Morning Report 10/26/2009

BEST OF THE BLOGS

• Atkins and Rukavina mean well, but overstep with attacks on Google Voice, Politics in Minnesota

• AFSCME backs Dayton for guv, Politics in Minnesota
• Are PACs Getting Gunshy of Michele Bachmann?, Smart Politics

• Swanson wins award, Capitol Chatter
• Strange bedfellows; great cause, Shot in the Dark
• No highway signs allowed, Capitol Chatter
• Washington Times editor unhappy with Pawlenty, Hot Dish Politics
• Scrubbing at the Star and Tribune covers Kiffmeyer’s bank, MN Progressive Project
• Where was The DFL?, Let Freedom Ring
• Off the map, Politico Click
  

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

• Agency promises a more user-friendly stimulus Internet site, St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report

• Rethink Recycling launches business-targeted website, Finance and Commerce
• After a year behind bars, Tom Petters to face federal jury, Star Tribune
• Riverview Community Bank of Otsego closes two branches, AP
• Minnesota celebrates Manufacturer’s Week, AP
• ‘Clunker’ recycling shop overflowing and facing strict deadline, KARE 11
• State firm making tracks, Star Tribune
• How Hecker’s empire crumbled, Pioneer Press
• Paynesville dealer fights GM closure, St. Cloud Times
• Pulling the TV cord yet staying plugged in, Los Angeles Times
• Federal jobs: easy to spot, hard to get, Wall Street Journal

CAMPAIGNS

• GOP contenders share vision for 2010: less government, Star Tribune
• AFSCME endorses Dayton for governor, Star Tribune
• Mark Dayton on the AFSCME endorsement, Polinaut - MPR
• Troubled Northwest Quadrant project focus of election, Pioneer Press
• DFLer set to take on Kline, Polinaut - MPR
• Forged in the same political caldron, now pursuing their own paths, New York Times

CONGRESS - SENATE

• Franken asks for quick probe of airline incident, MinnPost
• Commerce officials join Klobuchar to discuss Minnesota exports, MPR

EDUCATION

• Half of Twin Cities law schools no longer charge for applications, Dolan Media Newswires
• MN education officials vie for stimulus money, AP
• Minnesota colleges making efforts to prevent dropouts, MPR
• Student enrollment numbers greatly affect bottom line, Rochester Post-Bulletin
• Area schools to ask for money, St. Cloud Times
• Why we’re failing math and science, Wall Street Journal

ELECTIONS

• A better ballot? St. Paul election to decide ‘instant-runoff voting’, Pioneer Press
• Voters need to watch their ranked choices, Star Tribune

ENVIRONMENT

• Stimulus funds to pay for part of $2M RiverCentre solar-thermal development, Finance and Commerce
• Office of Energy Security predicts additional power needs by 2025, Finance and Commerce
• U of M wins $8 million wind power grant, AP
• St. Paul gets $1 million from stimulus to study use of solar energy, MinnPost
• Great Lakes ship operators upset over proposed EPA air regulations, say rules will eliminate jobs, Washington Post

GOVERNMENT - LOCAL

• Hennepin County seeks stimulus dough to fight fat, Star Tribune
• Rain costs time, money for Stearns County projects, KSTP

HEALTH CARE

• Fighting health care fraud a difficult battle, MPR
• Electronic medical records not seen as a cure-all, Washington Post

OPINION-COMMENTARY

• Sen. Linda Berglin: TVs the tiniest of ills at Moose Lake, Star Tribune
• George Will: The Bachmann burr, Washington Post
• Lori Sturdevant: Decision(s) 2009: Voting goes multiple-choice, Star Tribune
• Ben Ament: Minnesota nice is all dried up, St. Cloud Times
• Nick Coleman: Subsidies? For news? Whoa, Nelly., Star Tribune
• Katherine Kersten: ‘Flying imams’ case is settled at our expense, Star Tribune

OPINION-EDITORIAL

• Editorial: Can-do Rybak deserves third term, Star Tribune
• Editorial: Make smart choices for Minneapolis city council, Star Tribune

OTHER STATES

• Court says cities have the right to bar telecommunications towers, Los Angeles Times

PAWLENTY

• Want to know how Gov. Pawlenty’s doing in the presidential sweepstakes? Watch Vin Weber, MinnPost
• Ideology trumps party for Palin, Washington Post. Pawlenty –current “it boy” — second only to Palin in GOP influence list.

• Pawlenty calls public option for health care ‘ludicrous’, Pioneer Press

• Pawlenty would push state’s lawmakers to opt out of public-option health plan, MinnPost

PUBLIC HEALTH / SAFETY

• Family court sags under new economy, St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report
• Health coverage ‘plan’ was no insurance at all, Star Tribune
• Off-target pilots’ licenses are in peril, New York Times
• MN bikers donate to Amber Alert program, AP
• Park Nicollet prioritizing H1N1 vaccine shots, Star Tribune
• Packing heat, picking up highway trash, Pioneer Press
• Metro Transit kicks off new safety campaign, KSTP
• Back where virus started, new scrutiny of pig farming, Washington Post
• Minnesota Supreme Court tests uncharted (bong) waters, Dolan Media Newswires

ST. PAUL / MINNEAPOLIS

• Central Corridor Funders Collaborative to support housing, economic projects, St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report

• ‘A little more fun’ for Smith Avenue in West St. Paul, St. Paul, Pioneer Press
• Less money likely for Target Center, neighborhoods, Star Tribune
• Long-vacant Riverview Commercial Club is finally making way for a new economic vision on St. Paul’s West Side, Pioneer Press
• New bus lanes open for training, KSTP

TRANSPORTATION

• Northstar Commuter Rail testing trains and tracks, KARE 11

WASHINGTON

• Where’s Obama? Ask ‘the Minnesotans’, Star Tribune

Z-FILE: IRRESISTIBLE STORIES BEYOND THE PURVIEW OF PIM

• Ms., New York Times. Use of Ms. discussed in MN newspapers in early 1900s.