Senate Republicans are proposing property tax caps, no tax on tips and overtime, and lowering license tab fees as part of a “tax relief” package introduced earlier this week at the state Capitol.

A revenue forecast on Friday showed improvements and more leeway for the state to potentially eat some costs from changes in taxes, with a $3.7 billion budget surplus to work with in 2026-2027, and a $377 million surplus for 2028-2029 that was once a $6 billion budget shortfall.

“We heard last week in the budget forecast that the surplus is now $3.7 billion — that tells us taxes are too high and we have room to make these changes without hurting the state’s finances,” Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Waconia, said Monday.

Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Chanhassen. (Courtesy of the candidate)

Only one proposal is in bill form — a measure from Sen. John Jasinski, R-Faribault, which would put license tab fees back to their pre-2023 values.

Another, from Sen. Michael Kreun, R- Blaine, caps property taxes at the rate of inflation, plus 50% of population growth for cities and counties over 2,500 residents. Rates could be increased over the cap but only if they are approved at the ballot box.

Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said Friday that she wanted to look at federal tax conformity, which is what the no tax on tips and overtime bills from Sen. Karin Housley, R-Stillwater, at least partially accomplishes. Housley’s bill would set a maximum deduction on tips of $25,000 and of $12,500 for overtime. Both deductions phase out once income hits $150,000 for single-filers, and $300,000 for married-joint filers, Housley said.

Demuth said Friday that the no tax on tips and overtime proposal would cost the state $391 in its first fiscal year. When asked where the state could make up such a large chunk with only a $377 million surplus on the horizon, Housley said, “We have the next 10 weeks to work out where that money would be coming from.”

Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, also said the state should cut spending in other areas or find savings by cracking down on fraud.

Minnesota Senate Republican Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski).

The budget forecast Friday showed that claims are down 4% for 14 high-risk state Medicaid programs, following a recently implemented pre-payment review process for the programs, lowering spending by $75 million in the current biennium and $99 million in the next biennium.

“Fraud is going to be a pile of money there,” Johnson said. “You saw once we start holding those programs accountable … all of a sudden, the utilization rate starts to drop. So there’s savings there as well.”

It’s not clear yet whether the proposals will have bipartisan support.

On Friday, House Leader Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, said he will take a “very strong look” at federal tax conformity.

“We’re going to be assessing who are the winners and losers in that federal bill [HR 1], and then we’re going to think about, what should we do with our limited resources? Should we make those winners even better off, or should we help the losers in that bill? Because we do have limited resources, maybe even more limited by the actions of the federal government,” he said.

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By TIA GOLDENBERG

Throughout his political career, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has steered his country along two pillars of foreign policy: an ironclad partnership with the United States and a relentless diplomatic and covert battle against the rulers of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Now, with Israel and the U.S. in a joint war against Iran’s leadership, those two strategic paths risk clashing with each other. By enlisting the U.S. in what he views as Israel’s existential battle against Iran, Netanyahu is taking a gamble that could open up the relationship to the strain of a war with far-reaching consequences.

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To be sure, persuading President Donald Trump to join the war was a coup for Netanyahu and highlights the strong ties between the two leaders. If they are successful, they could quickly realize their shared goal of toppling the Iranian government and spare the region a protracted conflict.

But if the war drags on, the two allies’ ties could again be tested.

“A large part of the American public will view it as the Israeli tail wagging the American dog and that it is dragging the United States to a war in the Middle East that isn’t theirs,” said Ofer Shelah, a research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based think tank. The drop in public support that might unleash “will be very harmful for Israel in the medium and long term,” he said.

But, he added, in a nod to the Israeli leader’s political ambitions: “Netanyahu is not interested in the medium and long term.”

US public opinion has been evolving

For Netanyahu, successfully persuading Trump to strike Iran together is the apex of decades of proximity between the Israeli leader and Washington. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, speaks flawless English after having spent part of his youth in the U.S. and has always portrayed himself as Israel’s bridge to America.

Although he boasts about his tight relationships with multiple American presidents and members of Congress, Netanyahu over the past two years has seen support for Israel among the American public drop. According to Gallup polling, American sympathies in the Middle East have shifted dramatically toward the Palestinians.

That shift in sentiment has been driven in large part by Democrats. But some Republicans, and even Trump’s own backers, have been more outspoken against the diplomatic and financial support the U.S. has continued to grant Israel throughout the past two and a half years, when it has been embroiled in a war on multiple fronts sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. The devastating images from the war in Gaza deepened Israel’s international isolation.

With a new war against Iran — the second in less than a year — Netanyahu is tackling an enemy that he and many Israelis view as an existential threat, citing its support for anti-Israeli militias across the region, its ballistic missile arsenal, and its nuclear program. He has led the crusade against Iran on the world stage for much of his career.

Netanyahu said Sunday in a statement that the U.S. involvement “allows us to do what I have been hoping to do for 40 years — to deliver a crushing blow to the terror regime.” Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

Plumes of smoke from two simultaneous strikes rise over Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohsen Ganji)

The conflict could spiral

Days into the war, Israel and the U.S. military appear to be working hand in glove to strike targets — from the initial attack that killed top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to assaults that allowed the forces free rein in Iranian skies.

But the conflict has already set off aftershocks that could reverberate in the American heartland. At least six U.S. troops have been killed. Travel was disrupted across the region, leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded. Oil prices surged, raising the prospect of costlier gasoline for U.S. drivers as well as increased prices for other goods at a time when people have been stung by a rising cost of living.

Questions remain about the direction and aim of the war. It’s unclear whether the air power will be enough to topple Iran’s leadership, who or what should replace that leadership, and what role Israel or the U.S. will have in either. Every day presents new potential land mines.

“Many people will blame Israel if things go badly wrong,” wrote Nadav Eyal, a commentator with the Israeli Yediot Ahronoth daily newspaper. “Israel cannot afford to lose the American public’s support under any circumstances. That is more important than striking any individual military facility.”

People walk past buildings damaged during a strike on a police station during ongoing, joint U.S.-Israeli military attacks in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Still, Aaron David Miller, who served as an adviser on Middle East issues to Democratic and Republican administrations over two decades, said that Netanyahu has little to lose from the war.

With elections scheduled for the fall, Netanyahu can use the war in Iran to divert attention away from the failures of the Oct. 7 attacks, the worst in Israel’s history. Instead, Netanyahu can set himself up as a brave wartime leader who fulfilled a pledge he has made much of his life to confront Iran.

He can say he did so with support from the American president, who Miller said can pull the brakes on the war whenever he pleases.

“If Trump feels as if it’s going south, he’ll find a way to de-escalate,” he said, “and his good friend Benjamin Netanyahu will follow.”

By DASHA LITVINOVA

A court in Russia on Tuesday designated a prominent LGBTQ+ rights group as an extremist organization, the latest blow to the country’s beleaguered community that has faced an intensified crackdown in recent years under President Vladimir Putin.

In a hearing that took place behind closed doors, the St. Petersburg City Court banned the Coming Out group as “extremist.” The authorities did not reveal any details of the lawsuit filed last month by Russia’s Justice Ministry and classified as secret.

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The group, which now operates from abroad, said it will continue to help LGBTQ+ people in Russia and beyond, and fight for their rights despite the ruling.

“We have been preparing for this development for a long time. We enhanced security, developed sustainable work formats and continue to act responsibly, first and foremost for those who count on us,” Coming Out said in an online statement.

“Today it is especially important not to give into fear and not to be alone. Our community is stronger than any labels, and history has proven that.”

Coming Out is the first LGBTQ+ rights group to be designated since the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that effectively banned any LGBTQ+ activism. Similar lawsuits have been filed against two other LGBTQ+ rights groups, with courts in St. Petersburg and the Samara region still to rule on them.

Russia’s LGBTQ+ community has been under legal and public pressure for over a decade, but especially since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine four years ago. Putin has argued that the war in Ukraine is a proxy battle with the West, which he says aims to destroy Russia and its “traditional family values” by pushing for LGBTQ+ rights.

Any depiction of gay and transgender people that portrays them in a positive or even neutral light has been banned ever since. Gender-affirming medical care and changing one’s gender in official documents are prohibited.

In November 2023, Russia’s Supreme Court declared what the government called “the international LGBT movement” to be an extremist organization, exposing anyone involved with that community to prosecution and potential imprisonment.

A view of the City Court in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, during a session to decide whether to designate two prominent LGBTQ+ rights groups as extremist. (AP Photo)

Days after the ruling, the community was rattled by news of police raiding gay bars, nightclubs and venues that hosted drag shows in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities. Criminal cases on the charges of involvement with the “LGBT movement” have followed, and some people have faced fines for displaying what the authorities determined to be “extremist” symbols such as a rainbow flag.

The Russian authorities are seeking to make the LGBTQ+ community “as vulnerable, as lonely as possible,” said Denis Oleinik, executive director of the Coming Out LGBTQ+ rights group.

The group, formerly based in Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg, has been operating entirely from abroad since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It no longer offers support groups or offline activities, but still provides psychological and legal support remotely. It also works with international organizations in advocating for LGBTQ+ rights in Russia and for helping those fleeing the country, Oleinik told The Associated Press in February.

The ruling makes it unsafe for people to share any Coming Out content publicly or for anyone inside Russia or who travels there to donate money to the group, he said.

The “extremist” designation also sometimes scares people away from reaching out for help, as well as other rights groups or media outlets from working with them, Oleinik said. There also might be risks for relatives of activists who speak openly in public.

But otherwise, “we can provide help, and receiving our help is also allowed,” he said.

HERMANTOWN — Google has lifted the veil of secrecy that shrouded a controversial proposal to build a massive data center in the rural southwest corner of this city.

The firm took public ownership of the project for the first time Tuesday morning, issuing a statement.

“We are excited to announce plans for a new data center in Hermantown, marking the beginning of a partnership rooted in sustainable innovation and long-term investment,” said Kate Franko, Google’s regional head of data center public affairs.

“We are eager to put down roots here,” she said. “Hermantown is a natural fit for this project, offering a climate that supports energy-efficient air cooling, a resilient power grid, and a dedicated and motivated workforce. Our goal is to be a long-term partner that strengthens the local economy and contributes to the community’s lasting success.”

Minnesota Power confirmed it has agreed to the terms of a likely electric service agreement with the global technology giant to meet the energy needs of the proposed Hermantown facility. The agreement will now be submitted to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for its review and possible approval later this month.

Some critics of the data center, which could reach up to 1.8 million square feet in size, have raised concerns that it may drive up local electric rates.

But those fears are unwarranted, according to Jennifer Cady, Minnesota Power’s vice president of external affairs.

“We can serve this new Google facility without harming other customers,” she told the News Tribune, pointing to recent state legislation that expressly forbids any cost shifting to accommodate data centers.

To meet the needs of Google, however, Minnesota Power will need to boost its capacity.

Toward that end, it coupled the announcement of a Google service agreement with news that the project will fuel “the development of 700 megawatts of new clean-energy resources without increasing costs to (other) customers.”

Minnesota Power said the partnership with Google will enable it to invest in the development of 300 megawatts of wind energy plus 400 megawatts of battery storage capacity.

To put 700 megawatts into perspective, that represents just over one-third of the power company’s current total 2,000-megawatt capacity.

Yet plans for Google’s proposed Northland project remain on hold for now, in the face of a legal challenge mounted by a group of concerned citizens who organized a group called Stop the Hermantown Data Center. In addition to service impacts, opponents have also raised concerns about environmental degradation, as well as noise and light pollution.

Minnesota Power officials remain optimistic that the data center plans will ultimately be approved, however.

“We’re excited to have a company with Google’s reputation for community investment and engagement choose our region for such a significant investment. Data centers present important economic and innovation opportunities for our region, including a growing tax base, job creation and industry diversification,” said Minnesota Power Chief Operating Officer Josh Skelton in a news release.

“This agreement demonstrates how data centers can be brought onto the grid responsibly, with collaborative planning. As with any large customer, Google will cover the costs associated with the necessary energy infrastructure to meet its energy needs. The agreement enhances grid reliability and protects other customers,” he said.

Smaller existing customers ultimately stand to benefit, according to Julie Pierce, Minnesota Power’s vice president of strategy and development.

“In a regulated environment, when you have more customers to spread your costs over, it helps and provides benefits to all customers,” she said.

Pierce noted recent downturns in the mining and forest products industries have led to operational strains.

“By having new customers come to the service territory, it helps us spread those costs over a much broader set of customers,” she said.

“We are very excited about the fact that we’ll have a new global industry coming to Northeastern Minnesota. And what they bring is a totally different business profile than some of the natural resource-based economy customers we currently have. So, it will be a stabilizer,” Pierce predicted.

Smaller existing customers ultimately stand to benefit, according to Julie Pierce, Minnesota Power’s vice president of strategy and development.

“In a regulated environment, when you have more customers to spread your costs over, it helps and provides benefits to all customers,” she said.

Pierce noted recent downturns in the mining and forest products industries have led to operational strains.

“By having new customers come to the service territory, it helps us spread those costs over a much broader set of customers,” she said.

“We are very excited about the fact that we’ll have a new global industry coming to Northeastern Minnesota. And what they bring is a totally different business profile than some of the natural resource-based economy customers we currently have. So, it will be a stabilizer,” Pierce predicted.

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