Ramsey County commissioners approve 2024 budget, 6.8% property tax levy increase

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:51:19 GMT

Ramsey County commissioners approve 2024 budget, 6.8% property tax levy increase The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a 2024 budget of nearly $808.5 million, along with a 6.8 percent increase in the property tax levy to help fund it.The tax hike, which is more than double the average increase imposed by the county over the past decade, has drawn sharp criticism from property owners during public hearings.While the median increase in tax bills countywide will be 3.8 percent, some residents will see theirs jump double digits. The median St. Paul property owner, for example, will see their tax bill increase only 0.5 percent, but their counterpart in Lauderdale will see an increase of 10.1 percent, according to information released by the county.Ramsey County manager Ryan O’Connor, who will soon leave his post for a job as regional administrator of the Metropolitan Council, said in an August report to commissioners that the move was necessary to shore up the county’s finances after the board kept tax increases to a minimum during ...

Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips vows to learn from arrest

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:51:19 GMT

Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips vows to learn from arrest Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips spoke to reporters on Tuesday for the first time since being arrested on suspicion of DWI over the weekend.“I do understand that as a coach in this league there are standards from the NFL, and from the Minnesota Vikings, and I didn’t live up to those standards,” Phillips said. “The last thing I would ever want to do is detract from the attention being on the great things that these guys do on the field.”According to the Minnesota State Patrol, Phillips, 44, was pulled over for speeding on I-394 in Minneapolis at approximately 9:45 p.m. on Friday. He showed signs of impairment at the time and ultimately tested with a blood alcohol content of 0.10. The legal limit in Minnesota is 0.08.“It doesn’t really matter where I was at,” Phillips said in regards to his blood alcohol content. “The important thing is to learn from the mistakes that were made.”After being notified of the arrest on...

Hip-hop star Nicki Minaj to play her first local headlining arena show in April

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:51:19 GMT

Hip-hop star Nicki Minaj to play her first local headlining arena show in April Hip-hop star Nicki Minaj will make her local debut as an arena headliner on April 27 when she plays Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.Tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster. Citi cardholders have access to a presale that runs through 9 p.m. Thursday. Neither the venue nor the promoter announced ticket prices.Minaj was born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1982 to gospel-singing parents. Her mother earned a green card and moved to the Bronx to attend Monroe College. When Minaj was five, her mother brought her, her two brothers and father to live with her in Queens. As a teen, Minaj attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts. After graduating, she pursued an acting career and landed a role in the Off-Broadway play “In Case You Forget” in 2001.After struggling to find further acting work — and getting fired from more than 15 restaurant and other jobs due to her rude attitude — Minaj began rapping, initially with the quart...

House Republicans move forward with plan to try to impeach President Joe Biden

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:51:19 GMT

House Republicans move forward with plan to try to impeach President Joe Biden WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- House Republicans are eyeing a vote Wednesday to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Republicans are moving ahead with their plan to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Biden."We should pursue all of the facts wherever they may lead," said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas).Roy says the investigation's goal is to uncover the truth. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! "There is a significant amount of evidence that has come forward that raises questions that this body should want to know the truth about," he added.House Republicans claim that while vice president, President Biden used his political power for personal gain."If there's nothing to hide, why not just go through the process? Why not just hand this a We can compel the production of documents," said Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pennsylvania).Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern calls the impeachment inquiry a political stunt."It has no ...

12-year-old shoots mother’s boyfriend following argument

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:51:19 GMT

12-year-old shoots mother’s boyfriend following argument ST. LOUIS – An investigation is underway after a woman’s 12-year-old son opened fire on her boyfriend early Tuesday morning.The shooting happened around 2 a.m. in the 3800 block of Sullivan Avenue, located in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood. Police claim the 12-year-old boy fled when officers arrived at the residence. However, the child later surrendered to the authorities.According to a spokesperson for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the boy's mother and her boyfriend were arguing when the woman's son got a shotgun and shot the boyfriend in the head.“All I could think about was how scared the boy was at that time, without any guidance,” Eddie Ross, founder and CEO of Diamond Diva Empowerment Foundation, said. “I’m sure it was isolated and whatever was going on in the house stayed in the house until the pot boiled over.” Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News ...

Teens arrested after police fire shots at car clouting suspects

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:51:19 GMT

Teens arrested after police fire shots at car clouting suspects ST. LOUIS - Two teenagers are in custody Tuesday on suspicion of car clouting in south St. Louis after police fired shots at the young men.The shooting happened just before 8:50 a.m. in the 7000 block of Morgan Ford Road, not far from Loughborough Avenue; that's in the Boulevard Heights neighborhood.Less than 10 minutes earlier, police were called to the 6400 block of Myrlette Court after residents reported two teens attempting to break into vehicles.Police claim two officers responded and eventually located two young people matching the description of the suspects near Blow Street and Morgan Ford.The officers ordered both teens to stop. One teen complied while the other took off on foot. That first teen was taken into custody. One officer drove a marked police vehicle after the fleeing teenager and caught up to that individual in an alley behind a residence. The officer again ordered the teen to stop.This time, police claim the teen reached into his satchel and brandished a handgun...

Brothers killed in Parker murder-suicide owed $4.4 million to investors, lawsuits allege

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:51:19 GMT

Brothers killed in Parker murder-suicide owed $4.4 million to investors, lawsuits allege The two brothers who died in a murder-suicide in Parker last month were facing a slew of lawsuits alleging they defrauded people of more than $4.4 million — and skipped a federal court hearing in one of those cases hours before the shooting, court records show.Grant Brunner, 48, and Gregory Brunner, 55, died Nov. 28 in what Parker police said was a murder-suicide near the Holiday Inn on Cottonwood Drive, the Douglas County Corner’s Office confirmed Tuesday.Police spokesman Josh Hans on Tuesday declined to say who carried out the shooting, and would not offer any details about how the incident unfolded, citing an ongoing investigation.But the Brunners faced at least eight open lawsuits in the last four months from 12 people who claimed the brothers failed to pay back $4.48 million in business loans, court records show. Generally, the lawsuits allege the brothers, through their company SRE Capital LLC, solicited loans from people they knew — largely friends or social...

Broncos’ Kareem Jackson says he hasn’t learned his lesson from illegal hits because NFL isn’t a good tutor

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:51:19 GMT

Broncos’ Kareem Jackson says he hasn’t learned his lesson from illegal hits because NFL isn’t a good tutor PARKER — Denver Broncos suspended safety Kareem Jackson admittedly hasn’t learned his lesson after forfeiting nearly $1 million of his salary for a series of illegal hits that have resulted in a pair of ejections, multiple fines and six weeks’ worth of lost wages.That’s because the NFL isn’t a very good tutor, Jackson said.The 14-year veteran argues he’s being singled out by the league and that the NFL has no adequate answers about how he’s supposed to change his hard-hitting playing style to conform to today’s game where the league scorns the collisions it once celebrated.Jackson was granted an audience with Commissioner Roger Goodell two weeks ago following his second suspension and it didn’t exactly go as he had hoped.“I was told that I’m responsible for the offensive guys’ protection,” Jackson said Monday night before hosting 50 youth from the Boys & Girls Club of Denver for his annual “JackaClaus Shopping Spree” at a Walmart in suburban Parker.“So, I’m not really sure...

Raiders’ coach, GM and president are Black — a first for the NFL. They embrace the responsibility

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:51:19 GMT

Raiders’ coach, GM and president are Black — a first for the NFL. They embrace the responsibility By MARK ANDERSON (AP Sports Writer)HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — When Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis fired coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler on Halloween night, he also made history by naming Antonio Pierce as the interim coach and Champ Kelly as the acting GM.Those actions made the Raiders the first NFL team in which Black people occupied the three key leadership positions below owner — coach, GM and president. Team president Sandra Douglass Morgan is one of the few women in authority in the league.“I don’t take it lightly,” Pierce said. “There are not many people from my background, grew up from where I grew up (Compton, California), to be in front of this stage, to have this kind of responsibility.”Pierce said he grew up a Raiders fan and pointed out the organization — whether it was based in Las Vegas, Oakland or Los Angeles — has a history of being a trailblazer. Kelly and Douglass Morgan noted that Hall of ...

Nebraska priest, bleeding from multiple stab wounds, yelled ‘help me’ when deputy arrived

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:51:19 GMT

Nebraska priest, bleeding from multiple stab wounds, yelled ‘help me’ when deputy arrived By JOSH FUNK (Associated Press)OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Moments after a Nebraska priest called 911 to report that a man was standing in his kitchen with a knife, a dispatcher on the line heard screaming and a struggle. A deputy arriving a few minutes later heard the priest shout, “Help me,” before he found the man lying near the kitchen, bleeding profusely, according to murder charges filed Tuesday.Nebraska prosecutors charged Kierre L. Williams, 43, with first-degree murder, burglary and two weapons counts in the stabbing of the Rev. Stephen Gutgsell, a priest at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun. Authorities said Gutgsell was attacked during a break-in at the church rectory, a crime that rocked the small town just north of Omaha.An affidavit filed along with the charges details what deputies found when they arrived at the rectory, which is a home next to the church. The documents did not detail any motive for the attack except to say the killing happ...