Good morning, and welcome to Friday. Here’s a look at some items in the news before we head into the Easter weekend.
1. After three weeks the House and Senate finally passed a bill they had pledged to pass in the first week of the session. It will extend unemployment benefits for Iron Range steel workers. A separate bill will provide a rebate to businesses that pay into the unemployment fund, which is running a healthy balance. Now lawmakers will take a few days off for a long Easter weekend. (MPR News)
2. Law enforcement officials met with members of the Twin Cities Muslim community Thursday to talk about a possible backlash Muslims might face after the terrorist attacks in Belgium. (Star Tribune)
3.Bernard Hebda will keep his job running the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.Hebda was originally supposed to be the temporary head of the Twin Cities archdiocese after the resignations of Archbishop John Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Piche last summer. But on Thursday Pope Francis named him archbishop. (MPR News)
4. Some state lawmakers want everyone convicted of drunk driving to have to pay for an ignition interlock device. The devices prevent a car from starting if the driver has been drinking. Right now in Minnesota they’re required only for people who have been convicted three times and for some others who want to keep their drivers licenses. (Pioneer Press)
5. Ted Cruz warned Donald Trump not to attack his wife. “Our spouses and children are off-bounds,” Cruz said. And he called Trump a “sniveling coward.” (Washington Post)
