Good morning, and happy Tuesday. 

The Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County have agreed on a plan to erase the remaining gap in funding for the Southwest Light Rail line. A statement from the Met Council Monday said the Met Council and County will share equally in funding the gap in capital and startup costs. No dollar figure was given, but a Legislative Auditor’s report last year put the gap at $535 million. Under the deal the Met Council is responsible for the startup costs prior to the line opening and contributing 45 percent of the money needed to complete construction. The council’s share will primarily come from federal capital formula program funds the next three years. Hennepin County will provide 55 percent of the capital costs from their transit sales tax. The deal is subject to a final vote by the council and the county board, and the feds have to sign off as well. 

Gov. Tim Walz and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said Monday they will seek more than $1 billion from the federal government to rebuild the Blatnik Bridge between Duluth and Superior. The bridge, which opened in 1961, is jointly owned and managed by the two states. More than 33,000 cars drive on it every day. Each year, more than 265,000 trucks use the bridge. Each of the two states has already pledged to spend $400 million on a new bridge, which they say is needed to improve safety and to carry oversized and overweight loads. The transportation departments of the two states are expected to recommend a preferred alternative for a replacement bridge in October.

Walz has hired the head of the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care to lead the effort in Minnesota to set up a paid family and medical leave program. Greg Norfleet will join DEED on Sept. 20, leading the new program’s planning, implementation and operations, Walz said Monday. Norfleet also was deputy director for operations at the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave program, which launched in 2021. Minnesota’s program is scheduled to begin in January 2026.

Will there be another push at the Legislature next year to tighten the law designed to keep kids away from a parent’s loaded gun? MPR’s Dan Kraker has a look at the issue: In Minnesota, according to the most recent data from the Centers on Disease Control and Prevention, 82 people died due to firearms accidents between 2001 and 2021. Nine of those killed were children. Last year a 12-year-old unintentionally shot and killed his 10-year-old brother in Minneapolis after finding his father's loaded gun under a pillow. In 2021, three kids in the state were shot and killed by other children: a 6-year-old in Moorhead, a 5-year-old in Brooklyn Park and a 3-year old in Bena, in Cass County in north-central Minnesota. And those deaths don’t tell the complete story of the unintentional harm to children caused by firearms. “It’s really just the tip of the iceberg,” said Haasz. In 2019, she noted, there were 100 deaths nationwide, and almost 1,900 injuries.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will be on the debate stage in Milwaukee tomorrow night with many of the other Republicans competing for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination. What’s his strategy likely to be? Inforum has a preview: “Some people lock themselves in a closet and try to memorize a bunch of lines,” Burgum said. “We have to keep campaigning right up until that day, and then start campaigning the next day. … If you're the least known candidate in the pool, you’ve just got to keep getting out and meeting voters.” If Burgum plans to stick to introducing himself and explaining his positions, it’s consistent with his campaign messaging so far. In ads, speeches and media appearances, he’s been sticking to the issues and avoiding taking direct aim at other GOP candidates vying for the nomination — including front-runner former President Donald Trump.