Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. Here’s the Digest:
1. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman did Tuesday what many people were expecting him to do and announced a run for governor. Less than two weeks ago Coleman said he would not seek a fourth term as mayor next year, which clears the way for a statewide run in 2018. He joins fellow St. Paul Democrat Rep. Erin Murphy in announcing for the seat Mark Dayton will be vacating, but they’re expected to be only the first of many to run. (Pioneer Press)
2. Gov. Dayton set another deadline for a special legislative session, saying on Tuesday that legislative leaders need to agree by Thursday on plans to provide relief for people facing health insurance premium spikes. Dayton would also like to pass a tax bill and a public works bonding bill, but says he would be willing to settle for health insurance premium relief. He said it’s important to do something before 2017 because people are buying insurance on the individual market now. “If people are going to be true to what they campaigned on and all the concerns they expressed back then, which are valid concerns, we will have a special session next Tuesday to pass a premium relief bill," Dayton said. (MPR News)
3. He may be the most powerful person at the state Capitol you don’t know. James Nobles is the longtime Legislative Auditor. That’s different from the State Auditor, and in many ways his is a more powerful position. From the piece: “Leading frequent deep dives into the use and misuse of taxpayer money, Nobles has embarrassed several generations of top state political leaders, highlighted indiscretions that drove a University of Minnesota president from office, and led to the shuttering of more than a few once-celebrated public ventures.” (Star Tribune)
4. How did Russia hack the DNC and Clinton campaign emails? This long piece lays out an ongoing effort, a series of mistakes by Clinton staffers and others, and says the New York Times and many other major publications become de facto instruments of Russian intelligence. From the piece: “While there's no way to be certain of the ultimate impact of the hack, this much is clear: A low-cost, high-impact weapon that Russia had test-fired in elections from Ukraine to Europe was trained on the United States, with devastating effectiveness. For Russia, with an enfeebled economy and a nuclear arsenal it cannot use short of all-out war, cyberpower proved the perfect weapon: cheap, hard to see coming, hard to trace.” (New York Times)
5. The U.S. Office of Government Ethics says Donald Trump should divest himself of his business interests to avoid conflicts of interest while he is in the White House. In a letter, the office said transferring the business to his adult children would not go far enough to address the conflicts. The office has no power to force Trump to comply, butDirector Walter M. Shaub, Jr. noted that“every President in modern times has adopted OGE’s recommended
approach.” (NPR)
