Tiny houses for when disasters strike, Carver County pushes back wins against a planned electric line, and AMPERS and its member stations win an armful of Minnesota Broadcast Journalist Association Eric Sevareid Awards.
Transcript
WITH HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE STATE, I’M XAN HOLSTON.
COMING UP … TINY HOUSES FOR WHEN DISASTERS STRIKE …
AND COUNTIES LOOK TO CREATE CENTRALIZED WATER DISTRICTS
[FOR COLD OPEN: [CLAY CTY COMM. EZRA BAER: THE SYSTEMS ARE ONE FAILURE AWAY FROM LOSING RELIABLE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER.]]
BUT FIRST …
--HUMAN TRAFFICKING--
MINNESOTA’S HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE SAYS IT HAS RECEIVED MORE THAN 1,300 TIPS IN THE LAST THREE YEARS…
AND.. NOW, CENTRAL MINNESOTA ANTI-TRAFFICKING EFFORTS ARE EXPANDING..
STEARNS COUNTY RECEIVED NEARLY ONE MILLION DOLLARS FROM THE STATE TO BOOST THE CENTRAL MINNESOTA HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE.
THE TASK FORCE WILL USE THE MONEY TO EXPAND INVESTIGATIONS, TRAINING, AND VICTIM-CENTERED WORK WITH PARTNERS LIKE LAW ENFORCEMENT, HEALTH CARE, AND LEGAL AID.
MINNESOTA HEALTH OFFICIALS WANT TO TEACH THE PUBLIC HOW TO IDENTIFY A HUMAN TRAFFICKING SITUATION OR VICTIM..
[SOT: TRAFFICKING… IS SOMETIMES VERY GLAMORIZED OR HOLLYWOODIZED. IT’S MUCH MORE MUNDANE… IT’S PRETTY HIDDEN IN OUR COMMUNITIES IN DAY-TO-DAY LIFE.]
FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS ARE ALSO FOCUSING ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN MINNESOTA ... WITH ‘OPERATION NOT FORGOTTEN’ ... WORKING IN TRIBAL COMMUNITIES ON UNSOLVED CASES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
--CHILDCARE WORKER--
A DAYCARE WORKER ACCUSED OF GETTING DRUNK ON HER LUNCH BREAK AND FALLING ON TOP OF A CHILD IS DUE IN COURT THURSDAY.
BACK IN FEBRUARY ... 21-YEAR-OLD ANIYA LOVE KEOSONGSENG HAD A BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL ~ FOUR TIMES THE LEGAL LIMIT ~ WHILE WORKING AS AN AIDE AT A DAYCARE IN THE MINNEAPOLIS SUBURB OF PLYMOUTH ... ACCORDING TO COURT DOCUMENTS.
CO-WORKERS REPORTEDLY TOLD POLICE SHE RETURNED FROM LUNCH VISIBLY DRUNK ... AND COURT DOCUMENTS SAY VIDEO FOOTAGE SHOWS HER STUMBLE INTO A WALL AND FALL WHILE HOLDING A SMALL CHILD.
SHE FACES CHARGES OF CHILD ENDANGERMENT AND RESISTING ARREST.
--CARVER COUNTY NEW ELECTRIC LINES--
COMMUNITY INPUT AND SHOWING UP MAKE A DIFFERENCE...
LANDOWNERS AND LEADERS IN CARVER COUNTY AND NEIGHBORING COUNTIES OPPOSED A NEW, PROPOSED ROUTE FOR A NEW
MINNESOTA VALLEY ELECTRIC LINE. AND... MADE THEIR VOICES HEARD.
NOW... STATE REGULATORS APPROVED THE NEARLY FOUR-AND-A-HALF MILE ENERGY LINE ALONG EXISTING CORRIDORS INSTEAD OF PRODUCTIVE FARMLAND.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE ELECTRIC LINES AND SUBSTATION WILL COST ABOUT 18-MILLION DOLLARS AND IS SET TO BEGIN NEXT FALL.
--RURAL WATER INFRASTRUCTURE--
RURAL COMMUNITIES ARE TRYING TO KEEP SAFE WATER MOVING … WITHOUT DROWNING IN COSTS OF UPDATING AGING INFRASTRUCTURE.
A BILL AT THE CAPITOL WOULD HELP THESE RURAL TOWNS DEVELOP REGIONAL SYSTEMS …
MULTIPLE COMMUNITIES WOULD COLLECTIVELY BUILD, OPERATE AND SHARE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE … AND THE COSTS...
THE SHARED SYSTEM AND EXPENSE WOULD EXTEND WATER SERVICE TO AREAS THAT OTHER WISE CAN’T AFFORD INDIVIDUAL SYSTEMS.
STATE FUNDING WOULD COVER THE UPFRONT PLANNING WORK … BILL AUTHOR SENATOR MARK JOHNSON SAYS MANY COMMUNITIES ARE STUCK BEFORE THEY EVEN START:
[SEN. MARK JOHNSON: THEY'RE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR USDA DOLLARS. THEY'RE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR SOME OF THESE GRANTS BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE LEGALLY ESTABLISHED DISTRICTS.]
THE BILL INCLUDES ONE MILLION DOLLARS FOR THOSE EARLY COSTS …
--CANNABIS SALES--
MINNESOTA IS HITTING NEW HIGHS WITH ITS CANNABIS SALES.
NEW STATE DATE SAYS RECREATIONAL CANNABIS SALES TOPPED 50-MILLION DOLLARS SINCE SEPTEMBER 2025 … WHEN THE OFFICE OF CANNABIS MANAGEMENT ISSUED ITS FIRST LICENSES.
THE STATE HAS ISSUED AROUND 180 LICENSES … MOSTLY FOR RETAIL BUSINESSES … AND THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE SAYS ITS BROUGHT IN 27-MILLION DOLLARS IN TAXES SINCE LAST YEAR.
--TINY TEMPORARY HOUSE FROM MANKATO--
A MINNESOTA STARTUP IS TRYING TO BUILD A RAPID-DEPLOY, LIVABLE “MICRO-HOME” FOR DISASTER VICTIMS — BECAUSE WHEN FLOODS OR FIRES HIT, PEOPLE NEED HOUSING NOW, NOT MONTHS LATER.
MINNESOTANS SAW THAT DURING THE 2024 FLOODS, WHEN HUNDREDS OF HOMES AND ROADS WERE UNDER FEET OF WATER THROUGHOUT MORE THAN 40 COUNTIES.
MANKATO-BASED-COMPANY… LAKESHIELD… WAS FOUNDED BY AN EX-MARINE.. GULED KASSIM. HIS START-UP COMPANY IS DEVELOPING A 240-SQUARE-FOOT POP-UP SHELTER THAT CAN BE HAULED FLAT AND SET UP WITH THREE PEOPLE AND A FORKLIFT.
THE TINY TEMPORARY HOMES... HAVE SOLAR-BATTERY POWER AND TEMPERATURE CONTROL.
THE COMPANY SAYS A PROTOTYPE COULD BE READY BY LATE SUMMER OR EARLY FALL.
--AMPERS RADIO NEWS AWARDS--
THE MOST IMPORTANT STORIES DON’T ALWAYS START ON A NATIONAL STAGE… THEY START RIGHT HERE, IN COMMUNITY NEWSROOMS THAT KNOW THE PEOPLE AND THE PLACE.
A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TONIGHT TO OUR AMPERS AFFILIATE NEWSROOMS…
KAXE IS CELEBRATING EIGHTEEN! ERIC SEVAREID AWARDS FROM THE MIDWEST BROADCAST JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION… INCLUDING NINE FIRST-PLACE WINS..
AND WTIP BROUGHT HOME FIFTEEN SEVAREIDS, WITH SEVEN FIRST-PLACE.
AND HERE AT AMPERS … NORTH STAR STORIES WON FIRST PLACE IN THE SEVAREIDS’ LARGE MARKET RADIO SERIES CATEGORY FOR OUR GEORGE FLOYD FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY SERIES…
THE SEVAREIDS ARE ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED REGIONAL BROADCAST AWARDS IN THE UPPER MIDWEST…
THIS YEAR’S RESULTS ARE A BIG SALUTE TO LOCAL PUBLIC RADIO JOURNALISM ACROSS MINNESOTA.
FOR NORTH STAR STORIES, I’M XAN HOLSTON.