With the blessing of the mayor and the St. Paul City Council, as well as deep guidance from city lobbyists and department heads, the city of St. Paul delivers an elaborate laundry list of wants and needs each year to state lawmakers, spelling out the capital city’s legislative priorities in order of importance.

The Grand Casino Arena needs state bond funding for a remodel. The Como Zoo needs a new enclosure for its big cats. The mayor is pushing to ban semi-automatic guns and binary triggers from the city. The wish-list goes on, usually spanning some 20 pages or more of desired projects and changes to state law, from the elaborate to the mundane.

In an unusual bit of policy housekeeping, the city council on Wednesday is poised to require that City Hall be ready for next year’s legislative session with an approved agenda in hand by the first month of session. This year, it was not.

“Basically, this is just an attempt to codify something that has been standard practice, but this year wasn’t,” said St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker on Friday. “We were getting questions from legislators about what the city’s priorities were. Some folks were asking, ‘Have you actually adopted your legislative agenda?’ That’s what actually takes it from a document that lobbyists are shopping around to the official will of the city.”

Last session

When the 2025 legislative session opened on Jan. 14, the city’s legislative agenda was still in limbo, getting passed around among city lobbyists and council members.

The council ultimately adopted the legislative agenda last April, making St. Paul likely the last city in the metro to finalize its policy priorities even as major state bills were hurdling toward completion.

“By April, things are moving into the final stage of negotiation,” Noecker said. “Last year got way, way too late. It wasn’t ready. It wasn’t put into our Legistar (software) by our intergovernmental relations team. We had it shopped around to council members, but it wasn’t ready for prime time, and we were asking about it.”

The city’s top asks this past year included the remodel of the Grand Casino Arena and the big cat enclosure at Como Zoo. Neither project went on to receive state funding.

A difficult end to 2024 and start to 2025

Likely adding to delays in getting the 2025 agenda approved, the final weeks of December were difficult ones for the city council, which was mired in a budget fight with the mayor’s office.

Also, January featured an unusual start to the legislative session as House DFL lawmakers refused to convene in the state Capitol while disputing leadership matters with Republicans.

The city charter spells out that city lobbyists may only lobby lawmakers on items with official city approval, said Brynn Hausz, the city’s intergovernmental relations director, on Friday.

The council “worked really closely with me on this ordinance, and I am perfectly happy with the deadline being put in place,” Hausz added. “Having the legislative agenda before the city council in December just makes for a better process. Then we have a lead-up to the legislative session to get our bills drafted. You can’t wait until January to start drafting bills and expect to get work done.”

Proposed amendment

The council’s proposed amendment to the city’s administrative codes requires the mayor’s staff to submit the city’s legislative agenda for council review no later than the first Wednesday in December. That carries the expectation that the council adopt the agenda by the time state lawmakers convene their regular session, and sets 30 days after the start of the session as a hard deadline.

Noecker noted the city’s legislative agenda can run more than 20 pages, making it a bit unwieldy.

“Successive administrations have put down their priorities, and it’s hard to take it off once it’s there, but if everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority,” she said. “We’d really like to get down to a one-page executive summary … with our few pushes for the year ahead, our short list.”

Also worth revisiting, Noecker said, is how the legislative agenda is organized. She’d like to see better separation between state bonding priorities, like the requested funding for the Grand Casino Arena remodel, as opposed to legislative priorities that might get lost in the shuffle.

The city had sought state permission to ban guns from all of its government buildings and install signs indicating so, especially outside libraries and rec centers, as schools and private businesses are already allowed to do. That request also was not approved.

The next regular legislative session is scheduled to begin Feb. 17.

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While fall does not officially begin until Sept. 22, the process of the trees changing color has already begun in Minnesota.

“There should be plenty of beautiful foliage to enjoy” this fall, according to a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources news release.

“Fall in Minnesota is truly something special,” said DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen. “Cool, crisp air, brilliant bursts of color, and picturesque landscapes make it the perfect season to get outside. … Autumn is an ideal time to experience the beauty and colors of Minnesota.”

In contrast to 2024’s extremely wet spring and prior years’ severe droughts, this year brought a relatively dry May with decent precipitation from June through August to Minnesota, according to the DNR news release, resulting in more leaves staying on trees than in recent years. Barring any extreme cold snaps, this bodes well for great colors this fall.

“Brilliant fall color occurs when early fall days are sunny, nights are chilly and there is adequate rainfall throughout the growing season,” said Brian Schwingle, DNR forest health program consultant. “An earlier, lighter frost will shift peak fall color earlier in the fall color window, so pay attention to the forecast if you can be flexible with your travel timing.”

The DNR has released its 2025 Fall Color Finder on the webpage, dnr.state.mn.us/fall_colors, and its weekly newsletter for tips to help Minnesotans view fall colors. Both resources help the public track leaf, wildflower and grass color progression across Minnesota.

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Atlanta marched down the field on the game’s opening drive Sunday night on the strength of Bijan Robinson’s legs for an early field goal to claim a 3-0 lead in Minneapolis.

That was a theme of the night for the Falcons, who converted five field goals off the leg of John Parker Romo. Atlanta’s first touchdown didn’t come until fewer than four minutes remained in the Falcons’ 22-6 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium.

But where exactly did the bulk of those kicks come from?

The second Atlanta field goal came after Minnesota turned the ball over on downs on its first offensive series at its own 36-yard line after four plays following a rough exchange between quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the center on a 4th-and-1 quarterback sneak attempt.

The third Atlanta field goal came late in the first half after the Falcons took over on the Vikings’ 38-yard line when McCarthy threw an interception. The fifth Atlanta field goal came after McCarthy fumbled as he was sacked on a hit he had every opportunity for which to brace himself.

All this is to say: Don’t pin Sunday night’s failure on the Vikings defense. Brian Flores’ unit was, again, brilliant.

The lone touchdown Minnesota surrendered came late in the fourth quarter, when the Vikings opted to allow a touchdown in an attempt to preserve clock while remaining down just two scores. By the end of that Atlanta drive, the Falcons’ had held possession for 20 minutes, 11 seconds of the second half, compared to just 6 minutes, 27 seconds for Minnesota.

The defense was gassed.

Outside of that drive, Minnesota surrendered just 243 yards of offense all evening. That comes after it allowed just 238 yards to the Bears prior to garbage time in Week 1.

Flores’ defense is really, really good.

It’s on the Vikings’ offense to stop putting the defense in such difficult positions.

Kevin O’Connell is an offense coach and a guru on that end of the field. But through two weeks, Minnesota has played approximately one good quarter of offensive football. The defense currently stands as the team’s best unit by a wide margin. It may be time to start leaning into that.

Yes, Minnesota is currently down Jordan Addison. And the offensive line hits keep coming with left tackle Christian Darrisaw missing his second game and center Ryan Kelly leaving Sunday’s game early. Even Darrisaw’s replacement, Justin Skule, left the game. Aaron Jones left Sunday’s bout, as well.

That, along with McCarthy’s inexperience, all suggests O’Connell and Co. may be wise to lean into a conversative, ground-and-pound approach for the time being.

Because opposing offenses simply aren’t moving the ball against Minnesota. And the points that are being scored against the Vikings are too often a product of offensive ineptitude. You know why McCarthy had to be so heroic in Chicago? Because he himself gave the Bears seven free points.

There’s no shame in putting a governor on the offense when you have a great defense and a young quarterback. It worked out quite well for the 2001 New England Patriots. Tom Brady threw for 145 yards in that Super Bowl upset of the Rams. But you know what perhaps the great quarterback of all time didn’t do that night? Turn the ball over.

Minnesota figures to be favored in each of its next three games. Next week, it hosts a Bengals’ team that will be without injured quarterback Joe Burrow. Then the Vikings face the Browns and Steelers overseas before the bye week.

Flores, Jonathan Greenard and Co. can lead Minnesota to a 4-1 record before it has time to regroup, grow and, ideally, ascend.

The offense’s job until then? Stay out of the way.

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Friends, family and neighbors are raising money to help a St. Paul man who was stabbed by a man who neighbors said was disruptive and “terrorized” them.

A criminal complaint alleges that 37-year-old Thomas Christian Welle stabbed his neighbor Pete Moroz, 56, multiple times during a September 5 assault at a condominium in the 500 block of Jackson Street in St. Paul.

Welle has been charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree burglary and assault and first degree assault with great bodily harm. Court records show he has a history of civil commitments for mental health.

According to the GoFundMe account, during the attack, Moroz was stabbed numerous times, suffering a collapsed lung, damaged liver, severely damaged left arm, orbital fracture to his left eye and has undergone multiple surgeries. He is at risk of losing his eyesight in his left eye, fundraiser organizers said.

More than $9,000 had been raised as of Sunday to help with his medical costs through a GoFundMe account.

The criminal complaint gives the following details about the assault:

Shortly before 6:30 p.m. on September 5, Welle knocked on Moroz’s door, saying he had a delivery for him. When he opened the door, Moroz said that Welle allegedly began to stab him, saying, “You are going to die.”

A neighbor heard Moroz shouting and went to the apartment. When she opened the door, she saw Welle allegedly standing over Moroz, stabbing him.

She screamed, “Get off him! What are you doing? Get off him!”

“He’s stabbing me — call 911!!” Moroz yelled.

The neighbor ran back to her place and called 911.

When officers arrived, they found Moroz outside on the sidewalk, covered in blood. Moroz told police that his neighbor had stabbed him “all over” and asked officers to tell his daughters that he loved them.

At Regions Hospital, medical staff said that Munoz’s condition was life-threatening and that he had blood pooling near his heart and lungs and that his blood pressure was dropping.

Doctors said he required multiple surgeries and might lose his eyesight.

Neighbors told detectives that Welle had been “disruptive and terrorized” the neighbors since he moved in about two years ago. He played loud music and banged around, making pounding sounds and yelling. He wrote a previous tenant that she stomped when she walked, and signed the note “Your worst nightmare.” Other neighbors said he wasn’t taking his medication. They were afraid to confront him and had decided to speak to building management about him.

While searching Welle’s apartment, police found a bloody knife with the name “Thomas” on its wooden handle, the complaint said.

Welle’s family told detectives that he is “extremely dangerous, erratic, and unpredictable” and worry he will return and hurt Moroz or others again.

Authorities arrested him the next day and found him walking near the building with blood on his feet and hands. When he saw officers, he held up his hands to be arrested and said that he had acted in self-defense.

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The criminal complaint said Welle has been convicted of arson in the second degree and assault in the fourth degree in Dakota County, prior to the stabbing. He had set fire to his mattress in a group home, and he spat in a responding officer’s face. Welle also has a long history of civil commitments.

He is already facing trial on felony assault in the fifth degree in Hennepin County for repeatedly punching a doctor, who had treated Welle for 15 years at the time.

His next scheduled court appearance is on Oct. 15.