AM.MN: U of M faces conflict-of-interest query

The University of Minnesota has until the end of the week to respond to a conflict-of-interest investigation by Congress. A 142-page report from Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office highlighted payments of $1.2 million over five years to Dr. David Polly, head of the school’s orthapaedic surgery department, by Fridley-based Medtronic, Inc. Among Polly’s perks: $185,000 in Medtronic-paid trips to 14 global destinations in 2006.

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning…

STATEWIDE: School districts across Minnesota are having to borrow to make up for shortfalls caused by Gov. Tim Pawlenty‘decision to delay payment of 27 percent of promised funds for a year. A St. Paul lender says 65 districts are borrowing from her firm for short-term spending needs — for a total of $120 million borrowed.

RUSHFORD: To meet a growing demand for locally sourced food, organic farmers in southeast Minnesota are carpooling truckpooling to the Twin Cities: they’ve banded together to start a trucking business to haul produce from small farms to metro-area businesses. [Albert Lea Tribune]

MINNEAPOLIS: A man falsely claiming to be a “black ops specialist” walked into City Hall last week with an unregistered, loaded .38-caliber pistol in an ankle holster. His mission: to retrieve a gun confiscated by police in 2007 when he was charged wwith reckless discharge of a firearm. [Star Tribune]

BEMIDJI: Tonight, the City Council could approve a moratorium that’d ban the conversion of single-family homes into rental properties for up to a year. The city has seen a 40- to 50-percent spike in renter-occupied single-family homes, and councilors fear the loss of the town’s residential character. [Pioneer]