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North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live is comprised of a weekly 30-minute magazine-style newscast and daily, five-minute headlines segments that shine a spotlight on the stories and perspectives of Minnesota’s diverse communities, including Black, Latine, Asian American, East African individuals, people living with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ residents, laborers, veterans, and those from Greater Minnesota.
YOU ARE LISTENING TO NORTH STAR STORIES: VOICES FROM WHERE WE LIVE, A DAILY NEWSCAST ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE IN MINNESOTA.
XAN HOLSTON: WITH HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE STATE, I’M XAN HOLSTON. COMING UP … HOW TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST INVASIVE PLANTS … WHILE LAWMAKERS TAKE ON A-T-M SCAMS …
REP. TIM O’DRISCOLL: THE POPULATION THAT IS MOST VULNERABLE AND IS LEAST LIKELY TO REPORT THIS ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE AGE 65 AND OLDER.
XAN HOLSTON: BUT FIRST …
A BILL THAT WOULD TURN DISABILITY ACCESS REQUESTS INTO A REQUIRED CONVERSATION IS ONE STEP CLOSER TO BECOMING LAW. THE “MINNESOTANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT” WOULD REQUIRE SCHOOLS, LANDLORDS, BUSINESSES AND EMPLOYERS TO AT LEAST DISCUSS REQUESTS FOR REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS FROM PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. BILL AUTHOR … SENATOR ERIN MAYE QUADE … SAYS THE BILL DOESN’T AUTOMATICALLY GRANT EVERY REQUEST … BUT REQUIRES A CONVERSATION.
SEN. MAYE QUADE: THERE HAS TO BE AN ENGAGEMENT IN THE PROCESS TO DISCUSS ACCOMMODATIONS.
XAN HOLSTON: A RECENT SURVEY FOUND 74-PERCENT OF WORKERS WHO ASKED FOR ACCOMMODATIONS HAD AT LEAST ONE REQUEST DENIED. OPPONENTS WARNED THE BILL’S LANGUAGE COULD BE TOO BROAD. SENATOR TORREY WESTROM, THE FIRST BLIND INDIVIDUAL ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATURE, VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE BILL … BUT WORRIES IT WILL PROMPT FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS.
SEN. WESTROM: I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE IT’S NOT A PROCESS THAT WE’RE SETTING UP THAT SOMEHOW CAN WEAPONIZE WHAT IS GOOD INTENTIONS.
XAN HOLSTON: THE BILL PASSED WITH BIPARTISAN SUPPORT BUT STILL HAS TO PASS IN THE HOUSE… THE VOTE COMES JUST A DAY AHEAD OF DISABILITY ADVOCACY DAY AT THE CAPITOL … ADVOCATES PLAN TO RALLY IN SUPPORT OF PROTECTING MEDICAID AND ISSUES LIKE TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, AND DISABILITY SERVICES ACROSS MINNESOTA.
THE BEMIDJI SCHOOL BOARD RECENTLY VOTED TO KEEP J-W SMITH ELEMENTARY OPEN FOR AT LEAST ONE MORE YEAR … AMPERS MEMBER STATION KAXE’S LARISSA DONOVAN REPORTS THE DISTRICT IS GOING TO CUT STAFF TO ADDRESS THE THREE-MILLION DOLLAR SHORTFALL IT STILL FACES..
LARISSA DONOVAN :SUPERINTENDENT JEREMY OLSON SAID THAT THE NEARLY $1.7 MILLION IN CUTS FOR LICENSED POSITIONS REFERRED TO AS FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS OR FTES, ARE LARGELY TARGETING VACANT POSITIONS, OR THOSE BECOMING VACANT DUE TO RESIGNATIONS AND RETIREMENT. JEREMY OLSON: SO THAT'S SEVEN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION POSITIONS, THREE FTES OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND 1.8 FTS OF K8 SPECIALISTS. BOARD ALSO APPROVED CUTS FOR ITS NON-LICENSED STAFF, BUT MANY OF THOSE STAFFERS CUT MAY BE OFFERED POSITIONS AGAIN AFTER JULY 1 IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. THE BOARD ALSO APPROVED A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT WITH THE BEMIDJI EDUCATION ASSOCIATION FOR THEIR THREE-YEAR TEACHING CONTRACT. THE BOARD ALSO APPROVED SHORTENING THE SCHOOL YEAR AS PART OF THE CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS. LARISSA DONOVAN, KAXE NEWS.
XAN HOLSTON: MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS SAY CRYPTO KIOSKS ARE MAKING IT TOO EASY FOR SCAMMERS. THE MACHINES WORK LIKE A-T-Ms BUT CONVERT CASH TO VIRTUAL CRYPTOCURRENCY. A NEW BILL WOULD BAN ANY NEW KIOSKS STARTING AUGUST FIRST … AND GIVE OPERATORS UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR TO REMOVE EXISTING MACHINES. REPRESENTATIVE TIM O’DRISCOLL SAYS THEY’RE OFTEN USED IN ISCAMS …
REP. TIM O’DRISCOLL: GRANDMA, I NEED YOU GO DOWN TO THE BLANK BLANK STORE AND GO TO THE CRYPTO MACHINE, AND I NEED YOU TO PUT MONEY, AND I NEED YOU TO PUT THIS CODE IN TO BE ABLE TO WIRE THAT MONEY TO ME SO THAT I CAN GET HOME.
XAN HOLSTON: THE BILL JUST BANS THE MACHINES, NOT CRYPTOCURRENCY ITSELF.
AND WHILE LAWMAKERS TAKE AIM AT CRYPTO A-T-Ms … AUTHORITIES IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA SAY THEY’VE ARRESTED A SUSPECT IN A DIFFERENT TYPE OF A-T-M SCAM. A TWENTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD FROM DENVER WAS IN COURT MONDAY FOR HIS ALLEGED ROLE IN AN IRON RANGE A-T-M “JACKPOTTING” CASE … THAT’S WHEN SOMEONE BREAKS INTO OR HACKS AN A-T-M … AND MAKES IT SPIT OUT CASH. PROSECUTORS SAY HE STOLE MORE THAN 33-THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM AN A-T-M IN MOUNTAIN IRON EARLIER THIS YEAR. INVESTIGATORS SAY THEY TRACKED AND ARRESTED HIM USING VIDEO SURVEILLENCE AND CELL PHONE DATA.
SPRING IS HERE … AND SO ARE THE PLANTS MINNESOTA DOESN’T WANT. TREE-OF-HEAVEN, DALMATIAN TOADFLAX AND PORCELAIN BERRY MAY SOUND BEAUTIFUL … BUT THEY’RE AMONG THE INVASIVE PLANTS DAMAGING NORTHERN MINNESOTA LANDSCAPES. A FREE TRAINING IN GRAND RAPIDS THIS WEEK WILL HELP PEOPLE IDENTIFY INVASIVE SPECIES BEFORE THEY SPREAD … AND TELL THEM APART FROM LOOK-ALIKES THAT SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE. THE WORKSHOP RUNS FROM 9 TO 3 AT THE MINNESOTA INTERAGENCY FIRE CENTER. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. THOSE UNABLE TO ATTEND CAN FIND INFORMATION ABOUT FIGHTING INVASIVE PLANTS ON OUR STATE’S DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES WEBSITE.
AND FINALLY … WHILE SOME FIGHT TO STOP INVASIVE PLANTS … OTHERS ARE WORKING TO RESTORE THE PLACES WILDLIFE STILL CALLS HOME. ST. PAUL-BASED WOOD-PRODUCT MAKER ‘WOODCHUCK U-S-A' HAS BOUGHT 320 ACRES UP NORTH NEAR TWO HARBORS FOR WILDLIFE HABITAT RESTORATION. THE COMPANY’S NATURE FOUNDATION IS CALLING THE SITE ‘MOOZ AKI PRESERVE’ … OJIBWE FOR “MOOSE LAND.” WOODCHUCK PLANS TO SPEND UP TO ONE-MILLION DOLLARS OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS … REPLANTING TREE SPECIES BETTER SUITED FOR LAND … .
FOR NORTH STAR STORIES, I’M XAN HOLSTON.
NORTH STAR STORIES IS PRODUCED BY AMPERS, DIVERSE RADIO FOR MINNESOTA'S COMMUNITIES WITH SUPPORT FROM THE MCKNIGHT FOUNDATION AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. ONLINE AT AMPERS DOT ORG.