The Morning Report 8/29/08 - Daily Minnesota Political Stories

Top Story: Pawlenty is not McCain's vice presidential candidate.

Best of the Blogs and Think Tank Thoughts:

• Vance Opperman to the GOP: Pick Pawlenty, Politics in Minnesota
• Taa Daaa! GOP build out at Xcel complete, True North
• Pawlenty and the scrutiny of a VP candidate, mnpACT!
• If Pawlenty V.P. choice look for action in the MN State Senate, MN Campaign Report
• Best & Worst of Congress, Washingtonian. Top aides name Michele Bachmann #2 most clueless in the House.
• Law and order, True North
• This political convention brought to you by AT&T, Minnesota Independent
• Range miners talk strike as negotiations heat up, Minnesota Brown
• Carol Molnau, partisan hack, votes down anti-war billboard, MN Campaign Report
• A pair of Jedi masters become one with The Force, Defenestrator - The Rake

Business/Economy:

• Target settles suit over Web access, Star Tribune
• Xcel agreement dims coal's future, critics say, MPR
• Eminent domain debate, Finance and Commerce
• Retailers hope to snare sales from RNC crowds, MSP Business Journal
• Apple Valley-based Wings Credit Union opens in Orlando, Finance and Commerce

Campaigns-Senate:

• Coleman raises $1.27 million in latest period, AP
• Scarlet 'L': Lobbyists mix with pols, Politico. Franken makes money pitch to lobbyist-donors in Denver.

Campaigns:

• Davis, Walz on the air, Mankato Free Press
• Abortion protester from Minnesota among those drowned out at women's caucus at DNC, AP
• Reality Check: Politics And Race, WCCO

Crime/Police:

• Court mandates retrial in '70 slaying of St. Paul officer, Star Tribune

Education:

• Search for Hennepin County library director to be nationwide, Star Tribune
• Attorney General: Duluth school district should accept anti-'red plan' petition, Duluth News Tribune

Environment:

• DNR broke law in amusements, training for wardens, auditor says, Star Tribune

Events:

• The trappings of democracy are on display in metro, Star Tribune

Judicial:

• Board alleges wrongdoing by Goodhue County judge, Red Wing Republican Eagle

Opinion-Editorial:

• Editorial: Drinking age needs discussion, St. Cloud Times
• Editorial: Learn from other school district's funding woes, Rochester Post-Bulletin

Pawlenty:

• Pawlenty: 'I'm not going to Ohio today,' WCCO
• Pawlenty: It's a 'fair assumption' he is not McCain's V.P. pick, MPR
• Pawlenty indicates he's not McCain's running mate, AP
• Pawlenty says he's going to State Fair, not McCain rally, Star Tribune
• Kessler on Pawlenty veep prospects, WCCO
• Pawlenty abruptly cancels afternoon interviews in Denver, returns to Minnesota, AP
• Pawlenty cancels media interviews, MPR
• In the wings: Molnau says she's ready, Star Tribune
• The Tim Pawlenty Primer, City Pages

People:

• Sharing and kindness on display as DFL chairman leads the way, MinnPost

Public Health/Safety:

• New explosive detecting units to be used at MSP, KSTP
• Protesters accuse police of intimidation tactics, KARE 11
• Hazelden teams with Dartmouth Medical School on addiction program, MSP Business Journal

Republican National Convention:

• Protesters set up tents at Harriet Island Regional Park, MPR
• 'Bushville' protest camp proves short-lived, Pioneer Press
• Board pulls plug on anti-war billboard, AP
• Tech providers work to ensure RNC is state-of-the-art, Finance and Commerce
• Student group objects to 'U' note about protests, AP
• Bloggers gain unprecedented access to GOP Convention, Finance and Commerce
• St. Paul spiffs up for the Republican National Convention, MPR
• Conservative activists will stake tents here, rally in Minneapolis, Red Wing Republican Eagle
• VA delegation cancels guide order over GLBT section, KSTP
• Keeping tabs: RNC winners, losers, Star Tribune
• GOP officials unveil podium and final touches for convention, MinnPost
• Empty storefronts filled in time for RNC, KSTP
• Denver exhales; St. Paul holds its breath, News Cut - MPR

St. Paul/Minneapolis:

• Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak plays big role at both conventions, MPR
• Hennepin County will tighten its belt in 2009, Star Tribune
• GOP host St. Paul gets day in the sun, AP

Technology:

• Comcast may limit Internet use to 250 GB, Bloomberg News
• Cost of text messaging rising - or is it?, Future Tense - APM
• Podcasting has far to go before entering mainstream, Future Tense - APM

Transportation:

• Central Corridor: Light rail, heavy planning, Finance and Commerce
• Wisconsin: College freshmen getting free bikes for leaving cars at home, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Z-File: Irresistible Stories Beyond the Purview of PIM

• Deep roots and the lure of food on a stick, New York Times. Minneapolis and St. Paul are 'the greatest rivals since Cain and Abel;' MN state fairgrounds are 'stunning.'