The Morning Report 2/18/08 - Daily Minnesota Political Stories

Top Stories: Steadfast McCain ally sparks veep talk, Northwest officials talking to Gov. Pawlenty, A threat builds deep beneath the Twin Cities, St. Paul police dept. seeks 230 additional Tasers, Woodbury finds secret to success of affordable housing, Defying the cold, the new I-35W bridge rises.





Best of the Blogs and Think Tank Thoughts:

• The bridge is the enemy of the pork, SCSU Scholars
• Pawlenty of other options for VP, True North
• Google To Be Innovation Provider For GOP Convention, Mashable
• Minnesota and NWA: One way partnership, mnpACT!
• No state has EVER taxed or borrowed its way to prosperity, Lady Logic
  
• St. Paul to purchase Tasers just in time for RNC, MN Monitor
• Pawlenty as Veep?, Captain’ Quarters
• HD 51A GOP Race - Bleess vs. Sanders, True North
• T-Paw ex machina, Mr. Dilettante

Business/Economy:

• Northwest officials talking to Gov. Pawlenty, MPR
• Report: Delta-NWA reach agreement with pilots unions, MPR
• Reality Check: MN money invested in NWA, WCCO
  
• Woodbury finds secret to success of affordable housing, Pioneer Press
  
• Foshay’s rebirth, Star Tribune
• Xcel asks to increase generation at Monticello plant, MPR
• Warehouse District is still hot, Star Tribune
• Plymouth Penn Shopping Center is sold to U for $1.125 million, Star Tribune
• American-United: The airlines start speed dating, Wall Street Journal
• Mickey goes to Washington, Washington Post. “Lobbying is much more substantive and out in the open than its ugly caricature. Lobbyists primarily woo lawmakers with facts. Making the case is what effective lobbyists do most and best. They spend the rest of their time persuading lawmakers’ constituents to back the same causes, very much in the mode of an electoral campaign. If members of Congress see merit in a position and there is a public outcry in its favor, that’s the way they tend to vote. Lobbying these days has a lot of moving parts and is, at its core, more marketing than arm-twisting or favor-swapping. It features not only the lobbyists themselves but ad executives, public relations experts, pollsters, Web site designers and other consultants…” Indeed, the last thing any lobbyist wants is to win everything his or her client is seeking. That would mean an end to a retainer, the closing of the feedbag. Success for a lobbyist is not outright victory but, rather, just enough progress to justify the creation of an elaborate and well-funded lobbying apparatus. Even outright failure can underscore the need to lobby harder.”

Crime/Police:

• St. Paul police dept. seeks 230 additional Tasers, MPR
• Lawyer’s penalty too light for some, Star Tribune
  

Elections:

• The most popular kids at the party, Star Tribune. Superdelegates including Mondale and Klobuchar.
• Show me the delegate rules and I’ll show you the party, New York Times

Environment:

• MPCA draws up ballast water regulations, MPR
• No time for nature: Fewer young Minnesotans using state parks and trails, Pioneer Press
• Agencies bridging Rice Creek gap, Pioneer Press
• St. Louis Park and companies go green, KSTP
  

Health Care:

• Controversial Minnesota health plan to hit Senate floor in first hearing, Fox 9
• Psych unit restructures to provide better care, Pioneer Press

I-35W Bridge Collapse:

• Defying the cold, the new I-35W bridge rises, Pioneer Press
• 35W bridge collapse survivor working to build new span, AP
  

Judicial:

• Court system short of cash, MPR
• Attorneys go to court over sharing $103 million, Star Tribune

Labor:

• Gold’n Plump settles lawsuit over employee dressing time, AP

Legislature:

• DFL focus: results this session for win this fall, Star Tribune
• A busy ‘Lieder,’ Grand Forks Herald. Profile of House Transportation Chair Bernie Lieder.
  

Media:

• News isn’t wasted on the young, New York Times

Opinion-Commentary:

• Lori Sturdevant: Wrestling with tax policy: Politics vs. principles, Star Tribune
• Dane Smith: Alien? Sinister? Illegitimate? Hardly, Pioneer Press
  
• Nina Archabal: Fort Snelling: Should its history be told?, Star Tribune
  

Opinion-Editorial:

• Editorial: Bioscience campus should win support, Star Tribune
• Editorial: SCSU plan for housing reflects need, St. Cloud Times
• Editorial: Will Northwest keep its pledge to Minnesota?, Bemidji Pioneer
• Editorial: Road bill should be practical, Mankato Free Press
• Editorial: Support State Legacy Act, Minnesota Daily
  

Pawlenty:

• Steadfast McCain ally sparks veep talk, Politico. “Even through the McCain campaign’s darkest days in 2007, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty remained a steadfast ally to the Arizona senator in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.   As a result, with John McCain as the clear GOP front-runner and insider talk turning to speculation about his possible running mate, party insiders are now buzzing about the 47-year-old, second-term governor’s vice presidential prospects.”
• Media Notes, Washington Post. Last item, “Minnesota’s Tim Pawlenty for McCain’s veep? ‘Party insiders are now buzzing about the 47-year-old, second-term governor’s vice-presidential prospects,’ Politico says.”
• Political Perceptions: Let the Veepstakes begin, Wall Street Journal. “Pawlenty isn’t exactly a household name…”

Public Health/Safety:

• Text message system coming soon, The Mac Weekly. Smaller colleges in the area follow U of M’s lead on mobile safety alerts for students.
• MN leads country in teen driving deaths, AP
• Cases of meningitis jump in Minnesota, KSTP
  
• Flooded homeowners still waiting for help, MPR
• Wetterling family to gather, pray for Jacob, on his 30th birthday, AP
• Minnesota lawmaker challenges legality of smoking ‘plays,’ Duluth News Tribune
  

St. Paul/Minneapolis:

• A threat builds deep beneath the Twin Cities, Star Tribune
• Minneapolis working out kinks in citywide Wi-Fi network, KSTP
• Hundreds protest immigrant policies, Minnesota Daily
• Funds requested for waste-to-energy project, TC Daily Planet
  

Transportation:

• Minnesota House leaders say roads bill is one-shot deal, Rochester Post-Bulletin

Z-File: Irresistible stories beyond the purview of PIM

• Legislator ‘drowns’ in floating horse teeth, West Central Tribune