Minnesota fourth graders are performing worse on standardized reading tests than their Mississippi peers. At least six state lawmakers have faced arrest and criminal charges while in office. And, incredibly, possessing bong water can lead to decades in prison. These are just a few of the startling realities I uncovered during a year reporting on life in Minnesota. As 2024 draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of my most memorable stories.
Governor Tim Walz’s elevation to the vice-presidential candidacy prompted a closer examination of Minnesota students’ academic performance under his governorship. The results are concerning: Fourth-grade reading proficiency fell below the national average for the first time in history. The state plummeted 13 places in a national education ranking, with Minnesota elementary students scoring lower than those in Mississippi—a state long ridiculed for its low quality of life. In numerous schools, primarily public charters, entire classrooms fail to meet minimum reading and math standards. While many of these challenges stem from pre-existing racial and economic disparities that will persist long after Walz leaves office, the lingering effects of COVID-19 school shutdowns also play a role. We even found that in some grades, student achievement continued to decline long after the initial crisis. I also visited a rural school where students had to fundraise to save their classrooms after voters twice rejected funding levies. The state’s reliance on local levies for education funding exacerbates these disparities, particularly in rural areas with limited tax bases.
One of the year’s more bizarre stories involved Republican legislation inspired by the “chemtrails” conspiracy theory. This legislation sought to regulate nonexistent phenomena like “xenobiotic electromagnetism and fields.” While this bill, one of many similar proposals across the country, thankfully failed due to Democratic control of the legislature, several co-authors, including Senate Assistant Minority Leader Justin Eichorn (R-Grand Rapids), withdrew their support after our story was published. However, state Senator Eric Lucero (R-Saint Michael), the bill’s chief author, continues to promote unsubstantiated claims about “orbs” in the sky, highlighting the pervasive influence of conspiracy theories.
Beyond the unusual, there were more mundane embarrassments. Six lawmakers were arrested and charged with various crimes during their terms. Five involved drunk driving; the sixth, DFL Senator Nicole Mitchell of Woodbury, faces first-degree burglary charges for allegedly breaking into her stepmother’s home dressed as a burglar.
Sometimes a news statistic defies immediate comprehension. Last January, I learned that Minnesota spreads approximately 445,000 tons of salt on its roads annually. To visualize this, I calculated that amount would create a pile roughly 160 feet tall and 500 feet wide—about the size of U.S. Bank Stadium. My high school geometry teacher was right: knowing how to calculate the volume of a cone *is* a useful life skill.
This year also saw the attempted rollout of the Office of Cannabis Management’s social equity policy, designed to assist individuals harmed by the War on Drugs in the legal marijuana market. However, the policy’s broad wording resulted in an unexpectedly large pool of potential applicants—somewhere between 30% and 40% of Minnesota adults. This led to nearly 2,000 applications for just 182 licenses, resulting in over 1,000 disqualifications and subsequent lawsuits. The license lottery was canceled, delaying the program and casting doubt on its ability to deliver the intended early-mover advantage.
Finally, I reported on Jessica Beske of Fargo, who faces decades in prison for the water from a meth bong allegedly found in her car. Despite legislative efforts to decriminalize drug paraphernalia, a loophole allows prosecutors to treat bong water as the drug itself. Beske’s case, currently handled by the ACLU of Minnesota, highlights the potential for misuse of authority. If you have information about questionable use of power, please contact us.
(Note: The concluding sections providing publication information have been omitted as they are repetitive and not part of the original article’s content restructuring.)