The Morning Report 2/22/08 - Daily Minnesota Political Stories

Top Stories: House passes transportation bill, NWA-Delta merger deal ready for airlines to sign, Ellison calls for Congressional hearing on Northwest-Delta merger, State fines company whose workers were killed in St. Paul sewer flood, Bill would tighten gun sale rules.


Agriculture:

• Soybean farmers face choice: Refine for food or fuel? Biodiesel sales small but growing, AP

Best of the Blogs and Think Tank Thoughts:

• The notables from the Transportation Bill vote, True North
• English-only driving tests voted down, The Political Animal
• Legislative Auditor’s report on highways, MN Publius
• From most Minnesota GOP House Reps: We get nothing, mnpACT!
• When government cannot stop, SCSU Scholars
• SPPD satisfies some Taser concerns; City must set policy, MN Blue
• Number of the day: Losing interest in roads, Across the Great Divide
• Gardner on transportation, MN Publius
• Minnesota Health Plan draws citizen support, passes committee, MN Monitor

Business/Economy:

• Rural wind power shifts direction, Star Tribune
• Ramsey Town Center project may have new life, Pioneer Press
• NWA-Delta merger deal ready for airlines to sign, Star Tribune
  
• Student loans latest victim of turmoil in credit market, Star Tribune
• Who pays when a home goes empty?, MPR
• A heretical Rx for Minnesota’s economy, MinnPost
  
• Expert: Expect a slow economy, St. Cloud Times
• U.S. senators weigh in on Northwest Air deal, Red Wing Republican Eagle
  
• Xcel investigates outages in St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids, St. Cloud Times
  

Campaigns:

• McCain focuses on key Midwestern states, AP. Including MN, IA, IL, MO, OH and WI.

Congress-House:

• Ellison calls for Congressional hearing on Northwest-Delta merger, Workday MN

Crime/Police:

• Man faces charge for UMD class incident, Duluth News Tribune

Education:

• Bruininks requests $225M from Senate, Minnesota Daily
• Inver Grove Heights district prepares list of proposed cuts, change, Star Tribune

Environment:

• Critics wonder what happened to Pawlenty’s push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, MinnPost
• Lake Mille Lacs frustrations surface, Star Tribune
• Senate bill could turn some Minnesota lakes into stars, MPR
  

Health Care:

• Health Department says more flu cases don’t match vaccine, MPR
• Health studio for cancer survivors offers recovery options, Minnesota Daily
  

Judicial:

• Court budget cuts will be felt, Austin Post-Bulletin

Labor:

• With strike imminent, security officers appeal to building owners, Workday MN
  

Legislature:

• House passes transportation bill, Pioneer Press
• Legislature passes gas-tax bill, Star Tribune
  

Opinion-Commentary:

• Thomas Kottke: The Angina Monologues, Pioneer Press
• Neal St. Anthony: Carlson students manage solid-return funds, Star Tribune
• E.J. Dionne Jr.: A page from Paul Wellstone, Washington Post. ‘Clinton and Obama are echoing one of their party’s most effective practitioners of egalitarian, grass-roots politics.’
• Curtis Johnson: Face facts: Pass bill to fund roads and bridges, Star Tribune
  

Opinion-Editorial:

• Editorial: State should bolster teen driving laws, Star Tribune
• Editorial: State better get returns after merger, St. Cloud Times
• Editorial: Be wary of airline promises, Mankato Free Press
  

Pawlenty:

• The Line: Let’s get serious about VeepStakes!, Washington Post

Public Health/Safety:

• ‘Theater night’ evasion of smoking ban lights a spark across state, Star Tribune
• Pawlenty, Coleman and Klobuchar to pay respects to bus crash victims, Pioneer Press
• State fines company whose workers were killed in St. Paul sewer flood, AP
• Bill would tighten gun sale rules, Pioneer Press
• Officials: No cause yet determined in deadly Enbridge pipeline blast, AP
  
• Oklahoma House approves ’scum of the earth bill’, Dolan Media Newswires. Bill increases penalties for abusers of pregnant women.

Stadiums:

• Vaunted stadium Listening Tour — surprise! — finds the answers commission wanted, MinnPost
• Commissioner’s role in Twins stadium questioned, Star Tribune

Transportation:

• Light-rail route needs a memorable moniker, Pioneer Press

Z-File: Irresistible stories beyond the purview of PIM

• New sounds for North Korea, Wall Street Journal. MN violinist and U of M professor Kim Young-man to play, again, in annual festival honoring Kim Il Sung.
• Record collection fetches $3M on eBay, AP