Minnesota
Some Minnesota lawmakers want to extend tax breaks for energy-sucking warehouses. Why?
Minnesota lawmakers are considering giving some of the country’s most profitable tech companies tax breaks on their data centers up to the year 2102 — when most of the legislators and lobbyists furiously negotiating the deal will be dead.
Minnesota currently has 42 data centers, with the majority spread across the metro. Nationwide, tech companies are rapidly building data centers — large warehouses with computer servers used to power the internet — to store and process data. The massive computing power required to develop nascent artificial intelligence breakthroughs are leading companies to seek more data centers.
Minnesota offers sales tax breaks for qualified data centers on purchases of computers, servers, software and cooling and energy equipment. This tax break, which comes in the form of a refund, is set to expire in 2042.
But lawmakers are considering extending the break, perhaps as an olive branch since they’re also going to revoke the sales tax exemption on the electricity that data centers consume. This is expected to generate around $140 million in revenue over the next four years.
Minnesota is facing a multi-billion dollar budget deficit in the next few years, and lawmakers are currently looking to cut programs and services — and a few tax subsidies — to balance the budget.
But since the decision by legislative leaders to revoke the sales tax exemption on electricity will sour the state’s relationship with companies that own data centers, some lawmakers hope expanding current tax breaks far into the future will incentivize companies to keep building their warehouses full of servers in Minnesota.
Amazon recently announced that it’s suspending plans for a large data center in Becker “due to uncertainty” — one week after lawmakers announced they were eliminating the sales tax exemption on electricity.
Gov. Tim Walz on MPR News Friday said that Amazon’s decision to suspend its Becker data center was “pretty bad lobbying” because lawmakers are still negotiating data center provisions.
“We also have one of the most generous tax credits as it stands, but we have to balance our budget. I think a lot of Minnesotans are saying, ‘Well, you couldn’t do a tax cut to my sales tax, but you could do a tax cut to Jeff Bezos.’ I think that was one where it’s right-sized.”
Minnesota law currently allows qualified data centers a sales tax exemption on technology equipment for 20 years, up to the year 2042. But a proposal from Senate Democrats would extend the tax break to 40 years and sunset it at 2062. This means that a data center that makes its first purchase in 2062 could continue claiming the exemption until 2102.
Members of the taxes working group — an unofficial meeting of Senate and House members who are negotiating a budget agreement before Walz calls a special legislative session — are debating the data center tax exemptions.
Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, said during a meeting Friday that Minnesota needs to remain competitive with other states.
“We are getting investments from these companies to Minnesota,” Hauschild said. “Other states … have other exemptions that will build these data centers. So we have to understand, do we want investments in Minnesota or do we not want investments?”
Proponents of sales tax exemptions for data centers tout property tax revenue and job creation. But data centers operate with few workers. Like a bridge or highway, once the project is complete, most of the jobs are gone.
And since the number of data centers is growing, the tax breaks will become even more expensive over time.
In Washington State, the tax breaks intended to create jobs have cost more than $474 million since 2018, ProPublica reported. Most of the benefits through the tax breaks went to Microsoft, not local communities.
Minnesota Rep. Aisha Gomez, DFL-Minneapolis, on Friday said that when Minnesota first enacted the sales tax break for data centers in 2011, the state estimated it would forgo $5 million annually in revenue.
But a recent estimate from the Department of Revenue found that even with the elimination of the sales tax break on electricity, the software and other equipment exemption will still cost Minnesota around $100 million annually — and $219 million in fiscal year 2029.
“This is a sales tax exemption that is being asked for by the largest, most profitable corporations that have ever existed on the face of the earth,” Gomez said. “I think it’s really important that we actually look at what this really is, and we look at the powers that are lining up to try to force us to make this decision. And we think long and hard… (about) whether it’s appropriate that this kind of money should be going from the public coffers into the hands of billionaires.”
Data centers are huge consumers of both electricity, and water needed to cool down the equipment.
The Department of Revenue estimated that the 42 data centers in the state consumed 1.6 billion kWh of electricity in 2023.
Running a dishwasher for one hour uses 1 kWh of power.
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Of the many terrible roster decisions Minnesota sports teams have made over the past 30 years, the worst of the bunch may have been trading Randy Moss to the Raiders for the No. 7 pick in the draft and linebacker Napoleon Harris.
Why are we bringing up a trade that happened 21 years ago? Because the New York Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in this week’s NFL Draft. It was the first time a non-quarterback has been traded for a top-10 pick since the infamous Moss trade in 2005.
Minnesota traded Moss for the Raiders’ first-round pick, Harris, and a seventh-round pick on March 2, 2005. The Vikings used the No. 7 pick on wide receiver Troy Williamson, who never panned out in the NFL. He had 24 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, 37 receptions for 457 yards and zero touchdowns in 2006, and just 18 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown in 2007.
Williams led the league with 11 dropped passes in 2006. Minnesota traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick after the 2007 season, where he played in 10 games over two seasons and totaled just eight catches for 64 yards. He was cut before the start of the 2010 season, and that was a wrap on the former South Carolina speedster’s NFL career.
Moss didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers with the Raiders for two seasons, but he set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches in 2007 with the New England Patriots. He caught 47 touchdowns in 48 regular-season games with the Patriots from 2007 to 2009.
Whether it was trading Moss to the Raiders, the Timberwolves sending Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics — or drafting Ricky Rubio AND Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry — or the Twins cutting David Ortiz and watching him become one of the greatest players in MLB history with the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota sports teams have a long history of making terrible decisions.
The Bengals, meanwhile, gave up the 10th overall pick for one of the best defensive tackles in the league. They’ll likely get great production from Lawrence, while the Giants are now under pressure to get the 10th pick right. New York also holds the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s first round of the draft.
By the way, the Vikings had two picks in the first round of the 2005 draft. After taking Williamson, they used the No. 18 pick on defensive end Erasmus James. He was just as much of a bust as Williams, playing in 23 games in three years with the Vikings. He had four sacks as a rookie, but injuries wiped out most of his 2006 and 2007 seasons before he was traded to Washington for a conditional seventh-round pick.
James was cut by Washington in December 2009, marking the end of his NFL career.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who are the No. 3 seed in the Central Division. Wallstedt made 27 saves in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, and Zuccarello had three assists.
“I was definitely nervous,” said Wallstedt, a rookie. “I think it shows that it means something to you. I like a little bit of nerves. I think it’s something good. There were definitely some nerves throughout the day and then a little bit extra rolling into the game. But after the national anthem was over and the first couple pucks started coming, you’re good.
“I wanted to play and I felt like I have been going good. I was a little surprised (to get the start). But I was very excited as soon as I got the news. I just wanted to make sure I was ready today.”
Jason Robertson scored, and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for the Stars, who are the No. 2 seed in the Central.
“We didn’t deserve to win,” Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen said. “I think two power-play goals for them, two a little-bit bounces for them where we had guys in the right spot. Just even keel. Playoffs are like this. Sometimes you lose a game, you can feel like you’re done. But that’s the mentality you need to have, you’ve got to reset and learn from mistakes.
“First 30 minutes, we didn’t win enough battles. They were just that little bit stronger in the battles and that’s why they were able to make us defend more than we want to. Just got to be stronger.”
Game 2 is here on Monday (9:30 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, Victory+, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360).
“We prepped for a couple days coming into this one. Now, we will gather information from this game and continue to move forward,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “For me, it’s game to game and day to day. We want to continue to get better. We won and they [Dallas] lost. It’s not so much being satisfied where you’re at or that’s what it is. We need to continue to find ways to get better.”
Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 5:35 of the first period on the power play. He scored on a one-timer from the left hash marks to finish a tic-tac-toe passing play with Zuccarello and Boldy, who found an open Eriksson Ek with a pass from the goal line.
“I think every team in the playoffs talks about not getting too high or too low. Just enjoy every day and each game and then we will go from there,” Eriksson Ek said. “I think we played pretty good today. The next game is a new game, so we just have to do it over and over every game. We know they are probably not the happiest with that game, so I am sure it’s going to be hard next game.”
Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault accusing him of involvement in a February road-rage incident.
Trump administration ends Minnesota immigration operation
Border Czar Tom Homan announced the end of Minnesota’s immigration operation after fatal shootings heightened tension and community backlash.
Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault, saying the agent was involved in a February road-rage incident during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., 35, faces two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, according to April 16 Hennepin County court records. He has a nationwide warrant for his arrest.
On Feb. 5, prosecutors said Morgan allegedly drove illegally on the shoulder of a congested Minnesota highway in an unmarked SUV and pointed his weapon at two people in another car.
Morgan is the first agent charged in Operation Metro Surge, the controversial Minneapolis-area federal immigration operation that resulted in two American citizens fatally shot by federal officials, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
The charges “reflect an important milestone in our efforts to seek accountability for the harms inflicted on our community during Operation Metro Surge,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in an April 16 video statement.
Second-degree assault with a gun has a presumptive sentence of 36 months in prison if convicted, she said.
“Mr. Morgan’s conduct was extremely dangerous,” she said, adding his actions could have led to “another disastrous incident” in the community.
Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to email requests for comment. A cell phone listed for Morgan, identified as a Maryland resident, didn’t immediately respond to a call or text message.
The incident came less than two weeks after two Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, during a protest in Minneapolis. Pretti would be the second American killed during Metro Surge after an ICE agent in early January fatally shot Renee Good, 37, while she drove her SUV in Minneapolis near an immigration operation.
Later in February, the Trump administration drew down Metro Surge, which officials called the largest immigration operation in modern American history.
Investigators said they interviewed Morgan, who identified himself as the driver. Morgan told investigators he and the other ICE employee were returning from a surveillance shift. Morgan said he feared for his life and others’ safety, so he pulled up alongside the vehicle and drew his Glock 19 firearm. He said he identified himself as police.
State investigators said neither Morgan nor the other ICE agent reported the incident to an ICE supervisor.
The April 16 warrant, signed by District Court Judge Paul Scoggin, said there was a “substantial likelihood” Morgan would fail to respond to a summons, and officials couldn’t locate him.
On April 18, Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for the county attorney’s office, said there is no knowledge of Morgan being arrested yet.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
-
Idaho5 minutes ago‘Unrelenting’: Statehouse reporters recap 2026 legislative session in Idaho Falls – East Idaho News
-
Illinois11 minutes agoWeather service assessing damage across Iowa, Illinois and Missouri
-
Indiana17 minutes agoProjecting the Indiana Fever’s 2026 Starting Lineup
-
Iowa23 minutes ago5 people wounded in shooting near University of Iowa campus, including 3 students
-
Kansas29 minutes agoKansas Governor signs Caleb’s Law, targeting online sextortion of minors
-
Kentucky35 minutes agoMissing on this PF in the transfer portal could be a good thing for Kentucky
-
Louisiana41 minutes agoAt least 8 children killed in shooting in Louisiana, US
-
Maine47 minutes agoWet, cooler today; rain & snow impacts across Maine