Good morning, and happy Friday. It's the day before a holiday weekend, which, frankly, can be slow in the news business. But that's no reason to avoid checking the Digest. 1. Math test scores drop; racial gaps persist. The number of Minnesota students considered proficient in math fell for the fourth year in a row during the most recent school year. According to newly released data from the Minnesota Department of Education, only 53.9 percent of students met or exceeded state standards for math proficiency in 2019. In 2016, close to 60 percent of Minnesota students met or exceeded those standards. Reading scores in Minnesota are higher and have remained more steady. Just over 58 percent of Minnesota students met state standards for reading proficiency this year. Minnesota's new education commissioner, Mary Cathryn Ricker, warned against focusing too much on the negative numbers. "Too often we condense our students down to one single data point, which eliminates everything about our students that make them who they are," Ricker said. "My promise to our students is to continue seeing their strengths, persist alongside them and tackle the barriers that stand in their way." This year's numbers point to Minnesota's persistent struggle with gaps in achievement among various student groups. For white students, 66.6 percent met reading proficiency standards, compared to about 34 percent of black students and 38 percent of Hispanic students. In math, approximately 63 percent of white students met state standards, compared to just over 26 percent of black students and 31 percent of Hispanic students. ( MPR News)
2. Best Buy stock slips on tariff worries. Best Buy Co. reported a sales shortfall for the fiscal second quarter and trimmed its annual sales forecast, blaming uncertainty surrounding an escalating trade war with China heading into the holiday shopping season.Shares of the Richfield-based retailer fell 8 percent Thursday. “It is difficult to factor in the uncertainty related to overall customer buying behavior,” said Best Buy’s newly appointed CEO Corie Barry during a call with analysts on Thursday. “It is hard to predict how at the macro level consumers will react to higher prices resulting from tariffs.” Best Buy has succeeded in holding off increasing competition from Amazon and other players by expanding its online business, speeding up deliveries and adding more services to enhance its relationship with its customers. That reinvention was spearheaded by Hubert Joly, who was named CEO in 2012 but stepped down this year. Under Barry, who took over the job in June, Best Buy is continuing to focus and expand on those initiatives. Still, Best Buy, like many retailers, is facing a lot of challenges related to the China trade war. The Trump Administration announced Aug. 23 that it would delay some tariffs originally scheduled for Sept. 1 to Dec. 15 to avoid hurting American consumers over the holidays. But industry experts say that a large portion of holiday merchandise will still be hit by September and October tariff increases at even higher rates than they had anticipated. ( AP)
3. House DFL leader launches series of meetings on legalizing marijuana. Democrats in the Minnesota House will continue to push for legalizing marijuana despite opposition in the Senate, a top DFL leader said Thursday. House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, used the Minnesota State Fair as a backdrop to announce a series of 15 meetings throughout the state to gather advice from Minnesotans on how best to regulate cannabis for adult use. "We think it's vitally important that Minnesotans weigh in directly on this policy change, and we think it's vitally important that Minnesota gets it right,” Winkler said. Meetings are already scheduled in Duluth Sept. 21, Minneapolis Sept. 25 and St. Cloud Oct. 12. Details on additional meetings are still being worked out. Winkler sees legalization as inevitable. “Cannabis policy needs to change,” he said. “It’s changing all over the country. In fact, Minnesota can’t stop this from happening.” A cannabis bill faces long odds in the Republican Senate, where a committee voted down a bill last session, and GOP leaders have shown no interest in revisiting the issue. (MPR News)
4. Trump administration warns of dangers of pot. At a time when more than 30 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of marijuana for either medical or recreational use, the U.S. surgeon general says no amount of the drug is safe for teens, young adults and pregnant women. "While the perceived harm of marijuana is decreasing, the scary truth is that the actual potential for harm is increasing," Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Thursday during a press conference to announce the new advisory. Surveys show that an increasing number of adolescents and pregnant women use the drug, which can be eaten, smoked or vaped. But the surgeon general told NPR in an interview that many people are not aware of just how potent the drug can be. "This ain't your mother's marijuana," he said. The THC concentration in marijuana plants has increased threefold between 1995 and 2014, according to the report, and concentrated products can contain up to 75% THC. "The higher the THC delivery, the higher the risk," Adams said. Young people who regularly use marijuana are "more likely to show a decline in IQ and school performance [and] are more apt to miss classes," Adams said. And frequent use of the drug can also impair a child's attention, memory and decision-making. In addition, he said, it can be habit-forming. (NPR)
5. Road deaths up last year but overall trend down .Traffic deaths in Minnesota increased 6% last year, but continue a downward trend over a five-year period, a state report said. Overall, 381 deaths were among the 79,215 reported crashes in 2018, with speed being the top factor in 113 of those deaths, the state report Minnesota Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, released Thursday, Aug. 29, said. Failing to buckle up resulted in 96 deaths, while 84 deaths were tied to impaired driving and 29 to distractions. Fifty-eight of those killed were on a motorcycle while 45 were pedestrians. So far in 2019, 223 deaths have been reported, compared to 218 at this time a year ago. From 2009-2013, Minnesota saw an average of 396 deaths per year. The last five years had had an average of 381, a 4% decrease, according to state statistics. “Our goal is to drive Minnesota traffic deaths to zero,” said Mike Hanson, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety director. “We can’t reach that goal through enforcement alone. We need the help of every driver and everyone on the road. We are losing too many of our friends and family members to completely preventable events. Help drive the traffic fatalities down by doing your part. That means always buckling up, driving hands-free and putting the distractions away, always lining up a sober ride and driving the speed limit or according to the conditions of the road.” ( Duluth News Tribune)
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