Minnesota

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/22488392

Every bit is worth something, even if no one person or group can do enough.

Just moved here from Iowa. I discovered yesterday that y'all have messed up laws about alcohol. Apparently, a business can only sell alcohol on Sundays between 11 and 6, and only with an extra special license above and beyond their usual license. Qualifying for the one license does not mean you have what it takes for the Sunday license??

I went out at 6:30 pm yesterday to buy beer. My bad. Apparently, something happens after 6pm that makes people who consume alcohol a public nuisance worthy of the attention of the MN legislature. Not before 6! But right after! Mayhem! And only on Sundays. I'm not even Christian, but this Christian sensibility is applied to me anyway.

And then today, a Monday, I went to Hy-Vee and bought $50 worth of tequila and accessories and then $20 worth of groceries. But that didn't net me the gas discount they were giving people who bought more than $60 worth of stuff, because I can't buy the liquor along with the groceries, due to (I guess) Minnesota law again. They are separate purchases.

WTF Minnesota? I've been traveling the country for the past year. I started out in North Carolina. East Coast has ridiculous alcohol sales laws. In NC you can buy beer from a grocery store, but liquor can only be purchased from a state-run ABC store, which has a very limited selection and is closed on the Lord's Day. Everywhere on the East Coast is like that in some way. But I felt relief when I finally escaped that area. I went from D.C. and Connecticut to Wisconsin and Iowa and then Santa Fe and San Diego. The Midwest and West Coast does not have this hangup about alcohol. Booze in a regular grocery aisle! OMG.

I was very disappointed to learn, however, that MN is an exception and behind even conservative Iowa in its handling of alcohol sales.

Can we get this changed, please? Just common sense. That's all I'm asking for.

Archive Today

There are more than 56,000 semi-truck drivers and another 18,000 light truck drivers in Minnesota, according to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development, meaning widespread layoffs and reductions in income could ripple throughout the greater economy.

The nips have been freed, kinda.

What's more, the city and team are drastically reducing their request for state funding, down from the $394.6 million suggested in March to just $50 million in Thursday's proposal.

Looks like there's a few others around, filter by your area to see what events there are.

The Minnesota Republicans sponsoring the bill include Shane Mekeland (Clear Lake), Krista Knudsen (Lake Shore), Assistant GOP Floor Leader Walter Hudson (Albertville), Jeff Dotseth (Silver Township), Tom Murphy (Underwood), Pam Altendorf (Red Wing), Keith Allen (Kenyon), and Deputy Speaker Pro Tempore Isaac Schultz (Elmdale). Several have also sponsored a marginally less extreme bill (HF 3152) that would make administering mRNA vaccines a misdemeanor subject to a $500 penalty.

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/25654955

Preview:

Vue Lee spent $133 less on his electric bill this February than he did in February 2024.

The savings mean a lot to Lee. He lives in Brooklyn Park and has what he calls a “typical Asian family,” with an adult daughter and grandchildren also living under his roof. The extra money can go to groceries or family fun.

“I can spend more on the grandkids,” Lee said.

Preview:

On one of the first warm days in Minneapolis this year, the doors were propped open in most businesses near the intersection of Lake Street and Lyndale Avenue. That’s why employees at the store Smitten Kitten were able to notice a woman slumped over in her parked car outside the shop.

First paragraph.

Minnesota Republican Sen. Justin David Eichorn has been arrested on suspicion of solicitation of an underage girl for sex.

Bloomington police say state Sen. Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, was arrested around 6 p.m. Monday for allegedly soliciting a minor for prostitution. House and Senate Republican leaders called for Eichorn to step down.