Good morning, and welcome to another Monday.
A crowd the State Patrol estimated at 5,000 marched Sunday in support of abortion rights. MPR’s Michelle Wiley reports: Marching from Saint Paul College to the state Capitol, demonstrators shouted “my body, my choice” and carried signs that read “we won’t go back.” Once at the Capitol, several speakers impressed upon the crowd that while the right to have an abortion remains in Minnesota, the fight is not over yet. “We are lucky abortion remains legal in Minnesota. In fact, we are surrounded by states where abortion is now illegal or will be soon,” said U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. “Let me be clear, just like in Congress, they can go away in the blink of an eye. So if you don't want to go back to a time when old, ultra-conservative white men decide what you do with your body. You have to fight back with us,” she continued. Omar also went on to link the fight for abortion with access to birth control and LGBTQ rights, particularly trans rights and the right to marry.
The candidates for Minnesota attorney general have sharply differing views on abortion.The Star Tribune reports: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and the two top GOP candidates vying to replace him this fall are weighing the office's legal options post-Roe, from responding to potential abortion-related extradition orders to intervening in civil cases. But it's clear the three attorneys would bring starkly different backgrounds — and philosophies — to the job. Ellison supports the right to abortion and is weighing whether to appeal a judge’s decision that struck down some abortion restrictions. Republicans Jim Schultz and Doug Wardlow, who are facing off in next month’s primary, both oppose abortion and say the decision should be appealed. Wardlow said he will look for every opportunity to overturn the state Supreme Court's ruling in Doe v. Gomez, the 1995 case that protects the right to abortion in Minnesota.
A criminal case of aiding and abetting trespassing against one of the people who opposed the construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline was dismissed by a judge last week halfway through her trial. MPR’s Kirsti Marohn reports: "The judge made the right decision today in acquitting me on these ridiculous charges,” Shanai Matteson told those gathered on the courthouse lawn. Matteson’s case was one of hundreds still pending more than a year after protest actions over the Line 3 project. The replacement pipeline, built along a new route across northern Minnesota, was completed last year and began transporting oil in October. Roughly a thousand people were arrested during those actions. Some were charged with relatively serious crimes, including gross misdemeanors and felonies. Line 3 opponents have called for the remaining charges dismissed. They’ve also asked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to appoint Attorney General Keith Ellison as a special prosecutor to review the cases.
The Star Tribune reports: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw on Sunday endorsed former judge Martha Holton Dimick for Hennepin County attorney, citing her varied professional background and experience living on the city's North Side.
Our friend David Montgomery at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis took a look at the impact of high gasoline prices on people in the Upper Midwest. Among his findings: About 5 percent of households use no gasoline at all while a small number of households use large amounts of gasoline; the top 20 percent of households use 46 percent of the gasoline; and heavy gas users are more likely to have high incomes and young children, while light users are more likely to live in cities and drive more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The expanded use of drop boxes for mailed ballots during the 2020 election did not lead to any widespread problems, according to an Associated Press survey of state election officials across the U.S. that revealed no cases of fraud, vandalism or theft that could have affected the results. The findings from both Republican- and Democratic-controlled states run contrary to claims made by former President Donald Trump and his allies who have intensely criticized their use and falsely claimed they were a target for fraud. Drop boxes are considered by many election officials to be safe and secure, and have been used to varying degrees by states across the political spectrum. Yet conspiracy theories and efforts by Republicans to eliminate or restrict them since the 2020 election persist. This month, the conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that drop boxes are not allowed under state law and can no longer be widely used. | 