Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis teachers voting on bigger raises in new contract
Minneapolis educators are voting this week on a pair of union contracts that, in the case of teachers, would provide the highest pay increases they’ve seen in 25 years.
The salary hikes — 4% this year and 5% in 2024-25 — would be in addition to automatic increases based on levels of education and experience, and are part of a deal described as historic by district and union leaders such as Greta Callahan, president of teacher chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) and a candidate for the school board.
Still to be determined, however, is the agreement’s impact on a 2024-25 school district budget that already is projected to show a $110 million deficit. Add it to other contracts that have yet to be settled and the deficit most likely will grow, Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams said.
The deal came together just ahead of a scheduled strike authorization vote in late April, and left the district and union leaders expressing optimism about their ability to continue working together.
“We’re one step closer to a reality where we can make Minneapolis Public Schools a destination district for the families that we serve,” union Vice President Marcia Howard said. “It’s a new era in Minneapolis.”
If ratified by teachers in voting that extends through Friday, the agreement would head to the school board for its approval. The district has said the deal fell within board-approved budget parameters.
Statewide, teachers are seeing their biggest increases in 20 years, Education Minnesota has said. As of May 1, the average salary increases winning local approval were 4.3% this year and 3.5% in 2024-25.
St. Paul teachers secured a two-year deal in March calling for 4% raises in 2024-25, plus a fixed increase of $3,500 retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year.
In Minneapolis, this year’s 4% increases would be retroactive to July 1, 2023.
The pay increases come after last year’s historic $2.2 billion state investment in schools — an infusion of aid that state and local union leaders have successfully pointed to as a potential funding source for the types of salary hikes they say they sacrificed in previous bargaining cycles.
But the handsome packages also are leaving some districts facing even more painful budget cuts as $1.3 billion in federal COVID relief funds are set to expire in September.
Callahan said the Minneapolis contract also provides some workload relief for special education teachers, primarily at the elementary level, and includes changes within the salary schedule that eliminate some steps in which teachers were not getting automatic increases tied to years of experience.
This year, annual pay in Minneapolis will range from about $49,000 for a starting teacher with a bachelor’s degree to about $107,000 for the district’s most experienced and highly educated instructors. Next year, that salary range would be $54,000 to $112,000, the tentative agreement states.
The school calendar also will be shortened — something that Callahan said “families want — and makes a lot of sense for pretty much everyone.”
“I don’t think anyone’s feeling like a loser” in this deal, she said at the news conference. “We’re feeling like we won, and the students are going to win, from this contract, so we’re really proud of it.”
Board Chairman Collin Beachy said the agreement represented a “pretty historic day” for the district and students were witness to “the power of collaboration, communication and unity.”
This week, the district’s support staffers also are voting on a new agreement reached a day after the educational support professionals (ESP) chapter of the teachers union had filed an intent to strike.
Catina Taylor, union chapter president, said in a statement then that wages were being raised and a compensation system created that values experience in the district. The agreement should help attract more educators to the city’s schools, she said.
Sayles-Adams said she looked forward to a continued partnership with the ESP chapter, as well. The ESPs also vote through Friday.
A Minneapolis grocery store owner faces felony charges in what investigators say was a million-dollar food assistance fraud scheme.
Abdid-Wahid Mohamed is accused of using other people’s EBT cards to get more than a million dollars to buy items from wholesale stores that he later sold at his own store.
EBT cards work like debit cards for low-income families who receive government-paid benefits.
Investigators said Mohamed owned Minnesota Food Grocery LLC near West Lake Street in Minneapolis and was seen buying items such as energy drinks and baby formula with EBT cards that did not belong to him.
Investigators said Mohamed then loaded the goods into his vehicles and took them to Minnesota Food Grocery, where they were unloaded and placed on store shelves for resale.
The court filing says one woman identified as F.F. told investigators she had not paid for groceries at Minnesota Food Grocery for more than 1.5 years after agreeing to let Mohamed use her EBT card.
The charging document says that between March 8, 2021 and Aug. 10, 2021, Mohamed received $1,141,082 in EBT payments.
If convicted, Mohamed could face up to 20 years in prison.
Food insecurity in Minnesota: SNAP cuts and rising demand
Minnesota food shelves are facing growing pressure as potential federal SNAP cuts, rising grocery prices and increased demand strain already limited resources. Some providers also report impacts tied to recent immigration enforcement activity, with families hesitant to seek assistance. Wendy Behm of ACBC Food Shelf joins to discuss how organizations are responding, efforts to combat food insecurity across the state, and what’s at stake during the current legislative session. Learn more at acbcfoodshelf.com.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis grocery store owner is facing a felony charge after investigators say he trafficked more than $1.1 million in SNAP benefits using other people’s EBT cards.
SNAP benefits trafficking investigation leads to felony charge
What we know:
According to criminal charges filed in Hennepin County Court, Abdidwahid Mohamed, owner of Minnesota Food Grocery LLC, is accused of using EBT cards registered to other people to purchase items like energy drinks and baby formula at Sam’s Club and Costco between March 8, 2021 and August 10, 2021. The goods were then resold at his store.
The complaint states law enforcement says they watched Mohamed make the purchases and tracked him returning directly to his store with the items. Video surveillance and GPS data confirmed the trips, and investigators say many of the EBT cardholders were out of the country or denied shopping at the stores Mohamed visited.
The complaint states, “Mohamed received $1,141,082 in EBT payments” during the period in question. The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is designed to help low-income households buy food, with benefits issued through EBT cards that work like debit cards.
Wal-Mart team sparks investigation
The backstory:
The investigation began when Wal-Mart’s Global Investigation Team flagged suspicious EBT transactions at Sam’s Club locations in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) was contacted in May 2021, and surveillance of Mohamed followed.
The complaint states on Aug. 10, 2021, law enforcement executed search warrants at Mohamed’s store and vehicles. He was arrested at a Sam’s Club in Bloomington with an EBT card and a handwritten note containing a PIN number. Interviews with more than two dozen EBT cardholders revealed that many claimed their cards were lost or had never been used at the stores in question.
One woman admitted she had not shopped at Minnesota Food Grocery for more than a year-and-a-half after agreeing to let Mohamed use her EBT card.
The complaint states the offense “involved a high degree of sophistication or planning or occurred over a lengthy period of time.”
What’s next:
If convicted, Mohamed faces up to 20 years in prison or a $100,000 fine.
The Source: Information from a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court.
Minneapolis, MN
Truck driver dead after crash sends Metro Transit bus into home in south Minneapolis
It happened early Monday morning in Minneapolis.
One person is dead and another is hospitalized after an early-morning crash in south Minneapolis on Monday that sent a Metro Transit bus into a home.
It happened at around 4 a.m. at 10th Avenue South and East 38th Street, just a few blocks east of George Floyd Square.
A spokesperson for Metro Transit police tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that a truck was speeding down 10th Avenue when it hit the back of the bus, ripping a tire off the bus and sending it into the front of a home.
The driver of that truck died, according to Metro Transit police, while the driver of the bus was taken to a hospital but is expected to be OK.
Officials say nobody besides the driver was on the bus at the time, and the home the bus hit was also empty at the time.
Investigators are still at the scene, working to clean up all of the debris and determine exactly what led up to the crash.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is at the scene and working to learn more. Download the KSTP app and follow 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on social media for the latest updates.
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