Morning Report

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BEST OF THE BLOGS

• Guess what? Committee administrators are getting a little punchy, Politics in Minnesota
• Overheard at the Capitol: GAMC fix is a quarter of a loaf, but…, Politics in Minnesota
• Paper Trail: $47.5 million for Moose Lake in latest version of bonding bill, Politics in Minnesota
• Bonding conference committee will meet tonight to sweeten Moose Lake dollars, Politics in Minnesota
• Photo of the Day, Politics in Minnesota
• The Bachmann Agenda: Social Security, Outstate Politics
• The givingest Minnesota pol in 2009: one-time Bachmann rival, Elwyn Tinklenberg, Hot Dish Politics
• If I could be Dick Day for a day, True North
  
• Dick Armey: Pawlenty’s a “blank slate” and that’s good, Hot Dish Politics
• Mayo Civic Center slated to get $3 million more, Political Party
• Howes: New bonding bill headed to veto, Capitol Chatter
  
• Bachmann: Tea partiers need to ‘literally start banging garbage lids’ to defeat health care reform, Minnesota Independent
• GOP Governor Race: there will be blood, mnpACT!
• DFL raps Demmer’s source of money, Hot Dish Politics
  
• Can Minnesota shoot itself in the foot?, Shot in the Dark
• DFL Guv 2010: thoughts on the process so far, mnpACT!

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BUSINESS / ECONOMY

• 24 car dealers in Minnesota are back in business, Star Tribune
• Vadnais Heights moves ahead with sportsplex, redevelopment, Star Tribune

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CAMPAIGNS

• The not-so-secret weapon that may decide the DFL endorsement for governor, MinnPost
• Emmer uses new web site to answer Seifert, Polinaut - MPR
• The race for Minnesota governor is on, quietly, Pioneer Press

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CRIME / POLICE

• Traffic-enforcement blitz nets 173 motorists in Olmsted County, Rochester Post-Bulletin

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EDUCATION

• Mac prez gets his 5 minutes of fame, Star Tribune
• New study finds Minnesota has a lower educational ‘wealth gap’ than most states, MinnPost
• Shakopee Middle School considers uniform mandate, KSTP
• More MN schools buy food from local farms, AP
• Colleges hand out emergency cash to more students, MPR
• Teachers to run new Mpls. school, Star Tribune

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ENVIRONMENT

• Youth in New London construct solar panels for community’s storied theater, West Central Tribune

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FEDERAL STIMULUS

• MN on track to meet weatherization goals, MPR

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GOVERNMENT - LOCAL

• Stearns, Benton jobless rate jumps to 8.5%, St. Cloud Times
• New economic development department passes St. Cloud Council, St. Cloud Times
• Mayor and Council disagree over LGA, Red Wing Republican Eagle
• Inmate work program may be in jeopardy, Red Wing Republican Eagle

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LEGISLATURE

• Racinos in Minnesota? Don’t bet on it, Pioneer Press
• $1B Minn. construction bill has Pawlenty items, AP
• Lawmakers OK another $1B bonding bill, Pioneer Press
  
• Committee advances Lake Vermilion park plan, MPR
• Report stirs up talk over mortgage interest deduction, Star Tribune
  
• Gottwalt sponsors effort to shrink Legislature, St. Cloud Times
• DWI penalty bill passes Minnesota House panel, Pioneer Press
  
• Legislators debate site of new veterans cemetery in S.E. Minnesota, Rochester Post-Bulletin
• Vets cemetery needed, but funds lacking for land acquisition, Session Daily
  
• A spiritual center for sex offenders, Polinaut - MPR
• Sex ed bill goes to House floor, Session Daily
• Bills would give same-sex couples death rights, AP
• Business, labor groups converge on Capitol, AP

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MEDIA

• KSTP to debut hyper-local Twin Cities websites, MinnPost
• MPR cancels ‘In the Loop’, MinnPost

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OPINION-COMMENTARY

• Jack Uldrich: Instant runoff works fine in the real world, Star Tribune

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OPINION-EDITORIAL

• Editorial: Don’t balance the budget by cutting firefighter training, Rochester Post-Bulletin

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PAWLENTY

• Pawlenty’s Moose Lake plan a ‘Cadillac?’, MPR

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PUBLIC HEALTH / SAFETY

• Dealing with vacant homes, Star Tribune
• East Grand Forks flood-control effort called engineering ‘wonder’, Finance and Commerce
• Minnesota jurors now question verdict in Toyota crash, AP
• Pawlenty signs Haitian quake tax deduction bill, Star Tribune
• $870,000 grant on tap for Osakis water plant, West Central Tribune

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ST. PAUL / MINNEAPOLIS

• It was a zoo at the Capitol, Star Tribune
• Blog boast: ‘Great escape’ at Mpls. City Hall, Star Tribune

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TECHNOLOGY

• Superior to submit Google Fiber application, Duluth News Tribune