As Halloween draws closer, here’s a reminder of what you should really be scared of: ATM skimmers, or devices that attach to cash machines to slurp up customers’ card numbers and PINs. You should also be afraid of adults in creepy baby doll masks. According to police in Minnesota, a recent crime there incorporates both of these terrifying prospects, with a mask-wearing suspect accused of placing skimmers on ATMs in two counties and stealing tens of thousands of dollars. [More]
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Farmers To Pay $390K For Charging Renters More Than Homeowners On Car Insurance
By 7.20.17
Last year, a Consumer Federation of America report found that home renters pay up to 47% more for car insurance than their peers who own their homes. Now, one state is doing something about this: Minnesota has fined insurance giant Farmers $390,000 for charging higher rates to renters. [More]
Measles Outbreak Linked To Lack Of Vaccinations Grows In Minnesota
By 5.5.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Dozens of people in Minnesota have been diagnosed with measles in recent weeks, leading health officials to consider imposing a mandatory isolation and quarantine order on some people who have been exposed. [More]
After Congress Trashes Internet Privacy Rule, One State May Adopt Its Own
By 4.3.17
The House and Senate both voted in March to toss out the FCC’s rule limiting what your internet service provider can do with your personal data without your consent. That resolution now awaits only the President’s signature before we lose protection at a federal level. One state, though, is already fighting back with a new rule of its own. [More]
Search Warrant Issued For Everyone Who Googled Identity Theft Victim’s Name
By 3.17.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Try to imagine a police officer in the pre-internet era serving a search warrant on the phone company, wanting the names of everyone who looked up a certain number. What would have seemed ludicrous at the time is now feasible, and one judge believes Google should turn over the personal information for anyone who used the search engine to look up a victim’s name. [More]
One Closing Macy’s Is Selling Off Its Terrifying Animatronic Holiday Decorations
By 2.22.17
Has your home been missing something, but you just can’t put your finger on it? Would a giant, animatronic elf, a pair of ballet dancers, or donkeys do the trick? If so, then Macy’s has a deal for you: The struggling retailer is selling seasonal displays that were once used at its soon-to-be-closed downtown Minneapolis store. [More]
Report: Outdoors Superstore Gander Mountain Looking To File For Bankruptcy
By 2.13.17 — Updated: 3.13.17
Wait, there’s yet another sporting goods store potentially headed for bankruptcy? There are reports that Gander Mountain, an outdoorsy chain that calls itself “America’s firearms superstore” is headed for bankruptcy. [More]
Minnesota Cities Claim Walmart Is Using Local Police As Unpaid Security Guards
By 12.16.16
Across the country, local governments are speaking out about how their police departments are subsidizing security at their local Walmart stores, with officers dispatched there more often than competing discount and grocery stores. Now state legislators from two cities in Minnesota say that they’re working on possible solutions to the issue. [More]
Only Three Stores Opening On Thanksgiving At Mall of America
By 11.14.16
The Mall of America, tourist destination and temple of commerce, announced last month that it would not be officially opening on Thanksgiving Day, though it gave individual stores the option to open if they wanted. The only retailers to take the mall up on that offer were Sears, Macy’s, and The Crayola Experience, and Crayola is the only store staying open that lacks its own entrance. [More]
Online Lender Claiming Tribal Affiliation Must Refund, Cancel $11.6M In Payday Loans
By 8.18.16
For years, online lenders have claimed affiliations with tribal groups in order to skirt state laws related to short-term, high-interest loans. Today, the state of Minnesota came to a settlement over a years-long, so-called “rent-a-tribe” loan scheme with CashCall, ordering the lender to pay $11.6 million in relief to borrowers. [More]
I Know My ID Thief’s Name & Address, But Police Won’t Do Anything About It
By 5.24.16
When you think of an identity thief, you probably envision some squirrelly jerk in a third-world country selling your data on the black market. He’s untraceable and living someplace where the police don’t care. However, that ID thief could be only miles away from you, living an otherwise normal life… in a police where police also don’t really care. [More]
Target: Customers Can Use Fitting Rooms, Bathrooms That Reflect Their Gender Identity
By 4.20.16
While some states and cities consider rules regarding who can or can’t use which public restrooms, Target has confirmed that its policy is that customers can use whichever fitting room or restroom best reflects their gender identity. [More]
Prank Caller Strikes Minnesota Burger King, Workers Break All Windows
By 4.11.16
Back in February prank callers preyed on fast food restaurants like Jack in the Box, Burger King, and Wendy’s, instructing workers to break every window and door or face certain disaster. The prank hit again in Minnesota over the weekend, when employees of a Burger King smashed the store’s windows, following directions from what they thought was a fire department official. [More]
Car Owner Tries To Drive Vehicle Away During Snow Emergency Tow
By 12.31.15
When you live in an occasionally snowy urban area and own a car, snow emergencies are an inevitable occasional annoyance. They impose different alternate-side parking rules so plow crews can clear heavy snow accumulation from the sides of roads, towing vehicles that remain in the way. One woman in St. Paul, Minnesota tried to rescue her car, then learned that you can’t actually drive a car hooked to a tow truck. [More]
Minnesota Vikings Sue Wells Fargo For Attempting To “Photo Bomb” New Stadium
By 12.23.15
When you build a new multibillion-dollar stadium for an NFL franchise, you probably want to make sure that advertisers are paying for their name on or in the building, not just near it. And you probably want to ensure that those advertisers who do pay for their name on the building aren’t being overshadowed by the neighbors. Which is why the Minnesota Vikings are suing Wells Fargo. [More]
Report: “Wheels For Wishes” Charity Misled Donors About Make-A-Wish Donations
By 10.14.15
Car Donation Foundation, more popularly known as “Wheels for Wishes,” is the nation’s largest auto donation charity. Every year, it takes in millions of dollars from donated cars for the supposed purpose of benefiting local chapters of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. But Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson says the charity has been misleading donors about its connections to Make-A-Wish and about how much money that organization was getting from the donated vehicles. [More]
Wheaties Is Making (Non-Cereal Flavored) Beer
By 8.12.15
Wheaties: The Beer Of Champions? That could very well be a slogan you hear soon, as General Mills announced today that it’s getting into the beer game with a craft beer it’s calling HefeWheaties. [More]
Comcast Still Screwing Up Discount For Elderly Customers In St. Paul
By 8.3.15
Weeks after we told you about Comcast’s apparent ignorance of its mandated discount for elderly residents in the Minnesota city of St. Paul, customers there say the company still has its head in the sand and is refusing to properly honor requests from eligible consumers. [More]
