Minnesota
Minnesota e-bike rebate applications open July 30 for 2025 lottery
E-bike rebates crash state website
The Minnesota Department of Revenue is postponing the launch of its e-bike rebate program application window after the website has failed.
(FOX 9) – So popular during its first offering in 2024 that it crashed the system administering them, requiring a second round – Minnesota’s 2025 e-bike rebate program will begin receiving lottery applications on July 30.
Minnesota e-bike lottery
What we know:
The application window for the 2025 e-bike rebate certificate lottery will begin at 11 a.m. on July 30, and close on Aug. 2, at 2 p.m.
As part of a person’s application, they will need to include proof of their gross income.
Under the program, 40% of the rebate certificates are reserved for a married taxpayer filing a joint return with a gross income of less than $78,000, or any other filer with an adjusted gross income of less than $41,000.
For a married taxpayer filing a joint return, each spouse can apply separately, and be eligible for their own certificate.
Each year a commissioner will allocate rebate certificates on a lottery basis, totaling up to $2 million annually, under the current terms of the program.
Any remaining funds not doled out by Sept. 30, 2025, would then become available for additional applicants beginning on Oct. 1, 2025.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue’s current estimates suggest that roughly 2,800 rebate certificates will be available for the 2025 program.
After the application period closes, all accepted rebate applications will be entered into a random lottery to award the rebate certificates. Recipients will be notified by email if their application has been selected, stating the percentage and maximum rebate for which they are eligible.
Minnesota’s e-bike rebate system crashes
The backstory:
The first round of e-bike rebates for Minnesotans in 2024 didn’t go as planned.
Applications for the 2024 program were initially set to open on June 5, 2024, but shortly after, the Minnesota Department of Revenue’s website crashed due to overwhelming demand.
At the time, the department said it would work to identify anyone who successfully submitted an application and let them know their application was received. However, officials then backtracked to say that fewer than 80 applications were successfully submitted in the hours before the site shut down.
A second round of applications then opened, with those accepted taking turns in a virtual waiting room before accessing an application.
The department said the system aimed to control the surge of users, similar to what major sports teams or concerts use when selling a limited number of tickets.
However, it was again plagued by system failures, with potential applicants complaining of stalls, and the waiting room being filled in a few minutes.
The new lottery system aims to make the 2025 version much smoother, officials hope.
The Source: Information provided by the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
Minnesota
Minnesota weather: How cold it got on Saturday
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Temperatures dropped into the negative Saturday, with the coldest temperatures in the morning.
How cold it got in Minnesota Saturday
By the numbers:
Here is how cold the temperatures got in Minnesota:
- Hinckley: -20 degrees
- Bemidji: -20 degrees
- Ely: -18 degrees
- Brainerd: -18 degrees
- Detroit Lakes: -18 degrees
- Hibbing: -17 degrees
- International Falls: -17 degrees
- Duluth: -16 degrees
- Alexandria: -12 degrees
- St. Cloud: -12 degrees
- Cambridge: -11 degrees
- Grand Marais: -10 degrees
- Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: -6 degrees
- Red Wing: -6 degrees
- Morris: -6 degrees
- Hutchinson: -5 degrees
- Rochester: -5 degrees
- Mankato: -3 degrees
- Windom: 0 degrees
- Marshall: 0 degrees
Here are the lowest wind chills across Minnesota from Saturday:
- Bemidji: -37 degrees
- Ely: -35 degrees
- Duluth: -34 degrees
- Brainerd: -32 degrees
- Detroit Lakes: -32 degrees
- Hibbing: -31 degrees
- Alexandria: -29 degrees
- Hinckley: -27 degrees
- Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: -24 degrees
- St. Cloud: -24 degrees
- Willmar: -22 degrees
- Cambridge-21 degrees
- Grand Marais: -21 degrees
- Hutchinson: -21 deegres
- Morris: -20 degrees
- Faribault: -18 degrees
- Mankato: -18 degrees
- Marshall: -17 degrees
- Red Wing: -16 degrees
- Owatonna: -16 degrees
- Windom-12 degrees
Cold continues Sunday
What’s next:
The Twin Cities are under a cold weather advisory that is expected to last through Sunday morning, so residents should prepare for frigid conditions if they have plans to be outdoors.
Sunday will be slightly less frigid with temperatures climbing above zero. However, it will still feel like 10 below zero in the afternoon.
Milder and warmer temperatures are expected to return for the work week.
Minnesota
Minnesota Wild acquires NHL star Quinn Hughes from Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster trade
The Minnesota Wild made an all-in move for one of the NHL’s best players in his prime, acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster trade — their boldest action yet toward ending a decade-long skid of playoff series defeats.
The teams announced the seismic move on Friday night, after the 2024 Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenseman had been the most talked-about trade candidate over the past couple of weeks. Minnesota sent center Marco Rossi, defenseman Zeev Buium, winger Liam Ohgren and a first-round pick in the 2026 draft to suddenly rebuilding Vancouver to complete the deal.
The trade was the second major swap of the day, after two-time Stanley Cup Final runner-up Edmonton finally made a move for a goaltender, acquiring Tristan Jarry from Pittsburgh.
Rossi (24), Ohgren (21) and Buium (20) fit the mold of the young talent the Canucks were speculated to be targeting if they were going to trade Hughes. Rossi (2020), Ohgren (2022) and Buium (2024) were all recent first-round draft picks by the Wild.
“Quinn played hard, led by example and did a lot of very good things for the Canucks,” Vancouver general manager Patrik Allvin said. “Trading away a player of this caliber is never an easy decision to make, but it was one we had to do to make our team better. We are so excited to add a solid centre in Marco, a good young blueliner in Zeev and a versatile forward in Liam. This year’s draft is a strong one, so acquiring a first-round pick was also a big part of this deal.”
Hughes had no trade-blocking protection in his current deal that pays him an average of $7.85 million annually. Hughes, who is 26 and widely considered the best at player on the blue line behind only Colorado’s Cale Makar, is signed through the 2026-27 season before he can become an unrestricted free agent.
The Wild will not be allowed to extend Hughes until July 1, and it’s unclear if he would consider signing a new contract with them. There has been plenty of buzz around the league that Quinn wants to play with his brothers, Jack and Luke, with the New Jersey Devils.
They could potentially be teammates on the U.S. Olympic team, either in February in Milan or in 2030. Wild general manager Bill Guerin runs USA Hockey’s management team.
The long-term outlook for Hughes can wait until next summer, though. The Wild are focused on challenging the two top teams ahead of them in the loaded Central Division, rivals that happen to also have the top two records in the NHL: Colorado and Dallas.
The season-long celebration of the franchise’s 25th anniversary would be a lot more meaningful if the Wild can finally advance in the playoffs, having lost nine straight series after a first-round victory over St. Louis in 2015. The Wild have passed the second round just once in their entire existence, when they were swept in the Western Conference finals by Anaheim in 2003.
Hughes is a significant upgrade to Minnesota’s blue line, anchored by captain and 16-year veteran Jared Spurgeon, smooth-skating 14-year veteran Jonas Brodin and young stalwart Brock Faber. The emergence of rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt this season has given the Wild a reliable tandem with Filip Gustavsson in the net, with star winger Kirill Kaprizov leading the attack after recently signing the richest contract in hockey history to stay in the “State of Hockey” through 2034.
After a rough start, the Wild are 14-3-2 since Nov. 1. They host Ottawa on Saturday and Boston on Sunday night, with the latter game likely the more realistic one for Hughes to debut.
Hughes had two goals, 21 assists and 32 blocked shots in 23 games this season with the last-in-the-NHL Canucks. When he won the Norris Trophy two seasons ago, Hughes had 17 goals and 75 assists, both single-season franchise records for defensemen and the most among all blue liners in the league. Drafted seventh overall in 2018 out of Michigan, the native of Orlando, Florida, spent time growing up in the Boston and Toronto areas while his father, a hockey coach, moved around.
This was Hughes’ third season as Vancouver’s captain, and his abrupt exit paves the way for more change 11 months since the trade of J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers and in the aftermath of coach Rick Tocchet’s departure.
“With the circumstances surrounding J.T. and now Quinn, we are fortunate to acquire these very good young players from Minnesota,” Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said. “They will be a key part of the rebuild that we are currently in, giving us a bright future moving forward. The hockey club will continue to build with talented young players using that as a blueprint to become a contender sooner rather than later.”
Minnesota
KSTP/SurveyUSA poll results: Fraud in Minnesota
KSTP/SurveyUSA poll results: Fraud in Minnesota
The first results of KSTP’s exclusive SurveyUSA poll on fraud in Minnesota have been released.
Our survey asked: Do you think fraud in state programs is the biggest problem in Minnesota?
From a group of 578 registered voters, 79% say it’s either the biggest problem or a major problem.
Another question asked was: Has Gov. Tim Walz done enough to stop fraud in Minnesota?
Fourteen percent say that he’s done enough, while 69% say he needs to do more.
The survey also asked if the Legislature has done enough — 11% say yes, and 74% say they need to do more.
Click here for KSTP’s full coverage on fraud.
You can view the results of the fraud-related KSTP/SurveyUSA results below:
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