Tariffs, federal funding freezes and Minnesotans making moves in Congress: the week in news

National news moved at a breakneck pace this week. From the back-and-forth on tariffs to the White House’s continued cuts in federal spending, Washington, D.C.’s impact on Minnesotans was starkly felt.

Minnesota Star Tribune journalists have been working to keep pace with the developments. Here are their dispatches on the local effects of the biggest national stories from this week:

President Donald Trump’s ever-evolving tariff strategy has roiled markets and tanked the value of stocks across the country, including those of Minnesota-based companies.

While Trump announced a 90-day pause on the steep tariffs he placed on several countries last week, the president maintained the universal 10% levy he set across the board. And in addition to that, the import tax on Chinese goods now stands at 145%, Brooks Johnson reports.

Minnesota business leaders sounded the alarm about the potential impact of tariffs on Mexican, Canadian and Chinese goods back in November. Now that the levies are upon us, some of the items that you can expect to pay more for in the coming months: clothing, toys and TVs. Carson Hartzog has the story.

Meanwhile, local manufacturers that import parts and raw materials from countries including Mexico and China are expecting lower profits. Some are even curbing expansion plans, Dee DePass reports.

As confusion swirled about the impacts those tariffs would have on groceries, shoppers spoke to reporter Kyeland Jackson about their worries and the difficult choices they see coming.

“You’ve got to choose now on how you’re going to live. It’s not the American dream anymore. It’s an American nightmare now, man. It’s rough,” Derrick Ellison, 62, said. “You’re going to the cheapest thing on the shelf, but it’s the unhealthiest thing on the shelf.”

The Trump administration’s ongoing campaign to cut federal spending has also begun to make waves in the North Star State.

Minnesota’s arts and culture organizations add billions to the state’s economy. But a pullback in federal funding puts them at risk, Emma Nelson reports.

Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday announced a new tool that Minnesotans can use to track funding cuts in the North Star State. Kyeland Jackson has the story.

And Minnesota lawmakers have proposed a package that would provide unemployment benefits for laid-off federal workers, Janet Moore reports.

Sen. Tina Smith has introduced a bill to permanently protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Sydney Kashiwagi reports. Smith says the legislation may be difficult to pass but stressed that she believes “Donald Trump has the Boundary Waters in his sights.”

“He has spoken publicly about it, and that’s one of the reasons that I want to introduce this legislation,” Smith said.

Rep. Ilhan Omar this week announced she will run for reelection to the House, closing the door on speculation that she’ll run to replace Smith, who retires at the end of next year.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether Rep. Angie Craig will mount a Senate bid. Republicans say they won’t run a candidate if she runs for reelection in the Second Congressional District, a reversal from the party’s bullish claims that it could win that seat in the last few cycles.