Does the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota need to get bigger? It’s only the biggest mall in the country, so of course it does! The mall just broke ground on a $250 million addition that adds 50 stores, an atrium, an office tower, a luxury hotel, and a massive and fancy “food hall” to replace the current food court. The owners ultimately plan $2.5 billion in additions in the coming decade, adding one new thing per year. [More]
minnesota
Amazon Cutting All Ties To Minnesota Business Before Online Sales Tax Law Kicks In
By 6.19.13
Amazon would rather not collect online sales tax in Minnesota — at least, it doesn’t want to do so because the state orders it to — so instead, by the end of the month it will cut all ties to its Minnesota-based affiliate websites. Those sites get a fee every time they refer shoppers to Minnesota, so they’ll be out of luck as of July 1. [More]
Update: Comic Book Found In Wall Sells For $175,000 At Auction
By 6.12.13
Remember last month when we told you about the Minnesota home-rebuilder who bought a fixer-upper for $10,000 and then found a copy of Action Comics #1 from 1938 hidden in the wall? It was expected that the rare book would go for at least six figures, and when the auction closed last night, the final bid was for $175,000. [More]
Man Pays $10K For House, Finds $107,000 Comic Book Hidden In Wall
By 5.22.13
When a Minnesota home remodeler decided to plunk down $10,100 for a fixer-upper to rehab, he just assumed it was a no-lose investment. Little did he know about the rare comic book he’d find stashed in the wall of the house. [More]
Scammers Pretend To Buy Gas Station, Hold Amazing Sale, Run Away
By 5.21.13
A strange gas station scam in Minnesota didn’t hurt customers, exactly: it benefited customers. The scam victim was the owner of the gas station, who thought that they had sold the place to credible new owners. Instead, after a glorious one-day sale with everything in the convenience store half off and gas about forty cents per gallon below the local market price, the sale collapsed. The owner says that the down payment check bounced, the buyers disappeared, and $50,000 in cash was missing…along with the gas and merchandise that local customers pounced on during that too-good-to-be-true sale. [More]
Posing As Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour To Scam Hospital For $100K In Treatment Is Not A Good Idea
By 5.1.13
Pretending to be a legend of rock in order to rack up a six-figure hospital bill may sound reasonable — to a crazy person — but it’s likely just going to end up with you in a whole mess of trouble. [More]
Minnesota City Fights Back Against Comcast Rate Hikes
By 3.6.13
Following Comcast’s decision to start charging $1.99/month for previously free converter boxes and a nearly 10% rate hike for some customers, the mayor of Eagan, MN, has written lawmakers and regulators asking for the right to rein in what the city’s residents pay for cable. [More]
Minnesota AG Says Debt Collectors Need To Provide Better Evidence When Suing Consumers
By 1.14.13
Tired of seeing debt buyers and debt collectors winning court cases with little evidence to back their claims, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has asked state lawmakers to craft a bill mandating a higher standard of proof from these businesses. [More]
City Government Busts Old-Timey Soda Fountain For Selling Old-Timey Candy Cigarettes
By 12.27.12
As a child of the ’80s raised by a pair of reformed smokers, I never had candy cigarettes. They weren’t common when I was growing up, and even if they had been, I wouldn’t have been allowed to have them. You may be surprised to learn that they still exist. Until recently, you could buy them at a retro old-timey soda fountain in St. Paul, Minnesota. Until Big Government swooped in and told the owner that the candy cigs had to go, because they’re illegal. [More]
Minnesota Says No To Free Online College Courses
By 10.19.12
A new trend has popped up on the education radar lately — free online classes anyone from anywhere can take to learn about a plethora of subjects. It’s known as MOOC — massive open online courses, and Coursera is one of the big names out there offering a variety of learning material. But the state of Minnesota is miffed because the universities offering classes through Coursera didn’t get permission to operate there, prompting the company to change its terms of services for customers in that state. [More]
At Many Minnesota DMVs, Wait 2 Months Or Get In Line At 4 A.M. For Driver’s License
By 10.18.12
Oh, the dreaded Department of Motor Vehicles, where hopes are raised and dashed, where snaking long lines and confusing paperwork contribute to an atmosphere hellish enough to discourage even the most stalwart driver. If there’s a way for a DMV to be even more awful, Minnesota’s in the running for that dubious honor. Hopeful drivers-to-be in the state are apparently stuck either waiting two months to take a driving test or have to show up as early as 4 a.m. to take their shot behind the wheel. [More]
Dish Network Is About To Drop My NBC Affiliate That Isn’t Even Local
By 10.8.12
Dale only has one complaint about Dish Network, but it’s sort of a strange one. Yes, he can tune local broadcast channels from Minneapolis through his Dish tuner, but they’re not local enough. He lives in more than 200 miles away in Bemidji, MN. [More]
What's To Come Of All The Space Left Over By Shrinking Big Box Stores?
By 8.10.12
In recent years, a number of big box retailers and department store chains have begun the process of closing stores and cutting the size of some existing outlets. But since there isn’t exactly a huge rush by other retailers to snap up those spaces, are we going to inundated with empty ghost stores that stand as a reminder of the big box boom? [More]
Medical Debt Collector Banned In Minnesota For Harassing Patients In Emergency Rooms
By 7.31.12
One of the nation’s largest medical debt collectors just got a bit smaller after it agreed to stop operating in Minnesota over allegations that the company staffed hospital emergency rooms with its agents in order to get people to pay up on any owed debts before they received additional care. [More]
Average Foreclosure In NYC Area Now Takes Longer Than 3 Years
By 4.27.12
Aside from being the title of a totally rad Olsen Twins movie, the phrase “New York minute” implies that things move rapidly in the Big Apple. One exception is the home foreclosure process, which can drag out to more than 1,100 days in the NYC metro area. [More]
Report: Debt Collectors Work In Emergency Rooms, Demand Payment Before Patients Receive Care
By 4.24.12
One of the nation’s largest medical debt collection companies — already the subject of a lawsuit over alleged privacy violations — finds itself in more hot water as newly released documents claim that agency employees are actually working in hospital emergency rooms and sometimes demanding that patients pay up before they receive any further medical attention. [More]
World's Worst Dad Candidate Thought It Was A Good Idea To Leave Son Behind In Foreclosed House
By 1.26.12
Over the course of the last half-decade, we’ve written plenty of stories about homeowners who, facing foreclosure, just walked away from their doomed homes. But a man in Minnesota decided to go one step beyond, choosing to leave his 11-year-old son behind in the house he could no longer afford. [More]
Home Depot Salt Pellet Deal Shrivels Under Scrutiny
By 10.19.11
Whether it’s a signage error or a stacking error, this pile of salt pellets is not what it seems at first blush. [More]
