ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A few final debates echoed through the state Capitol Monday, as lawmakers haggled over tax increases and union organizing in a session that’s already seen a big spike in spending on schools and a landmark law legalizing gay marriage.

A session that started in January ended in a rush toward the finish line: a midnight deadline to adjourn for the year. It was the finale of four months of Democratic control of the Legislature, and members seized the chance to set a $38.3 billion budget that increases spending on schools, colleges and other programs and helps pay for it with $2.1 billion in tax increases primarily on the wealthy and smokers.

Republicans forecast a rough ride ahead, with businesses and the well-off looking beyond Minnesota to avoid new taxes.

“This tax bill will make us a high-tax island. Members, that’s a fact,” said Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen.

Sen. Rod Skoe, a Clearbrook Democrat who helped craft the plan, disputed the gloomy assessment.

“Taxes are important, but it’s not the most important thing,” he said.

In the House, Rep. Ann Lenczewski, DFL-Bloomington, Lenczewski, who helped write the bill, framed it as a responsible approach to erasing a $627 million deficit and fashioning a two-year budget that includes the targeted spending increases.

The House passed the bill in the wee hours Monday morning, and the Senate was expected to follow suit Monday night.

It’s the first state-level tax increase approved by lawmakers since the gas tax went up five years ago. Some 54,400 taxpayers would pay a higher income tax, averaging $7,200 more per year, according to legislative researchers. The new 9.85 percent upper income tax level is 2 points higher than the current top tier. The tax on a pack of cigarettes goes up $1.60. Corporations lose some tax preferences. And some businesses see more transactions subjected to the sales tax.

The bill contains $570 million in new credits and local government exemptions that backers frame as property tax relief. Some money flows into aid programs that give breaks directly to homeowners.

Upon Senate passage, the bill heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, who is on board.

The House also voted to send Dayton a bill to allow union organizing drives among two groups of workers: in-home daycare providers and personal care attendants to the elderly and disabled. The legislation injected the contentious divide between Republicans and Democratic-allied labor unions into the session’s final days. The 10-hour debate was strung out over more than two days, as Republicans blasted what they called a union power grab and Democrats defended it as giving workers an option to unite over common issues.

“We are not forming a union here today,” said Rep. Carly Melin, DFL-Hibbing. “We are authorizing people the right to vote about whether they want to enter a collective bargaining unit.”

The House passed the bill by one vote, 68-66, with five Democrats defecting. Its passage prompted an eruption of cheers in the House gallery, which provoked angry shouts from several Republican lawmakers.

“This looks like union payback. What a blight on the process,” said Rep. Kathy Lohmer, R-Lake Elmo. “This isn’t what people want.”

Another labor-backed bill to raise the state’s minimum wage was alive in the session’s final hours, but barely. A House-Senate conference committee convened briefly on the bill, which now stands at $6.15 per hour, but took no action.

The wage hike was a top Democratic priority at the start of session, but stalled after House and Senate members couldn’t agree how big it should be. The House approved a bill raising the minimum in three stages until it reaches $9.50 by 2015. The Senate’s bill topped out at $7.75. If they agree on a number, legislative negotiators also must decide if the wage will rise by an inflationary amount in future years.

Smaller policy bills flew through under the wire, including an election bill that authorizes no-excuse absentee voting and a campaign finance bill to increase the size of contributions that Minnesota candidates can accept from individuals.

High-level negotiations resulted in a small construction borrowing package built around a $109 million installment for the state Capitol renovation, money needed to keep work going on the 107-year-old seat of government.

“This building has no lobbyist to shill for it,” said Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, before a 121-10 House vote. “It has us and we must not let it down.”

Aside from the Capitol project is an $18.9 million award for a new Minneapolis Veterans Home building that will get a big federal match. There is also $20 million for flood mitigation projects. It sailed through on lopsided votes.

A 43-26 vote early Monday sent a proposed constitutional amendment to the 2016 ballot that asks voters if an independent council should set legislator pay; that decision now rests with lawmakers, who haven’t touched salaries since 1999 for fear of a political backlash.

Once lawmakers adjourn, they won’t return for their election-year session until late February.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – It’s important to remember that sometimes there’s nothing anyone could do. Tornadoes are powerful, mysterious, and random. But many of you had good questions related to the tragedy in Oklahoma.

• Why aren’t there basements in Oklahoma? – Betty Cozatt

It’s because of the soil. Some of it is really clay-like, which gets wet and causes basement flooding. The rest of it has bedrock, which can be very expensive to chip away at, if not impossible. If you want a basement, you might need to use explosives to clear the bedrock.

Nationally, only 31 percent of newly constructed homes have basements, according to the National Association of Home Builders. In Minnesota, it’s closer to 81 percent.

• Why don’t schools have storm shelters? – Brandy DuToit

It’s an expense issue. After a tornado in Joplin, Miss., they rebuilt schools with shelters which ended up costing more than $26 million.

In Wadena, where a tornado ripped through in 2010, the new high school has a 6,500-square-foot safe room designed to handle up to 250 miles per hour. It holds 1,100 people.

All schools in Minnesota do tornado drills. The standard procedure is to cover your head in the hallway, but when a tornado flies through at 200 miles per hour, there’s really nowhere that’s 100-percent safe above ground – unless you’re in a specially-designed structure.

• Does Minnesota get tornadoes with that kind of destructive power? – Meg Brownson

According to the National Weather Service, the last EF5 tornado in Minnesota was 1992 in Chandler. The weather service estimated winds reached 260 miles per hour. One person was killed, 35 were hurt and there was $50 million in damage.

Over the past 30 years, we average 37 tornadoes a year, but EF4 and EF5 tornadoes are extremely rare.

• What’s the best way to help Oklahoma tornado victims? – Greg Herman and Libby Otto

Right now the Salvation Army and American Red Cross are already on the scene and helping. No doubt other aid agencies will quickly respond.

Salvation Army: https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/uss/eds/aok, or Text “STORM” to 80888 to make a $10 donation.

American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/charitable-donations, or text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — When you’re out driving, you’re more and more likely to see women on motorcycles. In the last 10 years, the number of women riding motorcycles in Minnesota has grown more than 58 percent — from 31,576 riders in 2002 to 53,784 in 2012. And one of the brands that is seeing the most growth is the one that is considered the most masculine — Harley Davidson.

“When they portray riders on TV, it’s like big, mean guys,” said Rachelle Wise of Plymouth, who’s taking a motorcycle instruction class, “and it’s not really like that at all.”

Now 13 percent of motorcycle riders in Minnesota are women.

Some are moving from the back of a guy’s bike.

“I’d rather be the one in control, riding it, with the wind in my face,” said Steph Blanda of Minneapolis, while taking a class.

Others are looking to join a different kind of motorcycle gang.

“I just have a lot of female friends that go out on rides together, do fun adventures – and I want to be a part of that” Wise said. “And I kind of want to be a part of that.”

And they have a reputation for being more interested in safety.

“The ladies seem a little bit more…they listen a little bit better than some guys,” said safety instructor Dusty Rhodes, who says 44 percent of his students are women.

“I run an all-ladies class during the year, because some ladies don’t want to be with men. They feel intimidated, but I’ve got ladies that run a lot better than some guys.”

Now purses and pedicures are not only welcome at Harley Davidson, but dealers are finding ways to cater to their new customers, hosting special ladies nights events and sponsoring women’s riding groups.

“I think it’s just barely scratched the surface,” says Tom Giannetti, owner of St. Paul Harley Davidson. “There’s a lot of dreamers.”

Customizing bikes has always been a big part of the Harley culture. But now that includes special tools and options to make big bikes fit shorter riders.

“We can adjust that bike, whether with shocks, whether it’s with a seat that we might change, maybe we change the position of the handlebars,” Giannetti said. “So it helps us fit more people.”

Like Lisa Pap of Lakeville, who was getting bored being her husband’s passenger. So, she moved into the driver’s seat.

“My husband is a little bit of a speed freak and I’m not, so when we ride I ride in front and I control the speed and he’s behind me,” Pap said.

And Rachael Harvey of Stillwater, who started riding a year ago for her 60th birthday.

“As you’re riding up the highway and you’ve got nature surrounding you,” she said. “When you’re in the car, you’re surrounded by that metal cage.”

Watch the video above to see how Amelia does on a motorcycle.

A borrowing proposal that came together on the Legislature’s final day includes $109 million for the next phase of a renovation to the deteriorating building. The money was needed this year to keep underway construction from halting. A new parking ramp will be authorized, but paid for with fees from users.

The package is the result of high-level negotiations involving majority Democrats and minority Republicans, testament to the supermajority it requires for passage. It cleared both chambers with votes to spare and is on to Gov. Mark Dayton.

Aside from the Capitol project is an $18.9 million award for a new Minneapolis Veterans Home building that will garner a big federal match. There is also $20 million for flood mitigation projects.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

According to the St. Louis County Attorney’s office, 22-year-old Tabbatha Lee Olson solicited and promoted several juvenile females for prostitution in the Duluth area.

Along with 32-year-old Markeace Arque Canty, Olson used the internet to advertise and promote the prostitution of minors in several cities throughout the Midwest. Olson and Canty would also transport the juveniles to those various locations.

Olson and Canty were both apprehended, and Canty is being charged in a parallel indictment.

St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin says that Olson must be held accountable.

It is a sad reality that sometimes adult women are used by traffickers to solicit and arrange for the exploitation of young girls,” Rubin said. “The situation that the adult women find themselves in would be appropriately considered at the sentencing phase. However, the conduct is not excusable and they must face responsibility for their actions.”

In addition to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s office, other agencies that assisted with this case include the FBI and the police departments of Duluth, Fargo and Grand Forks, N.D., Eau Claire, Wis., and Porter Co., Ind.

Gallery: Oklahoma City Tornado

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — A monstrous tornado at least a half-mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. At least 51 people were killed, and officials said the death toll was expected to rise.

The storm laid waste to scores of buildings in Moore, a community of 41,000 people about 10 miles south of the city. Block after block lay in ruins. Homes were crushed into piles of broken wood. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside.

The National Weather Service issued an initial finding that the tornado was an EF-4 on the enhanced Fujita scale, the second most-powerful type of twister.

More than 140 people were being treated at hospitals, including about 70 children. And search-and-rescue efforts were to continue throughout the night.

Tiffany Thronesberry said she heard from her mother, Barbara Jarrell, shortly after the tornado.

“I got a phone call from her screaming, ‘Help! Help! I can’t breathe. My house is on top of me!’” Thronesberry said.

Thronesberry hurried to her mother’s house, where first responders had already pulled her out. Her mother was hospitalized for treatment of cuts and bruises.

Rescuers launched a desperate rescue effort at the school, pulling children from heaps of debris and carrying them to a triage center.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin deployed 80 National Guard members to assist with rescue operations and activated extra highway patrol officers.

Fallin also spoke with President Barack Obama, who offered the nation’s help and gave Fallin a direct line to his office.

Many land lines to stricken areas were down, and cellphone networks were congested. The storm was so massive that it will take time to establish communications between rescuers and state officials, the governor said.

In video of the storm, the dark funnel cloud could be seen marching slowly across the green landscape. As it churned through the community, the twister scattered shards of wood, awnings and glass all over the streets.

Chris Calvert saw the menacing tornado from about a mile away.

“I was close enough to hear it,” he said. “It was just a low roar, and you could see the debris, like pieces of shingles and insulation and stuff like that, rotating around it.”

Even though his subdivision is a mile from the tornado’s path, it was still covered with debris. He found a picture of a small girl on Santa Claus’ lap in his yard.

Volunteers and first responders raced to search the debris for survivors.

At Plaza Towers Elementary School, the storm tore off the roof, knocked down walls and turned the playground into a mass of twisted plastic and metal.

Children from the school were among the dead, but several students were pulled alive from the rubble. Rescue workers passed the survivors down a human chain to the triage center in the parking lot.

James Rushing, who lives across the street from the school, heard reports of the approaching twister and ran to the school, where his 5-year-old foster son, Aiden, attends classes. Rushing believed he would be safer there.

“About two minutes after I got there, the school started coming apart,” he said.

The students were sent into the restroom.

As dusk began to fall, heavy equipment was rolled up to the school, and emergency workers wearing yellow crawled among the ruins, searching for survivors.

Because the ground was muddy, bulldozers and front-end loaders were getting stuck. Crews used jackhammers and sledgehammers to tear away concrete, and chunks were being thrown to the side as the workers dug.

Douglas Sherman drove two blocks from his home to help.

“Just having those kids trapped in that school, that really turns the table on a lot of things,” he said.

A map provided by the National Weather Service showed that the storm began west of Newcastle and crossed the Canadian River into Oklahoma City’s rural far southwestern side about 3 p.m. When it reached Moore, the twister cut a path through the center of town before lifting back into the sky at Lake Stanley Draper.

Oklahoma City Police Capt. Dexter Nelson said downed power lines and open gas lines posed a risk in the aftermath of the system.

Monday’s powerful tornado loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999.

The weather service estimated that Monday’s tornado was at least a half-mile wide. The 1999 storm had winds clocked at 300 mph.

Kelsey Angle, a weather service meteorologist in Kansas City, Mo., said it’s unusual for two such powerful tornadoes to track roughly the same path.

It was the fourth tornado to hit Moore since 1998. A twister also struck in 2003.

Monday’s devastation in Oklahoma came almost exactly two years after an enormous twister ripped through the city of Joplin, Mo., killing 158 people and injuring hundreds more.

That May 22, 2011, tornado was the deadliest in the United States since modern tornado record keeping began in 1950, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Before Joplin, the deadliest modern tornado was June 1953 in Flint, Mich., when 116 people died.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The Legislature passed a bill Monday that includes a provision that directs the city of St. Paul to issue and on-sale wine and malt liquor license to the Capitol cafeteria. The bill now goes to Gov. Mark Dayton.

The Capitol’s basement cafeteria is a German-style rathskeller cafe. It was restored to its original design in 2000. It even has a painted slogan on the ceiling, in German, that urges visitors to enjoy an adult beverage.

The boozy provision is part of a package that distributes sales tax money from the state’s so-called Legacy amendment to parks and to arts and cultural programs.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - It’s no secret that fireworks are dangerous to set off, but it turns out they are even more dangerous to make.

A Wyoming man was severely burned while making illegal fireworks in a garage, according to Wyoming Fire Department Chief Paul Hoppe.

“From what we can tell, he was in the process of mixing some of the materials and it ignited what we call a flashover explosion,” Hoppe said.

Police say David Michael Walsh, Timothy Gray and a third man – who is in critical condition – were building homemade fireworks out of a home and a backyard shed in a property about 30 miles north of St. Paul in Wyoming. Walsh and Gray have both charged with possessing and storing an incendiary device.

And charges are pending for the unidentified third man, who suffered 1st- and 2nd-degree burns which cover 40 percent of his body.

The 911 call to help is what led investigators to find tables and rows full of black powder, saw dust and casings.

Officers say they soon realized it was an all-out homegrown firework-making operation.

“It’s not something that we typically run into on a day-to-day basis, so it is an unusual event,” Hoppe said.

And it’s not as complicated as you may think. The chief thinks they were using internet instruction, which is why they confiscated 12 computers.

Hoppe says the reason for the illegal fireworks black market is that making them the legal way requires permits and major regulation.

And making them in the midst of a neighborhood is very dangerous.

“A firework is really an explosive material compressed into tubes,” he said.

The black market is due to the illegality of explosive fireworks in the state, requiring a trip across the state border to purchase them.

Some of the explosive materials found by authorities included mortar-style aerial fireworks with barrels that are 2 to 3 inches in diameter.

Click here for a list of fireworks allowed in Minnesota.

The change is included in a larger election policy bill the House and Senate passed on Monday with wide bipartisan support.

Current state law requires voters to attest one of a handful of justifications in order to obtain an absentee ballot, although enforcement has been lax. The bill lifts those limits entirely and opens up the absentee option to anyone.

Democrats had pushed a wider expansion of early voting at the polls, but Republicans opposed those changes. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton made it clear he would only support election-law changes that have support from members in both parties.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Outside downtown office buildings, many smokers didn’t want to talk about the possibility of a tax that will push a lot of cigarette packs into the $8 range.

Dan Jones says the tax may be the push he needs

“It’s a tax on something that you don’t need… I’m ok with it actually,” Jones said. “Who knows, maybe it will finally give me the motivation I need to stop doing it.”

Nicole Peterson says she would cut back.

“I won’t quit over it, but I’ll definitely smoke less,” Peterson said.

And that is exactly what Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Ed Ehllnger likes to hear.

“I think the increase of the tobacco tax by $1.60 per pack is one of the biggest public health benefits from this legislative session,” Ehllnger said.

Commissioner Ehllnger says data from other states show tax hikes make a difference

“Among adults, if you raise it 10 percent – about two percent will quit smoking,” he said. “That’s a huge impact.”

The state says it has built the expected drop in smokers into their revenue projections. The current tobacco tax pulls in $423 million, and the state is predicting the higher tax would pull in $618 million a year.

Dan Jones is hoping it’s a tax he won’t be paying.

“Eight dollars a pack versus six, I’d probably quit – which is probably a good thing for me,” Jones said.

Right now almost 20 percent of Minnesotans are smokers, which is approximately 625,000 people. The state estimates the tax will result in more than 36,000 of those smokers quitting

The state also estimates the new tax would keep up to 50,000 Minnesota kids from ever starting to smoke.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Twin Cities teenager who garnered national attention for a song he wrote after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer has died.

“With heavy hearts, we are saddened to share that Zach Sobiech passed away this morning,” was the message on Sobiech’s CaringBridge site. “Zach was at home and at peace with those he loved most. Zach’s life ended just as he lived, embraced by the love of his family, friends, grace and music.”

Sobiech was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2009 when he was just 13. He spent months in the hospital, underwent 10 surgeries and twice as many rounds of chemotherapy.

Last summer, he was informed he had months to live. He responded by penning the hopeful song “Clouds,” which got almost 3 million YouTube hits, earned him a songwriting contract, a tribute from Hollywood stars and concerts at First Avenue and the Varsity Theater.

He wrote the song as a thank you to everyone who stood by him during his battle with cancer.

“With my situation, it’s not like you can sit and be sad. It’s not fair to everybody else, and it’s not fair to yourself. Why not have some fun with the time you have left,” Zach said.

John Hallberg is the CEO of Children’s Cancer Research, which worked with Zach over the past year to ultimately raise $93,000 for the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund.

“There was something unique in Zach, in the way he approached it with maturity, with grace, with a sense of humor. And he said it many times – it wasn’t about him,” Hallberg said.

At Stillwater Area High School, Dan Ralston was one of the counselors on hand to help students grieve.

“Throughout this whole thing, Zach has had huge strength, confidence and acceptance on this disease that’s given a lot of his friends the strength to accept where they’re at and where he’s going after,” Ralston said.

CaringBridge said the Sobiech family wanted any memorial offerings to be directed to the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund in lieu of flowers.

Patrick William Benton was found guilty on May 10. The judge determined that Benton exhibited a past patter of domestic abuse, which subjects Benton to a life sentence.

On Oct. 13, 2011, the victim, Susan Courteau, had Benton removed from her home in Coon Rapids because he was drinking and scaring her. Benton, however, returned later that day and stabbed her to death. Courteau was found the same evening by her sister.

“This is another tragic case of domestic violence, where the defendant’s anger led him to murder an innocent woman,” stated Anoka County Attorney Tony Palumbo. “I express my deepest condolences to Susan Courteau’s family, and I hope the legal process brings some closure for the family.”

Benton’s sentencing is set for May 29.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A fire damaged a hangar the South St. Paul Airport Monday morning.

Investigators say a man was working on a plane a bit after 10 a.m. when fire spread to the hangar he was in.

At least one plane was towed out of an adjoining hangar to avoid damage, but the fire was put out before it could spread.

“It’s open ceilings in this place and so once the fire gets up and gets going, it can spread rapidly, but we were able to get here quickly and get it stopped,” South Metro Fire Department’s Mark Erickson said.

Investigators say most of the damage was contained to the plane that caught fire and the one hangar.

There were no injuries.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — When you run out of gas or get a flat tire, many drivers turn to American Automobile Association — or AAA — for help. Now the motor club is expanding their services to bicyclists.

Starting on July 1, AAA will offer roadside assistance to people on two wheels.

Bike assistance will only be available within Hennepin County for now.

“AAA Minneapolis is committed to improving the quality of life for everyone we serve,” said Matt Hehl, communications manager for AAA in Minneapolis. “Transportation is a major factor in quality of life and our members want options that are multi-modal. This new bike service is part of that commitment.”

The service would apply to all bicycles, including those that were rented. The service would be available at no additional charge to members.

AAA said it’s looking to expand the service to include other popular areas that extend outside of the county, like parts of the Midtown Greenway or the Cedar Lake or Luce Line trails in the western suburbs.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Now one historic piece of the great lake is up for the taking. Wisconsin’s Superior Entry lighthouse is no longer needed by the U.S. Coast Guard.

So, the lighthouse is being offered to any eligible group that would take it.

The lighthouse was built in 1911 and stands at the entrance to the port of Superior, Wisconsin.

The new keeper would need to pay for its upkeep for educational, recreational, cultural or historic preservation purposes.

The Coast Guard will reserve the right to service, replace or move the still-operating aids to navigation inside.

The health department has been working with the City of Minneapolis and the state agriculture department to locate the source of the raw milk used to make the cheese. Authorities believe the cheese was made in a home and was sold on a street corner near East Lake Street in Minneapolis.

The cases were first detected late last month. Of the 25 known cases, 15 required hospitalization. All have recovered.

The health department used the outbreak to stress the dangers of consuming raw dairy products.

“It only takes a few bacteria to cause illness. Milking a cow is not a sterile process and even the cleanest dairy farms can have milk that is contaminated. That’s why pasteurization — or the heat treatment of milk to kill the harmful pathogens — is so important,” said Dr. Heidi Kassenborg, director of MDA’s Dairy and Food Inspection Division.

It is suspected this particular outbreak has run its course, the department suggested, but if you have any cheese that matches their description, you should throw it out.

Yes, we’ve set a record high for five straight days, but the current price of $4.31 a gallon is a penny lower than the day before and now there’s word that fuel from refineries on the Gulf coast will soon be diverted to the Upper Midwest.

“So, we do expect a slight decline to start perhaps later this week or early next week, with more significant declines by the middle of June,” AAA’s Gail Weinholzer said.

NewsRadio 830 WCCO’s Steve Murphy Reports

The fuel is being diverted to this region because we have the greatest need, with the highest prices in the nation.

A new survey finds Minneapolis has the highest gas prices in the Lower 48 states at $4.27 per gallon. The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 11 cents over the past two weeks.

The Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday says, of the cities surveyed in the Lower 48 states, Tucson, Ariz., has the nation’s lowest average price for gas at $3.18.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota House has passed a bill that allows a union drive among home day care providers and personal care attendants after about 10 hours of debate strung out over more than two days.

The final vote was 68-66. A handful of Democrats voted no along with all the House Republicans, who waged an intense floor fight against the day care unionization drive. The issue drew demonstrators to the Capitol from both sides of the issue.

The Senate already passed the bill, so it’s on its way to Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton who is likely to sign.

It’s part of an effort by two service worker unions to organize personal care workers. The bill sets up possible unionization votes among child-care providers who get state subsidies, and separately among care attendants to the elderly and disabled.

Republicans call the bill a power grab by unions.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Monday, May 20: Rope (Riverview Theater)

This year’s Alfred Hitchcock festival concludes with the movie I’m convinced is his most prominent stealth cult favorite. Maybe it’s Hitch’s gimmick, shooting the entire movie in what appears to be one single unbroken take (masked ingeniously at reel changes by zooms into clothing or sly pans) and simulating a New York sunset on a soundstage. Or maybe it’s the scarcely veiled gay-suggestive take on the Leopold-Loeb murder case that surprises modern audiences; Hitchcock’s necessarily coded but still unmistakable candor dealing with the subject extended to the collaborators he chose — John Dall and Farley Granger (playing the killer lovers) and screenwriter Arthur Laurents were all gay. Whatever the reason, Rope stands as one of the few Hitchcock movies under-heralded enough to truly surprise everyone who comes to it anew.

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Wednesday, May 22: Cleopatra (Landmark Edina)

The troubles that have reportedly been plaguing some of this summer’s releases like World War Z and The Lone Ranger? Mere child’s play. Among productions run amok, 20th Century Fox’s Cleopatra remains without peer. Costing the equivalent of the GNP of pretty much every country in the world for two full years, adjusted for inflation, Cleopatra was a money pit that sucked the studio’s coffers dry while Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s torrid affair kept every tabloid in the nation afloat. It ruined nearly everyone’s reputation, earned a slew of Oscar nominations that were no doubt achieved via Fox executives rounding up every employee’s ballot, and somehow narrowly managed not to bankrupt the state of California. Yes, I’m exaggerating a tad, but this is the sort of movie that sells nothing if not sheer, unadulterated embellishment.

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Friday, May 24 through Sunday, May 26: The Gang’s All Here (Trylon Microcinema)

Four words: You’ve gotta see this.

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Friday, May 17 through Sunday, May 19: Something in the Air (St. Anthony Main Theater)

Not many know this, but every French filmmaker is actually legally required to film their version of the youth uprisings late ’60s, specifically surrounding the Sorbonne. Oliver Assayas’s Something in the Air — in which an 18-year-old painter and his crew try to kickstart some of that spring fever to their own circle — is his fulfillment of that obligation.

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Sunday, May 26: The Headless Woman (Walker Art Center)

Argentinian filmmaker Lucrecia Martel secured her place among the foremost directors of this generation with her rapturously received 2008 film The Headless Woman, which is just now getting its Twin Cities premiere at the Walker. With touches of John Cassavetes’ Opening Night and a palpable feminist viewpoint, Headless Woman is a fascinating puzzle box.

Tyler Frank Caracofe was charged with one count of theft in connection with the incident, which took place between June and July of last year.

According to a complaint, Caracofe worked as a bank teller at the Wells Fargo bank in Coon Rapids from Nov. 7, 2011, through July 11, 2012. On July 10, 2012, Caracofe balanced his drawer at the bank and it was short by more than $1,200. He then asked his manager if he would be fired because of the shortage, and the manager said that decision would not be made for a few days.

The following day, Caracofe went to his manager and told him he was quitting before his shift was over. The manager then balanced his drawer and saw that it was short by almost $600. The total amount of money missing from the drawer for July 11-12, 2012, was $1,833.05, according to the complaint.

Caracofe gave a statement on July 12, 2012, to a Wells Fargo corporate security investigator and admitted to stealing $1,700 from his drawer to support a gambling addiction.

Two weeks later, Caracofe admitted to a Coon Rapids Police officer that he stole $1,700 from Wells Fargo. According to the complaint, he entered a precharge diversion program and was discharged on March 27 of this year for violation a condition of being in the program.

If convicted on the charges, Caracofe faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Authorities are investigating after a body was discovered inside a trunk of a car at a tow lot near downtown Minneapolis Monday morning.

According to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded at around 11 a.m. to a report of a deceased person found inside a vehicle at Wreckers Services Inc., which is located at 200 East Lyndale Ave. N.

After noticing an odor, employees of the wrecker service opened the trunk of the four-door passenger car and discovered the deceased person inside.

Mark Anderson owns Wrecker Services and said police told him the body belonged to a young woman.

“We called police right away and they confirmed that it was a young lady tied and bound in the truck of a car,” Anderson said.

NewsRadio 830 WCCO’s Susie Jones Reports

Anderson said it appears there was some sort of wound to the chest of the body.

According to the owner of Wrecker Services the car was towed from the Rainbow Foods parking lot in Brooklyn Park on April 11th. The car was scheduled to become property of the impound lot on May 30, but employees trying to make keys for the car noticed the smell and made the discovery.

The identity of the woman is not known, but indications suggest it is not the body of Mandy Matula, an Eden Prairie woman who’s been missing since early this month.

The owner of the car is from St. Paul. When WCCO found her at home, she was shocked to hear the car she sold back in January is now at the center of a homicide investigation.

She says she sold the car for $650 and assumed the new owners would change the title. All she could say is she sold the car to two men who claimed they owned a repair shop. One of the men told her he was buying the car for his girlfriend.

The death is being investigated as a possible homicide.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Twin Cities suburbs feature plenty of spacious homes and luxury cars, but they’re also seeing a big increase in poverty.

In fact, a new study says the growth in the poverty rate for the Twin Cities suburbs is among the highest in the nation.

The report, by Brookings, challenges the notion that poverty is only a problem for urban and struggling rural areas.

When in reality, even some of the communities in the metro area with some of the wealthiest residents, also have some of the poorest.

The study shows the number of suburban Twin Cities residents living in poverty has more than doubled in the last decade.

Brookings Institution — a think tank out of Washington, DC — indicates there are 115,000 more poor people living in the Twin Cities suburbs than there were just 10 years ago.

The ICA food shelf in Minnetonka has 80,000 pounds of food ready to hand out to families. They said they recycle through that every month and a half.

They’ve seen their food service output to families in need go up 115 percent in the last four years.

The assistant director there said the growing poverty problem could be a product of underemployment and the rising cost of health care.

“We’re finding that as people come in and donate food, they’re shocked at how much food that we have, how much food we’re giving out, how many people are coming,” said Jayson Palm, associate director of ICA Food Shelf Minnetonka. “About a couple years ago, we were giving out food to 350 families a month and now it’s over 800 a month to receive food. So the need as been rising incredibly.”

Shakopee and Apple Valley were among the top cities listed for outer-ring suburbs with the most dramatic increases in poverty. Still, though certain areas are struggling, the poverty rate in the Twin Cities suburbs is still less than 8 percent — that’s lower than most other suburban areas.

The Senate voted Monday against the continued service of Judge George Perez. Gov. Mark Dayton, who reappointed Perez, asked senators to reject his confirmation after the state’s Board of Judicial Standards recently ruled that Perez repeatedly violated its code of conduct.

The Board found that Perez delayed cases and then falsified records to hide those delays. Perez had been serving on the Tax Court since former Gov. Arne Carlson appointed him in 1997.

The Senate’s vote clears the way for Dayton to appoint a replacement.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

A few dozen supporters of the bill gathered at the Capitol Monday. A few hours earlier, the Senate tabled the House-passed bill for the year after Republicans vowed to mount a 10-hour debate against the measure while time dwindles on the session.

The bill requires all public school districts create policies aimed at reducing bullying, or risk losing state aid. Supporters say it’s to protect kids whose educational performance and self-worth are battered when bullies target them.

Republican opponents say school boards should decide how to handle the issue, and that such policies would put students at risk of being labeled bullies for expressing religious views.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Ellsworth Police responded to an accident involving a bus at about 11:06 p.m. Saturday on Highway 10 and West Hill. When authorities arrived, a man from River Falls, Wis., had fallen out the back of the bus and emergency personnel attempted to revive him, but he was pronounced dead.

Police said the bus was owned by Elijah Omweno and leased to the Kilimanjaro Party Bus Company.

The victim was later identified as Joel K. Velure of River Falls, Wis. The incident is still under investigation by Ellsworth Police with assistance from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials said Minnesota traffic deaths in 2013 have reached more than 100, which is slightly above the 96 deaths reported at this time last year.

At this rate, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety estimates around 400 deaths for 2013. The final 2012 count will be announced in June.

Of the 102 deaths so far in 2013, at least 30 were not belted at the time of the crash.

Law enforcement agencies around the state are enforcing a crackdown on seat belt usage for their annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign. The goal is to prevent fatalities in accents by making sure you buckle up.

Extra patrols around Minnesota are starting Monday and lasting through June 2.

Officials with the campaign said out of the 864 traffic deaths over the last few years, 41 percent of those victims were not wearing seat belts. Authorities said your odds of getting hurt are six times greater if you’re not wearing your seat belt.

A no-seat belt ticket has a base fine of $25, but with court costs and administrative fees that can reach upwards of $100.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Many of us do what we can to avoid the sting of a honey bee, but more and more people are starting hobby hives.

The Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Department has a unique program that lets you dabble in beekeeping. They’re offering a class on it at Theodore Wirth Park.

All people who sign up for the classes will get put into a full bee suit, letting them get up close and personal with the bees without the full risk of getting stung. The classes are about 90 minutes at different parks around Minneapolis.

The city has been offering the class for two years and it’s getting more popular with time. Bees are important, experts said, because they pollenate many things we eat and they’re social insects.

Currently there’s concern about bees dying off because of a lack of flowers for them to eat and pesticides out there that are harmful. There’s a lot of things out there to harm bees, and this class offers a way to learn about things that will help the bee population.

The class meets once per month throughout the summer.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.

It is the most common form of cancer in the United States, but there is good news. Skin cancer is chiefly a lifestyle disease, and it is highly preventable. Now, doctors are using a new tool to diagnose it faster and sooner, and it fits right in their pocket.

We all know we should stay out of the sun and wear sunscreen every day, but truth is, sometimes we don’t. Getting your skin checked regularly by a doctor is important, especially if you have a family history of skin cancer, or have spent a lot of time in tanning beds or the sun. However, tracking moles and diagnosing melanoma can be tricky.

The dermatoscope is a new tool doctors like Dr. Barbara Benjamin from Fairview Clinics are using, and it’s changing the way and speed in which skin cancer is diagnosed. The dermatoscope is a magnifier with a polarizing light to help see shape, size and color of moles better.

“What I like to tell patients is that it takes it from HDTV to 3D. We can see a lot more of the structure of the mole and look deeper than we could otherwise look with the naked eye or a magnifying glass,” said Benjamin. “It’s a simple tool, but it tells us so much more than what we could see with the naked eye or the old fall back, which is a magnifying glass.”

This small tool goes for a hefty price of up to $2,000, but it helps to better see trouble spots. For instance, new, growing, changing or itching spots.

“I get out my dermatoscope, and now I’m seeing a lot more structure,” said Benjamin.

The dermatoscope helps physicians like Benjamin diagnose skin cancer faster or avoid surgery altogether.

“The key to melanoma is catching it early before it gets too deep,” said Benjamin. “Tanned skin is damaged skin. There’s no way to get a safe tan, whether it’s outdoors or in a tanning bed.”

Mayo Clinic has a new public service announcement airing this month that offers the following tips:

– Use sunscreen
– Skip tanning beds
– Seek Shade
– Get spots checked

Benjamin says you can help your doctor by being skin aware. Look at your skin and watch for changes. Be sure to remember your back and the backs of your legs. Avoid tanning of any kind. Instead, get your vitamin D from foods like fortified dairy products or a supplement.

The Wisconsin State Patrol said Isaac O Neitzel was stopped for a traffic violation at about 9:13 p.m. Sunday on Highway 8 near 220th Street in Polk County, then arrested for operating while under the influence with a child in the car. A review of Neitzel’s record showed it was his first offense.

He was taken to the St. Croix Falls Hospital for a blood test to determine his blood alcohol level at the time of the arrest. Details of that have not been released, and the child was released to its grandfather.

The incident is still under investigation by  the Wisconsin State Patrol and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Every day a quarter of a million people ride Metro Transit buses and trains.

They’re leaving behind their cars and high gas prices, and according to officials, nearly 20,000 items. That’s what riders lost last year, a figure which includes about 1,200 bikes.

WCCO-TV got a rare look inside the Metro Transit lost and found hall of fame.

Tony Taylor has been driving a Metro Transit bus for 35 years. He said what he sees most often is a lot of distracted people.

“I had a guy get off the bus, I blow my horn (to have him get his bike) and he keeps walking,” Taylor said.

Every day, 10 to 15 items alone get left on his bus. They usually include purses, wallets, gloves, scarves and money. Then there are the things he just can’t stomach.

“I would day there’s some unusual lunches. I see one and say who would eat that,” he said.

Add that to the stashes found on other buses and light rail lines making 81 million trips per year, and tens of thousands of stuff gets turned in.  Down in their garage is where most of the bikes get turned in. At point, the most they’ve had down there were 68 bikes.

Officials said about 1,200 bikes total were left on Metro Transit buses and trains. If they stay past one week, the bikes are donated to charity. Everything else goes into a lost and found room in the Metro Transit offices.

Hundreds of pairs of glasses are donated, cell phones are recycled after two weeks  if they’re not claimed. Electronic devices and even prescription medication have also been left on Metro Transit buses.

Officials said there’s a hall of fame for the most unusual of items. It includes a kiddie pool, microwave oven, vacuum cleaner, television set and raccoon tail.

No matter how strange the items are, Metro Transit workers turn into detectives as people find out what they’ve left behind and call in to get it back. Whether it’s by phone or in person, people are thrilled to get their stuff back.

One rider was without his wallet for up to five days and when he finally got it back, the $230 he had inside was still there.

Every person who told us they lost something on a Metro Transit bus or light rail line, they were distracted. Sometimes it even happens to the Metro transit drivers themselves.

“I pull in and by me being in a hurry and not taking my time, I’m halfway home and left my glasses,” Taylor said.

But there’s also good karma that comes from working in the garage. If nobody puts in a claim, drivers get the chance to play finders keepers.

“The drivers can put on the tag they would like it if it’s not claimed by somebody,” a Metro Transit official said.

Taylor said he’s gotten tons of things from the lost and found, including gloves and umbrellas.

Metro Transit officials said the craziest thing they’ve ever found on a bus was a box containing a skull that was later claimed by a pirate.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Over the weekend, when it wasn’t raining, you may have spent some time in your garden, planting flowers. Or maybe just getting the soil ready for what you will plant.

It is a sea of colors at Leitner’s Garden Center in St. Paul, a look that many of us would love to replicate in our yards. Gardeners who work there say we should go big and bold when selecting plants this season.

Therese Sexe, a container artist at Leitner’s, stressed how important it is to know which flowers like the sun and which ones crave shade.

“Impatiens …  work well in the shade and they give you a lot of color and are very reliable,” she said. “Here’s another one that’s bold and good to go. These are gerbera daisies. They are beautiful and good to go. They like the sun and give you color all summer as well.”

Sexe said she would rank petunias among the heavy favorites for spring flowers. They can handle a little shade or sun. They also work well in hanging baskets.

“(Baskets) are not hard to care for. Water them every day, feed them every couple of weeks like all annuals,” she said.

For working up your garden soil, Sexe suggested pulling up the weeds and adding some compost from either manure or a compost center. She said that would add amendments to loosen up the soil and add nutrients.

If you want to learn more about Leitner’s Garden Center on Randolph Avenue in St. Paul and their services, like selecting and planting flowers for your containers, click here.

The state Senate voted 43-23 early Monday to put the proposed amendment on the statewide ballot. It follows a tighter House vote on the identical measure. Governors don’t have input on constitutional amendments.

If adopted by voters, it would create a special council to determine lawmaker pay. Sponsors say it removes an inherent conflict of interest and takes a politically charged matter out of the Capitol.

Legislators haven’t seen a pay raise since 1999, and some worry that the $31,000 salary is become a barrier for some prospective candidates given the time demands of the office.

The pay council would set new salary rates once every two years.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

At the request of Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration, the Legislature is temporarily rerouting money from a new cigarette tax and from a corporate tax to backfill a lagging stadium fund.

The fix is part of a giant tax plan on course for final legislative approval. The House signed off early Monday.

Last year, lawmakers authorized a new form of gambling to cover debt on the state’s $398 million stadium share. But those games have failed to take off as hoped, leaving some worried as a summer bond sale approaches.

Republicans say Dayton is breaking a promise that the stadium wouldn’t be paid with general treasury dollars. Dayton has said he’s making sure the stadium project doesn’t fail.

Construction begins this fall.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

A House-Senate conference committee is set to meet Monday morning for the first — and maybe only — time. Both chambers are run by Democrats.

What was considered a priority earlier in the year has been stalled in the session’s final days. That’s because the House approved a bill raising it in three stages until the hourly minimum reaches $9.50 by 2015; the Senate’s bill topped out at $7.75.

If they agree on a number, legislative negotiators also must decide if the wage will rise by an inflationary amount in future years.

The House bill also makes changes to laws governing overtime and unpaid leave for new parents.  The Senate’s plan doesn’t.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – More hearings are scheduled in Washington this week as Members of Congress continue investigating the IRS targeting of conservative and Tea Party groups.

The scandal is unfolding as the White House is struggling with other revelations that threaten to derail the President’s agenda for a second term.

Watch Esme Murphy’s Talking Points above!

You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Matt Brickman every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

At 2:18 a.m., the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a medical call at the Blue Heron Bar & Grill, located at 14725 Victor Hugo Blvd. N.

There, Sgt. Chris Bragelman, 37, of North Branch was found unresponsive and CPR was performed, but he was pronounced dead on scene.

There was no obvious cause of death.

The Lino Lakes Police Department’s Chief John Swenson released a statement Sunday evening, saying Bragelman “was a crucial part of the Lino Lakes Police Department and he will be missed by all. Please keep Chris’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.”

The incident is being investigating.

The Senate passed the bill Sunday by a vote of 41-26. The House signed off on the bill hours earlier in a 2 a.m. vote. Dayton is expected to sign it.

The $15.7 billion budget bill amounts to more than 40 percent of total state spending in the next two years. It increases per-student payments to districts by $78 next year and another $80 the year after that. It also funds all-day kindergarten statewide and has more money for early learning grants for lower-income families.

The new spending in the bill is funded in large part by tax increases the Democratic-led Legislature is likely to pass Sunday or Monday.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The final pieces of Minnesota’s next two-year, $38 billion budget were falling into place Sunday as state lawmakers clocked long hours and held a succession of late-night debates at the Capitol.

By late afternoon, lawmakers had sent seven of nine major budget bills to Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton. That included a $15.7 billion education funding package, which the House approved about 2 a.m. and the Senate about 14 hours later. It boosts state aid to schools over the next two years and puts new resources into providing all-day kindergarten statewide.

Still on tap for later Sunday was a House debate and probable late-night vote on the tax bill, a package containing $2 billion in tax increases on smokers, corporations and people with six-figure incomes.

The Legislature’s Democratic majorities were racing to beat a deadline of midnight Monday to adjourn the regular session. But a tidy wrap-up was derailed by debate over a Democratic bill that gives unions power to organize certain private daycare workers and home care attendants for the elderly and disabled, which drew demonstrators to the Capitol and intense opposition by Republicans.

The House debated the bill from about 2 to 7 a.m. Sunday, then recessed and debated it another three hours in the afternoon without taking a final vote. Republicans queued up more than 100 amendments to fight the measure, which they argued was driven by a connected political interest.

Labor unions gave big to Democrats in the last election, but party leaders insisted the bill was meant to give workers a louder collective voice if they decided to unionize. The bill’s supporters said daycare providers who want to be left out of union could simply opt to not take children whose families get state subsidies for care, a prerequisite for union eligibility.

“If you don’t want to participate in this opportunity for collective bargaining, your choice is simple: Don’t take the government money,” Rep. Tom Anzelc, DFL-Balsam Township, said during the afternoon debate. “It’s easy.”

Republican critics said that could affect existing relationships between childcare providers opposed to unions but who serve low-income families.

“These union dues will be coming out of the pockets of low-income families,” said Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville. “They’re going to have less value for their dollar in buying child care.”

An equally fiery debate was likely over the tax bill, which negotiators finalized after midnight Saturday. It raises Minnesota’s tax rates for the first time in years, but in a targeted way. Smokers would pay $1.60 more per pack of cigarettes and for cigars. The top 2 percent of wage earners would pay 2 percentage points more on a slice of their income once it reaches $250,000 for couples and $150,000 for singles. Corporations would get fewer tax write-offs. And some businesses would pay sales tax on transactions they didn’t have to before.

But the sprawling bill also contained hope of property tax breaks. Cities and counties won’t have to pay sales taxes on purchases for the first time in decades. In exchange for more state money, cities and counties would be required to tamp down property taxes. A one-year levy limit would be imposed. Except in rare cases, new local levies will be held to 3 percent or less. Many cities could have to freeze their tax rates.

A bill providing money to operate several state agencies was last to come together Sunday. The bill includes raises for agency managers and statewide elected officials, with the governor being permitted to adjust commissioners’ salaries. Negotiators jettisoned corresponding pay increases for lawmakers, but that issue could still rear its head in a Senate debate over a constitutional amendment to create an independent commission to set legislator salaries.

Other high-profile issues were in flux as the session dwindled. Top lawmakers searched for a way to assemble a slimmed-down construction projects bill that would include renovation funding for the state Capitol, after the House defeated an $800 million bill Friday that Republicans said was too large. GOP support is necessary because the bill requires three-fifths majorities to pass, beyond what Democratic House and Senate majorities can muster alone.

A pared-back measure could be limited to the $109 million for the Capitol makeover, some disaster recovery assistance, matching money for a new Minneapolis Veterans home building and other projects deemed critical. Rep. Alice Hausman, the St. Paul Democrat who assembled the failed bill, said she’d vote against a replacement package.

“I support this Capitol project, but someone help me understand why it’s more important than anything else,” Hausman said.

Thunderstorms that passed through St. Paul late Sunday afternoon underlined the urgency of the project for some lawmakers, when heavy rains caused flooding in a newly refurbished area near the building’s cafeteria while the House and Senate met three levels up.

“Due to the current condition of our Capitol, the rain is coming through and flooding the tunnel,” Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, said on the House floor.

Another question mark was a bill to boost the minimum wage. House Democrats were pressing to lift the floor wage to $9.50 by 2015, but the Senate passed legislation topping out at $7.75.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, said he was hopeful the chambers could find middle ground, but indicated his members would only move so far.

“I don’t see a path in the Senate to get above $8 per hour,” Bakk said.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

On Sunday afternoon, a variety of part-time musicians strolled into the Icehouse in south Minneapolis with a few goals: Socialize, jam and hopefully collaborate.

Mike Michel, the organizer of the event, says he really just wants people to play music and meet each other, because it’s a difficult thing to do when you’re older.

“Basically, the event is pretty innocent. I found that people over 30 typically start having families, a day job, they’re traveling, etc., so it’s really hard to meet people. This is just a quick face-to-face fix of getting everybody in the room who has once played music and is rediscovering it or discovering it for the first time,” Michel said. “There really isn’t a whole lot of support for adults, or there isn’t enough in large quantities, so I’m trying to fill that void.”

In addition to mingling, attending musicians were encouraged to fill out “Musician Wanted” or “Musician Available” forms detailing their musical abilities and if they’d like to join a band or need a musician to complete a band.

(credit: CBS)

Guitarist Damon Frybarger, who’s looking to join or create a cover band, attended the event because he’s exhausted other avenues.

“I’ve checked Craigslist, BandMix, City Pages, flyers or posters at music stores and haven’t had a whole lot of luck. It’s really like finding a needle in a haystack. You’re looking for something that fits your personality and what you have a passion for … and it’s better to meet people face-to-face. Then, you can get a good sense of their direction and go from there,” Frybarger said.

If mingling wasn’t enough, musicians had the opportunity to showcase their skills at the “Acoustic Chill Corner” section, where organizers set up instruments, including guitars, bass, and drums.

(credit: CBS)

In the end, Michel’s expectations for the event are quite simple.

“Hopefully, everybody here gets at least gets one tip, one person, one lead to further their music passion. Whatever that may be,” Michel said.

So, if you are a musician who’d be interested in an event like this, there are more events are expected (keep tabs here), but there are things you can do in the meantime.

“The first thing I would do is to check out OpenMicMinneapolis.com. That’s actually a really good resource. I’ve found that there are open mics and open jams seven nights a week on all four corners of the Twin Cities.”

Keep jamming, Minnesota.

——

Local Music Tap is a new blog aimed at promoting Minnesota-based musicians, bands and shows. If you have music blog ideas, please email cepremo@wcco.com or leave a comment below. Also, follow the Local Music Tap on Twitter and on YouTube.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — When gay marriage was signed into law in Minnesota Tuesday, it was met with cheers at the Capitol, but it was also met with some serious opposition centered around faith.

However, on Sunday at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist, some members celebrated.

The pastor, Bruce Robbins said, “The church supports all inclusion of the LGBT community in the life of the church.”

That was evident at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist’s 9:30 a.m. service. From the pulpit, a speaker said it has been a week where people’s dreams have come true.

Robbins knows that it’s not unanimous amongst Christians. In his church, he says about a fifth of the crowd isn’t behind gay marriage. But he says most are, like one of the choir members, Kenneth Weakley who says, “I can’t say how much I appreciate Minnesota.”

Weakly says homosexuality and Christianity are not mutually exclusive — both of those words describe him. He’s got a partner of 30 years and he has a faith. He says during the debate over marriage, Christians who support gay marriage were not as widely heard.

Robbins says he’s been trying to help the church, and its members, to be heard.

”I’ve been wanting to demonstrate to the community that we welcome all people here. That’s why we put the signs out. That’s why we advertise in Lavender Magazine,” said Robbins.

He says he knows, just like in the legislature, not everyone has the same view, but he’s hoping some will now see theirs.

This is not a blanket issue with Christians. Minnesotans for Marriage, who opposed the vote, have a list of churches who support them.