Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday.

Former Sen. Dave Durenberger died Tuesday at age 88. MPR’s Mark Zdechlik had the story: Durenberger served 16 years in the Senate, earning a reputation as an expert on health care, environmental policy and other national issues. His father was a coach and athletic director at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn., and his family lived on the campus. Born in St. Cloud in 1934, he worked as an attorney and served in Gov. Harold LeVander’s office as executive secretary until 1971. Durenberger, a Republican, was elected to the Senate in a special election in 1978 to fill Sen. Hubert Humphrey’s seat after Humphrey died. Durenberger was reelected in 1982 and 1988. He served in the Senate until 1995. Durenberger chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee and a health subcommittee. “Minnesota lost one of its finest public servants. I truly mean that,” said former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson. “Outstanding individual, well-informed and deeply concerned about the well being of others. It is a huge loss.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar praised Durenberger’s work in the Senate, including his efforts to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities. She called Durenberger “a thoughtful leader, a passionate advocate, and a true friend. We are lucky to have benefited from his good work and his good heart for so many years.”

In later years Durenberger broke with the Republican Party and publicly announced his support for Democrats Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden for president in 2016 and 2020. Former Gov. Carlson was another Republican who broke from the party. He said he and Durenberger were not upset to be called party outsiders.  “There were several of us, Gov. Al Quie, myself as well as Dave Durenberger that were basically booted out of the Republican Party,” Carlson said. “And that became the party of Donald Trump. And no, Dave did not want to be associated with that party any more than I did.”

Gov. Tim Walz signed the bill known as the Pro Act on Tuesday. MPR’s Dana Ferguson reports: The move backstops the current right to an abortion laid out in a 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court decision, and it expands that to include access to birth control, sterilization, family planning support and other services. The law also prohibits local governments from enacting policies that infringe on those rights. “We’re sending a message today that’s very clear: Your rights are respected in this state,” Walz said. “You make your final decisions about your health, your family and your life.” The law took effect immediately, making Minnesota the first state to adopt such a change via legislative action in the post-Roe era. Several other states approved expanded reproductive care access at the ballot box last year. While the legislation won’t change much in terms of current access to abortion services in Minnesota, it has fueled strong support and opposition at the Capitol during the early weeks of the legislative session. In both legislative chambers, all Republicans voted against the measures. And they, along with anti-abortion groups, have called the law extreme and overreaching due to its lack of restrictions on abortion. Democrats say the law takes politicians out of decisions that should be made by patients, their families and their physicians. 

Walz pushed back on Republican feedback about the bill that deemed it "extreme" and said the GOP should take a cue from voters. "My pro tip advice is: when you're in a hole, quit digging," he said. "Republicans said it's extreme when they wanted to take this right away with no exception. I'm sure Minnesotans have always said they will reward you politically if you do the right thing and I guarantee (we) did the right thing here."

In Washington, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is following through on his pledge to remove Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee, citing remarks she has made about Israel. The Associated Press reports: McCarthy has been eager to flex Republican power to remove the Minnesota Democrat after he blocked two other Democrats, Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell, from rejoining the House Intelligence Committee once the GOP took control of the chamber in the new Congress. Votes could come as soon as Wednesday on the resolution against Omar, a Somali immigrant and Muslim lawmaker who has apologized for comments she has said she came to understand were viewed as antisemitic. “This is about vengeance. This is about spite. This is about politics,” said Rep. James McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, as Republicans called a hurried meeting late Tuesday to consider the resolution. McCarthy has strained to ensure he has enough support from his Republican ranks to oust Omar. Republicans command a slim majority and several GOP lawmakers have been reluctant to engage in tit-for-tat retribution against colleagues. But GOP leaders moved ahead late Tuesday with the resolution against Omar after several holdouts signaled their support.

Minnesota’s Republican members of Congress are concerned about a comment made in a legislative hearing. During a Jan. 10 hearing of the Minnesota House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient said, “We are voting. Our people are voting.” Yesterday U.S. Reps. Tom Emmer, Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber sent a letter to Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon asking how his office plans to investigate claims of non-citizens voting. "Any ineligible ballot cast in Minnesota should be cause for serious concern,” Emmer said in a news release. “If Secretary of State Simon will not appropriately investigate claims of non-citizens illegally voting, we will demand answers. The Minnesota representatives were joined on the letter by House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil.

Agriculture is now the second leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in Minnesota. MPR’s Kirsti Marohn reports that every two years, the state Pollution Control Agency reports how much carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gasses are released by power plants, vehicles, farms and other sources. The latest report says Minnesota's emissions dropped 23 percent from 2005 to 2020. That means the state is finally on track to meet its climate goals, but still faces significant challenges.  Transportation remains the biggest source of greenhouse gasses, although it saw an 18 percent decline in emissions — largely due to people driving less during the pandemic. Emissions from electricity generation continued to fall as utilities shuttered coal plants and relied more on wind and solar. The agriculture and forestry sector is now Minnesota's second largest source of greenhouse gasses. Farms emitted more methane and nitrous oxide — two potent greenhouse gasses — but they were offset by carbon captured by forests and grasslands.

Tell MPR News: What do you hope lawmakers accomplish this session?