KTOE Noon News 8-15-25
Top Stories for Noon 8-15-25:
- Nearly 300 law enforcement agencies across Minnesota are teaming up with the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety for a two-week DWI enforcement campaign starting today. (Fri) Officers will work overtime shifts to target impaired drivers and raise awareness about the dangers of driving under the influence. The goal is to prevent crashes before they happen. So far this year, more than 16,000 people have been arrested for DWI in Minnesota, and 65 lives have been lost in alcohol-related crashes.
- Attorney General Keith Ellison is suing a landlord and property management company for defrauding the state and tenants of over two hundred fifty-nine thousand dollars. The suit claims Monarch Investment and Management Group, LLC, and seventeen of its affiliated companies in the state submitted false claims to the Rent-Help-M-N program between 2021 and 2022. Rent-HelpM-N was created to help prevent evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic by paying rent and utility fees for those struggling financially. Ellison says Monarch stole the money, charged Minnesota tenants numerous illegal fees, and still sought to evict forty-four residents when they had already paid rent.
- Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is reportedly wavering on whether he’ll seek another term in office. The DFL lawmaker has pushed back deadlines to announce his plans from early summer to after Labor Day. Some party activists and officials say the odds of Walz running again at 50-50. The governor’s campaign staff is preparing as if he’s going to run. The Star Tribune reports that if Walz does not run, party insiders believe that Secretary of State Steve Simon and Attorney General Keith Ellison could enter the race.
- The History Center of Olmsted County campus is expected to get a major facelift. The center officials say the main building has experienced leaking and water damage. Phase one of the project includes the restoration of all three of the George Stoppel Farmstead’s historical buildings. New landscaping and walking paths will also be added.. The center is also looking to raise more than seven million dollars to complete the project.
- The four-year collaboration between Ulta Beauty and Target is coming to an end. The beauty and wellness business and the Minneapolis-based retailer will end their shop-in-shop partnership when their agreement ends at the end of the month. Target owned the inventory and staffed the mini-shop spaces. Mizuho Securities retail analyst David Bellinger says Target’s messy in-store operations, along with retail theft and poor staffing, contributed to the end of the partnership.
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Annual University Convocation set for Monday, Aug. 18 at Minnesota State University, Mankato
