A Twin Cities power company is proposing the state's first pilot program specifically designed for charging electric cars. Dakota Electric Association, a utility co-op that serves customers in Dakota, Goodhue, Scott and Rice counties, has come up with a pricing plan tailored for in-home charging stations that offers low electric rates at night when the power demand is low.

The Twin Cities are among metro-area leaders when it comes to planning for the growth of electric vehicles, Midwest Energy News reports. Cities are grappling with questions about where to put charging stations, how to handle zoning and permits, and how to create a consistent experience for users.

Minnesota's fleet of state-owned cars is getting more electric.

Polaris Industries Inc. has set a lofty goal of building a $1 billion business by 2018 with a new fleet of small electric and electric-hybrid cars and trucks. The vehicles feature a 5- or 7-horsepower motor and go about 25 miles per hour, the Business Journal reports (with slideshow).

Dispatchers received a call at about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday from a witness who reported seeing two men drive a car into Loeb Lake at Marydale Park in St. Paul and then run from the scene. Ramsey County Sheriff's deputies are using an underwater camera to search the vehicle.

The city's impound lot auctions off cars after they go unclaimed for 15 days. This year the city kept $237,000 of that money that should have gone to the vehicles' owners.

Funding for the expansion has come from many corners. The total number of Nice Ride stations in Minneapolis and St. Paul will number 146, with 1,328 bikes in the fleet.

A St. Paul man has been arrested in connection with the death of another St. Paul man after an alleged car-surfing accident in Wisconsin Saturday. Shawn Swanson, 21, was reportedly riding on top of a moving car when he fell onto the pavement and died, the Burnett County, Wis., Sheriff's Office, said. The driver of the vehicle, Cole T. Fohrenkamm, 21, of St. Paul, was arrested on suspicion of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle.