Author

Max Nesterak

Max Nesterak

Max Nesterak is the deputy editor of the Reformer and reports on labor and housing. Previously, he was an associate producer for Minnesota Public Radio after a stint at NPR. He also co-founded the Behavioral Scientist and was a Fulbright Scholar to Berlin, Germany.

Minneapolis advances minimum wage proposal for Uber and Lyft drivers

By: - August 8, 2023

Uber and Lyft drivers filled the council chambers in Minneapolis City Hall on Tuesday in support of a proposed ordinance that would raise drivers’ wages and regulate how the companies may discipline drivers. “It’s about fairness,” driver Farhan Badal told a City Council committee. “I’m providing the vehicle. I’m providing the gas. I’m putting in […]

White Earth, Mahnomen County raid store for unlicensed marijuana sales

By: - August 4, 2023

Law enforcement raided a tobacco store on the White Earth reservation on Wednesday evening for suspicion of selling marijuana without a license, in violation of state and tribal law. The store, Asema Tobacco and Pipe, is owned by a White Earth band member and advertised on Facebook that it had cannabis beginning Aug. 1, when […]

Minnesota tribe makes history with state’s first legal marijuana sale

By: - August 1, 2023

RED LAKE — The first legal sale of recreational marijuana in Minnesota was made on the Red Lake reservation on Tuesday to a tribal employee before a throng of journalists and tribal leaders. Charles Goodwin, a Red Lake band member and employee of the tribal dispensary, selected some Nudder Budder and Caramel Creme — two of […]

Red Lake Nation considers new approach to devastating fentanyl epidemic: harm reduction

By: - July 31, 2023

REDBY — Whenever his phone rings in the middle of the night, Red Lake Nation Chairman Darrell Seki Sr. fears it’s because a loved one has overdosed. Probably everyone on the reservation knows someone who’s died from opioids. It’s becoming increasingly common despite the tribe’s best efforts to bust dealers and channel users into treatment. “We’ve […]

White Earth Nation legalizes recreational marijuana, will start selling in coming days

By: - July 28, 2023

The White Earth Nation Tribal Council voted on Friday to legalize recreational marijuana and could begin selling it on the reservation — to both tribal and non-tribal members — as soon as next week.  The tribe follows the Red Lake Nation, which is on track to open the first recreational marijuana dispensary in Minnesota on […]

Minneapolis council weighs minimum pay ordinance for Uber and Lyft drivers

By: - July 25, 2023

Three Minneapolis city council members introduced a proposal on Tuesday to raise wages for Uber and Lyft drivers and set new rules on terminating — or “deactivating” — drivers from the apps. The proposal revives an effort to regulate Uber and Lyft two months after Gov. Tim Walz vetoed similar legislation at the state level. The […]

Democrats and Republicans court blue collar voters at Minnesota trade unions convention

By: - July 21, 2023

This dispatch first appeared in The Daily Reformer, our morning newsletter. Sign up here.  DULUTH — Gov. Tim Walz traveled north on Thursday to court blue collar workers at the annual Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council convention in Duluth. He made the stop after doing a ridealong with a Duluth police officer as part […]

Allina flu vaccine mandate struck down for some workers after union challenge

By: - July 19, 2023

Allina Health may not mandate the flu vaccine for some of its employees after the workers’ union challenged the policy and won a favorable ruling from an arbitrator this month, ending for now a 15-year battle over the policy. Jamie Gulley, president of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, said the union supports vaccines and vaccine […]

Starbucks workers could get rid of union at Mall of America store

By: - July 17, 2023

Workers at a Starbucks in Mall of America have filed a petition with federal labor regulators to vote on getting rid of their union — just over a year after voting to unionize with Starbucks Workers United. The petition was signed by more than half of the workers at the store on the first floor of […]

Red Lake Nation to begin selling recreational marijuana Aug. 1

By: - July 12, 2023

RED LAKE  — The Red Lake Nation’s tribal council voted on Tuesday to legalize recreational marijuana and begin selling it — to both tribal and non-tribal members — on Aug. 1. The move could make Red Lake Nation the first entity to operate a recreational dispensary in the state, and gives the tribe a significant […]

Minnesota public defenders to get as much as $66,000 raises under tentative agreement

By: - July 11, 2023

Minnesota public defenders will receive historic pay raises, ranging from 26% to 72% depending on seniority, under a tentative agreement reached on Monday between state officials and the union representing public defenders. The raises for roughly 470 attorneys across the state come after decades of wage stagnation, which has contributed to high turnover and a […]

Some condo workers released from shadow noncompetes by FirstService Residential

By: - July 11, 2023

Residents of the River Towers condominiums in Minneapolis like their building’s staff. The building’s staff like the residents — many have worked in the building for years. But a provision in the contract between the condo association and the building’s property management company, FirstService Residential Minnesota, means neither the residents nor the workers have a […]