Minneapolis, MN

As federal pandemic funds expire, Minneapolis and St. Paul schools seeking help

Published

1 year ago

September 30, 2024

As federal pandemic funds expire, Minneapolis and St. Paul schools seeking help

For several years, school districts have known of the so-called “fiscal cliff” that would come with the drying up of federal pandemic aid, and the 2024-25 budgets approved by the Minneapolis and St. Paul school boards took those losses into account and sought to minimize the pain through the use of reserves.

Minneapolis is drawing down about $55 million, while St. Paul plans to tap $37 million in rainy-day funds. But the squeeze still is being felt. Classroom teachers, not specialists, are handling art and music instruction at seven St. Paul schools, and parents are growing increasingly frustrated over larger class sizes in Minneapolis.

St. Paul used pandemic funds to support struggling students through interventions grounded in the phonics-based “science of reading,” and learned that students who participated in the program known as WINN showed greater progress during the year than those who did not.

Now the district is spending $7 million of its own money to pay WINN teachers.

Altogether, St. Paul received $319 million in federal pandemic funds, and invested not just in academic recovery efforts, but also after-school programming, social workers and counselors, and staff retention bonuses, among other items. Cash-strapped Minneapolis relied heavily on its nearly $265 million to plug budget gaps and now faces tough decisions that could include school mergers and closures.

Omar noted how many school districts were forced to cut just a year after a historic $2.2 billion state investment in schools. Legislators must “keep their foot on the gas to fully fund our schools,” she said.

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Minneapolis, MN

What is a data center?

Published

21 minutes ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

What exactly is a data center and why are so many being proposed across Minnesota? Professor Manjeet Rege, chair of Software Engineering and Data Science and director of the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence at the University of St. Thomas, joins us to explain how these massive facilities store and process the world’s data and what the economic, environmental, and infrastructure questions are as Minnesota considers hosting more of them.

Posted March 4, 2026 4:27pm CST

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis Ranked Among U.S. Cities With The Most People In Financial Distress

Published

12 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Minneapolis Ranked Among U.S. Cities With The Most People In Financial Distress

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis is ranked among the American cities with the most people in financial distress nationwide, according to a recent analysis by WalletHub.

The personal finance website, which defines financial distress as having a credit account in forbearance or with deferred payments, looked at the country’s 100 largest cities without data limitations across nine metrics, including average credit score, change in bankruptcy filings year-over-year, and share of people with accounts in distress.

Minneapolis came in 44th on the list, between Stockton, California, at 43rd and Fresno, California, at 45th, according to the ranking.

Nationwide, the cities with the most people in financial distress were Chicago at No. 1, Houston at No. 2 and Las Vegas at No. 3, the ranking said.

“Getting out of the downward spiral of financial distress is no easy feat,” according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

“You may get temporary relief from your lenders by not having to make payments, but all the while interest will keep building up, making the debt even harder to pay off. People who find themselves in financial distress should budget carefully, cut non-essential expenses, and pursue strategies like debt consolidation or debt management to get their situation under control.”

Read more from WalletHub.

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Minneapolis, MN

Whitefish council creates proclamation in solidarity with city, citizens of Minneapolis

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Whitefish council creates proclamation in solidarity with city, citizens of Minneapolis

WHITEFISH, Mont. — The Whitefish City Council in February presented and signed a proclamation expressing solidarity with the city and citizens of Minneapolis.

The proclamation states that Whitefish mourns the loss of life that occurred in Minneapolis and stands in solidarity with its residents.

It reaffirms the city’s commitment to equal treatment under the law and emphasizes that peaceful protest is a fundamental American right.

The proclamation was supported by five of the six council members.

Mayor John Muhlfeld said the action was meant to reaffirm the city’s values.

“A mayoral proclamation that is supported by five of six City Council members supporting solidarity with the city and citizens of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and reaffirming our supportive, just, equal and welcoming community,” Muhlfeld said. “I think this is somewhat overdue. Our town’s been through a lot over the years, This is more importantly to reaffirm our values as a council with our community because we care deeply about you.”

Over the last year, Whitefish has faced criticism amid rising tensions surrounding the Department of Homeland Security.

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View the full proclamation below.

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