Minnesota
Minnesota study finds fault with state agencies over pay adjustments
Yet another shortcoming of financial control has been found in Minnesota’s state government.
In a report released this week, the Office of the Legislative Auditor found that three state departments and Minnesota Management and Budget made mistakes in payments they made to employees to compensate them retroactively for raises they were due under a new labor contract.
As a result, many of the employees received inadequate compensation that took more than six months to recover, according to the OLA. In 30% of the cases that were found to be in error, the mistakes were not corrected. The OLA also found some employees were overpaid.
The report, now the third one within the past month uncovering financial management inadequacies in the state government, highlights limitations in the state’s payroll system, poor communication among state agencies, and an inability of those agencies to make payments to employees accurately and in a timely fashion.
The departments that were audited include the state Departments of Corrections, Commerce, Natural Resources and Public Safety, and the audit focused on payments made between July 1, 2021, and June 7, 2022, following a labor agreement between those agencies and the Minnesota Law Enforcement Association.
According to the report, the overall conclusions of the audit were:
- Minnesota Management and Budget did not have adequate internal controls over the parameters it established for the payroll system’s retroactive pay adjustment calculations.
- The Department of Commerce complied with the legal requirements related to the retroactive pay adjustments that the OLA tested and had adequate internal controls to ensure compliance with those legal requirements.
- The Departments of Corrections, Natural Resources, and Public Safety did not comply with the legal requirements related to the retroactive pay adjustments the OLA tested. Those departments also did not have adequate internal controls to ensure compliance with the legal requirements.
The OLA audit found those agencies either miscalculated or failed to resolve incorrect payments for 983 Minnesota Law Enforcement Association members of those agencies. This includes approving retroactive payments that the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Natural Resources knew were inaccurate for 234 employees.
The inaccurate payment totals for each agency range from $258 at the Department of Corrections to $28,911 at the Department of Public Safety.
While the payment totals are minuscule compared to payroll totals at each agency, the report comes on the heels of two OLA audits released earlier this year detailing mismanaged state agencies, including $250 million in fraud due to a lack of oversight by the Minnesota Department of Education regarding a food program and $205 million in unverified payments to people through a Frontline Worker Pay bonuses program in 2023.
When performing its audits, the OLA usually finds that an agency can improve a process, according to Deputy Legislative Auditor Lori Leysen. She said she could not think of a report her office released in the past few years that didn’t have at least one issue, though the severity levels have differed.
“Our job is to really show where there are areas for improvement and to try to help the government find ways to make those improvements,” Leysen said.
In its report, the OLA recommended agencies adhere to legal requirements, fix inaccurate payments when known and strengthen internal controls.
Also included in the report are responses from four of the five audited agencies that agreed with the OLA’s report and said they would follow the recommendations.
A response from the Department of Commerce, which was found in compliance, was not included in the report.
The report will also be presented to the Legislative Audit Commission on Thursday, July 25, at 10 a.m. and livestreamed on YouTube.
OLA Retroactive Payments Report by Mark Wasson on Scribd
An insect known for carrying debilitating diseases wasn’t always on Minnesotans’ radar.
In Good Question, Jeff Wagner digs into the history of ticks in our region and why concern has never been higher.
Wagner spends a lot of time walking through woods in Minnesota thanks to disc golf. The hobby made him acutely aware of ticks.
But he’s had older locals tell him they don’t remember ticks being an issue when they were kids playing outside, back in the 1960s.
When did ticks become a problem in Minnesota? Good Question.
The answer starts across the country in Connecticut in a small town named Lyme. People there in the 1970s were getting sick with symptoms like severe fatigue, headaches, skin rashes and swollen knees. Kids were getting diagnosed with what appeared to be arthritis. The mysterious illness would later take on the town’s name, Lyme disease.
In the 1980s, scientists determined it came from a tick bite, specifically a blacklegged tick. They’re commonly called a deer tick. The species is the only one known to carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
That same decade, the Minnesota Department of Health started to identify Lyme disease cases in the state, which started raising public awareness about the dangers of tick bites. Right as people began to take notice, the number of infected deer ticks started to rise.
“It used to be, 20 years ago we saw (deer) ticks maybe in Washington County, a little bit of Anoka County, and then kind of speckled throughout. Now we see deer ticks established pretty much all throughout the state of Minnesota,” said Alex Carlson, public affairs manager with the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District.
Why have ticks become such a big concern today? Carlson points to three main factors. The first is reduced natural boundaries due to deforestation and suburbanization.
“We’re living right among animals, both domesticated animals and wildlife, and so we have more interaction with the animals that may be carrying ticks than we would have maybe 100 years ago,” he said.
Ticks contract the bacteria that causes Lyme disease from biting infected rodents like mice. They then latch onto deer, which saw their population explode in the 20th century, spreading the infected ticks across Minnesota.
“We don’t see those natural predators for those types of small mammals like mice and squirrels (like) foxes and predatory birds and things like that. They’re just not as around because of deforestation and the urban-suburban sprawl,” said Carlson.
Another factor in this equation is climate change. Our recent warm winters were great for disc golfing but also for ticks.
“More mild winters means more ticks will survive the winter, and so we’ll have more returning the following spring,” said Carlson.
It’s the reason the lone star tick is gaining ground in Minnesota despite its natural habitat being in the southern U.S. A bite from this bug can give you an allergy to red meat called Alpha-gal Syndrome.
“The fact that when we have these short stretch winters with not a lot of snow cover, more of those lone star ticks will survive,” Carlson said.
The third factor on why ticks are more problematic now is simply public awareness. We’re better educated on the types, where they’re found, the diseases they carry and what to do if we’re bitten. Carlson said hospitalizations are up partly because people are seeking medical help sooner.
Vance Boelter, the man accused of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses nearly a year ago, will not face the death penalty on federal charges.
The U.S. Department of Justice said there was no recommendation to seek the death penalty in the June 14, 2025, shootings, which killed former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and wounded Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
“Bringing justice to the families and loved ones of victims of violence is the number one priority of the Department of Justice,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a written statement to WCCO on Monday. “Prosecutors worked hard on this case to make sure he was held accountable to the fullest extent possible.”
Boelter, 58, is facing six federal charges, including two counts of stalking, two counts of murder and two counts of firearms violations. He appeared in court in April in connection with the criminal case.
According to federal law, the two counts of murder are punishable by death or life in prison, though the federal agency, which cited case law, said the stalking charges weren’t likely death penalty-eligible.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen submitted a recommendation regarding the death penalty in April to the assistant attorney general for the criminal division of the agency.
Boelter also faces state charges, including two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, and one count each of felony cruelty to an animal and impersonating an officer. A guilty verdict for one of the first-degree murder charges carries a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
The Hoffman family has filed a lawsuit against Boelter, which accuses him of assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and negligence per se, according to the civil complaint.
NOTE: The attached video first aired on April 17.
UNDATED (WJON News) — Average gasoline prices have declined in virtually every state over the last week as oil prices continued to fall, with crude oil prices approaching $90 per barrel. However, the future of prices remains uncertain. GasBuddy says that with the Strait of Hormuz remaining effectively closed, global oil supplies continue to tighten, and any further deterioration in the situation could send prices sharply higher.
Average gasoline prices in Minnesota have decreased by 15.9 cents per gallon over the last week, averaging $3.96. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 17.9 cents per gallon, averaging $4.09. The national average price of diesel has decreased 13.8 cents compared to a week ago and stands at $5.29 per gallon.
History of Minnesota Twins’ Managers
Everyone knows Tom Kelly managed the Twins to their only two World Series Titles, but have you ever wondered who the most successful Twins’ Managers were?
Check out the history of managers for the Minnesota Twins below, along with their records.
Gallery Credit: Minnesota Twins
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