Good morning, and welcome to another summer Monday. 

DFL U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips says he has not made a decision about running for president next year, but he’s encouraging other Democrats to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. Phillips spoke for the first time Sunday since Politico reported last month he was talking to donors about a possible run. “Democrats are telling me that they want, not a coronation, but they want a competition,” Phillips said on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday. “If we don’t heed that call, shame on us. And the consequences, I believe, are going to be disastrous,” Phillips said. “So, my call is to those who are well positioned, well prepared, of good character and competency — they know who they are — to jump in, because Democrats and the country need competition.” A couple of candidates — Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — are already running against Biden. “I think I’m well positioned to be president [of] the United States,” Phillips said. “I do not believe I’m well positioned to run for it right now. People who are should jump in.” Phillips called Biden an “amazing man,” and said his call for others to run is not about Biden. Phillips said Vice President Kamala Harris is “more competent and able than she is given credit for,” but he said competition would help determine whether she would be the candidate for Democrats to choose. 

The final former Minneapolis police officer to be convicted in connection with George Floyd's killing faces sentencing today. MPR’s Matt Sepic reports that in May, a Hennepin County judge convicted Tou Thao of aiding and abetting manslaughter. Thao, 37, was one of four ex-officers charged in Floyd’s May 25, 2020, death. After a three-week trial in 2021, a jury convicted the most senior officer, Derek Chauvin, of murder and manslaughter for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine-and-a-half minutes. Thao, along with J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, were charged separately for their actions during the incident. Kueng and Lane, who helped Chauvin pin Floyd to the ground, each pleaded guilty last year to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Thao, who’s seen on video keeping concerned bystanders at bay, rejected a similar plea deal and told Judge Peter Cahill that “it would be a lie and a sin” to accept guilt.

Jobs in nursing and other direct care roles in Minnesota are increasingly being filled by immigrants and refugees. MPR’s Dan Kraker reports: According to data from the state Department of Employment and Economic Development, or DEED, foreign-born workers make up about 18 percent of the direct caregiver workforce even though they make up only 12 percent of the overall workforce.They work as everything from home health aides to registered nurses. The rate is even higher for personal care aides. They fill 27 percent of those jobs around the state. “These are jobs that people who are just coming to this country who maybe don't have the language skills that they would need to do other kinds of service occupations, can find work in personal care service,” said Oriane Casale, assistant director in the labor market information office with DEED. 

Minnesota Power and Great River Energy are proposing to build a 180-mile transmission line from northern to central Minnesota. MPR’s Kirsti Marohn reports:   The project is one of several new high-voltage power lines utilities want to build across the Upper Midwest in the next several years. It was one of 18 transmission projects approved last year by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which operates the Midwest’s electric grid. Utilities say the new transmission lines are needed to help maintain a reliable power grid, as existing coal plants are retired and more solar and wind energy is brought online. “As you move renewable energy into the system at higher levels, you need stronger and more capability on the grid to make all of that energy work together efficiently,” said Julie Pierce, vice president of strategy and planning for Minnesota Power. She called the proposed Northland Reliability Project “a new backbone to help the entire state transition and move that energy around.” The project includes two segments. The first, about 140 miles, would run from the Iron Range to a substation near St. Cloud. About 85 percent of the proposed route follows existing transmission corridors.

Yes, the Legislature approved rebates for some Minnesota taxpayers, but the main thrust of the DFL tax bill passed earlier this year was to help families at the lower end of the income scale. The Pioneer Press reports: Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party leaders say roughly $450 million annually of new and expanded tax credits for families with children should cut the state’s child poverty rate by one-third. More than 265,000 filers will benefit from the change. Lawmakers also modified the renters credit by allowing taxpayers to claim it on income tax forms. The change is expected to increase the number of residents who claim it. It will send about $375 million a year to lower-income renters to help them better afford housing. DFLers, who control both chambers of the state Legislature and the governor’s office, say they focused on these types of tax changes to try to address the growing income inequality in Minnesota that was made even more apparent during the coronavirus pandemic. “We have a system that works really well for a small group of people and increasingly is leaving working and middle-class people behind,” said Rep. Aisha Gomez, DFL-Minneapolis, chair of the House Taxes Committee. “That’s why public policy intervention is necessary.” Seniors also are getting a break. The Legislature agreed to increase the threshold for residents receiving Social Security so couples earning $100,000 or less and individuals making $78,000 or less will pay no state income tax on benefits.