Good morning, and happy Thursday.
Former Hennepin County Sheriff and Republican gubernatorial contender Rich Stanek was hospitalized after a crash in Wright County on Tuesday night.MPR News' Tim Nelson reports Stanek was at a campaign event at Buffalo Covenant Church in Buffalo. He was pulling out of the church parking lot in a pickup truck just after 8:30 p.m. when he collided with a passing car on State Highway 25, driven by a 40-year-old woman from Clearwater. The State Patrol said the woman suffered minor injuries and didn't go to a hospital. Stanek, 60, was taken to North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale. Neither driver was believed to have been impaired by alcohol. A statement from Stanek’s campaign late Wednesday said that Stanek's injuries were not serious, but that he was being kept at the hospital as a precaution because he had previously undergone neck and back surgery for past injuries. He is expected to be sent home today. FOX9 broke the story.
Change may be in sight after years of legislative gridlock over letting larger breweries sell growlers.Hannah Yang of MPR News reports a liquor bill which would permit broader sales of growlers, some six packs and other bottles of liquor at distilleries has passed one House committee. Bob Galligan, director of government and industry relations for the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild, said it’s good news. “People in Minnesota want their craft beer and we definitely want to make sure we give it to them,” Galligan said. “But this is just kind of cracking open the spigot just a little bit more, giving us a little bit more room to actually supply.” Rep. Zach Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, chair of the House Commerce Committee, said that striking the right balance is important between allowing breweries and distilleries to grow, while also making sure wholesale retailers and liquor stores aren’t hurt. Sen. Gary Dahms, R-Redwood Falls, Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee recently said he’d be taking a look at the current bill, but was unwilling to say much more. “I’ll start taking a look at what’s floating around in the alcohol world,” Dahms added. “But that would be my answer at this point.” Dahms previously said that he would only consider supporting liquor law reforms if all stakeholders agree.
The Star Tribune follows up on Republican efforts to block $6.2 million in funding for the ReConnect Rondo that the Legislature approved last year. Supporters of the project are pushing back. "To stand against this and single out this project seems a lot like the same old, same old racism," said Jonathan Palmer, a member of the Rondo Roundtable group focused on preserving the community's history and envisioning what a new arts and business district might look like. "It's time to stop using the Black community as a bargaining chip — and instead, make right the things of the past that have impacted our future."
Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart, DFL-Minnetonka, said Wednesday that she will retire from the Senate and not run in a primary for newly drawn Senate District 45 , after she lost the DFL endorsement to Rep. Kelly Morrison last weekend. “It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve the residents of Senate District 44 at the State Capitol. There is no greater honor in a democracy than to be selected by your fellow citizens to represent them in the halls of government, and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity they have given me,” she said in a statement. “I have spoken with Representative Kelly Morrison to offer her my full support. I have every confidence she will continue to represent our communities with the same passion and dedication she has shown during her time in the House.”
The latest numbers from that KSTP/SurveyUSA poll show 40 percent of respondents prefer the Senate’s “tough on crime” approach, while 22 percent favor the House plan. Another 25 percent prefer a combination of both plans or an “all of the above approach.”
WCCO TV reports the Minnesota Department of Corrections is seeking applicants for a highly specialized job — tattoo supervisor. The job would be a temporary position lasting for up to three years, working to establish a tattoo and body art studio within the state’s network of correctional facilities. A corrections spokesperson says the job is designed to train inmates to find jobs when they are released and to improve the health of inmates. “The transmission of Hepatitis C and other bloodborne pathogens is often a result of unsterile tattooing. The cost of treating Hepatitis C ranges from $20,000 to $75,000 per person. We treat 80-100 incarcerated people for Hepatitis C each year,” Kimball said. “By reducing the potential for transmission of bloodborne diseases, we are creating a safer environment for everyone, including our staff, and also being more prudent with taxpayer dollars.”
The Minnesota Reformer reports:Republicans are engaged in a furious effort to recruit election judges, guided in part by the false impression that the 2020 election was stolen, and that an army of GOP eyes will secure victory next time. Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, recently hosted an event in Buffalo that was advertised with a photo of Uncle Sam urging people to get involved, saying “Did you know that in the 2020 election there were 20,000 Democrat election judges in MN and only 3,000 Republican judges? Do your part to restore democracy.” It’s possible, and likely, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party recruited more poll workers than their Republican counterparts, but the Secretary of State’s Office couldn’t confirm the numbers. Kiffmeyer told the Buffalo audience of about a dozen that Secretary of State Steve Simon has been removing GOP election judges on technicalities. Peter Bartz-Gallagher, a spokesman for Simon, said state election workers — not Simon — check the lists and match names with precincts, but that’s it. | 
