The Washington County Board on Tuesday unanimously approved the property tax levy and budget for 2026. The $148.9 million levy represents a 6.95 percent increase over 2025 — the lowest county levy increase proposed in the metro area, according to county officials.

That means the owner of a median-valued home ($423,700) that had a median increase in value (1.7 percent) will see a $41 increase in the county portion of property taxes for 2026, or a 4.2 percent increase from 2025, said County Administrator Kevin Corbid.

Related Articles

Ramsey County board sets 8.25% levy increase, reduced operating budget

Dakota County approves 9.9% levy increase. Here’s what to know.

The board also set a levy of $1.2 million for the Land and Water Legacy Program and $660,000 for the Washington County Regional Rail Authority, the same as in previous years.

The 2026 budget approved by the board on Tuesday, also by a 5-0 vote, includes $300 million in operating expenses, $117.5 million in capital projects and $16.8 million in debt service. “It provides critical funding for mandated and core services that directly impact residents’ lives and support the community,” Corbid said.

The budget includes cost shifts from the federal government to the county for existing mandated services; adjustments to employee compensation and increases to health care costs, and inflationary pressures on fuel, equipment and construction costs, he said.

The difference between what the levy supports and what the budget calls for in revenue will be provided by funding from other sources, including state and federal reimbursements, grants and fees for services, he said.

Capital investments

The county plans for capital investments in 2026 include: $113.2 million for road and bridge projects; a $17 million makeover of the Park Grove Library in Cottage Grove; $1.3 million for the development of the new Central Yard Waste site in Afton; $1.8 million for improvements to county parks; and $200,000 for electric-vehicle charging stations.

The budget also addresses waitlists and backlogs in human services due to growing service demands and lengthier assessment requirements, and maintains the same ratio of five employees per 1,000 residents, Corbid said.

The county’s five-year capital improvement plan, which will oversee projects through 2030, was approved in a separate, 4-1 vote. Commissioner Michelle Clasen, who represents the Woodbury area, voted no.

The plan includes more than $493.8 million in community investment — including a proposed $40 million bond sale in 2027 — across 105 projects or programs in the 2026-2030 timespan, Corbid said. It calls for 69 percent of the funds to be spent on roads and bridges, 27 percent on public facilities and 4 percent on parks and land. It also plans for the maintenance of 296 miles of county highway along with separated trails, intersections, signs, culverts and roundabouts.

Funding sources for the capital improvement plan include intergovernmental revenue — meaning funds coming from other levels of government — as well as the county’s transportation tax, wheelage tax and bond proceeds.

The five-year capital improvement plan includes more than $17.6 million in investments in the county’s parks and trails; Washington County maintains 4,800 acres of parkland, with 75 miles of trails and five beaches. Among the 16 planned projects: Hardwood Creek Regional Trail extension, Big Marine Park Reserve improvements, Lake Elmo Park Reserve facility improvements, Lake Elmo Park Reserve single-track trail and Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park lighted trails.

Related Articles

Woodbury school among many impacted by influenza outbreaks, will switch to online classes

Tuesday special primary will pick DFL candidates for vacant MN House seats

Oakdale: Open houses planned for police expansion, city hall remodel project

Obituary: John McPherson, longtime West Lakeland Township board chair, ‘lived a gigantic life’

Mahtomedi woman dies after being struck by vehicle on I-94

The five-year plan also includes $132.2 million in investments for 21 public facilities projects and programs in the county, including Public Works South Shop maintenance facility construction; R.H. Stafford Library improvements; Park Grove Library remodel project; Central and South Yard Waste sites, and countywide facility improvements.

County officials also have $343.8 million in planned investments for 68 road and bridge projects and programs across the county in the five-year plan. They include: County Highway 50 corridor studies and intersection improvements in Forest Lake; County Highway 27 corridor expansion project from Interstate 694 to County Highway 12 in Mahtomedi; Highway 36/Lake Elmo Avenue (County Highway 17) interchange project in Lake Elmo; County Highway 16 corridor safety and pavement preservation projects in Woodbury, and the County Road 19A to 100th Street realignment project in Cottage Grove.

By TODD RICHMOND

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A colleague of the Milwaukee judge accused of helping a Mexican immigrant evade arrest testified Tuesday that she was shocked by her fellow judge’s behavior.

Related Articles

Trump orders blockade of ‘sanctioned oil tankers’ into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on Maduro

Former NIH scientist sues Trump administration, claims illegal firing over research cuts

Federal judge says he’s inclined to deny preservationists’ request to halt Trump’s ballroom project

House Speaker Johnson rebuffs efforts to extend health care subsidies, pushing ahead with GOP plan

FAA head vows to maintain safety measures implemented after tragic DC plane crash

“Judges shouldn’t help defendants evade arrest,” Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Kristela Cervera testified at Hannah Dugan’s trial.

The testimony on the second day of trial came after officers involved in the arrest told the jury that Dugan’s behavior on April 18 made it more dangerous for them to do their jobs.

Dugan is on trial on charges of obstruction and concealment in connection with the incident. The maximum sentence for obstruction, the more serious charge, is five years in prison, though federal judges have much discretion to go lower.

The highly unusual charges against a sitting judge are an extraordinary consequence of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Dugan’s supporters say Trump is looking to make an example of her to blunt judicial opposition to immigration arrests.

Eduardo Flores-Ruiz was scheduled to appear before Dugan on the morning of April 18 on state battery charges. Prosecutors allege that after Dugan learned that federal officers were in the hallway waiting to arrest him, she cleared a path for him to escape by directing the officers to the chief judge’s office and then leading Eduardo-Flores out of her courtroom through a private door.

Cervera testified that she was irritated that Dugan used her as backup during the incident, making her come out of her courtroom into the hallway while still wearing her robe.

Dugan proceeded to angrily confront two officers waiting to arrest Flores-Ruiz, telling them repeatedly that they needed a judicial warrant before sending them to the chief judge’s chambers, Cervera testified. She escorted the officers to the chambers while Dugan returned to her courtroom, she said.

Dugan approached her three days later and said she was “in the doghouse” with the chief judge, saying something to the effect that the chief was upset with her because she had “tried to help that guy,” Cervera testified.

When she learned that Dugan had led Flores-Ruiz out the private door, “I was shocked,” Cervera testified.

FBI agent Phillip Jackling testified on Tuesday that he was concerned that his team was divided when Dugan directed agents to speak with the chief judge.

Dugan appeared angry when she approached him in the hallway outside her courtroom, he said. Another member of the arrest team, Customs and Border Protection Supervisory Officer Joseph Zuraw, said Dugan jerked her thumb over her shoulder and told him to “get out” before directing him to the chief judge’s chambers.

Four of the arrest team’s six members were in the chief judge’s chambers or a hallway leading to the chambers when Flores-Ruiz left the courtroom, the agents testified. Zuraw said he remembered thinking: “This is a bad spot we’re in right now. It’s a bad spot because we don’t’ have a decent number of officers to safely make an arrest.”

The team followed him outside the courthouse and had to chase him down through traffic when they could have safely arrested him in the building, they testified.

Dugan’s defense team has suggested that agents could have arrested Flores-Ruiz at any point in the hallway and Dugan shouldn’t be blamed for their decision to wait until he was outside.

Defense attorney Steven Biskupic said in opening statements that the judge had no intention of obstructing agents. He said that Dugan was just following a draft courthouse policy that called for court personnel to refer immigration agents looking to make an arrest in the courthouse to supervisors.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in November that Flores-Ruiz had been deported.

Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report from Madison, Wisconsin.

Bones Hyland played 36 minutes in Minnesota’s victory over Sacramento on Sunday night, after not being in the rotation a week prior.

But circumstances change. Wolves coach Chris Finch noted Hyland had done everything that was asked of him and performed well in practice to earn an opportunity a third of the way into the season. Then ailments to Anthony Edwards and Mike Conley left Minnesota needing more out of the guard position.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham (4) drives to the basket as New Orleans Pelicans guard Saddiq Bey (41) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game, in New Orleans, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman)

Hyland was ready for the opportunity and played well enough that Finch trusted him on the floor at the start and finish of the Timberwolves’ victory Sunday. It was a similar situation to Terrence Shannon Jr.’s night Friday in Golden State. Hyland suffered a knee bruise fewer than five minutes into that affair, leaving Minnesota even more short-handed.

The Wolves’ second-year wing played well – tallying nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals while serving as a useful cog in Minnesota’s up-tempo, ball-moving system – and saw 30 minutes of action because of it.

“He earned all 30 minutes,” Finch said.

Earned, not given.

That’s the way it is in Minnesota. Because the Wolves are too good of a team to run the style of developmental program that gifts extended minutes to young players simply because … they’re young players.

There’s been consternation over the small slices of the playing time pie to Shannon Jr and, more notably, Rob Dillingham this season. The point guard – who Minnesota traded a future first-round pick to select No. 8 overall in 2024 – has logged more than 12 minutes just six times this season. Shannon Jr. played fewer than 10 minutes in four straight games in early December.

“Much has been said about the 10 minute roles that these guys have, but with the way that we’re constructed … we have a deep six, seven guys who can all play upwards of the high 20s and low 30s or mid 30s,” Finch said. “Sometimes it just doesn’t leave like this 20-minute role for these guys.”

Finch frequently deployed a 10-minute rotation when the Wolves were at full health. The minutes of Dillingham, Shannon Jr. and Clark fluctuate within that rotation. The young guys haven’t earned the same grace as the established veterans – who’ve proven they can and will contribute to winning.

Generally, whether any of those young guys get a second-half shift depends on how they performed in their first run.

“What if the role is only 10 minutes?” Finch asked. “Shouldn’t you go out and crush those 10 minutes and then be ready to go back if we need you more? Or maybe we run with you a little bit longer?”

Finch has shown the propensity to do that with Hyland and Shannon Jr.’s performances over Minnesota’s last two games. If you play well, you’ll probably pay more.

“The reality is that’s the role right now, and they got to nail it,” Finch said.

The problem for Minnesota’s younger players is they haven’t consistently performed this season. That’s to be expected, Finch noted.

“We expect that there’s going to be good days and bad days, because (Dillingham and Shannon Jr. are) second year players, and that’s what second-year players do. They have inconsistencies,” he said. “If you play three games, you hope that you get one good, one not so good, and one maybe stinker. And you got to turn that into two positives and maybe one negative. Once we get there, then things start to go.”

Until then, the roles will shrink and grow on a nightly basis. Which way the pendulum swings will be determined by health and performance. That’s the works for top-tier teams in the NBA. The idea you can’t or won’t develop while playing inconsistent minutes flies in the face of many successful developmental stories of guys who’ve risen the ranks via hours in the practice facility. Sometimes, that’s what’s required. It was Hyland’s path back into the current rotation.

Those who don’t like it can go watch the Wizards.

Related Articles

Short-handed Timberwolves again strike brilliant offensive balance in win over Kings

Timberwolves player net ratings through 25 games: Donte DiVincenzo is still king

Without Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves still top Warriors

Rudy Gobert nears NBA suspension for flagrant fouls after Monday’s ejection

Timberwolves play with fire, fall to Phoenix

Crossover star Josh Groban will return to St. Paul’s Grand Casino Arena on June 28 with support from EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson. It’ll be his first performance in the metro in nearly eight years.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster. Citi cardholders and Verizon customers have access to a presale that runs through 10 p.m. Thursday.

Los Angeles native Groban has sold more than 25 million albums and is a favorite on daytime talk shows (he sat in with Oprah six times and announced his upcoming tour on Hudson’s show) thanks to his easy-going demeanor and even easier-going songs. His light-rock radio hits include “To Where You Are,” “Believe,” “Awake,” “Brave,” “Celebrate Me Home” and the now-ubiquitous “You Raise Me Up.”

In 2023, Groban returned to Broadway for his second time in the title role in a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” In May, he performed a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Jennifer Hudson

Related Articles

Snoop Dogg will perform on Christmas Day when Vikings host Lions

SPCO shines with its seasonal presentation of ‘Brandenburg’ Concertos

Headliners announced for third annual Minnesota Yacht Club Festival

Rod Stewart to play the Grandstand in what’s likely his final local concert

Goo Goo Dolls, Toto/Christopher Cross and Avenged Sevenfold to play Shakopee amphitheater

Hudson emerged in 2004 as a finalist in the third season of “American Idol.” While she only placed seventh, she became one of the most successful graduates of the show.

She earned EGOT status by winning an Emmy in 2021 for her role as a producer on the interactive fairy tale story “Baba Yaga,” a Grammy for her 2008 self-titled debut album, an Oscar for her film debut playing Effie White in the 2006 film adaptation of “Dreamgirls” and a Tony as a producer of 2022’s “A Strange Loop.” With the latter, she became the youngest woman and the third Black recipient of all four awards.

Hudson has hosted the syndicated daytime talk show “The Jennifer Hudson Show” since 2022.