I am going to St. Paul in a few weeks. Usually we stay in Minneapolis but this time St Paul. We are looking for good places to eat in downtown. Brunch on Saturday would be good…. We like all sorts of foods and no dietary restrictions. Throw me some ideas!

I was wondering if anyone knew what happened on Snelling near the exits to 94. Police had an intersection blocked off and I saw a car parked diagonally with flashers on and the doors open on one side of the intersection. I didn't have a perfect view so I don't know if there was just an accident that made them shut it down for a bit until the cars were moved or what.

I doubled checked my water bill and my account, which I haven't in awhile since I usually put it down as auto pay, and I've been billed every month and it's roughly 170 a month. is this reasonable?

Does anyone know how much longer the bridge and westbound exit/on ramp at White Bear Ave and I-94 will be closed? It's looked like they've been 95% done for a few days

I lived in the midway area of St. Paul on Charles near Lexington ave. between 1962 & 1966. We use to walk to a department store located across University ave tucked back on the far right corner of University and Lexington. My sister and I were in the store shopping when it started on fire. I remember the employees started yelling for everyone to quickly leave. It ended up burning down. I think the year was somewhere between 1963-1965. Anyways, does anyone remember the name of that store? 🤔

Anybody know what the haze in Saint Paul is this morning? It’s not quite fog and it doesn’t feel like forest fire haze. Though I could be wrong. Just curious!

I doubt I'd find anywhere with it on tap, but I would be happy to have cans. Preferably in the West End or surrounding area.

Opinion piece from Sunday Pioneer Press

At the November election, St. Paul voters face a crucial decision: whether to approve a mandatory property tax increase for the next 10 years to fund early-childhood care and education initiatives. While I believe the goal of this ballot measure is commendable, its implementation raises serious concerns regarding prioritization of pressing municipal issues and fiscal responsibility.

As part of my own due diligence, I spent a good deal of time studying the initiative. The importance of this topic warrants serious consideration. I listened to the City Council presentation in September of this year; I read the 48-page report summarizing the plan and reviewed overviews of both the need as well as proposed financial projections; we invited Councilmember Noecker (the plan sponsor) to present the program to our Public Affairs Issue Forum; I spoke with Art Rolnick, whose professional work in the area of economics and early childhood development (and his support for this program) are very well known and respected. I do agree that investing in our children is critical to our future. And, at the same time, I can’t support the proposed program.

At the heart of this proposal lies a commitment to levy $2 million in property taxes in the first year, increasing by $2 million each subsequent year until it reaches $20 million levied in the 10th year. As I understand it, cost estimates to administer this initiative could far exceed the final year’s revenue. And then what?

Prioritization

I must agree with Mayor Carter in not supporting this ballot measure.

Mayor Carter vetoed the ballot measure in July of 2023 (the City Council later overrode that veto) because of his own concerns: one being that no office or department in St. Paul could “reasonably and effectively absorb this body of work.”

He estimated that it would cost millions of dollars just to build the infrastructure. He has been clear that not enough money will be raised to administer this program. And the City lacks the government structure and capacity to take on this new mandate.

In the September 2024 City Council meeting, Council President Jalali expressed that she was “very concerned about the City playing any larger role at all in taking this on.” She went on to say, “Our role should be to support other agencies and providers to access the funds they need.”

Fiscal responsibility

We absolutely must consider context. This is possibly the worst time to entertain yet another tax increase.

St. Paul is facing extraordinary challenges in the current fiscal climate of escalating tax increases and a shrinking tax base. This would be on top of a proposed city-wide 7.9% levy increase for 2025, a Ramsey County increase of 4.75%, a new metro-wide sales tax, and a new St. Paul 1% sales tax. Adding more financial strain on residents and businesses to fund a program that lacks a robust long-term plan only complicates the city’s already precarious budget situation.

Moreover, as the City of Saint Paul faces a $19.4 million inflation challenge, akin to a 10% increase in property taxes, there is growing concern about the sustainability of further tax hikes.

The city’s primary sources of revenue are commercial properties. And this sector is challenged. Many downtown buildings are experiencing declining value. Look at the Saint Paul Athletic Club for example, which recently failed to sell at auction with a starting price of less than it cost to build in 1915. Or the River Park Plaza, which saw its assessed property value plummet by 42.3% this year.

This trend threatens to erode the tax base further, and there has been no study or discussion on how this decline in commercial property values and its impact on the City’s budget will affect the increases required to fund this proposed program.

Compelling data, but not this way

I must say that the data supporting investment in our children is compelling.

The Legislature agreed last year and authorized funding for an expanded childcare plan. That said, addressing early childhood care and education is larger than any individual city can administer or fund through its property tax levy. And the City of Saint Paul already is stretched with its funding and delivery of its immediate responsibilities – infrastructure improvements, ensuring public safety, serving the unsheltered, improving its existing parks and recreation resources, and revitalizing commercial areas.

Given the above considerations, I believe it is financially irresponsible to support the program as it’s been presented. Voters in St. Paul must carefully consider the implications of approving an automatic 10-year property tax increase given a very uncertain tax climate in our immediate future.

I urge you to vote “no” on Question 1.

B Kyle is president and CEO of the St. Paul Area Chamber.

Okay, I know that’s a loaded question. We are looking for a plumber to do the plumbing for a second bathroom in our basement (shower, sink, tub, toilet). We can finish the rest ourselves (framing, drywall, electric, paint, tile, etc).

Right now we just want to get rough estimates for just the plumbing portion- but honestly I have no clue what is even in the ballpark. Idk when I meet with a few plumbers what I should raise an eyebrow at or think is a good price.

Any advice?

Hi everyone,

I'm seeking essentially legal advice. I'm concerned that my boss's method of handling our tips is illegal. I work front of house at a "fast casual" restaurant. The general distinctions for the workers there are front of house or back of house. Back of house cooks, does dishes, and anything else necessary in the back. Front of house works the register, runs food, buses tables etc.

I'm supposed to make $15.00 an hour plus tips. When I walk out of my shift, I'm allowed to take all the cash tips that are in the tip jar (front of house only has one person working at a time). However, the vast majority of people pay on credit cards these days, And I'm not seeing those tips come to me, in cash or on my bi-weekly check. Every time my boss mentions it, she refers to it as contributing to livable wages? But I'm not entirely clear what that means, and as far as I understood MN law I thought that I'm entitled to my portion of tips, cash or card, after they're split between all the "direct service workers," and it can't be counted against my fixed wage.

I attached a short text conversation with them if it helps. Sorry, it's not too much information. I'm unclear what she means by "you receive cash tips that I pay taxes on," since my cash tips come straight out the jar I don't know how she'd account for them. And boh is back of house, for clarity.

Does anyone know if this is against the law or toeing a line? It just seems sketchy to me and I feel like I'm being robbed of my money

https://preview.redd.it/jf9wq2vlsbxd1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1dc2bfbb9df0293d6f04d17fa48b2aba02d4937c

https://preview.redd.it/bvtejfimsbxd1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=62c26d29bcda303054b90a04171a90ec40ea5eb1

Just moved to the twin cities a few months ago with my fiancé (she’s from MN). I would LOVE to make some friends of my own here but I’m struggling to get started. I’m a 30F, from the east coast, love beer, kind of introverted, and just looking for people to grab food or a drink with, and occasionally go to a show.

What has worked for you guys to meet new people in the area?

EDIT: solved! Thanks to u/guyinthegreenshirt for warning me that the ballot tracker updates your ballot status in plain text that is actually super hard to see. I took a screenshot and you can see why I was confused, the giant update with the green checkmark up top looks like the latest info but isn't. I highlighted the updated info below that so you can see in case it helps someone else!

Hi all. We live in Ramsey County (Roseville area) and completed our mail-in ballots at home. I mailed them from the Roseville post office on County Road B2 this last Monday the 21st.

We've been using the ballot tracker available online here: https://mnvotes.sos.mn.gov/abstatus/index ... As of now ours still show that the last step was the mailing of the blank ballots to our address. No action since.

I'd been told, and remember in the past, that this tracker would update at various phases once your ballot was in motion, showing that it had been received, scanned, then processed. Even if that's not the case, the SoS site says that within MN most ballots reach them in one to three days.

We're not necessarily worried yet, but wanted to ask if anyone else is experiencing a wait and lack of updates and if this is normal. We're new to the state so don't know how the tracker usually works.

Thanks for any info!

I was just driving down Kellog and noticed the giant blue Ecolab sign is removed off their building in DT Saint Paul. Anyone know if it's just getting replaced or know what's up with that? Just a curious cat!

Saturday morning, I stepped outside and was hit with a string chemical smell. Its like kerosene or asphalt. Anyone else getting this or know what it is?

The question alone may get me banned from this sub. I’m strong enough to ask anyway.

Are there any Chiefs bars/restaurants with Sunday Ticket in St Paul?

Would be fun to hang with fellow Kansas Citians while watching the boys in red slaughter the Raiders.

Hi all-

Does anyone know if there are any large donation boxes around Saint Paul? People usually put their clothes in bags and put them in the boxes..

Like to surprise partner

Caught someone walking their dogs throwing dog poop in our neighbors garbage can as I was leaving the house. This happens all the time.

"Please don't throw your dog waste in our neighbor's garage can, " I said.

"What, should I leave it on the ground?" he asked.

"No, you should throw it in your own trash. It's disgusting."

"Oh give me a break. Next time I'll put it in your can."

What an unqualified jerk.

Thank you to the responsible dog owners out there. These guys give you all a bad name.

Hey everyone!

Husband and I are again planning a move to MN at the end of this school year. I grew up in Highland Park (moved away in 2007) and I have a special place in my heart for Highland and Mac Groveland area. When I look up homes, they’re all zoned to schools that seem low ranked on GreatSchools - such as Expo which is a 3. I know that the school rankings are BS and not a great indicator for how good a school is, but it’s really the only metric I have to use to compare and contrast.

I am curious about the schools in Mac Groveland and Highland and if there is a good recommendation for the following:

• A Montessori for my 3yo. Sunny Hollow looks fantastic on paper, but open to other options especially if AMI-recognized.
• A great elementary school for my 9yo 3rd grader who is “gifted” academically and neurodiverse (ADHD). Ideally public school but open to private as long as it’s secular or low-religion and within a 15 min drive. Extremely competitive in sports (plays club soccer at a very high level).

Things we really value: diversity (like anti-racist teaching), art & music, a community-driven feel, small schools, outdoor play, access to sports.

Thanks!