St. Paul voters heading to the polls Nov. 4 will see a ballot question on an operating levy for St. Paul Public Schools that would increase the district’s per-pupil revenue.

Here’s what that means, why it’s on the ballot and what its approval could mean for property owners.

What is on the ballot?

Voters will be asked to vote yes or no on an increase to the district’s general revenue by $1,073 per pupil for 10 years, beginning with taxes payable in 2026. The result will cost the average St. Paul homeowner — with the median home valued at $289,200 — $309 per year, or $26 per month. The 10-year tax is subject to increase with inflation.

The ballot language will read:

“The board of Independent School District No. 625 (Saint Paul), Minnesota has proposed to increase the School District’s general education revenue by $1,073 per pupil, subject to an annual increase at the rate of inflation. The proposed new referendum revenue authorization would be first levied in 2025 for taxes payable in 2026 and applicable for ten (10) years unless otherwise revoked or reduced as provided by law.”

What does that mean?

If approved, the levy would raise $37.2 million annually for 10 years for St. Paul Public Schools, adjusted each year for inflation.

The funds would become part of the district’s general fund, which covers staff salaries and benefits, utilities and maintenance, transportation, curriculum, classroom equipment and administrative costs.

Previous levies

Voters approved similar requests for additional funding in 2018, 2012 and 2006. The 2018 levy gave the district $1,180 per student, or $18.6 million per year plus inflation, in new revenue. The 2018 levy — a 10-year levy — wasn’t earmarked for specific projects, but was meant to protect existing programs from further cuts while helping to pay for a district-wide strategic plan.

The levy referendum on the ballot in November would not revoke and replace the 2018 approved levy, which currently provides $1,167 per student, but will add onto it, according to Tom Sager, the district’s executive chief of financial services. Under state law, the school board could then choose to approve a one-time renewal of the 2018 levy as it’s set to expire without needing to bring it ahead of voters.

How much more will homeowners pay?

While the average St. Paul homeowners with a median-value home would see a $309 per year, or $26 per month, increase in their property taxes if the levy is approved, property owners won’t know the total changes to their property taxes for next year until city, county and school district levies are finalized in December.

How much to expect with city, county and school levies?

If the proposed city, county and school district levies are approved, including the special school district referendum, homeowners in St. Anthony Park, Battle Creek, Sunray, Highwood and downtown St. Paul would see their property taxes go up the least of any neighborhoods in the city, percentage-wise, while still seeing hikes of several hundred dollars.

Homeowners in the North End, Payne-Phalen, Thomas-Dale/Frogtown and the West Side neighborhoods would see their property taxes go up the most percentage-wise.

St. Paul schools levy for 2026

In September, the St. Paul school board approved a property tax levy at 1.98% less than the previous year as part of an annual process. That number will be finalized in December, but cannot be raised any higher. The tax is for 2026. Impacts on individual homeowners will depend on property values and doesn’t guarantee a 1.98% decrease on their property taxes that go to the district.

Why is this question on the ballot?

Without additional funding from the proposed levy, district officials say they expect to make at least $37 million budget cuts for the 2026-27 school year. If approved by voters, the increase will generate approximately $37.2 million per year in additional revenue.

The school board approved a $1 billion budget in June for 2026 with an estimated $51.1 million budget shortfall, which the district planned to cover using $35.5 million in reserve funds and $15.6 million in budget cuts and new revenue, including funds from the levy.

Budget reductions for 2026 have mainly come from cuts in the district’s central office departments, which make up 8% of the district’s total budget.

Funding from the proposed levy would help maintain programming such as arts and music, college- and career-readiness and language and culture initiatives, according to SPPS Superintendent Stacie Stanley.

Transportation, security and academic support services also face reductions if the district is not able to find additional revenue, according to district officials. However, anything is on the table for potential cuts, they say.

Further background

Local property taxes account for around 20% of the SPPS budget and the district currently spends more than $23,000 per pupil each year.

District officials attribute its budget shortfall to state funding not keeping pace with inflation in the past 20 years as well as increased expenses.

If state funding kept pace with inflation each year since 2003, the district would receive $1,470 more per student than it currently does, or approximately $50 million per year, according to district officials.

There is also uncertainty around potential cuts in federal funding and other revenue losses. Dropping enrollment, which is forecasted based on demographic trends, could add additional financial stress to the district, which receives state funding per pupil.

St. Paul schools officials have worked hard to get the word out on the levy referendum, using tax dollars to do so.

For more information on the 2025 election, including how to vote and information on candidates and ballot questions, go to twincities.com/news/politics/elections.

Related Articles

St. Paul Public Schools using taxpayer funds on special levy. But is it advocacy?

St. Paul: Inside Obama Montessori, Bruce Vento Elementary school renovations

New MN tool highlights school financial impact of federal shutdown

St. Paul Public Schools board sets levy at 2% less than last year

What do the MCA test scores mean and how should parents interpret them?

Chinda Gregor’s first memory is of the jungles in her native Cambodia where she hid with her mother from the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, which seized power as the American war in neighboring Vietnam entered its final days in 1975.

After narrowly escaping execution, the pair fled the country after the regime fell nearly four years later. They joined thousands of other refugees from Southeast Asia who immigrated to Minnesota in the wake of the Vietnam War.

Fifty years after the fall of Saigon, their stories will be highlighted during a two-day commemoration of the war’s end at Union Depot in St. Paul this weekend.

“I really want people to know why the Southeast Asian community is here,” said Gregor, who is now a teacher at Bloomington Public Schools. “The Cambodian genocide happened because of the Vietnam War.”

This weekend’s commemoration, which was organized by the Minnesota Humanities Center and the Minnesota Historical Society, will weave together the distinct yet related experiences of four local Southeast Asian communities — Hmong, Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese — with those of U.S. military veterans to tell the complex story of the war and its aftermath.

“It still reverberates in people’s lives here in Minnesota and throughout the country,” MHC CEO Kevin Lindsey said of the Vietnam War. “You see people still carrying some of the scars.”

Two days of events

This weekend’s free events will feature performances by Hmong, Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese dancers, musicians and storytellers. Food vendors also will be selling Southeast Asian cuisine.

The programming will run from noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. A full schedule can be found on the MHC website.

MHC and MNHS brought together members of four local Southeast Asian communities and U.S. military veterans to help plan the weekend’s events.

Among them was Larry Johnson, who served as an Army medic in Germany during the Vietnam War and now volunteers with the Minnesota-based Veteran Resilience Project.

Johnson said he hopes the commemoration will raise awareness of the service of Southeast Asian veterans who fought alongside U.S. troops during the war but were long denied the recognition and benefits afforded to American service members.

“They’re still fighting for that recognition,” Johnson said. “That’s a travesty in my opinion.”

Each day’s programming will be anchored by a film screening and panel discussion, Lindsey said.

Saturday’s events will begin with “America’s Secret War,” a Twin Cities PBS documentary about the American military campaign into Laos during the Vietnam War and the Hmong troops who fought for the U.S. Minnesota is now home to the largest Hmong population in the country.

Sunday’s film will be another Twin Cities PBS documentary called “A Time to Heal,” which explores the service of women who worked as nurses during the Vietnam War.

Related Articles

Today in History: October 30, Gerald Ford tells New York City ‘Drop Dead’

Today in History: October 29, ‘Black Tuesday’ signals start of Great Depression

In the ‘City of Souls,’ the living don’t fear the dead

Today in History: October 28, Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York

Today in History: October 27, ‘Curse of the Bambino’ reversed

Lindsey said the experiences of Minnesota’s Southeast Asian immigrants offer lessons for the United States as the country welcomes refugees from more recent wars.

Gregor, who also served on the event’s advisory committee, said she hopes those who attend the commemoration will come away with a greater willingness to “give people grace and not judge people by the color of their skin.”

“We work hard,” she said of refugees. “We came with nothing. This is our country, this is our home now.”

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI, Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — After months of extraordinary steps to ensure his party maintains control of the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterms, President Donald Trump is turning his sights toward the voting process in next week’s elections.

Related Articles

JD Vance calls for reduction in legal immigration at Turning Point event

Trump cuts tariffs on China after meeting Xi in South Korea

A Confederate statue is restored as part of Trump’s efforts to reshape how history is told

Senate is voting on a Democratic effort to block Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports

What shutdown? Trump isn’t canceling travel, golf or his ballroom even with the government shuttered

That pivot is raising alarm among Democrats and others who warn that he may be testing strategies his administration could use to interfere with elections in 2026 and beyond.

Late last week, Trump’s Department of Justice announced it was sending election monitors to observe voting in one county in New Jersey, which features a race for governor that Trump has become deeply invested in, and to five counties in California, where Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing a ballot measure to counter the president’s own effort to rejigger the congressional map to elect more Republicans.

That announcement was followed with a pre-emptive attack by Trump on the legitimacy of California’s elections. The post on his own social media platform echoed the baseless allegations he made about the 2020 presidential election before he and his allies tried to overturn his loss in a campaign that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Watch how totally dishonest the California Prop Vote is!” Trump wrote last weekend on Truth Social, referring to Proposition 50, the lone issue on the state’s special election ballot. “Millions of Ballots being ‘shipped.’”

The combination has prompted responses from several prominent Democrats, who were already bracing for Trump to use his presidential powers to tilt next year’s midterms to his side.

“It’s a bridge they’re trying to build the scaffolding for, all across this country, in next November’s elections,” Newsom said in a video in which he also predicted the administration will send masked immigration agents to polling stations next week.

During early voting so far, there has been no indication that troops or federal officers have shown up near polling sites or ballot drop boxes in any state. Despite the warnings from some Democrats, millions of voters already have cast ballots through early in-person or mail voting, a process that has produced no significant problems.

Voter Alex Colcho, from Norwalk, Calif., drops off his family’s ballots at a ballot box at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s headquarters Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Norwalk, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Voting expected to be ‘safe and secure’

Trump has long accused the Biden administration of trying to interfere in last year’s presidential election after the Justice Department filed federal charges against him related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 results and his retention of classified documents after leaving office.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, using the president’s favorite derogatory nickname for California’s governor, said in a statement on Wednesday: “Newscum ought to stop fearmongering to score political points with the radical left flank of the Democrat party that he is courting ahead of his doomed-to-fail presidential campaign.”

Tuesday’s elections are purely state-based, with no federal offices on the ballot. Trump has no ability to change the outcome in any way, experts said.

“Voters who go to vote in the 2025 election are going to find a very safe and secure process,” said David Becker, a former Department of Justice voting rights attorney who now runs the Center for Election Innovation & Research. “For example, I’m 100% confident that whoever wins the statewide elections in Virginia and New Jersey, regardless of what the president says, will take office.”

Some ballot questions have big implications for 2026

The relatively low-profile off-year elections are headlined by the races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, California’s redistricting question and the mayor’s race in New York City.

Los Angeles County Election officials assist first time voter Robert Conejo, right, as he votes in person on California’s Proposition 50 election on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s headquarters in Norwalk, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Two of the states where voting already is underway are considering measures that have major implications for next year’s midterms.

In Pennsylvania, voters will decide whether three Democratic justices keep their seats on the state’s supreme court. If they’re removed, the court will have a 2-2 ideological split and potentially be unable to resolve disputes over voting and election procedures next year in the critical swing state.

In California, voters will decide whether to temporarily override an independent redistricting process and allow the Democratic-controlled Legislature to redraw the state’s congressional districts. If voters pass the measure, it could create five new seats Democrats could win to counter Trump’s push for Texas and other Republican-led states to redraw their districts and increase the number of winnable Republican House seats.

‘These are not normal times’

That’s one reason the administration’s decision to send monitors drew so much attention. It’s not unusual for the federal government to send monitors to observe voting and ballot counting in certain areas, but it’s typically done in consultation with local jurisdictions. That did not happen this time.

Instead, the Trump administration announced the monitors solely in response to requests from local Republican parties.

Federal monitors are only allowed to observe, are prohibited from talking to voters or even poll workers, and have no way to influence the counting of votes, said Becker, who has served as a monitor and also trained them.

“I don’t think voters are ever going to notice or see any of these people,” he said.

Still, the Democratic attorneys general in California and New Jersey raised alarms, with New Jersey’s Matt Platkin calling it “highly inappropriate” and California’s Rob Bonta saying the move is especially concerning given Trump’s record.

“These are not normal times,” Bonta said in a call with reporters this week. “We have to look at the broader context here about what the Trump administration is saying and what they are doing.”

The action follows a monthslong campaign by Trump to use the powers of his office to boost his party’s political prospects ahead of the midterms, where the incumbent party traditionally loses seats in Congress. The president has pushed states where Republicans control the redistricting process to redraw their boundaries to create more conservative-friendly seats. He also has directed his administration to investigate Democratic politicians, fundraisersand donors.

Is Trump positioning for the midterms?

Newsom and his Illinois counterpart, Gov. JB Pritzker, have warned that Trump’s attempts to send the U.S. military into their states’ most populous cities — Los Angeles and Chicago — are precursors to deploying the military or federal agents to polling places in Democratic-leaning cities next year.

FILE – California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference Aug. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

They and other Democrats also have alluded to how some Trump allies in 2020 used manufactured claims of election fraud to propose using the military to seize voting machines.

At the same time, the Justice Department is demanding detailed voter data from the states and Trump issued an executive order trying to reshape how elections are run, which has been largely halted by the courts because the Constitution gives that power to the states, and, in some cases, Congress. It spells out no role for the president in setting election rules.

Until fairly recently, Trump had been relatively quiet about the 2025 elections, mostly taking steps that other presidents have made in election years, such as supporting his party’s nominees in key races.

Hannah Fried, executive director of the voting rights group All Voting is Local, said the Nov. 4 election will provide “an important set of data points” about issues that could crop up in future elections, especially next year.

“That’s the big dog,” Fried said of the midterms. “Everybody in the country’s going to be voting in 2026. This is about control of Congress. As a country, we all have a stake in that.”

When we invite you to email us with suggestions, such as for worthwhile burgers that did not make our massive annual guide, we aren’t kidding. We read them all.

After the guide was published last week, Eat editor Jess Fleming and I heard from readers about some newly opened places, old-school prices and beloved overlooked spots that sounded too good to pass up for another year.

(Keep sending ideas our way! We’re at eat@pioneerpress.com)

So with your recommendations, here’s an addendum to the 2025 Pioneer Press best burgers guide (a.k.a. Burgerin’ 2: Electric Burger-loo).

Animales Barbecue Co.

Animales, which started as a cult-fave barbecue food truck about eight years ago, has finally opened a permanent home for smoked meats and burgers in Minneapolis after years of planning. It’s a huge space — about 12,500 square feet, with plenty of seating, a full bar, live music stage and a kids’ play area — and Animales’ bold vibe fills it effortlessly.

Oh, and the food is great. The double smashburger (“wagyu butter burger, American cheese, dill pickles, dijonnaise, milk roll”) is like the best backyard-barbecue burger you’ve ever had. The crispy, peppery, slightly charcoal-fiery meat skirt is the highlight, and the slight sweetness of both the bun and white American cheese are nice, too. Vinegary pickles come on the side, so you can put them on the burger if you want, but I found them to be more enjoyable as a palate-cleanser between bites.

Yes, it’s a pricey burger — $20.40 with a service charge; the restaurant does not accept tips. Fries/sides are sold separately. Even if it’s hard to justify a place in your regular dinner rotation, it’s an experience worth having.

Animales Barbecue Co.: 241 Fremont Ave N., Minneapolis; 952-222-7427 (that’s 952-ABC-RIBS); animalesbbq.com

Lion’s Tap

The double California burger at the Lion’s Tap in Eden Prairie is served July 24, 2025. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

Lion’s Tap in Eden Prairie, one of the original Twin Cities burger destinations, has been going strong for nearly seven decades. The menu is simple, and cheap: hamburger, cheeseburger, California (the classic fixings), bacon cheese or mushroom Swiss; and your call on single (starting at $5.45) or double (from $10.10), all hit with their in-house seasoned salt blend. Fries for $3.15. You love to see it.

And “double,” to be clear, is not just two patties — it’s double everything. The immense double California burger, which looked like a delightful cartoon satire of American cuisine, took three skewers to hold upright. (By height alone, this might be the top burger in the Twin Cities. *ba-dum-tss*) The seasoning salt accentuated but did not overpower the beefy flavor, which rocked. Be prepared with napkins, though, for the juices that’ll run down your hands.

Lion’s Tap: 16180 Flying Cloud Dr., Eden Prairie; 952-934-5299; lionstap.com

House of Coates

Readers say this small-town tavern, along U.S. 52 South between the edge of Rosemount and the start of farm country, punches above its weight when it comes to burgers, and I’m inclined to agree. Their signature burgers, like the Swanee (bacon, American cheese, fried onions; $8.25) come with a half-pound patty. That’s no city-slicker smashie; even the third-pound patties on the simpler burgers ($6.50–$7.50) have some serious girth. My patty was a skosh too dry on a recent visit, perhaps a bit overcooked, but this is a solid meat-lover’s burger at a price point that’s sadly becoming rarer.

House of Coates: 16300 E. Clayton Ave., Rosemount; 651-437-2232

Burger Moe’s

The Moe’s Original burger is served Oct. 27, 2025, at Burger Moe’s on West Seventh. The burger comes with caramelized onions and cheddar plus the classic fixings. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

If nothing else, the West Seventh sports bar with an extensive burger list has something for everyone. In my case, since I’m eating for research purposes, I sprang for the Moe’s Original, which comes with caramelized onions and cheddar plus the classic fixings. And you know what? For a quick, easy meal, it was utilitarian, and that counted for something. The patty, while juicy, never quite reached the savory, beefy depths of the best burgers in town, but it got the job done.

And speaking of good prices: On Mondays after 3 p.m., almost every burger on the menu is just $7, and now that there’s no longer a giant sinkhole nor one of the city’s oldest remaining limestone houses to get in your way, that’s a great time to head to Burger Moe’s.

Burger Moe’s: 242 W. Seventh St.; 651-222-3100; burgermoes.com

328 Grill

The Fo’ Cheesy is served Oct. 24, 2025, at 328 Grill in St. Paul Park. The sandwich is a patty melt with American and cheddar cheeses and pepper jack Cheez Whiz on parmesan-crusted bread. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

We already know chef Mik German slings some of the most creative burgers in town from inside the American Legion Post 98 in St. Paul Park, but don’t sleep on the Fo’ Cheezy, his version of a patty melt. The original is one of German’s classic short rib/brisket/chuck patties plus cheddar and American cheeses and pepper jack Cheez Whiz on parmesan-crusted bread (count ‘em, that’s fo’ cheeses), but any burger or sandwich on the menu can be made Fo’ Cheezy style.

In particular, the parmesan crust on the bread is a clever way to provide a rigid structure — which is vital, given the ooey-gooey-ness of what’s inside — without resorting to a thicker or too-tough slice that might take attention away from the beef and/or cheese.

In my opinion, the true soul of a patty melt is not actually a burger but a grilled cheese sandwich, and this is a phenomenal grilled cheese sandwich that happens to contain an equally phenomenal burger patty. It’s also so rich, you guys. I could barely even finish it. (I did, though, and am proud of it; thank you very much.)

328 Grill: 328 Broadway Ave., St. Paul Park; 651-459-8016; 328grill.com

Related Articles

Best Burgers 2025: Our annual guide to the best patty this side of a bun

Best Burgers 2025: 14 neighborhood spots for a crave-worthy burger

Best Burgers 2025: 9 cult-favorite burgers off the beaten path

Best Burgers 2025: 11 ‘destination’ burgers worth the drive

Best Burgers 2025: 17 spots serving up ‘cheffy’ burgers