Hot Dish 3.29.24

By Rochelle Olson

Good Friday morning to all. That’s a double entendre today and today only. The Legislature is away so I’ve got time for a long, languid Hot Dish.

Let the speculation revvvv up: Gov. Tim Walz is headed to New Hampshire. He will be the keynote speaker at the McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner on April 12 in Nashua, he announced Friday.

Minnesota Lynx owner Glen Taylor, who also owns the Timberwolves and the Star Tribune, is done trying to sell to Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore (aka LoRod for purposes of this newsletter only). The Strib wasn’t part of the aborted sale but the NBA/WNBA teams were. Like Charlie Brown before him, Taylor has pulled the ball away from Lucy. LoRod says they had the money in place to become majority owners and that Taylor had “seller’s remorse” as the team’s value rose along with other NBA franchises.

In October, Forbes valued the Timberwolves and Lynx at $2.5 billion, $1 billion more than the price Taylor agreed to with LoRod. Not a bad ROI on Taylor’s $88 million purchase in 1994. Read all about it in the story from Chris Hine.

(And no, that’s not merely the Antonomics of baby-faced phenom Anthony Edwards, that’s the NBA continuing to fill arenas and print money.)

Here’s the twist for policymakers: Taylor’s not looking for a new arena soon, he told Patrick Reusse. “I’m OK with Target Center,” Taylor said. “You would always like to see a few improvements, but I don’t see a major problem with the arena for now.”

Did the explosion in the NBA team sale prices lead to Taylor’s decision to cancel the sale?

“Not for me,” Taylor said. “My money’s going to the Taylor Foundation, not in my pocket.”

Hmmm, OK. Who is the Taylor Foundation named for?

Anyhoo, the cha-ching you hear is the sound of cash registers in law offices. Yes, I would expect expensive litigation.

“It’s business,” Taylor told Reusse. “Everyone has the right to bring in the lawyers.”

Now that he’s done with LoRod, wouldn’t it be sublime if Taylor put on a cape and brought Caitlin Clark to the Lynx. (I know it’s not happening.)

TIM TIME: (Which reminds me of those Australian cookies: TimTams.) Before we get to anything else, let’s pause to thank Gov. Tim Walz for compelling us to trek to Owatonna on the worst possible day of the ‘23-24 winter. Seems everyone made it down and back safely, but it was slippery and craggy and I availed myself of the chauffeuring skills and four-wheel-drive vehicle of Strib Photojournalist Glen Stubbe. We arrived early and I posted up at the desk outside the main entrance to the auditorium. All ye who entered had to either evade me or talk to me.

I know commissioners are real, live humans, nonetheless it was comforting to see the bold-faced names arrive from the white-knuckle drive and ask for directions to the restroom. Because even commissioners and judges need a moment to collect themselves.

One bit of info I can divulge: Attorney General Keith Ellison had been looking forward to arguing before the state Supreme Court on Monday in defense of the 2023 law restoring the vote to felons upon release from prison. Ellison had pushed for the restoration since he was just a young legislator from Minneapolis more than two decades ago. But he’s having shoulder surgery Friday and may not be 100% on Monday. Chief Justice Natalie Hudson nodded in agreement that he should sit this one out and not show up in pain or on painkillers.

Arguing instead for the state will be Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hartshorn. Across the table for the Minnesota Voters Alliance will be James Dickey of the Upper Midwest Law Center. The alliance wants the state Supreme Court to reinstitute its challenge to the law. The district court dismissed the case.

CASEWORKER TECH: The governor proposed $15 million for upgrades to the technology that helps caseworkers track child protection cases. But those who use it say it’s not enough for what needs to be done because the current system is a nightmare that impedes their work. County officials say more efficient technology could save child protection workers, who are in high demand and short supply, hours every week, allowing them to spend more time with children and families, Jessie Van Berkel reports.

BABY DADDY?: Two women conceived a daughter with a friend’s sperm. The friend has decided he wants to parent the child and is fighting the couple in court. Columnist Laura Yuen writes a saga about the painful conundrum, including the efforts of state Rep. Athena Hollins, DFL-St. Paul. Hollins is trying to update Minnesota’s laws on parentage. She has practiced family law and has advised friends in same-sex relationships to leave nothing to chance when starting a family. Couples don’t realize the discrepancies in Minnesota law because not everyone “has a lawyer friend,” Hollins said.

Hollins, you may recall from last session, is the one who created the “Bonkers” needlework as a gift to Rep. Anne Neu Brindley, R-North Branch, who used the descriptor when she found something to be Bonkers!

Ms. Yuen reaches a conclusion about who should parent the child. Do you agree?

UBER/LYFT: Colleagues Dave Orrick and Josie Albertson-Grove delve into how Uber/Lyft are trying to get their way in the Twin Cities. They’re not spending loads on lobbyists. Instead, they’re trying to marshal users who rely on their rides to get around. The results are mixed as the companies say they’re pulling out of Minneapolis and/or the Twin Cities on May 1 when the new Minneapolis City Council ordinances take effect. Uber spent $80,000 on three registered lobbyists last year, including two New York-based Uber executives. Lyft has six lobbyists registered in Minnesota and spent $140,000 in 2023. Read the story to find out who the bigger spenders are.

WHERE’S WALZ:

The governor has NO public events scheduled. But again, thank you, Gov. Walz for allowing us all to take those white knuckle drives on Tuesday. Yes, the Owatonna High School is impressive, but I think I could get bipartisan agreement on something: You owe us one.

(Friends, I write this with 100% confidence that Walz has never and will never read this newsletter.)

READING LIST