The notion of business travelers being forbidden from purchasing X-rated pay-per-view isn’t anything new. The erotic offerings are — so we hear — more expensive than other titles and very few employers want to foot the bill for them. But Winona County, MN, doesn’t just want to tell municipal employees not to order hotel porn; they don’t even want them staying at hotels that offer smutty selections. [More]
Minnesota County Doesn't Want Employees To Even Have Option Of Watching Hotel Porn
By September 7, 2010
In-Store Dance Protest Hits Target, To The Tune Of "People Are People"
By August 19, 2010
Wondering how that Target boycott is going? Here’s a video of an in-store protest complete with dance routine and Improv Everywhere type theatrics, set to the tune of Depeche Mode’s “People are People.” [More]
Target Angers Some Gay Customers With Support Of Conservative Politician
By July 28, 2010
For years, Target has made a significant effort to reach out to the gay and lesbian community, sponsoring pride marches and AIDS walks, as well as offering domestic partner benefits to its homosexual employees. But the retail chain now finds itself in hot water after it donated $150,000 toward the election campaign of a anti-same-sex marriage gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota. [More]
FTC To Take A Closer Look At Debtors Being Thrown In Jail
By July 16, 2010
It’s not a crime to owe money, and debtors prisons have been abolished — but that doesn’t mean that people are not being routinely arrested and put in jail for failing to pay debts. A few weeks ago the Minneapolis Star-Tribune published an investigative piece about arrest warrants being issued for people with less than $100 in debt, many of whom didn’t even know that a collector had taken legal action against them. Now, following a letter by Sen. Al Franken (noted hater of the Comcast, NBC merger), the FTC has agreed to look into the issue. [More]
Pilots Who Missed Minnesota Will Not Appeal License Revocation
By March 15, 2010
Remember those Northwest Airlines pilots who were too busy looking at their laptops to bother landing in Minneapolis? They have made a deal with the FAA to drop their appeal to have their licenses reinstated. [More]
Toyota Clusterfracas Might Free Man Jailed For Vehicular Homicide
By February 25, 2010
“Brakes, brakes not working!” screamed Lee moments before crashing his 1996 Toyota Camry into the back of another car, killing a family of three. In 2006, the Minnesota jury didn’t believe this testimony and sentenced Lee to 8 years in prison. In 2010, they might be changing their mind. [More]
Minnesota: Not Serving Personal Mobility Scooters At The Drive-Thru Is OK
By December 4, 2009
Back in June a woman in a personal mobility scooter rolled up the drive-thru at a St. Paul White Castle and was refused service because she wasn’t in a car. The drive-thru was the only part of the restaurant that was open — so she decided to complain to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. And she lost. [More]
Pilots Who Missed Minnesota Were Too Engrossed In Laptops To Land The Plane
By October 27, 2009
There is a reason that I am not a pilot and the reason is this: I am afraid I would get bored, start messing around with my laptop and miss Minnesota. Unfortunately for Northwest Airlines, they don’t hire people who utilize my rigorous program of self-doubt.
Gee, There Was A 6 Hour Tarmac Delay At New York's JFK Airport
By August 24, 2009
So, we’ve recently noticed that the new cool thing for airlines to say when they mess up is some variation of, “We tried to make them comfortable,” as if they were escorting you to meet your maker instead of transporting you to Minnesota to see your grandmother and eat “bars.” We think this is creepy. We think they should stop saying this.
National Arbitration Forum Exits Credit Card Dispute Business
By July 20, 2009
Score one for the consumer over unfair arbitration. Just last week, Minnesota’s Attorney General sued the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) for fraud, false advertising, and deceptive trade practices—and now the company has agreed to pull out of the credit card business entirely. According to the settlement reached on July 17th, “The only business NAF can now be involved with is in arbitrating Internet domain disputes, a business it has long been in.”
Minnesota Attorney General Punches National Arbitration Forum In The Face
By July 14, 2009
Minnesota has filed a lawsuit against the National Arbitration Forum, alleging fraud, false advertising, and deceptive trade practices.
Minnesota Becomes First State To Ban BPA
By May 8, 2009
Minnesota has enacted the “Toxic Free Kids Act,” which will ban bisphenol-A (BPA) in sippy cups and baby bottles. Minnesota joins Suffolk County, New York, which banned BPA earlier this year. Other states and counties, as well as the federal government, are considering bans on the potentially dangerous chemical, which has been linked to all sorts of adverse health effects. The Minnesota ban goes into effect in 2011. (Photo: tiffanywashko)
It's Tough Being The Only Popeye's In Minnesota
By April 30, 2009
What happens when you mix a chicken promotion, a national ad buy, and a franchisee not taking part in the promotion? You get a lot of hungry and annoyed people. And, last Thursday in Minneapolis, you have to call the police.
US Bancorp Blasts TARP As Giant Bait And Switch On America
By February 21, 2009
U.S. Bancorp CEO Richard Davis took shotgun blasts to the TARP program for being a fat big lie. “We were told to take it so that we could help Darwin synthesize the weaker banks and acquire those and put them under different leadership,” Davis said. OMG – truth alert!
As The Recession Deepens, The Mall Of America Says It's Doing Fine
By February 3, 2009
The New York Times says there are about 1,500 malls in the US and many of them are in trouble. They’re being converted to office buildings or closing their doors for good. And yet, Minnesota’s Mall of America is allegedly doing fine.
By January 16, 2009
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, whose excellent Best Buy and Target coverage we really appreciate, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [Reuters]
Target's Pharmacy Will Not Answer Questions One Minute After Closing?
By January 7, 2009
If you’re picking up your prescriptions close to closing time at Target’s pharmacy, you might want to make sure you don’t have any questions after closing time. Reader Kathy says she realized that she had a question about her son’s prescription immediately after picking up the prescription, but when she turned around to ask it — she was too late.
Giving The Phone Book Spammers What For
By January 5, 2009
How can you tell the number of vacant houses on a block? Easy. Just look for the houses with phone books piling up on the porch. The phone book spammers count those property-value killers into their circulation numbers, which is how they sucker businesses into buying listings in the yellow pages. Minnesota blogger Ed Kohler is even angrier about phone book spam than I am, and is on a bit of a mission to never have a phone book on his property again. So he got a little pissed when Verizon, a company he has no business relationship with, tossed one on his steps.
