Move over, 16-year-olds eager to drive: The number of behind-the-wheel exams taken by adults has increased since Minnesota implemented its "Driver's Licenses for All" law in 2023, state data obtained by Axios shows.

Why it matters: The new law opens the door for an estimated 95,000 undocumented people living in Minnesota to obtain driver's licenses.

• Before the law, some of these newly credentialed drivers were likely at the wheel without a license.

Flashback: Shortly after the law took effect, Minneapolis-based immigrant rights group COPAL began offering driver orientation sessions and allowing applicants to take the Spanish-language test at its offices.

• Outside of Operation Metro Surge, demand has been steady. Last month alone, 800 people attended, cramming onto just 16 computers to take the tests, COPAL Workers' Center director Claudia Lainez told Axios.

The big picture: In 2024, the law's first full year, more than 75,000 people ages 21+ took a road test — up from 41,000 in 2023, according to data from the Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services division (DVS).

• The number of 30-, 40-, and 50-somethings who took behind-the-wheel exams all doubled between 2023 and 2024.
• Data from 2025 was available only through September; nevertheless, the number of adult tests nearly equaled the 2024 totals.

Zoom in: One in four attendees at COPAL's sessions has a driver's license from another country, Lainez estimated, but others have licenses from other states — or no license at all.

How it works: While applicants for a license must pass both written and road tests, adults only need behind-the-wheel driver's education if they fail the road test four times.

• That means the "Driver's Licenses for All" law hasn't changed business much for A+ Driving School owner Pete Hosmer, who told Axios that roughly 200 of the school's 12,000 students each year are adults.
• COPAL only assists with the written portion of the exam.

What they're saying: The law has been "good for everyone else because people on the road have a driver's license and they've been through the whole [testing] process," Lainez told Axios.

The other side: Republican lawmakers argue the law overlooks immigration enforcement concerns and could enable noncitizens to vote — though Minnesota requires proof of citizenship to register.

The bottom line: The flood of new adult applicants has had little effect on pass rates compared to previous years, according to DVS data.

• Roughly three out of every five exams ended with a passing score.

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Minneapolis officials want to commemoratively rename the portion of Blaisdell Avenue where MPD officer Jamal Mitchell was shot and killed in May 2024.

Flashback: Mitchell was ambushed while helping an injured victim as officers responded to a shooting at an apartment complex.

• The city's Planning Commission is set to take up the proposal today.

"I hope you can sleep well tonight, Kristi,'" Gov. Tim Walz says he told then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shortly after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good. (Star Tribune)

• It's one of several details from nearly a dozen Minnesota officials' accounts of Operation Metro Surge.

📢 St. Paul police arrested one protestor for "interference with religious observance" outside of Cities Church during Easter services. (Fox 9)

🏥 Hennepin Healthcare's interim co-administrator accused Hennepin County board of "micro-management" in his resignation email last week, but says he supports the county's plan to ensure HCMC stays open. (KARE11)

🚁 A judge has grounded an East Gull Lake helicopter owner after a six-year fight with the city, ruling he can't land his chopper at his lakefront vacation home. (Star Tribune)

🛷 Klondike Dog Derby organizers announced the sled dog race's permanent retirement after three straight years of cancellations.

• Organizers say Lake Minnetonka no longer reliably has enough ice or snow cover to host the event.

🎟️ Kevin Garnett will make his first Target Center appearance in eight years next weekend at the Wolves' regular season finale. (KSTP)

The sudden closure of The Seville last week — labeled downtown Minneapolis' "classiest" strip club by Racket — demonstrated how fragile employment in the sex industry can be.

"There's absolutely no job security," Andi Snow, executive director of the Sex Worker Outreach Project, told City Cast Twin Cities.

• Not only are dancers independent contractors, but they effectively have to pay to work: The clubs charge them a fee to perform, Snow said.
• The main goal of her guild's members is obtaining health insurance.

The intrigue: The Seville's closure deals an outsized blow to the dancers in Minneapolis, which now has just six clubs.

• "A city our size should have 30. This is wild." Snow said. (A check of one national database shows Minnesota has fewer strip clubs per capita than all but ten other states.)

What's next: Seville's dancers are planning a car wash fundraiser after the weather warms up.

Listen to Snow's City Cast interview

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Over a third of engaged couples now use artificial intelligence in their wedding planning — a share that nearly doubled in just one year — according to new data from The Knot.

Why it matters: You can do a lot with AI, like generate custom images, moodboards and yes, even vows. But you can't add a human touch to your event.

What they're saying: "The folks I work with would probably get the 'ick' if they knew something for their wedding, the culmination of their love story … had this stamp of artificial, cookie-cutter, generic style on it," wedding artist Lisa Buch tells Axios.

Yes, but: AI-generated save-the-dates, invitations or other illustrations might come cheaper than custom designs.

• Couples turning to AI for this work likely weren't planning to pay a professional designer anyway, Florida creative Matthew Wengerd acknowledged.

The bottom line: AI may draft the vision. Couples still pay humans to pull it off.

When couples ask the bots