Says Andy Mannix for the Strib, “Owning a home is becoming more expensive in Minneapolis, and it’s not just the booming real estate market. If the City Council approves Mayor Jacob Frey’s budget, the average homeowner next year will pay $1,249 in utility fees — for drinking water, wastewater, garbage collection and storm drainage — a cost that has continued to rise in recent years as the city seeks to repair an aging sewer infrastructure and embark on new building projects. This combination of fees rose 26 percent since 2014 for the average customer, according to city data. Under Frey’s proposed budget, utility fees will cost just about $130 less than what the median homeowner pays to the city in property taxes in 2019.”

The Star Tribune’s Paul Walsh and Mara Kecker write: “A teenager speeding from state troopers in a stolen SUV hit another vehicle and killed three people early Sunday at a south Minneapolis intersection, where the wreckage came to rest outside the door of a popular neighborhood bar shortly after closing time. The collision occurred about 1:20 a.m. at the corner of Cedar Avenue S. and E. 35th Street, according to the State Patrol. The crumpled vehicles lay in front of Matt’s Bar and Grill. … Family members at the scene identified the three people killed in the pickup as Kimberly M. Gunderson, 48, of Minneapolis; and husband and wife Sheryl Carpentier, 65, and Kenneth Carpentier, 64, who split their time between the Twin Cities and Arizona.”

From Anne Polta of the Forum News Service: “Collisions with deer aren’t unusual on rural highways in west-central Minnesota, but a collision with an elk had people scratching their heads Friday. That’s what happened on Minnesota 4 a couple miles north of Hector when a bull elk crossed the road into the path of an oncoming car. The unidentified female driver, who was reportedly on her way to work just before 8 a.m., was not injured but her Ford Mustang sustained significant damage. Trent Squibb of Hector, who drove up on the scene shortly after the collision and obtained a possession permit to bring the elk home for butchering, estimated the animal’s size at 650 to 700 pounds. ‘That’s big. It was pretty impressive’ he said.”

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A Bloomberg News story says, “China reached into the U.S. heartland in its escalating trade war over President Donald Trump’s tariffs, using an advertising supplement in Iowa’s largest newspaper to highlight the impact on the state’s soybean farmers as ‘the fruit of a president’s folly.’ The four-page section in Sunday’s Des Moines Register, which carried the label ‘paid for and prepared solely by China Daily, an official publication of the People’s Republic of China,’ featured such articles as one outlining how the trade dispute is forcing Chinese importers to turn to South America instead of the U.S. for soybeans. The advertising targets a state critical to Trump and Republicans as the trade war between the world’s two largest economies intensifies.”

A Paul Walsh story in the Strib says, “A 12-year-old boy fatally stabbed his teenage brother in the chest in the family’s Minnetonka home, according to police. The killing of the 16-year-old occurred about 8 p.m. Saturday at an apartment in the 11300 block of Fairfield Road, police said. Officers arrived, resuscitation efforts were made, and the teen was taken to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, where he was pronounced dead.”

At MPR we learn, “Minnesota craft breweries are celebrating a strong showing at a prestigious beer competition this weekend. The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild reported that breweries from the state received 12 medals at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver on Saturday. That’s Minnesota’s best showing at the event, going back nearly two decades.” Gold medal winners from Minnesota included: Bent Paddle Brewing Co., Lakes & Legends Brewing Co., Steel Toe Brewing, and Summit Brewing.

Anthony Lonetree of the Strib says, “Dozens of Minnesota school districts, under pressure from parents and state officials, have adopted or are pursuing new measures to reduce suspensions and expulsions of students of color and those with disabilities. The St. Paul School District has directed police who work in its buildings to steer clear of investigating or recommending discipline for students for missteps that do not involve a crime. Duluth, Eden Prairie, Edina and Osseo school districts have struck similar agreements with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.”

For the Strib, Chip Scoggins writes, “The Vikings got caught looking ahead. Or they felt too comfortable against a supposedly inferior opponent. Whatever the case, they got humbled in the worst possible manner Sunday. The Vikings looked totally and utterly unprepared to play in a 27-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Listed as 16½-point favorites, the Vikings played as poorly as any team could possibly look in digging a crater in the first half. Teams that were at least 16-point favorites were 75-5 since 1978, according to Pro Football Reference. … So this was a historic flop.”