The Morning Report 8/20/08 - Daily Minnesota Political Stories

Top Story: Franken wants lifetime health care for veterans.

Best of the Blogs and Think Tank Thoughts:

• Web tuneup for RNC coverage @ PIM, Politics in Minnesota. We’ve added a 2008 Congress Election Directory, too.
• Now Searchable: The MnDOT NASCO NAFTA Superhighway Document Stash, Politics in Minnesota. The plan to build a tracking system on I-35 is one of the strangest MN state govt document batches we’ve ever run across, 598 pages now in one big searchable PDF [43 MB].
• Vets not victims, part 4, Foreign and Domestic
• Norm Coleman push-polling, MN Blue
• Stop using my ad, Sen. Coleman, The Political Animal
• No, it ain’t going to happen for ya Al, Residual Forces
  
• St. Paul Police union on RNC security planning: ‘The ball was dropped,’ Minnesota Independent
• Will Ramsey County utilize temporary jails during the RNC?, Minnesota Independent
  
• Sherburne Citizen LTE: Mark needs a job…, Liberal in the Land of Conservative
• Tax avoidance, True North
  
• Austin Herald repeats Senator Day’s bogus claims about Arizona trip, Bluestem Prairie
• That fresh green stench, Shot in the Dark
• Cong. Kline: You need to represent us…not just warm a seat, mnpACT!
• Room for one more, Fraters Libertas
  
• Lazy journalism, Republican smear tactics in CD3, MN Campaign Report
  
• Peculiar feelings about the convention, The Political Animal
  
• Can you out-Kersten Kersten? A contest, Lambert to the Slaughter
• The bathroom at the HyPsTr nightclub of the soul, Shot in the Dark
  

Business/Economy:

• Digital signs create new buzz in ad biz, Star Tribune
• Ag conglomerate Cargill reports profit of $1.05B, AP
• Huge Cargill remains a limber giant, Star Tribune
  
• Website provides data on patents, Finance and Commerce
• Central Minnesotans may be shifting auto trends, St. Cloud Times
• Ford workers get hands-on feel of future, AP
  

Campaigns-Senate:

• Senate race: Franken pitches plans to help veterans; Coleman responds, Pioneer Press
• Franken: Give veterans health care for life, AP
• Franken to shake money trees at DNC, Polinaut - MPR
• Uldrich: My two cents is to eliminate one cent…, Polinaut - MPR

Campaigns:

• Minnesota’s 2nd District has answer for gas prices, MPR
• Madia and Paulsen campaigns decry ‘push-polling,’ Polinaut - MPR
• McCain weighs a Lieberman surprise, Politico

Congress-Senate:

• Sen. Klobuchar to speak at the DNC, Pioneer Press

Crime/Police:

• Mpls. city employee removed from duties pending criminal investigation, KSTP
• 2 Ramsey County sheriff’s employees on trial, their actions in dispute, Pioneer Press
  

Education:

• Savage’s new school is ready, but empty, Star Tribune
• Duluth School Board to consider levy ballot language today, Duluth News Tribune
  
  

Elections:

• What to do with those pricey voting machines?, AP
• Delegate profile: Bethany Dorobiala, News Cut - MPR
• Meet Minnesota’s David Gilbert-Pederson, 17, the youngest delegate to the Democratic National Convention, MinnPost
  

Environment:

• Xcel adds a solar alternative to traditional power, MPR

Health Care:

• Mayo CEO to speak at DNC host committee’s roundtable in Denver, Rochester Post-Bulletin

Legislature:

• No modern experiments with a Parliamentary system in the States, Legislative Reference Library. Rep. Phyllis Kahn mentioned in National Conference of State Legislatures blog.

Opinion-Commentary:

• John Kline: Earmarks waste your hard-earned tax dollars, Star Tribune

Opinion-Editorial:

• Editorial: More work needed on science learning, Star Tribune
• Editorial: Brandl’s career blend enriched Minnesota, Star Tribune
• Editorial: Ventura’s new gig is good for everyone, St. Cloud Times
• Editorial: Science tests: We need a new Sputnik, Bemidji Pioneer
• Editorial: Drinking age proposal worth debate, Mankato Free Press
  

Pawlenty:

• Kyl and Pawlenty to offer GOP spin during DNC, Rocky Mountain News
• Pawlenty to head east for more McCain stumping, AP
  

People:

• Brandl, former state lawmaker and scholar, dies, MPR
• Mayo doctor was ‘one of the grand physicians of our time,’ Rochester Post-Bulletin
  

Public Health/Safety:

• College officials: Let’s rethink the drinking age, Star Tribune
• Should the drinking age be lowered to 18?, News Cut - MPR
• MSU launches mandatory drinking class for freshmen, KSTP
• After mixup with terror suspect’s name, Minnesota man is U.S. citizen, AP
  

Republican National Convention:

• Attorneys prepare to defend protesters during RNC, MPR
• Ethics thicket for Convention parties crimps events, New York Times
• Businesses near RNC brace for life inside perimeter, KARE 11
• St. Paul businesses flex hours during RNC, AP
  
• Fire marshal voices concerns about hazards at Xcel, KSTP
  

Transportation:

• New bike, pedestrian bridge planned between Eagan, Bloomington to replace old Cedar Avenue span, Pioneer Press

Z-File: Irresistible Stories Beyond the Purview of PIM

• Wonderland of wine in your own backyard, WCCO
• Some eBay sellers fed up with new rules, but upcoming fee changes may soften tempers, AP