St. Paul panel recommends property tax hike to pay for preschool for low-income families

1 big thing: Preschool for all in St. Paul 

Illustration of a wooden bead and wire child's play set with a dollar sign created from the twisting wire 

Hackers post Minneapolis schools data

2. 🧑‍💻 Hackers post Minneapolis schools data

Illustration of a fish hook surrounded by multiple cursors

3. The Spoon: UnitedHealth's HQ for sale 

Illustration of two spoons with text reading "Twin Cities" that changes to "MPLS" and "St. P."

4. ⛳️ Mini golf and cocktails coming to North Loop

A new career is waiting for you

5. 📚 Quote du jour: Take a (banned) book, or leave one

A red little free library box with titles banned by other states

6. Gophers hockey looks to break the drought 

6. 🏒 Gophers hockey looks to break the drought 

Partly sunny with a high of 38 today. Knock on wood, but we could see 50s within a week. 

☪️ Ramadan Mubarak! The holiest month of the Islamic calendar begins today and lasts until Eid al-Fitr in late April. 

Several restaurants across the metro have specials for those breaking fast at the end of the day.

Today's newsletter is 878 words, a 3.5-minute read.

🏋️ Torey's long read of the week is Mark Leibovich's The Atlantic profile of Arnold Schwarzenegger at 75.

🗞 As a former community newspaper reporter, Nick thoroughly enjoyed this New Yorker story on the drama over a Greenwich Village rag. 

👀 Audrey, also a former community newspaper reporter, now needs to reactivate her New Yorker subscription and read it. 

This newsletter was edited by Ross Terrell and copyedited by Carlin Becker. 

Twin Cities

Picture of the Twin Cities skyline with MSP written across it.

Get smarter, faster about what’s happening in your backyard with local reporter Torey Van Oot.

Axios Twin Cities

How 1 Twin Cities businessman hopes to become the Suni Lee of pickleball

1 big thing: Scoring big in the business of pickleball

a group of young people in athletic clothes holding bright green pink and blue paddle balls in front of a court

2. 🩺 Mapped: Primary care coverage 

3. The Spoon: A new weather record 

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4. 🏗️ A big redevelopment in Edina  

Take your career to the next level

5. 🏍️ Speeding through the skyways 

Weather: 🌥️ There's a slight chance of snow midday and a high of 41 today. That's not bad, but still cooler than the normal high for March 21. 

🙏🏽 Thank you to our members for supporting our newsroom! Join them.

Today's newsletter is 892 words — a 3.5-minute read. 

🪴 Audrey is repotting her houseplants until it's warm enough to garden.

🏕 Nick started Season 9 of "Alone" and is wondering why there hasn't been a Minnesotan on the show since Season 2. 

🍪 Torey scored a box of Raspberry Rally Girl Scout cookies without paying the eBay premium.

Twin Cities evictions climb post-pandemic

1 big thing: Rent aid wanted 

Is a new job in your future?

2. ☔️ Get ready for a soupy spring

people biking along a path that flooded in the spring

3. The Spoon: Farewell, Eagle Street Grille

Illustration of a pattern of the Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture in Minneapolis.

Joe Mauer is still Minnesota's highest paid athlete ever

4. 🤑 Joe Mauer is Minnesota's money man 

Good morning! How is it already Monday again? 

🍦 Situational awareness: It's free cone day at Dairy Queen! Stop by any stand-alone location today for a small vanilla. 

Today's newsletter is 705 words, a 3-minute read.

🏀 Nick's bracket is not completely busted.

🕵️ Torey just started "The Paris Apartment."

😁 Audrey's favorite ice cream shop just reopened for the season. Not only is it the best, it's still cheaper than Dairy Queen. 

1 big thing: Naughty plates banned from the road

Illustration of Minnesota license plate with symbols implying a swear word.

2. 💰 Charted: Lobbying spending soars 

3. The Spoon: Mark your calendar for free park days

4. ⛏️ Stauber vs. Biden on Twin Metals 

New jobs to check out

Twin Cities Weekend Guide: "The Price Is Right," circus shows and more events

5. 😎 What to do this weekend

6. 🔥 Hot home: A turn-key Tudor in Fern Hill

a tan tudor home with stone around the green and snow

And the forecast looks good for more melt. Sunny with highs in the mid-4os, per NWS. 

Situational awareness: Xcel Energy is temporarily shutting down its Monticello nuclear plant after it discovered another leak. The company says the radioactive water remains contained onsite. More via Star Tribune.

Today's newsletter is 888 words, a 3.5-minute read.

🥩 Nick is getting his grill back out. 

📺 Torey is excited that "Succession" is back on Sunday. 

🎭 Audrey wishes the UMN journalism school had a dedicated theater troupe like the law school. She spent her time moonlighting as a dating advice columnist. 

1 big thing: Renaissance Festival's uncertain future

Fairgoers at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.

2. 🏀 Getting the wolf pack together again 

3. The Spoon: No strike for city workers in St. Paul 

Illustration of the Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture with a smiling emoji imposed on the cherry.

4. 💸 A big step in the state budget debate

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On the job hunt?

5. ☃️ Contest: Guess the snow melt date! 

🐪 Happy Hump Day! Forecast says cloudy with a high of 38. Better than more snow. 

Today's newsletter is 896 words, a 3.5-minute feast.

👀 Pssssst. Are you an entertainment/lifestyle journalist in the Twin Cities? We're hiring! 

👩‍🍳 Torey made this delicious cauliflower salad and is pleased to report that it's even better for leftovers the next day. 

🧗🏻‍♀️ Audrey is digging the snow out of her shoes after climbing Mount Prairie. 

🏀 Nick is going to the Wolves game. Who needs Ant and KAT when there's Prince?

This newsletter was edited by Ross Terrell (Go Hawks!) and copyedited by Carlin Becker. 

The suburban Minnesota congressional seat held by DFL U.S. Rep. Angie Craig is again shaping up to be the state's most — and possibly only — competitive congressional district in 2024.

Driving the news: Both the Democratic and Republican congressional campaign committees included Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District on recent lists of districts that are top priorities for 2024.

State of play: The south metro seat was a major battleground in the 2022 midterms, with some of the most campaign spending in the nation.

But Craig more than doubled her margin of victory between 2020 and 2022, from 2 to 5 percentage points. Cook Political Report, the nonpartisan election handicapper, currently rates the race as "likely Democrat."

The intrigue: Craig has yet to attract a serious formal challenger, but several Republicans are considering a run.

Tyler Kistner, the GOP's nominee the last two cycles, told Axios he hasn't ruled out a third run. He said he's getting together with his campaign team in the next month to "assess where we were at in 2022, [and] what we would need to do to perform better in 2024."

Mike Murphy, a former mayor and GOP gubernatorial candidate who currently lives outside the district in the north metro, has filed fundraising paperwork for a run. He told Axios he's still considering his options and plans to make a decision "in the coming days."

What they're saying: 2nd Congressional District Republicans chair Jeff Schuette told Axios that he wasn't aware of any new big names weighing a run at this time.

But Schuette views the seat as winnable in 2024 if Republicans can get the messaging right to connect with suburban voters. He said there’s plenty of time for a strong candidate to jump in.

The other side: Craig brushed off suggestions of a tough race ahead. 

"Bring it on,” she said in a statement to Axios.

Between the lines: Because 2024 is a presidential election year, the match-up at the top of the ticket could shape the competitiveness of down-ballot Minnesota campaigns. But Christopher B. Chapp, a political science professor at St. Olaf College who conducted exit polling on the midterm battle, told Axios that he sees the race as "Craig's to lose," barring a red wave nationwide.

"The two times an incumbent is most vulnerable are their first re-election and any election following a redistricting," he said. "Angie Craig has passed both of those tests."

The bottom line: Five years ago, Minnesota was home to at least four battleground U.S. House races. But Demographic and political shifts in both the metro and rural areas, combined with last year's redrawing of district maps, left Minnesota with just one true swing district last year.

In 2024, the number of seats seriously in play could be one — or none.

What's ahead for Minnesota's sole remaining battleground House seat

Both parties have DFL U.S. Rep. Angie Craig on their target list. But she's missing a challenger.

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

The suburban Minnesota congressional seat held by DFL U.S. Rep. Angie Craig is again shaping up to be the state&#x27;s most — and possibly only — competitive congressional district in 2024.Driving the news: Both the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Democratic" data-vars-click-url="https://rollcall.com/2023/03/10/dccc-picks-29-frontline-members-for-extra-help-next-year/" data-vars-content-id="16cf58af-daa2-4d61-9238-82803786c77f" data-vars-headline="What&#x27;s ahead for Minnesota&#x27;s sole remaining battleground House seat" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://rollcall.com/2023/03/10/dccc-picks-29-frontline-members-for-extra-help-next-year/" target="_blank">Democratic</a> and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Republican" data-vars-click-url="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/13/republicans-top-targets-2024-house-seats-00086637" data-vars-content-id="16cf58af-daa2-4d61-9238-82803786c77f" data-vars-headline="What&#x27;s ahead for Minnesota&#x27;s sole remaining battleground House seat" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/13/republicans-top-targets-2024-house-seats-00086637" target="_blank">Republican</a> congressional campaign committees included Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District on recent lists of districts that are top priorities for 2024.

Politics

Axios Twin Cities, anchored by Torey Van Oot, Nick Halter and Audrey Kennedy, is here to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news and developments unfolding in their own backyard

An Eagan paddle maker is capturing a small but growing slice of the booming pickleball industry.

What's happening: PikNinja, a company founded by Fuyei Xaykaothao, is racking up fans — and sales — across the nation with its goal to "grow the game for everybody."

"We want to be the Sunisa Lee of the pickleball world," Xaykaothao, who is Hmong American and the son of refugees from Laos, told Axios this month of his ambitions.

Catch up fast: Xaykaothao, a former college tennis player and pro, picked up a pickleball paddle for the first time in 2019 to ward off winter boredom. He was hooked, and, before long, his family was, too.

After his young daughter requested a paddle that was more "cool and empowering" than the basic models for sale at sporting goods chains, Xaykaothao decided to design her one himself. The brand's trademark "assassin ninja girl" was born.

"All of a sudden, everybody was like, 'Whoa, where did you guys get those paddles?'" Xaykaothao recalled. He ordered a batch for family and friends before launching an online store in April 2020.

Between the lines: Xaykaothao said his goal is to produce a hip, high-quality paddle at a lower price point to help expand access to the sport and appeal to younger players. His basic model is priced at $100, while many of similar caliber go for $150 or more.

An ambassador program where PikNinja gives players paddles and gear in exchange for promotion has helped create buzz and drive online sales across the country.

The products are also available at local clubs such as Lucky Shots Pickleball Club in Minneapolis and Mega Pickle and Pong in Chanhassen.

The big picture: The nation's fastest growing sport is becoming a big business, with tournaments, new facilities and high demand for equipment and apparel.

Zoom in: For PikNinja, that's translated to high demand and skyrocketing sales. As of early March, the company had already sold 500 paddles this year, compared to 1,000 in all of 2022.

Yes, but: Even with the interest, Xaykaothao said upfront costs and a long runway for orders due to supply chain issues have kept him from being able to grow sales enough to turn a profit.

What we're watching: Xaykaothao, who competes at the top amateur level of 5.0, said booming interest in pickleball is motivating "high-level, top tennis pros" to switch to the sport.

He's considering going professional in eight years, when he'll be eligible for the 50-plus division. His current age group (35-plus)  is too competitive.

PikNinja aims to make the sports more accessible with fun paddles at a lower price point.

Participants in a Saint Paul Urban Tennis event try our PikNinja's paddles. Photo: Courtesy of Fuyei Xaykaothao

An Eagan paddle maker is capturing a small but growing slice of the booming pickleball industry.What&#x27;s happening: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="PikNinja" data-vars-click-url="https://pikninja.com/" data-vars-content-id="464f8ba6-edb3-4033-bf54-d05e3efc8f11" data-vars-headline="How 1 Twin Cities businessman hopes to become the Suni Lee of pickleball" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://pikninja.com/" target="_blank">PikNinja</a>, a company founded by Fuyei Xaykaothao, is racking up fans — and sales — across the nation with its goal to &quot;grow the game for everybody.&quot;<ul><li>&quot;We want to be the Sunisa Lee of the pickleball world,&quot; Xaykaothao, who is Hmong American and the son of refugees from Laos, told Axios this month of his ambitions.</li></ul>

Sports

Business

Reproduced from Eviction Lab; Chart: Axios Visuals

Eviction filings in the Twin Cities continue to exceed pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the Eviction Lab.

Driving the news: Researchers with the Princeton University-based project logged 1,173 filings in the Twin Cities last month, nearly double the historical average of 599.

Evictions are also up year over year. The group’s most recent data, which covers the week ending March 4, shows a 99% increase from the same period in 2022, when some local protections were still in effect.

The big picture: Sweeping local and national eviction moratoriums helped keep many families in their homes through the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, Axios' Kavya Beheraj and Alex Fitzpatrick write.

Those protections are now gone, and evictions have picked up across the country.

What they're saying: Jacob Haas, an Eviction Lab research specialist told Axios, that the return to pre-pandemic levels across the nation is "disappointing given all of the initiatives that were taken to prevent housing instability."

Local advocates and lawmakers have also raised concerns about the spike, arguing that more should be done to ensure Minnesotans have access to affordable housing.

Between the lines: Cecil Smith, president and CEO of the Minnesota Multi Housing Association, told Axios that the elevated numbers reflect ongoing after-effects from the pandemic, not new widespread defaults on rent payments.

Some rental property owners gave tenants more time to receive emergency assistance and catch up, which "dragged out what might have been the initial peak of filings" after the moratorium.

In other cases, the landlords waited until big court backlogs began to clear before taking action against tenants for financial or other causes for removal.

Of note: Overall eviction levels in Minnesota also remain lower than many other parts of the country.

One factor could be that local rent prices are growing at a slower pace than incomes.

The Eviction Lab notes that its data doesn't capture illegal evictions or cases where renters are effectively forced out by large rent hikes, and it may be undercounting recent evictions due to processing delays.

What we're watching: The issue is drawing attention at the state Capitol, where lawmakers are considering a number of bills aimed at expanding affordable housing and renter assistance.

One proposal to add $50 million in emergency funding to a program meant to help tenants pay their rent passed the House last week.

Smith said he thinks the extra aid will help, though he noted that preventive measures to help renters before they fall far behind would do even more.

Editor's note: This story has been updated.

Lawmakers are considering sending another $50 million to a rental relief fund.

Illustration of three rows of identical houses on a blue background, with one of the houses replaced with a lock.

Eviction filings in the Twin Cities continue to exceed pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Eviction Lab" data-vars-click-url="https://evictionlab.org/" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://evictionlab.org/" target="_blank">Eviction Lab</a>.Driving the news: Researchers with the Princeton University-based project logged 1,173 filings in the Twin Cities last month, nearly double the historical average of 599.

News

A proposal to raise St. Paul property taxes to cover the cost of preschool for kids in low-income families is back in the city council's hands.

Driving the news: An advisory committee presented a report to the council Wednesday recommending the creation of a citywide funding source "dedicated to early learning" for Saint Paul children 5 and under.

Families who make less than 185% of the federal poverty level — about $51,000 for a family of four— would pay nothing to attend programs run through local schools, child care centers or in-home providers, per the recommendations.

Catch up fast: A coalition of providers, advocates and lawmakers fell short last year in their effort to put a measure on the November ballot asking voters to cover the cost of preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds.

The city council responded by creating the task force to look into the issue.

State of play: The average cost of preschool in the metro ranges from $9,000 to $15,000 a year, depending on the type of provider, per ChildCare Aware Minnesota.

Families who need help can turn to a number of existing programs, including Head Start and state child care assistance grants, and some St. Paul Public Schools offer free, full-day pre-kindergarten classes for about 1,000 4- and 5-year-olds. 

But demand for existing programs and assistance exceeds availability. An estimated 5,000 children are on a waitlist for one of those programs, per a presentation delivered to the council. 

What they're saying: Maria Snider, a child care provider who chairs the coalition advocating for the change, said that even with those programs, she encounters families struggling to afford care for their young kids on a weekly basis.

"[This program] can fill in and make sure that no family in St. Paul would be turned away from the child care provider because they weren't able to pay," she said.

Of note: The report released this week didn't recommend a dollar amount for the tax increase. But last year’s proposal called for generating $2.6 million — about $20 a year for the average homeowner — in the first year.

Annual increases would be used to expand eligibility to cover full costs for more families. Ten years in, the total would hit $26 million, or $200 per homeowner.

The intrigue: If the council moves forward with the idea, St. Paul voters could face two tax hike measures in November.

Mayor Melvin Carter is also pitching a 1% increase to sales taxes to raise nearly $1 billion for roads and parks.

What we're watching: Whether local lawmakers — and voters — show an appetite for increasing property taxes even more following this year's big hike.

Several council members suggested Wednesday funding proposals at the legislature could help fill the gap, while others said the needs merit urgent action. 

A Carter spokesperson told Axios that while the mayor appreciates the recommendations, he is "laser focused" on his sales tax measure. 

What's next: The council has until the summer to fill in the details and take a vote in time to put the measure on the November ballot.

The city council will decide whether to put the issue to voters.

A proposal to raise St. Paul property taxes to cover the cost of preschool for kids in low-income families is back in the city council&#x27;s hands.Driving the news: An advisory committee presented a report to the council Wednesday recommending the creation of a citywide funding source &quot;dedicated to early learning&quot; for Saint Paul children 5 and under.

Minnesota drivers requested dozens of custom license plates that state officials deemed too raunchy for the road in 2022.

Driving the news: The explicit submissions were among the more than 160 vanity plate applications ultimately denied or rescinded last year, data Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services provided to Axios.

Details: State law allows drivers to request a personalized plate. The cost is $111. 

Yes, but: Combinations of letters and numbers that are "obscene, indecent, or immoral" or "of a nature that would offend public morals or decency" are not allowed.

Neither are submissions that include only numbers, could be used for commercial advertising or duplicate a plate already issued.

Zoom in: IFARTED, PIMPPIMP and FKNDEER were among the 30-plus specialty plates rejected by DVS between August 2021 and December 2022 because they were too explicit.

Some of the requested plates — including several spins on a popular acronym that references having intimate relations with someone's partner —  were too suggestive for this family publication to print.

What they're saying: In many cases, applicants unsuccessfully sought to provide an explanation justifying their request.

One user, for example, suggested that UBTCH meant "upper Minnesota." DVS did not buy it.

State officials were also not persuaded by another driver's argument that G-SPOT was a road-appropriate reference to an auto shop specializing in customized GMC trucks.

Plus: Other proposed plates that didn't make the road (for non-explicit reasons) included QUEEN, MAD MAN, MOMSOON, 8675309 and BOND007.

The other side: A DVS spokesperson declined an interview request on the rejections, but noted that the committee that vets the requests commonly runs into issues that aren’t related to the content. 

For example, a special plate application will be rejected if the car in question has an expired registration. In other cases, interested drivers fail to submit the full application. 

Between the lines: Unlike in some other states, the list of denied Minnesota plates was largely devoid of phrases expressing disdain for political leaders.

Several that could have been interpreted as such, including IFJB46, were rejected.

Of note: The full data set provided to Axios also included requests that failed to make the roads for a variety of other reasons, such as a car being sold before the plate was issued or the customer changing their mind.

The bottom line: Riding dirty (when it comes to your plates) probably won't fly in Minnesota.

These Minnesota license plates were deemed too naughty for the road

Combinations of letters and numbers that are "obscene, indecent, or immoral" or "of a nature that would offend public morals or decency" are not allowed.

Illustration: Allie Carl, Maura Losch/Axios

Minnesota drivers requested dozens of custom license plates that state officials deemed too raunchy for the road in 2022.Driving the news: The explicit submissions were among the more than 160 vanity plate applications ultimately denied or rescinded last year, data Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services provided to Axios.

Torey Van Oot

Stories

These Minnesota license plates were deemed too naughty for the road

St. Paul panel recommends property tax hike to pay for preschool for low-income families

How 1 Twin Cities businessman hopes to become the Suni Lee of pickleball

Twin Cities evictions climb post-pandemic

What's ahead for Minnesota's sole remaining battleground House seat

Newsletter editions

🚗 Naughty plates rejected

💵 Paying for preschool

🏀 Wolf pack's (almost) back

🏗 Edina is booming

👀 Spring flood forecast