The Morning Report 12/18/07 - Daily Minnesota Political Stories

Top Stories: Budget bill includes $195 million for I-35W bridge replacement; Medtronic lead wins Japanese approval; Qwest plans $300 million in fiber-optic upgrades; Legislation would ease Hmong refugees’ plight; St. Cloud passes budget leading to 27% tax hike; Vote set for Anoka-Hennepin school contract; Miners lung study to cost $5.5 million.; Medical marijuana bill still at Capitol for 2008.
Agriculture:

• Farm bill offers a bushel of benefits for some state farmers, MinnPost

Best of the Blogs and Think Tank Thoughts

• Dueling House parties, Politics in Minnesota
• Why no Huckaboom in Minnesota?, MPR Polinaut
• We’ve got trouble right here in River City, True North
• Chief Dolan’s e-mail, Lambert to the Slaughter
• MN-02: Steve Sarvi interview, MN Blue
• White House appointees share Vin Weber link, WSJ - Washington Wire
• Building a bridge, down by the riverside, Star Tribune - Roadguy
• Neologism, Shot in the Dark
• Campaign Notebook: Senate District 25 Republican primary today, MN Monitor
• In case you missed it: PIM Exclusive: SuperRondo II: New NASCO NAFTA Superhighway Docs Released From MnDOT, Politics in Minnesota. PIM Staff think it sounds pretty crazy, but hundreds of newly released pages from MnDOT fully spell out a Lockheed Martin plan to ‘militarize’ Interstates 35 & 94 with the NAFTRACS system. Here are 60 MB of PDFs in a ZIP.

Business/Economy:

• Qwest plans $300 million in fiber-optic upgrades, Star Tribune
• Medtronic lead wins Japanese approval, MSP Business Journal
  
• Along Northstar route, hopes of economic boom run high, St.Cloud Times
• Local projects included in last-minute spending bill, Duluth News Tribune
  
• EDA to discuss south shore bonding, Bemidji Pioneer. Bemidji Economic Development Authority.
  
• St. Cloud passes budget leading to 27% tax hike, St. Cloud Times
• Downtown Ramada to be demolished, Star Tribune
  

Campaigns:

• Minnesota anti-abortion group casts vote for Thompson for president, Pioneer Press
• Meet the Candidates: Mike Ciresi, MPR
• Students have power to shape Congress in fall 2008, Yale Daily News. Mentions Franken, Ciresi, and Coleman.

Congress-House:

• Legislation would ease Hmong refugees’ plight, AP

Congress-Senate:

• Klobuchar weighs in on farm bill, Iraq, Crookston Daily Times

Crime/Police:

• Hennepin County sheriff takes war on drugs to the burbs, MinnPost
• Property records search may have prevented raid, WCCO
• Northfield mayor misused power, investigator says, Star Tribune
  

Education:

• Minnesota native is named new dean of U Law School, Star Tribune
• Minneapolis: Second thoughts on school reform, Star Tribune
• St. Paul program to recruit teachers from professions, Star Tribune
  
• TrekNorth named one of the top public high schools in Minnesota, Bemidji Pioneer
• Minneapolis-Hennepin libraries near merger, Star Tribune
  

Environment:

• Land designation makes Duluth eligible again for state grant, Duluth News Tribune
• Competitive spirit at work as Youth Energy Summit teams develop clean energy projects, West Central Tribune
• Cities, environmentalists unhappy with new water quality rules, MPR
• Appleton to pay $20,052 in MPCA fines due to pollution from wastewater treatment plant, West Central Tribune
  

Health Care:

• Medical marijuana proposal still hanging on for 2008 legislative session, MinnPost
• State Assembly backs healthcare for everyone, Los Angeles Times
• Patterns: In the upper Great Plains, lower mortality rates, New York Times
  

I-35W Bridge Collapse:

• I-35W bridge work, funding accelerate, Star Tribune
• Budget bill includes $195 million for I-35W bridge replacement, AP
  
• 35W bridge rebuilding gets underway in earnest, Star Tribune
  

Labor:

• Champion pilots sue over extra pay, Star Tribune
• Vote set for Anoka-Hennepin school contract, Workday MN

Media:

• The scribe who gets the candidates’ vote, Washington Post

Opinion-Commentary:

• Ruben Rosario: Botched police raids not so rare, Star Tribune

Opinion-Editorial:

• Editorial: Numbers prove smoking ban has many benefits, Mankato Free Press

Public Health/Safety:

• Cliffs says it will join state study, MPR
• Cliffs won’t do own lung-disease study, Mesabi Daily News
• Miners lung study to cost $5.5 million, Duluth News Tribune
  
• Upper Midwest cities fare well in ‘Most Secure’ ranking, Star Tribune
• Minnesota’s decontamination trailers may be unroadworthy, MPR
• Nonprofits collaborate to react to cuts, Mankato Free Press
• Surveys say homelessness down in Duluth, Duluth News Tribune
  

Republican National Convention:

• House OKs funding for DNC security, Rocky Mountain News. Includes $50M for RNC, too.

St. Paul/Minneapolis:

• Extra patrols near Powderhorn Park, Star Tribune

Transportation:

• Money vs. safety at MnDOT: Flying Into danger zone?, Star Tribune
• MnDOT’s Molnau defends lack of progress on deadly U.S. Highway 14, AP