XCEL Energy owes ratepayers $40.6 million dollars (plus interest), the leader of the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives is fired, and peregrine falcon chicks at the Mayo Clinic need names.
Transcript
WITH HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE STATE, I’M XAN HOLSTON.
--XCEL ENERGY REFUND--
XCEL CUSTOMERS ARE GETTING MONEY BACK AFTER STATE REGULATORS SAID THE COMPANY SHIFTED THE COST OF ITS OWN MISTAKE ONTO RATEPAYERS.
THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION … OR P-U-C … ORDERED XCEL TO REFUND 40-POINT-6 MILLION DOLLARS … PLUS INTEREST … TO ELECTRIC CUSTOMERS.
THE CASE GOES BACK TO 2023 … WHEN WORKERS CUT BURIED CABLES AT THE PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR PLANT … FORCING BOTH UNITS OFFLINE FOR 103 DAYS.
XCEL BOUGHT MORE EXPENSIVE REPLACEMENT POWER … AND PASSED THOSE COSTS ON TO CUSTOMERS.
THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE SAYS XCEL FAILED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY … AND ONLY ACKNOWLEDGED ITS WORKERS CUT THE CABLES AFTER A STATE COMMERCE ANALYST FOUND CONFLICTING NUMBERS IN PAPERWORK DURING THE INVESTIGATION..
THE P-U-C REJECTED XCEL’S REQUEST TO REDUCE THE REFUND BY MORE THAN 26-MILLION-DOLLARS IN OTHER OFFSETS IT GAVE CUSTOMERS.
P-U-C VICE-CHAIR JOSEPH SULLIVAN CALLS THE CUSTOMER CREDIT UNUSUAL BUT FAIR.
[PUC VICE-CHAIR JOSEPH SULLIVAN: RATEPAYERS ARE GOING TO GET A 40-MILLION DOLLAR CREDIT IN THEIR FUEL CLAUSE … THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN EVERY DAY.]
XCEL MUST NOW FILE A PLAN FOR HOW CUSTOMERS WILL GET THE BILL CREDIT.
--MMIR DIRECTOR FIRED--
THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY ... OR D-P-S … FIRED THE HEAD OF ITS MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS RELATIVES … OR M-M-I-R OFFICE … AFTER LESS THAN A YEAR ON THE JOB ... AND JUST ONE DAY AFTER NATIONAL M-M-I-R DAY.
D-P-S HAS NOT GIVEN A REASON FOR WHY IT FIRED GUADALUPE LOPEZ.
LOPEZ WAS THE THIRD PERMANENT DIRECTOR SINCE THE OFFICE OPENED IN 2021 ... AND THE FIRST TO BE CLEARLY REPORTED AS ‘FIRED’.
WHEN LOPEZ WAS HIRED … D-P-S DESCRIBED HER AS A NATIONALLY RESPECTED ADVOCATE WITH MORE THAN 25 YEARS OF WORK ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE … SEXUAL ASSAULT … TRAFFICKING … AND M-M-I-R ISSUES.
D-F-L SENATOR MARY KUNESH HELPED CREATE THE OFFICE. SHE SAYS THE MOMENT SHOULD BRING THE FOCUS BACK TO THE FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES IT WAS BUILT TO SERVE.
[SEN. MARY KUNESH: AND I AM 100 PERCENT DEDICATED TO ENSURING ITS ABILITY TO CONTINUE THE WORK, AND TO FIND A WAY TO EVOLVE IN A WAY THAT TRULY SUPPORTS OUR NATIVE COMMUNITIES.]
THE OFFICE WORKS WITH FAMILIES ... LAW ENFORCEMENT ... AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS ON CASES INVOLVING MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.
--PAID LEAVE DEBATE--
MINNESOTA’S NEW PAID LEAVE TAX WILL COME OUT OF MOST WORKERS’ PAYCHECKS … BUT NOT LAWMAKERS.
DURING SENATE DEBATE ON FINANCE BILLS … REPUBLICAN SENATOR STEVE DRAZKOWSKI TRIED TO REQUIRE HOUSE AND SENATE MEMBERS TO PAY INTO THE PROGRAM.
HE QUESTIONED WHY LAWMAKERS WOULD BE COVERED BY PAID LEAVE … WITHOUT HAVING THEIR SHARE OF TAXES WITHHELD.
THE PROPOSAL WAS BLOCKED AFTER SENATE LEADERS RULED THE AMENDMENT DIDN’T FIT THE BILL IT TIRED TO CHANGE.
--MAYO AI RESEARCH DISCOVERIES--
MAYO CLINIC RESEARCHERS SAY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS HELPING THEM FIND WARNING SIGNS THE HUMAN EYE CAN MISS.
IN ONE STUDY … MAYO USED A-I TO MEASURE FAT AROUND THE HEART ON STANDARD CALCIUM SCANS FROM NEARLY 12-THOUSAND ADULTS.
HIGHER HEART-FAT VOLUME WAS LINKED TO GREATER RISK OF HEART ATTACK ... STROKE … AND OTHER CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS.
IN ANOTHER STUDY … A MAYO-DEVELOPED---A-I MODEL FOUND SUBTLE SIGNS OF PANCREATIC CANCER ON ROUTINE C-T SCANS UP TO THREE YEARS BEFORE DIAGNOSIS.
MAYO SAYS THE GOAL IS EARLIER DETECTION … USING SCANS PATIENTS MAY ALREADY BE GETTING.
--FISHING OPENER--
MINNESOTA’S FISHING OPENER CAME WITH A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING … INCLUDING SNOW IN THE NORTHEAST.
IT WAS SNOWING AT BIRCH LAKE NEAR BABBITT SATURDAY MORNING … WITH LOW VISIBILITY.
THE D-N-R SAYS REPORTS VARIED STATEWIDE … BUT EVEN ROUGH WEATHER DIDN’T STOP SOME OF MINNESOTA’S HEARTIEST ANGLERS FROM GETTING ON THE WATER.
--INVASIVE SPECIES PROGRESS AND WORRIES--
MINNESOTA LAKE GROUPS SAY YEARS OF WORK ARE SLOWING THE SPREAD OF AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES … BUT THEY WORRY THAT PROGRESS COULD SLIP.
SINCE 2014 … THE STATE HAS SENT TEN-MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR TO COUNTIES FOR LOCAL PREVENTION WORK … INCLUDING BOAT INSPECTIONS AND CLEANING STATIONS.
CASS COUNTY LAKE MONITORS SAY THE SPREAD OF ZEBRA MUSSEL DROPPED FROM ABOUT 40-PERCENT A YEAR TO ABOUT SIX-PERCENT SINCE RECEIVING FUNDING.
BUT MONEY IS SCHEDULED TO BE CUT IN HALF IN JULY OF 2027.
LAKE ASSOCIATIONS SAY THAT COULD MEAN FEWER INSPECTORS … AND MORE CHANCES FOR INVASIVE SPECIES TO MOVE FROM LAKE TO LAKE.
--AND FINALLY … --
THREE FLUFFY NEW BABIES IN ROCHESTER NEED NAMES... AND YOU CAN HELP NAME THEM… THEN, WATCH THEM GROW UP … LIVE!
MAYO CLINIC IS HOLDING A ‘BABY-NAMING CONTEST’.. FOR THIS YEAR’S PEREGRINE FALCON CHICKS.
SUBMIT YOUR BABY BIRD NAMES NOW THROUGH MAY 15TH... ON THE MAYO WEBSITE.
HATTIE AND ORTON’S FIRST TWO CHICKS HATCHED MAY THIRD … AND CHICK NUMBER THREE ARRIVED MAY FOURTH.
BEFORE YOU VOTE.. YOU CAN CHECK OUT THEIR ‘PERSONALITIES’ ON MAYO’S FALCON LIVE-CAM, INSIDE THEIR NEST BOX ON THE ROCHESTER CAMPUS … NOW WITH SOUND
MAYO HAS HOSTED PEREGRINES SINCE 1987 ... HELPING THE ONCE-THREATENED SPECIES RECOVER.
THE CHICKS WILL BE NAMED AND BANDED DURING A LIVESTREAM MAY 22ND.
FOR NORTH STAR STORIES, I’M XAN HOLSTON.