Good morning. Have anything to do tonight around 8 p.m. for about 90 minutes? If not, Joe and Donald want some of your attention.
It’s debate day. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump meet for one of two expected debates. It’s months ahead of the usual schedule and comes with measures designed to head off interruptions. There is no live audience and the candidate whose turn it is to speak will be the only one with an active microphone. CNN will host the debate but it’s being simulcast MPR and can be watched at mprnews.org. Here's a preview.
The groundwork for a federal disaster declaration and aid tied to Minnesota flooding has been laid. President Joe Biden spoke yesterday with Gov. Tim Walz about the severe flooding in the state. They specifically discussed the battered Rapidan dam near Mankato. According to a pool report, Biden stressed that federal emergency management officials are already involved and “his administration stands ready to provide additional support as needed.”
The Feeding Our Future fraud case is one that has seen many twists, with more likely to come. Yesterday, federal authorities filed charges against five people on a jury tampering plot during the first fraud trial. The $120,000 in cash dropped on a juror’s doorstep came after those involved allegedly surveilled her for days and aimed to get her to acquit. She instead called authorities. Matt Sepic is on top of the latest development.
A judge has rejected a request to unlock body camera footage that captured the April arrest of state Sen. Nicole Mitchell. The Woodbury DFLer faces a felony burglary charge in connection with an alleged breakin at her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home. AlphaNews sued for access to footage from body cameras that the city’s police officers were wearing when they found Mitchell in the home’s basement. The Star Tribune’s Rochelle Olson reports that a Becker County judge has ruled that the footage cannot be released at this stage and would come to light during a trial or once the case has concluded.
A newly filed petition asks the Minnesota Supreme Court to allow a controversial candidate onto the ballot against a sitting justice and pave the way for other judicial candidates. Michelle MacDonald, who has run for office before and faced prior suspensions of her law license, argues she was inappropriately left off the ballot for the associate justice position now held by Anne McKeig. The justice is running unopposed for a new six-year term and is the only of three justices up for election without a candidate against them. Her candidate petition was rejected. MacDonald has previously run unsuccessfully for the Supreme Court. She is joined in the action by a would-be candidate for a district court judgeship. Arguments in the case, which seeks an order to put them on the ballot, have not been scheduled.
Meanwhile, a Republican candidate is seeking to force another Republican off the ballot over the way the state House incumbent describes his party affiliation. A petition filed last week asks the Minnesota Supreme Court to declare five-term Rep. Josh Heintzman ineligible for filing as a “Republican” rather than as a candidate of the “Republican Party of Minnesota.” For what it’s worth, Heintzman won his last term with 65 percent of the vote. The challenge was lodged by Matthew Zinda, who is running against the incumbent for the Brainerd-area seat. Expect a decision in this one rather quickly.
The campaign for Minnesota House control is certain to be expensive. We got a taste of that yesterday when the Democratic-aligned Alliance for a Better Minnesota said it had made an initial seven-figure digital ad buy to brand Republicans as out of touch on abortion and tax cuts. The themes are central to the Democratic messaging this year as the party works to defend both its slim House majority and now a Senate seat that will deliver the majority to the winning party. The group has perpetually been one of the big spenders in state races and is serving notice it’ll be a player again in key races.
The first 364 drugs from 76 different manufacturers have been added to a roster for which the drugmakers will be compelled to provide information about their pricing to the Minnesota Department of Health. Last year, the Legislature passed a law requiring the agency to develop a system for collecting and reporting data on prescription drug prices from drug manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies. The Health Department says information collected about the drugs will help policymakers in Minnesota make prescription drugs more affordable. The inaugural list focuses on medications where the total amount paid was significantly above the drug manufacturer list prices. More here from the Star Tribune. | 