered to Family Member
You ever discover a military steamer trunk filled with family keepsakes and not know what to do about it? Me either, but Lauren Hundshamer had just that dilemma. (Racket generally disapproves of hund-shaming, but we’ll make an exception here.) She contacted Fox 9 news to let them know that she’d found the trunk, which belonged to a man who once worked for her grandfather. And through the power of television, which has done so much to enrich our lives (bazinga!), she located Sandee Clingerman, the daughter of the owner. "Originally I was told this had been stolen,” said Clingerman. “I was like my whole life is gone. But now it's here and I will find out a lot of things that have always been floating around. Who I am and what made me who I am today." A genuinely nice story!
St. Paul: Better Than Minneapolis Once Again
Reparations! That was once just a word that floated around the fringes of racial justice discourse, but now programs to compensate the descendants of people held as slaves in the U.S. are beginning to materialize, at least on the local level. Joining Asheville, North Carolina, and Evanston, Illinois, St. Paul is taking steps toward implementing its own system of reparations. The city will hold four public meetings in April to offer information about a newly created reparations commission. Those involved in the process say everything is on the table, including cash payments to individuals and small businesses, mortgage assistance, and the creation of health clinics and community centers. Read more about it in the Star Tribune. And absolutely do not read the comments on this one.
