Good morning. We’re dealing with a serious case of eclipse envy here.

Leaders in the horse racing industry — and a racehorse — came to the Capitol yesterday to encourage lawmakers to oppose legislation they say would harm the industry.  Clay Masters reports that Minnesota's racetracks felt left out of negotiations on a House bill that would ban a newly approved digital horse-racing system. The bill also takes aim at advance deposit wagering and pari-mutuel betting. While Minnesota lawmakers have been trying to broker a sports betting deal this session, a regulatory board approved new games for horse tracks last week against the advice of another state agency. It also riled tribal officials who say they weren’t consulted. The upshot: No one seems happy by the way the gambling debate is shaking out. “The same people who bet on horses and play cards in our card rooms are the same people who will be betting online on the new sports betting apps,” said Justin Revak, president of the Minnesota Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. “If we're not a part of that, we feel we should have something in the law that makes up for the losses that the state is giving to the tribes.” Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, said the Minnesota Racing Commission went too far in its approval of a new form of digital horse race betting. “I've got no problem with the tracks. I do have a problem with the racing commission going beyond its statutory authority. I've got no problem with the tracks. I've been to the tracks many times. They're a good asset to our community. And I hope they continue to be a good asset to our community for a long time,” he said.

Copper theft is a major issue in Minnesota’s capital city. Now lawmakers at the Capitol are trying to fashion a solution to it. A bill would regulate how second-hand copper gets sold in hopes of keeping thieves from having a resale market for copper they’re gutting from street lamps and other places. MPR’s Hannah Yang writes about the problem and the bill that resulted.

Sen. Lindsey Port says she will work mostly remote for the rest of the session due to continuing health complications she says are tied to long COVID.  The Star Tribune’s Briana Bierschbach writes that the DFL senator from Burnsville caught COVID before anyone in the state had died from the virus, but she said she’s still suffering from its effects four years later. Port’s symptoms include extreme fatigue and neuropathy in her hands, arms, feet and legs, which has forced her to walk with a cane. Port is the second senator to move to remote work this session; former DFL Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic also shifted to remote work following a return of her cancer. The remote voting rules still in place are allowing the Senate DFL to keep operating its 34-33 majority without two of the members in the chamber during floor sessions.

Former President Donald Trump has offered his latest position on abortion, saying he prefers leaving the decisions to states rather than endorsing a national abortion ban. The presumptive Republican nominee released a video on his Truth Social site yesterday outlining his position after months of mixed messages and speculation.  He declined to lay out a timeline for when he believes abortion should be banned. President Joe Biden issued a lengthy statement on Trump’s statement, reading in part: “Here's what Donald Trump doesn't understand: When he ripped away Roe v. Wade, he ripped away a fundamental right for the women of America that the United States Supreme Court had affirmed and reaffirmed for 50 years.”

Trump also conferred formal endorsements on three Republicans in the Minnesota congressional delegation; that includes the No. 3 ranking House GOP member, Tom Emmer. Trump issued the endorsements on social media on Sunday night of Emmer, Brad Finstad and Pete Stauber. He previously gave his blessing to Rep. Michelle Fischbach, the fourth Republican in the delegation. The Emmer nod is most interesting because it was Trump who helped sink Emmer’s bid for the speakership. Emmer is chairing Trump’s 2024 campaign in Minnesota. Trump says Emmer “understands we can win Minnesota for the first time since 1972,” referring to the last time a Republican won the state’s Electoral College votes.

President Biden campaigned yesterday in Wisconsin, among the pivotal slate of battleground states. He’s also taking another stab at easing student college debt after his first attempt was blocked by the courts. The administration says that , if fully implemented, it would bring the number of borrowers who’ve seen some or all of their debt forgiven during Biden’s presidential term to more than 30 million. The new plan targets those who owe more money than they did at the start of their repayment, borrowers who started paying more than 20 years ago, those already eligible for existing loan forgiveness and borrowers facing economic hardship. A previous version of Biden’s student loan forgiveness was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, but the Biden administration has worked through a negotiated rulemaking process at the Education Department to create new paths to loan forgiveness. Hundreds of borrowers could see relief from high interest balances.