Good morning, and welcome to Friday and September. Yes, I said yesterday there would be no Digest today, but there was so much news I couldn’t resist. So here it is.
1. Eliana Sanchez Marban made the trek across the border from Mexico to the United States when she was just 7 years old. She and her brother followed their parents, who’d already made plans to restart their lives here. Sanchez Marban, now 25, is one of the thousands in Minnesota who have benefited from DACA, which is shorthand for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The DACA program allows qualified immigrants temporary status that permits them to stay, work and gain access to other benefits. Now the program is in jeopardy. President Trump, who had voiced support for DACA earlier in his presidency, faces the threat of a lawsuit by a group of conservative attorneys general who want to see DACA ended. (MPR News)
2. Meanwhile, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton joined with dozens of other politicians in expressing support from those who have benefited from DACA, know as Dreamers. “I continue to stand by Minnesota’s Dreamers, whose parents brought them to this country, but who have worked very hard to contribute to our schools, our communities, and our state. They deserve the same opportunities to work hard and succeed as other Minnesotans, and they will add to our economy, when they do,” Dayton said in a statement. “As long as I am governor, Minnesota will stand by the commitments we have made to them.” ( Pioneer Press)
3. Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges Thursday won a key court battle over the definition of a budget. A city official had sued Hodges over the delayed release of next year’s tax and spending plan. Carol Becker, one of two elected members of the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation, argued that Hodges’ decision to release the budget Sept. 12 didn’t give the public enough time to examine the inch-thick document before a hearing the next day. Hodges had provided an outline of her plan, which included a proposed 5.5 percent property tax increase. The judge concluded that the “mayor satisfied her official duty to provide a recommended ‘budget’ by Aug. 15” and that the budget outline’s lack of detail didn’t mean that the mayor had violated her duties, adding “in this case, there was not a complete failure to perform.” (MPR News)
4. When DFL U.S. Rep Tim Walz announced in March that he would run for governor rather than for re-election it led to a scramble by Democrats to announce campaigns. Six of them are competing for the DFL nomination next year, but there’s only one Republican in the race. Blue Earth native Jim Hagedorn ran in 2014 and 2016 and thinks 2018 will be the year he finally succeeds. Hagedorn says he wants to go to Congress to shrink the size and scope of the federal government, secure the borders and outlaw abortion. Hagedorn says he never stopped campaigning after his loss to Walz last fall in the 1st District, which spans the southern part of the state from Wisconsin to South Dakota. Walz squeaked out a win by less than 1 percentage point as Donald Trump won the 1st District by nearly 15 points. (MPR News)
5. Finally, you may not have noticed, but the State Fair has been going on for the past week or so. And you may not have heard, but a lot of politicians are out there. (Star Tribune)
There really will be no Digest on Monday. Have a great Labor Day weekend.
