The Morning Report 2/20/08 - Daily Minnesota Political Stories

Top Stories: Audit faults MnDOT’s spending, recordkeeping and maintenance, Gov. Pawlenty orders a hiring freeze, Foreclosure sales hit Hennepin Co. record, Delta-NWA talks hit snag, Why Dems rule the city - Republicans, the outer ring, Amid NWA merger rumors, Pawlenty cancels trip, State beef cattle industry dealt setback with another bovine TB discovery.


Agriculture:

• State beef cattle industry dealt setback with another bovine TB discovery, Star Tribune
• Poll says farmers have concerns on using corn stover for ethanol, AP

Best of the Blogs and Think Tank Thoughts:

• McCain’s VP pick, Human Events
• Two very different ideas about job creation, Wright County Republican
• What a difference a year makes, MN Publius
• Pawlenty! Did you get the memo? ‘No new taxes’ - not working!, mnpACT!
• DFL leaders propose massive $8.5B transportation tax increase, True North
• Better roads, less accidents?, SCSU Scholars
• Repeat after me…, Ladies Logic
• Radio anywhere…but local, Lambert to the Slaughter
• Action to stop excessive military in-school recruiting, MN Blue
• Your wallet is safe with 51A’s GOP candidates, True North
  
  

Business/Economy:

• Foreclosure sales hit Hennepin Co. record, Star Tribune
• NWA, Delta pilots reach labor deal in principle: seniority unresolved, Star Tribune
• Delta-NWA talks hit snag, AP
• Defibrillators spark Medtronic gain, Star Tribune
  
• Minnesota biofuels are highlighted in national magazines, Legislative Reference Library
• NWA-Delta merger means a triple whammy for state, MinnPost
• Stern Fed talk: Rate cuts ‘appropriate,’ Wall Street Journal. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Gary Stern defended recent central-bank rate cuts.
• Credit woes hit Minnesota brick firm, Star Tribune
• Alliant major player in shot to destroy errant satellite, Star Tribune
  

Congress-Senate:

• Klobuchar heads global warming panel discussion at Gustavus, Mankato Free Press
• Klobuchar calls attention to digital transition, AP
  

Crime/Police:

• County settles deputies’ lawsuit, Pioneer Press
• Stillwater wants to issue traffic tickets, Pioneer Press
  

Education:

• Minnesota students head across state line for school, MPR
• Board checking out ideas to shape library system’s future, Star Tribune
• SCSU seeks to teach tolerance, MPR
• Free college credit program struggles for recognition, Minnesota Daily
  

Elections:

• Why Dems rule the city - Republicans, the outer ring, MPR

Environment:

• Duluth government center uses wind-power for electricity, AP
• Equipment makes buses more ‘green,’ Rochester Post-Bulletin
  
• City reapplies for trails grant, Jordan Independent

I-35W Bridge Collapse:

• U student creates bridge model for NTSB, KSTP
• Bridge victims would keep funds, Pioneer Press
• Help for Minnesota bridge victims could get caught in budget woes, AP
  

Judicial:

• Legal battle over legal fees delayed, Star Tribune
• Prosecutor suspended for spurning CLE requirements, Wall Street Journal. Hennepin County prosecutor skips CLEs…’we realize that CLE classes can serve purposes outside education, such as networking and free food, but how much do they actually educate?’ [CLEs were great places to sit in the back of the room and read four newspapers without being disturbed. -- PIM Publisher]

Labor:

• Gov. Pawlenty orders a hiring freeze, Pioneer Press

Obituary:

• Beverly (Orth) Olson, Star Tribune. Best of thoughts and prayers to Blois Olson, his wife, Lou Ann, and their children, Jack and Lily, from everyone at PIM.

Opinion-Commentary:

• Joe Soucheray: Don’t be fooled by beastly Legacy Act, Pioneer Press
• Wayne Cox: No Pawlenty on ticket, Star Tribune
• Arvonne Fraser: Politics: A serious game, not a spectator sport, MinnPost
• Garrison Keillor: Tired of winter, in need of MRI, Chicago Tribune. ‘It does get to you, winter. Some people quit shoveling and nest in their beds like rodents and live on water chestnuts and fruitcake and call up talk radio and light into the president…. We don’t have fresh fruit in Minnesota in February, nor do beautiful women behave with sensuous abandon. They sit in cafes and read novels about oppressed peoples and then they run on a treadmill for 45 minutes.’

Opinion-Editorial:

• Editorial: Swastikas in St. Cloud are one thing…, Star Tribune
• Editorial: Charter schools become businesses, Mankato Free Press
• Editorial: Minnesota sings courthouse blues, Minnesota Daily
  

Pawlenty:

• Amid NWA merger rumors, Pawlenty cancels trip, AP

People:

• Touched by tragedy, Chess Koskinen is not defined by it, Star Tribune. Former DFL legislator Luanne Koskinen raises Chess, her granddaughter, after Koskinen’s daughter, Kari, was murdered in New Brighton.

Public Health/Safety:

• Maplewood bar first in Twin Cities to host smoking ‘play,’ Pioneer Press
• House approves indoor smoking ban, exempts casinos, AP. IA bill like Minnesota law.

Republican National Convention:

• Poverty activists plan march on RNC, MPR

St. Paul/Minneapolis:

• Minneapolis Wi-Fi finish set for March 11, Star Tribune
  

Transportation:

• Audit faults MnDOT’s spending, recordkeeping and maintenance, Pioneer Press
• Legislative audit finds financial pothole in funding roads and bridges, MinnPost
  
• State hasn’t invested enough in its roads: Legislative Auditor, Star Tribune
• Transportation audit gives more ammunition to DFLers, MPR
• Metro leader pushes for gas tax in Mankato, Mankato Free Press
• State report boosts case for more transportation funding, Workday MN