The Morning Report 5/14/08 - Daily Minnesota Political Stories

Top Story: Budget talks dissolve over property tax differences, DFL leadership still optimistic.

Agriculture:

• $300 billion farm bill full of goodies for wealthy farmers as well as more food aid for poor, AP

Best of the Blogs and Think Tank Thoughts:

• House and Senate are done for the night and their leaders want to get back to talks, The Political Animal. Includes the letter to Pawlenty from Margaret Kelliher and Larry Pogemiller.
• The heartache and the thousand natural shocks, True North
• Norm Coleman slimes Al Franken from Teh High Road II, MN Blue
• The House votes on education funding bill, The Political Animal
• Sounds like a darn good reason to go local, Residual Forces
• Coleman campaign: 'Pivot!', MN Campaign Report
• Olson as an independent, Blue man in a Red district
• Maybe if it was a gay junta..., MN Publius
• Bachmann also took DCI cash, MN Monitor
• Folstrom drops out of 4A DFL race; Persell poised as frontrunner, Minnesota Brown
• Gov. Tim Pawlenty: Ready or not to be John McCain's vice presidential pick?, Top of the Ticket - LA Times

Business/Economy:

• Vikings, Avista talk again over Star Tribune land deal, Star Tribune
• In a buyer's market, who buys?, MPR
• MOA owners say financing plan is a dud, Star Tribune
• Legislature passes pension bill, Finance and Commerce
• Northwest's Neal Cohen leaving, MSP Business Journal
• Old gas pumps can't handle ever-rising prices, Los Angeles Times. 'In MN. rural service station owners whose pumps cannot display the right price are being told to cover up the incorrect numbers.'
• Economists read the same tea leaves, arrive at different conclusions, Dolan Media Newswires

Campaigns:

• Folstrom decides not to seek House 4A position, Bemidji Pioneer
• The DFL culture wars of 1978, MinnPost

Congress-Senate:

• DFL: Coleman should divest money from lobbyist for Myanmar, AP
• Bush sends Russia nuclear pact to skeptical Congress, Reuters. Bush has turned 'a deaf ear to a critical mass of concern in Congress,' says Norm Coleman, who will work to block the agreement.'

Education:

• Minneapolis schools to ask voters for $60 million, Star Tribune
• Tax bill limits Duluth's red plan levy, Duluth News Tribune
• Minnesota school district plans for 4-day week to save money, AP

Elections:

• North St. Paul plans special election to replace late mayor, Pioneer Press
• Peterson hints he will support Obama, MPR

Environment:

• Minnesota Power planning major wind project, Finance and Commerce
• New law advances state biofuel lead, Red Wing Republican Eagle

Health Care:

• Study: More than half of Americans are on prescription drugs for chronic conditions, AP
• Study calls Xience stent superior, Bloomberg News

Labor:

• Strib Guild: No new management. No new labor, either., MinnPost

Legislature:

• Pig's Eye Podcast: A preview of the Legislature's final week, Star Tribune
• Once bright, hope dims at Capitol as budget talks crumble, Star Tribune
• Budget, property tax talks shut down, Pioneer Press
• Senate passes bill rejecting federal ID program, Pioneer Press
• MN Senate backs bill barring state from implementing federal Real ID law, AP
• Talks on Minnesota budget falter over property taxes, AP
• Talks resume for session-ending budget deal, AP
• Deal eludes Pawlenty, lawmakers, Duluth News Tribune

Media:

• Capitol reporters settle in for the long haul outside guv's office, MinnPost

Opinion-Commentary:

• Steve Morse: Lake Vermilion State Park and Central Corridor - a win-win-win, Pioneer Press
• Katherine Kersten: Who will get last word on Pledge of Allegiance in junior high?, Star Tribune
• Phil Krinkie: Mall requests public funds a la Northwest, St. Cloud Times

Opinion-Editorial:

• Editorial: Pawlenty as VP? Prove it to Minnesotans first, Rochester Post-Bulletin
• Editorial: Why tax a business to aid its competitor?, Star Tribune
• Editorial: Our fiscal alarm bells are ringing, St. Cloud Times

Obituary:

• Reporter Jack Coffman mastered his beat, Star Tribune
• Capitol reporter's devotion to craft still widely admired, Pioneer Press

Other States:

• Schwarzenegger's new budget proposal to give voters option of borrowing against state lottery, Los Angeles Times. 'The sales tax proposal is a turnabout by Schwarzenegger, who came to office as an anti-tax crusader.'

Pawlenty:

• Pawlenty vetoes health care bill, MPR
• Pawlenty vetoes health, education bills, Bemidji Pioneer
• Governor vetoes health and education policy bills, Pioneer Press
• Pawlenty's blue remark has bloggers tickled pink, Star Tribune

Public Health/Safety:

• Pawlenty vetoes 'safe toys bill,' MinnPost
• Record number of Minn. children live in poverty, Minnesota News Network
• State rep: Doggie doo-doo a no-no at outdoor eateries, MinnPost
• Concealed carrying of firearms may come to national parks, MPR
• Community mental health leader works toward awareness of disease, Bemidji Pioneer

Republican National Convention:

• Conventional style: RNC's gear not likely to start any rumbles, Star Tribune

Transportation:

• No interest in light rail tunnel through U of M campus, MPR
• Oberstar surprises with tunnel talk, Pioneer Press
• MnDOT veteran, top engineer named to agency's No. 2 post, Star Tribune

Wisconsin:

• Wisconsin Department of Transportation lags behind peers in setting safe work priorities, Dolan Media Newswires

Z-File: Irresistible stories beyond the purview of PIM

• Can you afford not to buy this approach?, Washington Post. Cookbook author Linda Larsen is a MN home economist with a degree in food science and nutrition.