Police block off Nicollet Avenue in downtown Minneapolis where looting began following rumors police killed a man who they were pursuing on suspicion of homicide. Video showed the man shoot himself. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.
Welcome to The Topline, a weekly roundup of the big numbers driving the Minnesota news cycle, as well as the smaller ones that you might have missed. This week: Local governments shoulder more education expenses; judicial elections; domestic violence-related homicides; and Minnesota’s biggest megachurch.
Local districts sharing more of school burden
The share of education funding coming from Minnesota’s local governments increased from 19% in 2003 to 28% in 2020, according to a recent Rochester Post-Bulletin story. According to one estimate in the story, by 2020 the state was spending about $1,400 less per student than it would have been if state funding had kept up with inflation.
Those numbers notably don’t cover the 2023 legislative session’s massive funding increases, which are likely to shift the picture somewhat. But they underscore why so many districts are facing budget woes today, after years of increasing burdens on local taxpayers.
Many districts have been covering funding gaps via local referenda, like Rochester this year. But voters are sometimes skeptical, with some communities repeatedly refusing to authorize supplemental funding. In extreme cases, children have had to fundraise to save their own classrooms.
About 70% of Minnesota school districts have some sort of operating levy in place.
Contested judicial elections uncommon, but several are on the ballot this year
The Star Tribune has a rundown of the nine contested judicial elections happening in 2024. Two are for Supreme Court seats, while the remainder are for state appellate and district judgeships.
Most people don’t pay much attention to the races, which are officially nonpartisan. Other than a candidate’s name, the only other information the ballot provides is whether they’re an incumbent or not. The strength of incumbency is such that just 9 out of 103 races involve multiple candidates.
A record number of domestic violence homicides in 2023
Minnesota’s 40 domestic violence homicides in 2023 were the most in 30 years of record-keeping, according to data from Violence-Free Minnesota, an advocacy group. Nearly 53,000 survivors received domestic violence services, according to the group.
The dead include 26 women, 3 men, and 11 bystanders or people who tried to intervene in the violence. About two thirds of victims were current or former partners of alleged perpetrators, the majority of whom used firearms. More than half of victims were separated from or attempting to leave the partners who killed them.
The number of domestic violence-related homicides typically fluctuates heavily from year to year, so it’s hard to say whether 2023’s figures represent the start of a trend. Homicide of all types was down slightly in Minnesota, as was violent crime overall.
Minnesota’s biggest megachurch, by the numbers
Thirteen Minnesota locations. More than 260 full-time employees. A $53 million annual budget. More than 9,100 souls saved.
Those are some of the numbers behind Eagle Brook, Minnesota’s largest church. It’s a Baptist organization that tries to eschew fire-and-brimstone politics in favor of broad-based appeal, according to a recent Star Tribune profile.
It’s an organization in the mold of other nationally famous megachurches, like Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Texas or Rick Warren’s Saddleback congregation in California. But the pastors running this show say they don’t like the “megachurch” label, preferring the term “multi-site church.”
Its success is notable at a time when religious affiliation in the U.S. is declining, as is regular church attendance. According to Gallup, 30% of U.S. adults attend religious services every week or nearly every week, down from 38% a decade ago. Two decades ago, 42% were attending services most weeks.