The St. Paul City Council is poised to walk back another part of the city's rent control ordinance this week.

Why it matters: The vote is the culmination of a months-long push by Mayor Melvin Carter to exempt new construction from the rent caps permanently.

• Supporters have argued the move is necessary to jump-start housing construction in St. Paul — which has stalled since voters passed the ordinance in 2021 — without ditching rent control altogether.

The big picture: The proposal represents a big bet on a minor change to a policy whose current iteration has critics in many corners.

• Developers don't like it, and even many rent control advocates have argued St. Paul's policy is a watered-down version of what voters initially demanded.

Catch up quick: The policy voters approved capped annual rent increases at 3%, with few exceptions — until Carter and the council loosened the rules in 2022.

• As a result, landlords also can enact much larger rent increases after a tenant moves out — and new construction is now exempt from rent control for 20 years.

The latest: The proposal before the council this week would be another relaxation, permanently exempting any new housing built in 2005 or later.

• Rent control critics say it's an easy way for the city to make a bad policy more workable.

What they're saying: "What we've done in St. Paul is create the worst of both worlds," Nate Hood, a city Planning Commission member and small-time landlord, told Axios.

• Because the 2022 exemptions gave landlords more ways to raise rents, Hood argues "we're neither protecting tenants nor creating the framework to allow new development."

The other side: Rent control advocates say the solution is to strengthen regulations, not cave to developer pressure.

• With better city enforcement, "we wouldn't necessarily be experiencing the 'worst of both worlds,'" added PolicyLink analyst Tram Hoang, who managed the 2021 rent control campaign.

Typical rents in Minneapolis and St. Paul have grown at a similar pace in recent years, despite Minneapolis lacking rent control.

By the numbers: Since St. Paul's ordinance took effect in 2023, more than 1,700 landlords have applied to raise rents on vacant units beyond the 3% cap.

• The city granted the vast majority of these requests to raise rents by as much as 8% plus inflation, city officials tell Axios.

Context: These exemptions affect only a fraction of St. Paul's 57,000-plus renter-occupied units.

Keep reading for a reality check

🍃 Minnesota's Office of Cannabis Management plans to hold a long-awaited lottery to award cannabis business licenses on June 5. (Star Tribune)

• State of play: The agency's interim head told MPR News last week that he thinks retail dispensaries licensed by the state could open "in the next few months," though it will likely take a "few months after that" for a "fully developed supply chain."

🎤 Benson Boone, the hit singer behind TikTok ear worm "Beautiful Things," will play the X on Aug. 22. (KARE 11)

The Hennepin County Attorney's office filed felony charges against a woman with a revoked license who prosecutors say struck and killed one pedestrian and injured three others in two separate hit-and-runs just minutes apart in Minneapolis last week. (Fox9)

One in 10 Minnesotans over 65 are living with Alzheimer's, according to a new report out this morning from the Alzheimer's Association.

By the numbers: That translates to about 102,000 seniors.

The big picture: More than 7 million seniors now live with Alzheimer's in the U.S., the highest number ever recorded.

Warning signs and tips for preventing decline

"I think if we play our cards right we can have a budget deal before the conclave starts. But woe unto the Minnesota Legislature if we have a new pope before we have targets."

Reality check: The parties remain at odds over their "very different" approaches to overall spending levels and leaders said they hadn't even started to talk contentious policy issues heading into yesterday's closed-door talks.

⏰ The session adjourns on May 19, though the make-or-break deadline for passing a budget is June 30.

The Timberwolves-Warriors series that tips off at 8:30 tonight should make for some riveting basketball.

Here are three juicy storylines:

Jimmy Butler returns to Target Center: Just 16 months after arriving in Minnesota in a 2017 trade, the mercurial star trashed his teammates after a publicity stunt at a team scrimmage and forced his way off the team.

• No current Wolves player from that team remains, but fans remember.

Rudy vs. Draymond: Wolves center Rudy Gobert and Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green have a long-running feud, which reached a crescendo in 2023 when Green was suspended for five games for putting Gobert in a headlock.

Ant goes after another superstar: Anthony Edwards is only 23 but has already knocked Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokić, LeBron James and Luka Dončić from the playoffs.

• Adding two-time MVP Steph Curry to that list would further make the case that he's the future face of the NBA.

Trash talk flashback

The former Bank restaurant, which closed earlier this year in the downtown Westin hotel, will re-open this summer as Stock & Bond, a steakhouse.

By the numbers: This new one will make nine steakhouses in downtown Minneapolis, plus a few more in the North Loop, as Jason DeRusha and Nick discussed on social media.

The intrigue: There's a pretty simple explanation for the steakhouse scene.

• Downtown is the epicenter of business travel in the Twin Cities, and that means a lot of corporate credit cards paying for those $100 steaks.