Deadline to pull out of two special elections; state’s first 2025 sled dog race postponed

It's a new year. It's a new Minnesota Today podcast Thursday, January the 2nd. I'm Phil Picardy. Today is the deadline for candidates to pull out of the running in two special elections for state legislative seats. 10 Democrats and three Republicans are running for a Senate seat in Minneapolis that came open after the death of DFL are Kerry Diedzik, a primary asset for January 14 to determine who advances to the election two weeks later.

In a Roseville area special election for the House, there are five DFL and one Republican candidate. That seat also will be filled in a January 28 special election. The Department of Housing and Urban Development says homelessness increased by 18 percent nationwide last year. Kari Spencer says Minnesota specific data also showed disturbing trends.

The report revealed a nearly 10% increase in homelessness in Minnesota compared to the January tally in 2023. And among the state's count of individuals experiencing homelessness, 16% were unaccompanied youth. Those are young people under the age of 25 who are experiencing homelessness without a parent guardian or child of their own.

Nikki Calvin, with hope for youth, says she believes the federal report is an undercount. In the past year, the Anoka-based non-profit saw 600 different young people come through. They're often there because of a lack of affordable housing, adverse childhood experiences, or aging out of foster care, she says. Many of those who come in for help also face racial and LGBTQ plus discrimination. I'm Kari Spencer.

A man died and another was injured in a stabbing late on New Year's Eve at a bar in southwestern Minnesota. A suspect was arrested. It happened just before midnight at the Fat Pheasant Pub in the city of Wyndham. Police say a 26 year old California man is in custody.

A new state law requires a license to sell scrap copper in Minnesota. Peter Cox has more. For the last several years, as copper prices have risen, so has the theft of copper wire. And that's had a huge impact on cities. That's especially true in St. Paul, where the wire in streetlights has been stolen, costing the city more than a million dollars in 2023 alone.

The new law requires anyone who recycles scrap metal copper for profit to get a license, which costs $250. It allows exceptions on two days a year, during which sellers without licenses can sell up to $25 in copper.

Scrap metal companies say the law is written too broadly, and then a majority of metals have at least some copper in it, which will add a layer of bureaucracy to their industry and could put them out of business. They're suing the state, but a court denied their request to suspend the law while the suit moves forward. I'm Peter Cox.

An 18-month free fare pilot program on two Metro Transit bus routes has come to an end. As of yesterday, regular fares are required again on routes 32 and 62. The two routes had offered free rides since the summer of 2023 as part of an assessment to see how a free fare policy would work.

In sports, it's a busy Thursday. The Timberwolves host the Boston Celtics tonight in Minneapolis. The Gopher Men's basketball team hosts Purdue. On the ice, the wild face off against the Capitals tonight in Washington, D.C. The Frost hosts the Boston Fleet in St. Paul. In Minnesota's first sled dog race of the new year, the gun-flint male run has been postponed because of poor snow conditions. U.N. care has more.

The race was scheduled for January 11 along the Gunflin Trail. 15 teams of 10 dogs were set to race 65 miles. But rain and warm temperatures have depleted the snowpack. On top of that, the recent thaw has made the track hard and icy. Saying safety of dogs and mushers is their top concern, organizers began considering a delay earlier this week. Then in a Facebook post on New Year's Day, they announced with the forecast showing little chance of enough snow before race date,

They're postponing, likely till February. Last year's Gumpfland Mail Run was also postponed and ultimately canceled because of warm weather impact on the track. I'm Younkar, NPR News.

In the cold weather forecast for the region today, cloudy skies with a chance of flurries, highs from the single digits to the low 20s. Tonight, cloudy skies, a chance of snow flurries in the evening, low temperatures from 6 below 0 in the northwest to 9 above in the southeast. And then for tomorrow, Friday, mostly sunny skies, highs from 0 to around 15 above.

That's the early Thursday, Minnesota Today NPR News newscast podcast. We have your update here this afternoon.