Find the page for a task
Each task links to the page that does it. Who builds this site and why is on the About page.
- Find a meeting or voteNowthen meetings →Votes that split →
- Ask the Nowthen records a questionSearch →
- See what you pay in property taxProperty taxes →Tax Lab →
- Check a budget numberNowthen budget →Anoka County →State budget →
- Look up a city ruleNowthen city code →
- Read a ballot guideSchool funding amendment →Elk River schools →Luverne →
- Research Minnesota fraud casesMinnesota fraud guide →
- Learn how sources and labels workMethod →Label glossary →
- Report an errorReport it →corrections are logged publicly
Common questions
Who runs MN Public Tools?
Dan Swenson, an attorney who serves on the Nowthen City Council through the end of 2026, builds it as an independent project. It is not a government publication and takes no government funding. (About)
Where do the numbers on this site come from?
From public records such as city budgets, council packets, state and county tax data, audits, and court filings. Each figure links to the record it came from. (Method)
Is AI used to make this site?
The search tool uses AI to read the records and cite them. Each table states where its figures came from, and anything AI extracted is labeled AI-extracted so you can check the source. (Label glossary)
How do I report an error?
Use the report form. Corrections are logged publicly on the changes page. (Report an error)
What the labels mean
Most figures carry no label. A table or chart states its source once, and only the exceptions are marked. The labels below mean the same thing on every page.
Where a record or figure came from
- Source checked
- A person compared this against the original document and confirmed or corrected it.
- Official data
- Copied or imported from a named government source without AI interpretation.
- AI-extracted
- Identified by AI from the meeting record. It may be wrong, so check the linked source before relying on it.
- Transcript-derived
- Inferred from a meeting recording or auto-caption, not the official minutes. Check it against the minutes when they post.
- Agenda-only
- Based on the posted agenda or packet. Final outcomes are not recorded yet because the meeting has not happened or the minutes are not out.
- Minutes not in this archive
- This archive does not hold minutes for this meeting yet. The city may have posted them, or draft minutes may sit in a later meeting packet.
- Outcome unknown
- The record we have does not say how this resolved.
- Dormant
- No recent activity, and a final disposition is not on file. It may already be resolved.
- Needs human review
- Flagged for a reviewer and not yet checked against the source.
- Scenario assumption
- A modeled what-if (for example a Tax Lab projection), not a figure recorded in the budget.
Who is speaking
- The record, The numbers, Tool
- A page built from public records, budget figures, or a calculator. No opinion.
- Dan’s analysis
- Signed analysis by Dan Swenson, shown in amber. It is his reading of the record, and every figure links back to it.
- Opinion
- Dan’s view on what should happen, kept apart from the record.
- Experimental
- A new page or tool still being checked. Use the linked sources before relying on it.
How a number was made
- Calculated, Computed
- Worked out on this site from official figures, with the method shown.
- Estimate, Scale estimate
- An approximation, either from a city or vendor estimate or a rough sense of size. Not a recorded amount.
- Assumption
- A starting value a calculator uses, such as a lot size. You can change it.
- Scenario, Your scenario
- A what-if from a calculator, using values you chose or the default ones. Not a forecast and not a budget figure.
- Not yet checked by hand
- Read from an official document without AI, but a person has not compared it line by line yet.
Where money is in the process
- Proposed, Adopted
- A proposed budget or levy is a draft. The adopted one is what the council approved.
- Estimate, Quote, Accepted bid
- What a project was expected to cost, from the engineer, a vendor, or the winning bid.
- Contract, Payment
- What the council agreed to pay, and what the city actually paid.
- Audited
- From a city’s audited financial statements, the most reliable figure for a past year.
Fraud cases
- Alleged amount
- An amount in a charge or complaint. Not proven.
- Charged, Pleaded guilty, Convicted
- Where a defendant’s case stands in court.
- Court-attributed loss
- The loss a judge attributed to a defendant at sentencing.
- Media estimate
- A number a news organization created or adopted without a matching government or court figure.