Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. Here's today's Digest.
1. Minnesota state jobs program for people with disabilities fails to live up to promise. Connect 700 was hailed as an innovative way to give individuals with disabilities a greater role in state government by granting them early preference during the hiring process for hundreds of state jobs. But new data released this month by the Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) office shows that approximately 20% of individuals with disabilities who were approved to participate in the program were actually hired and slightly less than 12% are still employed in state government. All told, of the 1,510 certificates issued to people eligible for Connect 700 over the past three years, fewer than 200 people made it through the 700-hour probationary period and are still working in state jobs, MMB data shows. "It's absolutely abysmal," said Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Champlin, who called for improvements to the program at a state committee hearing last week. Star Tribune 2. New analysis shows alarming number of Minnesota teens reporting sexual exploitation. At least 5,000 teens in Minnesota say they’ve traded sex for something of value. That startling figure comes from researchers at the University of Minnesota and the state health department, who pored through data from a recent survey of high school students. Advocates say this reveals a greater need for outreach and prevention efforts. This is the first time this question appeared on the Minnesota Student Survey. Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said researchers included it, in part, to get more insight about a broader trend: a sharp increase in students reporting long-term mental health problems. “We know that sexual exploitation is part of this picture,” Malcolm said, “because it harms mental well-being and puts children and youth at risk.”
MPR News
3. Duluth looks for state, federal aid to address erosion at Park Point. Record water levels and volatile weather patterns have led to erosion and wet basements. But state Sen. Erik Simonson, DFL-Duluth, said it could be tough to get state funding this year. "We are in the very preliminary stages of trying to figure out what the city's solutions are going to be. We're just starting by bringing everybody together at the city, county, state and federal levels so we all can kind of understand what's happening and see if we can help them facilitate a solution going forward," he said. Simonson said state bonding money might be available for an infrastructure project in the future, but "it's way too early to even define what that something might be or what even an ask might be." Meanwhile, state Rep. Jennifer Schultz, DFL-Duluth, suggested federal resources might be the best option.
Duluth News Tribune
4. GOP State Rep. Bud Nornes will not seek re-election. “You struggle with these decisions, but I finally came to the conclusion it’s the right time,” Nornes, of Fergus Falls, told the Perham Focus. Nornes was first elected in 1996. Before that, he served on the Fergus Falls school board. Nornes is looking forward to spending more time with his family. He said he doesn't know who will replace him, but he hopes fellow Fergus Falls Republican Jordan Rasmusson will run. "He’s a life-long resident of Fergus Falls, has gone away to Harvard and now is back making Fergus Falls his home. I think he’s a candidate that people need to look hard at ... he’s in the age group that brings a lot of new energy,” Nornes said. Perham Focus
5. As Klobuchar stumps for votes in mostly-white Iowa, is she doing enough to reach out to black voters? "Who is Amy Klobuchar? According to a recent national poll of black voters conducted by The Washington Post and Ipsos, 62 percent of black voters either have no opinion of her or have no idea.
When it comes to support, Klobuchar doesn’t even register in the poll. ... The poll speaks to a central problem for Klobuchar as she prepares for the Iowa Caucus: She has spent the majority of the campaign cycle focusing on Iowa, a primarily white state. But when it comes to the third-in-the-nation primary in South Carolina, the demographic picture looks very different. So how does Klobuchar intend to connect with black voters?"
MinnPost | 
