Minneapolis, MN
Minnesota Democrats announce deal on minimum pay for Uber and Lyft drivers
Gov. Tim Walz and DFL leaders of the House and Senate say they’ve struck a deal on minimum pay standards for Uber and Lyft drivers that will prevent the companies from making good on a pledge to leave parts of the state on July 1.
The agreement, announced at a Saturday evening news conference, preempts a recent ordinance from the Minneapolis City Council on pay standards and sets minimum rates statewide at $1.28 per mile and 31 cents per minute.
“No one else has been able to do this in the country,” Walz said in the hastily-scheduled news conference. “Minnesotans will be able to continue to use these services if they see fit.”
Democrats said the companies are on board with the deal, but Uber’s lobbyist did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis, the lead sponsor of the bill, said after the announcement that it’s been “two long years” of work on the proposal.
Fateh, who had been missing from legislative action on Saturday, said he spent the day in negotiations with staff and DFL leaders to get the bill in the shape he wanted it to pass this session. The Senate, which is controlled by Democrats by a single vote, was in recess for 11 hours during the negotiations and all other work came to a standstill.
Legislators have a Sunday night deadline to pass legislation before they’re required to adjourn.
“Sometimes legislation like this takes a long time to negotiate,” Fateh said. “We spent the day, we got it right.”
The Minneapolis ordinance passed earlier this year would require a rate of $1.41 a mile and 51 cents a minute, or at least $5 minimum per ride. Those rates prompted Uber and Lyft to say they planned to leave the city as soon as the ordinance took effect.
Council members delayed implementation of their new rates from May 1 to July 1, giving legislators in St. Paul more time to negotiate a deal.
A study ordered by the state Department of Labor and Industry estimated that, for drivers in the Twin Cities metro area, it would take 89 cents per mile and 49 cents per minute to approximate the minimum wage, or $1.21 per mile to provide drivers with more benefits.
The range was higher for drivers in greater Minnesota, with the study’s suggested per-mile rate ranging from $1.16 to $1.40 because drivers tend to travel farther between fares.
Some City Council members weren’t happy with every aspect of the deal, including council Vice President Aisha Chughtai, who posted to X Saturday that “preemption is bad. Period.”
“Any and all attempts to undermine local control are bad,” she continued. “It’s a Republican and corporate tactic used around the country. Watching our @GovTimWalz cave to multibillion dollar corporations in insisting on preempting Minneapolis is gross.”
The announcement comes with a little more than 24 hours left to pass bills during the legislative session. Democrats wouldn’t comment on the status of other outstanding legislation, including a sports betting bill and a statewide package of infrastructure projects.
Responding to the announcement, Republican legislative leaders said they continue to be cut out of the negotiations.
“We’ve been waiting around for ten-and-a-half hours in the Senate,” Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said late Saturday. “Sen. Fateh and others were really holding up the work of the state and keeping Republicans in the dark on what’s going on.”
Johnson said they had to attend the press conference to learn the details of the deal on Uber and Lyft. He said bills that need bipartisan support are “jeopardized” in the final hours of session without collaboration.
Democratic leaders would not respond to questions about whether a special session would be needed to complete all their work.
Staff writer Josie Albertson-Grove contributed to this report.
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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