Good morning, and happy Tuesday.
In Southern Minnesota, two closely watched legislative races tell more than just a tale about how politicians are trying to win over voters.MPR’s Catharine Richert reports these races in two cities just 40 miles apart illuminate the shifting fortunes and strategies of the DFL Party and the political realignment that’s been underway the past few years. Regional centers are getting more blue while rural areas and smaller towns are becoming more solidly Republican.
Math and reading scores for students across the country including Minnesota are down following years of disrupted learning during the pandemic.NPR reports on Monday, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation's Report Card, released a full report for the first time since 2019; the results show a slight dip in reading scores and a drop in math. NAEP assesses reading and math proficiency for students in grades four and eight. The assessment is given every two years, but the pandemic delayed the 2021 test until 2022. In 2022, the average fourth-grade math score decreased by 5 points to its lowest level since 2005. The average eighth-grade math score decreased by 8 points to its lowest level since 2003. In Minnesota, eighth grade math scores dropped by an average of 11 points, while reading scores held steady. Both math and reading scores dropped for Minnesota fourth graders.
A new KSTP/SurveyUSA poll shows Republican Brad Finstad leading Democrat Jeff Ettinger by 9 points, 46 percent to 37percent in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District.. Another 6 percent favor Richard Reisdorf of the Legal Marijuana Now Party and 10 percent are undecided. Finstad won a special election in August in the old 1st by 4 points over Ettinger.
In post-pandemic Minnesota school board races are getting increasingly contentious and the teaching of race and gender are the main issues. The Star Tribune reports: Cristine Trooien of Mound founded the Minnesota Parents Alliance, reaching out to parent groups on Facebook, after the lackluster performance of conservative school board candidate slates in 2021. The group has so far endorsed 114 school board candidates across the state in races from Wayzata to Becker. Local teachers unions also sometimes make endorsements in school board races, as is the case in Minneapolis this year where several union-endorsed candidates are running as a slate. Trooien declined an interview, but she said via email that prerequisites for an endorsement are that candidates commit to bolstering "academic achievement, equal and inclusive treatment of all students and respecting parental rights." Parents she's spoken with have professed concern over what they perceive as politically divisive issues making their way into school curricula and a lack of administrative transparency.
Republican attorney general candidate Jim Schultz has been saying he would use the state’s RICO statute to crack down on crime.MinnPost looked into whether that’s possible: Jeffrey Grell is a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School who has taught RICO law for 20 years and wrote a textbook on the subject. He said DFL Attorney General Keith Ellison has prosecuted Medicaid fraud under the RICO statute. The AG also worked with Washington County, not unilaterally, on two cases tied to sex trafficking and racketeering. Grell — a Democrat who worked for the attorney general’s office from 2008 until 2010 and runs a law firm with a DFL state lawmaker — said it’s unclear whether Minnesota’s RICO law gives Ellison special authority to unilaterally enforce the statute on criminal cases. That’s because it doesn’t explicitly disregard the crucial law requiring an AG to get permission from a county attorney or the governor to handle a criminal prosecution. Mark Osler, a former federal prosecutor in Detroit and current University of St. Thomas law professor, said the RICO statute could simply be referencing that other law guiding when an AG can — and importantly, can’t — intervene. “They can be read together in a way that doesn’t create a mystery,” he said. Either way, Grell said the RICO statute isn’t meant for “run of the mill, garden variety criminal activity.” Grell said the law might be used to target a “Godfather” figure who “doesn’t get their hands dirty” but who manages a criminal enterprise.
Today is the 20th anniversary of the death of Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone. Dan Kraker reports on October 25th, 2002, 12 days before the election, Wellstone died in a plane crash en route to the Eveleth airport. He was on his way to a funeral. His wife Sheila and daughter Martha also died in the crash, along with three campaign staff members and the two pilots. There's a memorial outside Eveleth near where the plane went down, featuring a quiet path through the woods. Now there's a 3D virtual tour of the site available, allowing visitors to walk the trail and learn more about Wellstone's legacy. Minnesota Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar hope to have the federal building in Minneapolis renamed for Wellstone.
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