Good morning! Let’s try to remember that today is Tuesday. Yesterday was MLK Day. There were many ceremonies across the nation to mark the occasion. President Biden had some words. In Minnesota, an annual event highlighted Dr. King’s legacy and the importance of the day. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar went to Ukraine. She traveled there with a bipartisan group of senators to show their support for the country. Republican Congressman Pete Stauber is running for reelection in Minnesota’s 8th District. Stauber released a video to let people know of his intention to seek a third term. The list of legislative retirements keeps growing. Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, says he won’t run again after his current term is complete. His hometown paper had the scoop. Gov. Tim Walz is scheduled to unveil his bonding bill proposal today. He told me last week that the proposal will be in the neighborhood of $1.9 billion. Bonding bills require a three-fifths super majority to pass in the House and Senate. Walz said he wants a robust bill this year. “We have an opportunity to strengthen and do a return to the state, because when we build roads and bridges, when we keep up our infrastructure, our public infrastructure, that gives us the opportunity for economic growth,” Walz said. The Senate bonding committee is on tour today with several south metro stops, including the Minnesota Zoo. If you missed it Friday, Brian Bakst wrote about some of the federal bridge money coming Minnesota’s way . There’s $60 million for this year and similar amounts through 2026. Expect a fight at the Capitol over who gets to decide which transportation projects get pushed to the top of the list. The Legislature will get a say, especially if those projects depend on a state share of money to unlock the federal dollars. Bakst also continued to make the rounds with GOP governor candidates as they prep for the Feb. 1 caucus. This time it’s Mike Murphy, the small suburban city mayor looking to make a big leap. Despite his elected role, Murphy is campaigning as an outsider and hitting a lot of the themes Republican voters are revved up about. A taste of Brian’s interview. Murphy says he isn’t daunted by the challenge of facing better-established GOP rivals, noting that he landed in office in the city of Lexington (about 15 miles north of downtown Minneapolis) through a write-in campaign: “I'm going to give all of the credit to my wife because she was sick and tired of listening to me complain and basically said, `Hey, honey, why don't you get up and go do something about it?’ So that's exactly what I did. And I knocked on doors after doors after doors and sent out a few mailers and talked to the community and let them know who I was. And built those personal relationships, which led to my election as City Councilor, which led me to be the mayor of the city.” Murphy has used that post to push issues front-and-center for Republicans. He helped make Lexington a 2nd Amendment sanctuary city that elevates gun owner rights. On Thursday, he’ll present a resolution to become a “health freedom” sanctuary city. “With the events of Minneapolis and St. Paul now requiring proof of vaccination, which is just one step away from vaccine passports, I've had members of my community ask me, ‘Are you going to shut our businesses down? Are you going to require us to show proof of vaccine to do business here or to work here to go to school here?’ So I developed a health freedom sanctuary resolution, which basically says that we stand for one's right to health autonomy and choose medical decisions based on what's best for them with their doctor and their God. And that we do not stand for vaccine segregation in our community.” Murphy hadn’t closed the door early on to running an August primary without the GOP convention endorsement. That has changed. “More and more now that I analyze the field, the trust in the new party leadership, the team that Chairman David Hann is building gives me a lot of faith in the process. And that's why I will support the endorsed candidate.” Murphy isn’t sure how big of a shadow former President Donald Trump will cast over the midterm election. “I support President Trump but I'm not relying on him to win this campaign for me. I'm capable of doing it myself. I have a good team behind me that can help me achieve victory. And we'll just have to see what happens. It's one of those things that I don't think about because I live in the moment today and not yesterday. If he wants to help my race out, I definitely won't say no. But it's not something that I'm aiming for.” A House DFL lawmaker, Rep. Tou Xiong of Maplewood, apologized Friday for his recent driving under the influence arrest. Court records show the 31-year-old Xiong was stopped by Blaine police in the late evening of Jan. 8. He is due again in court in April on two misdemeanor charges. Xiong, who is in his second term, is not running for his House seat but has announced a campaign for an open suburban state Senate seat. In a written statement, he said it was a poor choice to drive after drinking. “My actions are inexcusable and I sincerely apologize,” he wrote. “I have a lot of work to do in the coming days, weeks, and months to earn back the trust of my constituents and people I’ve let down, and that will be my focus going forward.“ | 