Almost 100 Minnesota mayors, including over half a dozen in the Northland, have signed a letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and members of the legislature, raising concerns about the rising costs and financial pressures cities are facing due to state mandates.

The group of 98 mayors published the letter publicly on Monday, December 22nd, highlighting rising property taxes, declining state budget projections and the recent fraud investigations as reasons for “deep concern—and growing frustration” about the state’s fiscal direction.

“As mayors, we see firsthand how these decisions ripple outward. Fraud, unchecked spending, and inconsistent fiscal management in St. Paul have trickled down to our cities—reducing our capacity to plan responsibly, maintain infrastructure, hire and retain employees, and sustain core services without overburdening local taxpayers,” the letter says, in part.

Rising property taxes are preliminarily set to increase by nearly $950 million across the state next year — a 6.9% increase from 2025. The local leaders say those increases are necessary because of state policies and unfunded mandates, which include requirements for schools, health and human services systems, and public safety policies.

“Every unfunded mandate or cost shift forces us into difficult choices: raise taxes, cut services, delay infrastructure, or stretch thin city staff even further,” the letter states.

The mayors also cited a recent report from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, which showed the state slipping in national rankings over the past six years, something the chamber said should be a “wake-up call” to state leaders.

According to those statistics, Minnesota’s GDP has grown by just 1% per year since 2019, compared to the national average of 1.8%; the labor force has increased just 0.2% annually, ranking 40th nationally; and nearly 48,000 more Minnesotans left the state than moved here between 2020 and 2024.

In their letter, the mayors called on state lawmakers to “course-correct” and focus on policies that encourage growth and local stability.

The League of Minnesota Cities lists 856 cities in the state, so the 98 mayors would account for roughly 11.5% of cities. The map below shows the locations of each city in the Northland whose mayor signed the letter.

A spokesperson for Governor Walz sent our Hubbard sister station KSTP the following statement:

“The Governor’s focus on lowering property taxes is exactly why he has provided more funding than any administration in history directly to local governments. 

“The surplus went directly back into the bottom line of local governments: $300 million for their police and fire departments, the largest infrastructure budgets in state history, funding to remove lead lines, the largest-ever increase in flexible local government aid, and property tax relief directly to taxpayers. 

“The governor will continue to focus on ways to lower costs, but local governments also have a responsibility to manage their budgets and state aid responsibly.”

There is no denying 2025 was a difficult year in Minnesota. A list of the biggest news stories is fraught with tragedy, attacks on the vulnerable and political division and dysfunction.

You’ll find some moments of levity and triumph in the stories below, but the hard science of an analytics-based recap leaves little room for the brighter moments couched between the big stories. Rest assured, though, there were plenty of those in Minnesota this year, too, even if they may not move the needle quite so vigorously. Here’s hoping next year’s list offers a sunnier view of our fair state.

Here are WCCO’s most-read stories of 2025, month by month.

In January, Minnesota-based retailer Target announced it would scale back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, joining a number of other U.S. brands that did so in the wake of President Trump’s inauguration.

On the first day of his second term, Mr. Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending DEI programs within the federal government. Many private employers, Target included, followed suit.

Target’s move prompted activists to call for a boycott of the company — a call renewed just last month.

On Feb. 17, a Delta Air Lines plane flying from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Toronto flipped upside down while landing at its destination.

Twenty-one people were injured in the crash, which occurred amid wintry conditions.

Multiple lawsuits were later filed against Delta by passengers and workers on the plane. 

The crash was one of several high-profile aviation disasters that occurred early in the year.

For Abraham Addo, driving isn’t just his job but his livelihood. The father of four started driving for Lyft to set aside money for his children’s future.

After nearly six years on the job, a routine ride turned traumatic. He unknowingly picked up a wanted fugitive and found himself in the middle of a high-risk traffic stop, surrounded by police officers with guns drawn.

Craig was one of several Democrats who spent the early months of Trump’s second term making town hall stops in Republican districts to highlight the absence of GOP leaders at local events.

In response, Emmer and other House Republicans urged the body’s ethics committee to review Craig’s tour, alleging she was using her taxpayer-funded office to bring attention to campaign events and fundraising. Craig, in turn, accused her GOP colleagues of “trying to avoid doing their job.”

There was clearly one question on everyone’s mind come graduation season: how much cash should I stuff in that card? WCCO’s Jeff Wagner sought some etiquette edification.

A tragic summer in Minnesota began with the shootings of two state lawmakers and their spouses. Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were killed in their Brooklyn Park home, while Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette survived an attack at their house in Champlin.

A manhunt for the suspect in both shootings ensued. Boelter was eventually arrested and now faces both state and federal charges in connection with the attacks.

Authorities in Minneapolis seized nearly 900 pounds of methamphetamine in what the St. Paul Police Department called “the largest drug bust in Minnesota — ever.” The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged the men with drug crimes, but later dropped the charges to clear the way for a federal case.

The back-to-school season was marred by a horrific mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. Two children, 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski, were killed, and the injured eventually totaled more than two dozen. The shooter died by suicide.

The Annunciation community has spent the months since mourning, healing, hoping and pushing for change. Earlier this month, the clergy and parishioners held a Rite of Reparation at the church, a recognition of the terrible tragedy that occurred within and the intention to mend the damage done.

Three months after Vance Boelter was accused of politically motivated attacks on Minnesota lawmakers, his wife, Jenny Lynne Boelter, filed for divorce. 

Jenny Boelter has not been charged with any crimes and said she “fully cooperated with investigators.” Two weeks after the shootings, she said Vance Boelter’s actions were “a betrayal of everything we hold true as tenets of our Christian faith.”

As part of a WCCO Investigates series about laws and policies surrounding grooming, Jennier Mayerle spoke to a young woman who shared what she says happened to her in high school in hopes of better protecting kids. 

Hannah LoPresto told police her high school band director groomed and sexually assaulted her. He was never charged and denied any wrongdoing, but LoPresto successfully petitioned to have his teaching license revoked.

In June 2018, Linette Nelson went to Mayo Clinic to have her entire rectum removed. A lawsuit filed by Nelson alleged Dr. Amy Lightner “botched a multi-stage operation” and “left 5-7 cm of diseased rectum inside her body.”

Nelson required a series of surgeries to undo the damage, which took more than a year to complete. The lawsuit said the mishandled procedure left her with “permanent disfigurement, pelvic floor disorder, fibromyalgia, PTSD, and lifelong chronic pain.”

A jury awarded Nelson nearly $20 million for her pain and emotional distress.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell announced his campaign for Minnesota governor earlier this month, and later earned an endorsement from Mr. Trump.

Lindell has long been a supporter of Mr. Trump, serving as a fervent evangelist for debunked claims that the 2020 election was rigged against the president. 

Mr. Trump praised Lindell at a rally in North Carolina, saying he “fought like hell” and “deserved to be governor of Minnesota.”

“That man suffered. What he did, what he went through because he knew the election was rigged. And he did it. I mean, he just did it as a citizen,” Mr. Trump said. “These people went after him, they went after his company. They did that with me too, but at least I knew what I was getting into. He was just a guy that said, ‘Jeez, this election was so crooked, it was so rigged.’”