Rebate checks, Chipotle meal hack, Minnesota State Fair deals: This week's top stories
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Income tax rebate checks. Chipotle meal hack. Minnesota State Fair deals. Here are the top stories from Aug. 12-18.
1. Rebate checks for Minnesotans begin this week, up to $1,300 per family
A prominent promise made by Gov. Tim Walz last legislative session will begin to come to fruition for Minnesotans this week. On Wednesday, Gov. Walz held an event to announce that as families gear up for the back-to-school season, the one-time tax rebate payments of up to $1,300 per family will start being sent to tax filers.
"As Minnesotans plan for back-to-school, we know that the excitement families are feeling is mixed with the stress that comes with buying books, backpacks, and clothes," said Gov. Walz. "We’re going to help with that – both with payments of up to $1,300 per family and universal free breakfast and lunch. I am grateful for the Department of Revenue’s work to deliver these payments to Minnesotans as soon as possible."
The legislation provides payments to eligible Minnesotans, including $520 for married couples filing a joint 2021 income or property tax return with an adjusted gross income of $150,000 or less. Another $260 will be received for each dependent, with a cap of up to three dependents.
Individuals with a 2021 adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less are expected to receive payments of $260.
2. Chipotle customer reveals how she gets extra food for under $10: 'The bowl will be gigantic'
A childcare worker from Virginia has gone viral for sharing how she maximizes the amount of food she gets when she orders food from Chipotle Mexican Grill, and the fast-casual restaurant chain has confirmed the hack is legit.
Hayley Malinowski, 20, a full-time nanny who works in northern Virginia, created and uploaded a TikTok video claiming she gets enough food to count as "four meals" when she requests extra portions of non-protein sides, which reportedly amounts to $9.18.
Malinowski said she chooses the extra serving option when she selects her sides and toppings when ordering on the Chipotle app.
3. Minnesota State Fair deals: Cutting costs at the Great Minnesota Get-Together
The Minnesota State Fair is just around the corner. The fair kicks off on Aug. 24 and runs through Labor Day on Sept. 4.
Going to the fair can get expensive quickly – and with cost-of-living increases in recent years, most families are looking to save a buck where they can. FOX 9 has put together a guide we hope can save you a few dollars when you head out to the Great Minnesota Get-Together.
4. Video: Tornado spins in western Minnesota
Video captured in western Minnesota shows what appears to be a tornado touching down Sunday evening.
A short video posted to Twitter by Riley Johnson, a meteorologist out of St. Cloud State according to his bio, shows the tornado. Johnson says it touched down around 7:15 p.m. about a mile west of Kinbrae, Minnesota. Kinbrae is about 50 miles east of the South Dakota border and 65 miles northeast of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Watch the video above.
5. Michael Oher, profiled in 'The Blind Side,' says inspirational movie was based on lie
Super Bowl champion and retired NFL player Michael Oher, whose inspirational story was profiled in "The Blind Side," said the movie's premise was based on a lie, according to court documents.
Oher, 37, filed a petition in Shelby County, Tennessee, to end his conservatorship being held by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, who were portrayed as his adoptive parents in the movie. The couple was granted conservatorship in 2004.
Oher is also seeking damages for the misuse of his likeness, name and image.
6. 1 killed, 6 others injured during shooting in Minneapolis backyard
Minneapolis officials provide update on 2 shootings [RAW]
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara and Mayor Jacob Frey provide an update on two Friday night shootings in Minneapolis. In north Minneapolis, an MPD officer was injured in a shooting, while in south Minneapolis, one person was killed and six others injured from a shooting in a backyard.
One man was killed, and several others were injured after two people fired into a Minneapolis backyard late Friday night, according to police.
The Minneapolis Police Department said officers responded to a reported shooting around 10:15 p.m. on the 2200 block of 16th Avenue South and found multiple people with gunshot wounds.
RELATED: Minneapolis music community shaken following mass shooting that left 1 dead
Officers attempted lifesaving measures on a man in his 30s, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the Hennepin County Medical Examiner will release his name and cause of death at a later time.
Five other people were transported to the Hennepin County Medical Center for gunshot wounds. One man has potentially life-threatening injuries, while three men and a woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities said another adult self-transported to Abbot Northwest with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.
7. Burger King cook who didn't miss work for 27 years gets $400K in online donations to retire after viral post
A Burger King employee received almost half a million dollars through GoFundMe in response to a video of him commemorating 27 years without missing a day of work, a feat that many felt his company did not appropriately celebrate.
Kevin Ford, who works as a cashier and cook inside the Burger King location at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, went viral last year after he posted a video on TikTok celebrating the milestone of 27 years of work without calling in sick or missing time.
In the video, Ford is holding a plastic bag of gifts from his employer that included a movie ticket, candy, pens, keychains, a Starbucks cup and other items.
The video went viral over the past year with a lot of commenters pointing out that the gifts seemed cheap and suggesting he deserved more of a reward.
8. Vanna White misses 'Wheel of Fortune' for first time in 30 years: Her upcoming absence explained
Vanna White will not be on-screen for five upcoming episodes of "Wheel of Fortune," but her absence is not permanent.
White was sick during a day of taping the show's "Teachers Week," Fox News Digital has learned. The taping of the episodes couldn't be rescheduled due to the academic school year starting. In sticking to the theme of the episodes, Bridgette Donald-Blue, the 2023 California Teacher of the Year, filled in for White while she recovered from an illness.
White's upcoming absences mark the first time she has missed an episode in 30 years. In her 41-year reign on the show, she has been absent from "Wheel of Fortune" a total of three times.
According to Us Weekly, White's first absence was in 1986 when her boyfriend, John Gibson, died in a plane crash. Susan Stafford replaced her that time. Her second absence was in 1991 when she went on a two-week honeymoon with George Santo Pietro. Tricia Gist took over the board while White was vacationing. Gist filled in for White one more time in 1991 when she got sick later in the year, per the outlet.
9. Where is my rebate? Checks landing in Minnesotans' bank accounts; paper checks coming soon
Income tax rebates of $260 for individuals and up to $1,300 for families of five are already starting to show up in the bank accounts of about 2.1 million Minnesota residents, officials said Wednesday.
The rebates, adding up to about $1 billion, are part of legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in May to return a portion of a projected $17.6 billion budget surplus to taxpayers. He said at a news conference that the aim of the rebates and the rest of package was to "make life more affordable for middle-class Minnesotans."
Payments of $260 will go to individuals whose adjusted gross income in 2021 was $75,000 or less. Married couples who file jointly and had adjusted gross incomes of $150,000 or less will get $520. Eligible families will also get another $260 per dependent, up to three, for a maximum of $1,300.
However, taxpayers with incomes above those caps won’t get anything because Walz and Democratic legislative leaders wanted to target the money for middle- and lower-income taxpayers.
10. Minnesota weather: Some spots see 4+ inches of rain
Parts of central and southern Minnesota got drenched earlier this week as more than 4 inches of rain fell on some spots on the western edge of the metro.
The rainfall leader in central Minnesota was Kimball at 4.70 inches. Close behind was South Haven in Wright County, about 5 miles to the east of Kimball. Several spots recorded rain totals of over three inches, including Montrose (3.66 inches), Maple Lake (3.59 inches), New London (3.10 inches), and Waite Park (3.09 inches) among others.
Closer to the metro, most cities saw close to an inch of rain. Minneapolis recorded nine-tenths of an inch and St. Paul saw an eighth of an inch.