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REGIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS

U of M asks lawmakers for $30m for scholarships

University of Minnesota officials are asking legislators to approve $30 million for scholarships for students who attend regional campuses. The Star Tribune reports the proposed Greater Minnesota Scholarship Program would go give money to Minnesota residents who enroll as freshmen at the university’s Duluth, Rochester, Crookston and Morris campuses. Each student would get $4,000 to $5,000 in their first year and $1,000 to $2,000 in each of their next three years. Tuition at the regional campuses ranges from $12,500 to almost $14,000 annually. University officials say the program would reduce student debt and boost enrollment.

ELECTION 2022-CONGRESS

Craig announces congressional reelection bid

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Angie Craig is officially announcing she will run for reelection this fall. Craig issued a statement Sunday saying enthusiasm for her campaign is strong. Craig was first elected to Congress in 2018. She represents Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes the Twin Cities’ far southeastern suburbs and rural parts of southeastern Minnesota. Republican Tyler Kistner is running for the seat. Craig narrowly defeated him in 2020.

CATALYTIC CONVERTER-SHOOTING

Man shot fending off catalytic converter thieves

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A man has been shot trying to fend off a band of catalytic converter thieves in St. Paul. WCCO-TV reports the incident occurred early Sunday morning when a man in his 20s confronted multiple people who were allegedly trying to steal a catalytic converter. The man was shot in the arm and in the chest. Police say he was taken to a hospital in a private vehicle and is expected to survive. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

CANADIAN PACIFIC-WORK STOPPAGE

Canadian Pacific rail work stoppage could hit US agriculture

DETROIT (AP) — Canadian Teamsters and CP Rail blamed each other for a work stoppage Sunday that halted trains across Canada and interrupted shipments to and from the U.S. More than 3,000 CP Rail conductors, engineers, train and yard workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference are off the job after negotiators failed to reach a deal by a midnight deadline. Both sides say they are talking with federal mediators. Canadian Pacific covers much of the U.S. Midwest and is a large shipper of potash and fertilizer for agriculture. It also carries grain from the U.S. to Canada.

AP-US-IDITAROD

Iditarod ends as last musher crosses the finish line in Nome

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The last musher has arrived in Nome, ending the 50th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race across Alaska. Musher Apayauq Reitan of Kaktovik, Alaska, crossed the finish line in Nome late Saturday night, winning the Red Lantern award and $1,000. Reitan also extinguished the widow’s lamp on the burled arch that towers over the finish line, a tradition that means there are no other mushers on the trail. The world’s most famous sled dog race started for 49 mushers March 6 north of Anchorage. Twelve mushers scratched, half of them Friday because of a vicious storm blowing on the Bering Sea coast. Brent Sass, a Minnesota native now living in Eureka, Alaska, won the race Tuesday.

TARGET TANTRUM

Woman charged with trashing suburban Target store

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Prosecutors have accused a West St. Paul woman of trashing a Target store during an angry outburst. The Pioneer Press reports 23-year-old Gaylynn Atlene Bailey was charged Thursday in Dakota County with felony first-degree criminal damage to property. According to the criminal complaint, Bailey entered the West St. Paul Target store on Tuesday morning and smashed display cases with a golf club, knocked over display stands and threw merchandise on the floor, forcing an evacuation. She allegedly caused at least $7,000 in damage. The complaint doesn’t offer any explanation for Bailey’s alleged actions. Police Chief Brian Sturgeon said investigators believe she was upset over a purchase at the store several days earlier.

MINNESOTA-PUBLIC-DEFENDERS

Minnesota public defenders reach deal to avert strike

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota public defenders have reached a tentative contract agreement, averting a walkout could have brought much of the state court system to a standstill. Negotiators for the unionized attorneys and the Minnesota Board of Public Defense met with a state mediator Friday. Union spokesman Gus Froemke said Saturday that the agreement was reached shortly before midnight. Public defenders across Minnesota say they’ve been pushed to the brink by routinely high caseloads amid the coronavirus pandemic. The strike was set to begin as early as Tuesday. The union says the tentative agreement includes cost of living adjustments through 2023.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE-MINNESOTA

Minnesota businesses see tax hike amid UI impasse at Capitol

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Employers across Minnesota are getting higher tax bills after lawmakers failed to reach a deal by a Tuesday deadline to avert an automatic unemployment insurance tax hike. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz proposed tapping Minnesota’s budget surplus to repay the federal government for jobless aid and replenish the state’s depleted unemployment insurance trust fund. The Republican-controlled Senate agreed on a bipartisan vote of 55-11. But House Democratic leaders are holding out for $1 billion in “hero pay” for front-line workers. It’s possible that the state could rebate the tax increase if a deal is reached to break the impasse. But officials say that would be complicated.