A tax on disposable shopping bags?

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Retailers would have to charge shoppers a nickel for each disposable carryout bag they now give away, whether paper or plastic, if a bill from Sen. Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis, makes its way into law. On the flip side, shoppers who bring their own bags to the stores could get a nickel credit for each one they bring, under SF 2338, which received a hearing in the Senate Taxes Committee Wednesday. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the Senate’s omnibus tax bill, which Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, will introduce in the second half of the session. For each nickel stores would be required to charge for a bag, they would keep one penny for themselves. If they provide a BYOB credit, they would get to keep a second penny to help pay for it. Continue Reading

Candidates for the Minnesota state legislature

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The General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 4. We do not have the space or time to give you background information on all the candidates that will be on the ballot, but we thought we could give you background information on the legislative candidates running in our community. In 61A, the incumbent, DFLer Karen Clark, will be facing a challenge from Republican S. Andrew Sheppard. In 62B, there is a three-way race to fill the vacant seat left by the retirement of Neva Walker. Continue Reading