In the big retail race to be fast and efficient, Target this month finished building out an innovation lab in Brooklyn Park, where it can test out new ideas.

Why it matters: One focus of the company's new "Epic Lab" is improving its network of 2,000 stores that double as shipping hubs.

• Those stores are its biggest advantage over Amazon because they're close to customers and offer drive-up capabilities.

Driving the news: Target's director of innovation, Jake Krueger, gave Axios an exclusive tour of the 38,000-square-foot facility last week, just after it had opened a couple of miles from the company's north metro campus.

What's inside: A handful of Target employees work there daily, but rotating teams come through to tinker with new equipment and processes.

• There's a mock drive-up packing station on one side and a robotic sorting machine on the other, with plenty of space to add additional tests later.

What they're saying: This type of experimenting previously took place in stores and in distribution centers, but if something went wrong, the stakes were higher, Krueger explained.

Zoom in: One of the first big tests is a large automated storage and retrieval system in which products are placed into totes that are stacked inside.

How it works: The system allows employees to split up large boxes at distribution centers and sort them into totes that are easier for stores to process.

• "This helps simplify and shrink down the footprint of all of that," Krueger says.
• Since the systems are modular, Target could eventually scale them down to fit in the back rooms of stores, where employees could quickly and easily pack boxes for drive-up or shipping orders instead of walking around the store to find products.

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The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against 15 more people for defrauding several Medicaid programs in Minnesota, alleging they took more than $90 million.

• The charges claim they bilked money from housing stabilization, autism services and child care programs.
• The FBI said one of the suspects jumped from a fourth-floor balcony to evade arrest, according to Fox 9. He was caught later.

The Trump Administration also announced additional prosecutors will join a Midwest strike team tasked with fighting fraud. The Minneapolis U.S. Attorney's office saw a wave of resignations during the ICE surge.

• "This is not the end of our work in Minnesota. This is the beginning of our work in Minnesota," Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said.

One of those charged yesterday was previously charged in the Feeding Our Future scandal.

• Minutes before the press conference, Aimee Bock, the "mastermind" of that scandal, was sentenced to 41.5 years in prison and ordered to pay back $243 million to the federal government.

The other side: The announcement came as the DOJ and Trump faced criticism over a $1.8 billion IRS settlement that Democrats have described a slush fund for Trump to send money to his allies, including Jan. 6 defendants.

🏛️ The Minneapolis City Council enacted a six-month partial moratorium on new data centers. During the pause, only smaller facilities downtown would be allowed. (Background via Axios)

• The council also formally rejected a first responder training facility and voted (again) to oust top public safety official Todd Barnette.

👮 MPD swore in a new class of 34 police officers, bringing the department to within 100 officers of the 731 mandated by city charter. (Fox 9)

🧪 One of the state's few fully operational marijuana testing facilities was ordered by state regulators to halt work, raising concerns about a backlog in the burgeoning industry. (Star Tribune)

🎙️ Dave Ryan's final show on KDWB is airing now and when the clock strikes 10am, that will be a wrap on his 33-year run as host.

If you're heading Up North today for Memorial Day weekend, try not to leave right around 5pm.

Driving the news: AAA has identified 5:15 tonight as the "peak congestion period" for holiday travelers here in the Twin Cities.

Case in point: It estimates that the drive from Minneapolis to Brainerd on 169 could take about 3 hours at that time, about 40 minutes longer than usual.

🥊 Need entertainment for the longer-than-usual drive? Bookmark our story on where "Up North" begins and buckle up for a spirited debate.

🍗 The owners of Borough are closing the North Loop restaurant in late June and will open fried chicken restaurant Revival in the space, per Fox9.

• They purchased the Revival brand in 2025 after an abrupt shutdown.

🍔 Parlour, the popular subterranean cocktail bar and burger spot run by the same hospitality group, will close briefly for renovations.

⛰️ Altera, a fine dining restaurant just off Ford Parkway in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood, announced on Instagram that it will close at the end of the month.

🍻 Popular Plymouth restaurant Rock Elm Tavern has rebranded as Rock Elm Revival under its new owner, per CCX.

• Changes (besides the name) include a new smoker for pulled pork and a dedicated space for live music and private events.

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Como Park Zoo & Conservatory just installed 10 colorful, larger-than-life ocean sculptures that are made from beach trash.

• "Washed Ashore: Art to Save The Sea" aims to educate and demonstrate how "every action counts" in protecting our oceans and waterways.

Zoom in: The elaborate sculptures were created with discarded debris collected from beaches and waterways.

• The largest — a bald eagle named after Rosa Parks — is over 17 feet long and 9.5 feet tall.

See Rosa and other creations on our Instagram