12/9/2024 -- Manhunt Continues For Brian Thompson's Killer

Crime

Medica and UCare Close Offices As Manhunt Continues For Brian Thompson’s Killer

The Summary: UCare and Medica, two prominent Minnesota-based health insurers, have temporarily closed their offices in response to safety concerns following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Details Of The Closings: UCare announced it will close its offices next week after receiving what it described as a "concerning" phone call, while Minnetonka-based Medica had previously confirmed the temporary shutdown of its headquarters and offices in other states.

Industry Response: Other Twin Cities based health insurers are also taking precautions. UHG is partnering with law enforcement to enhance workplace safety, while Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has elevated security measures at its Eagan headquarters.

Investigation Updates

• The NYPD has released new photos of the alleged suspect and has increased their reward to $50k.

• Police believe the killer is no longer in New York City after fleeing on a bus.

• Details have emerged about accusations of insider trading that Thompson allegedly engaged in

• Police found a backpack in Central Park that is believed to have belonged to the killer

Government

After Contentious Debate, Minneapolis City Council Budget Committee and Mayor Frey Agree on 2025 Tax Levy Reduction 💲

The Summary: The Minneapolis City Council's budget committee voted to reduce the proposed property tax levy increase for 2025 by nearly 1.5%. This decision lowers the levy increase from 8.3% to 6.9% through a series of amendments to Mayor Jacob Frey's proposed budget.

Mayor's Revised Proposal: Mayor Frey initially unveiled a $1.9 billion budget in August that included an 8.1% tax levy increase. However, he has since revised his proposal to suggest a new levy increase of 6.4%. In this updated plan, Frey indicated that he would support cuts amounting to $780,000 from unspent federal pandemic funds, $2.3 million from 20 departments, and $5.7 million from a technology improvement plan. 

Political Tensions: Frey proposed the 1.9% reduction and criticized the council's 73 budget amendments as "pet projects" and unnecessary spending. Council members, including mayoral candidate Emily Koski, argued that they were making necessary financial adjustments to protect residents.

Next Steps: The full City Council is expected to vote on the amended budget next Tuesday.

What Else We’re Reading…

Free Rent In Downtown St. Paul Entices Businesses To Open

The Grow Downtown program in St. Paul has successfully matched 18 new businesses with property owners. This initiative allows entrepreneurs to rent storefronts for as little as $1 for six months, providing a low-barrier entry point for many business owners.

For context, a report from just three weeks ago showed that nearly 40% of downtown St. Paul’s competitive office market is up for sale.

Read the full article

GAME: Word Flower

Try to create as many words as possible with the nine letters we give you.

Sports 🏈

Vikings Play Spoiler To Kirk Cousin’s Homecoming, Improve to 11-2 🏈

The Summary: The Minnesota Vikings delivered a decisive 42-21 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, highlighted by a career-best performance from Sam Darnold.

Kirk’s Homecoming: In his first game back in Minnesota since signing with the Falcons, Kirk was “warmly welcomed” by Vikings fans as he took the field (check out this sign). He threw two interceptions, bringing his season total to 15, as the Falcons fell to 6-7 with their fourth consecutive loss.

Darnold’s Stellar Performance: Sam Darnold threw for a career-high 347 yards and five touchdowns, completing 22 of 28 passes without any turnovers, leading the Vikings to their sixth consecutive win.

Playoff Implications: With this victory, the Vikings improved to 11-2, keeping pace with the Detroit Lions in the NFC North. Three of the Vikings last four games are against NFC North teams with Chicago coming to town next weekend.

Other Sports

🏈 The Gopher football team will be headed to Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on January 3rd against Virginia Tech. This has us thinking back to what they do to the winning coach after the game.

🏒 The Gopher Men’s Hockey team swept Michigan over the weekend with two shut-out victories in front of a rockin’ Mariucci Arena.

🏀 The Minnesota Timberwolves had some untimely turnovers late in the 4th quarter resulting in a loss to the Golden State Warriors — and Draymond Green made sure they knew. 

🏒 The Minnesota Wild won yet another game in overtime against the Nashville Predators. At 18-5-4, the Wild find themselves atop the Western Conference.

🏀 The Gopher Women’s Basketball team suffered their first loss of the season to the #25 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Quick hits

Headlines From Around The Twin Cities ✔

❯ Minnesota’s most searched slang words included some strange ones (WCCO)

❯ The seller of Judy Garland’s “Wizard of Oz” slippers got a nice paycheck over the weekend (MPR)

❯ Another Minnesota-based, food distribution non-profit has been shut down by AG Keith Ellison (Insight)

❯ An 48-year era has come to an end for a Lyndale Chinese restaurant (Bring Me The News)

The Final Word: Grain Belt Sign

Many of you correctly guessed the Grain Belt Sign as the answer to last Friday’s “Where is this?’ game. Did you know it was name dropped by a popular band?

-Patrick