Says Dave Chanen in the Star Tribune, “A group of Minneapolis residents filed legal action this week to prevent changing the name of Lake Calhoun to its original Dakota name of Bde Maka Ska. At the same time, legislators from Minneapolis issued a letter urging the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) commissioner to ratify the new name in order to enhance local understanding of American Indian history. … Save Lake Calhoun, which claims the backing of several thousand residents, has been an active and vocal opponent of the name change for months.”

In the Pioneer Press, Dave Orrick’s writes about what we got for the $1 million and change spent on studying high-speed rail to Chicago: “A million bucks later, here’s one thing MNDOT knows, based on analysis of ridership projections, train speeds, changes needed to relieve chokepoints and so on for 24 different possible routes: The cheapest and fastest route goes from the Twin Cities along Canadian Pacific rail tracks through the following cities: Hastings, Red Wing, Winona, La Crosse, Sparta, Tomah, Portage, Watertown and Milwaukee before turning south to Chicago.”

Save the rice! Josephine Marcotty of the Strib reports on a celebration (of sorts) by strange bedfellows. “Industry and environmental groups — incongruously — both celebrated the same major victory Thursday after an administrative law judge threw out a proposed state rule to protect wild rice in Minnesota. The proposed rule … was designed to regulate sulfate, a mineral salt that damages wild rice. … Environmentalists and the tribes said the state’s existing sulfate standard of 10 parts per million, which has been in place since the 1970s, protects wild rice if it is enforced. With few exceptions, however, the state has never done so. Industry representatives said the state’s new rule would be prohibitively expensive and unworkable … .”

Couldn’t they warm themselves in the commissioner’s box? MPR’s Mark Zdechlik writes, “The Super Bowl will shine a spotlight on Minnesota and flood the Twin Cities with visitors, but there are concerns about what will happen to homeless people in the shadow of the big event. At First Covenant Church Minneapolis, across the street from U.S. Bank Stadium and within the Super Bowl security perimeter, the 50- to 60- bed homeless shelter will shut down during the four nights leading up to Super Bowl Sunday. Those accustomed to staying at First Covenant will be asked to relocate for a few days to St. Olaf Catholic Church, six blocks away.”

Article continues after advertisement

At the minimum. Jessie Van Berkel of the Strib says, “Minnesota spent tens of millions of dollars expanding high-speed broadband internet in recent years, but nearly $1.4 billion in public and private investment is still needed to get access to all households, according to a state task force report. Gov. Mark Dayton’s broadband task force released its final report Thursday. The panel urged lawmakers to designate $35.7 million annually in ongoing funds to expand broadband access.”

Back on the job. The AP reports, “A Minnesota priest is returning to limited ministry years after pornography was found on his computer. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced Thursday that the Rev. Jonathan Shelley will return to ministry and serve people in prisons and jails. He’ll be under the direction of a deacon and subjected to security and oversight of the facilities he visits. Shelley has been out of ministry since 2012. While Shelley was accused of searching for child pornography, authorities concluded none of the images on his old computer were illegal and he was not charged.”

What? No boat? In the PiPress Christopher Magan says, “An Inver Grove Heights man and former Allina Health vice president faces seven felony charges that accuse him of embezzling $269,000 from his former employer. David Matthew Johnson, 53, is expected to make his first court appearance February in Hennepin County to face seven counts of theft by swindle. Law enforcement suspect that Johnson stole significantly more money, closer to $775,000 beginning in 2004, but were able to bring charges only under the five-year statute of limitations…. Allina officials and investigators discovered that Johnson filed false or inflated expense and mileage reports and used a company credit card to buy season tickets to the Vikings, Timberwolves, Lynx and at the University of Minnesota.”

Good for him. ESPN Senior Writer Ian O’Connor gushes over Vikings QB Case Keenum. “The Vikings have never had a quarterback quite like Casey Austin Keenum — undrafted, unwanted, un-everything — who led them to a 13-3 record as the second-most-accurate passer in the league (67.6 percent). Of the quarterbacks starting playoff games this season, Keenum had the best regular-season Total QBR at 69.6 …. Keenum has already made himself a lot of money this season, no matter what happens against the Saints on Sunday — people up and down the Vikings’ organization would concede that much, even if some would rather not pay up. An executive from another team who has watched six recent game films of Keenum predicted some franchise will offer him $20 million a year, and that the quarterback would likely leave the Vikings if they offer him $15 million a pop.”

Starting the new year out right. The Hibbing Daily Tribune’s Kelly Grinsteinner reports: “There was a lot of screaming on the St. Louis County Courthouse campus in Hibbing on Thursday morning, Jan. 11. A group of 22 that work either in the courthouse or the nearby county annex were learning that they just won the lottery. … The ticket holders matched four of the five numbers and the Powerball, which is normally worth $50,000. However, the players added the Power Play multiplier option for an extra dollar that multiplies the prize by five for a winning total of $250,000. The winning Powerball numbers were 7-24-33-49-50 and the Powerball was 4. The 22 are figuring they’ll each receive about $7,500 after taxes.”