Good morning, and congratulations for making it to Friday.
America and Minnesota in 2022. Read this from the Associated Press: The newspaper hit the front porches of the wind-scarred prairie town on a Thursday afternoon: Coronavirus numbers were spiking in the farming communities of western Minnesota. “Covid-19 cases straining rural clinics, hospitals, staff,” read the front-page headline. Vaccinate to protect yourselves, health officials urged. But ask around Benson, stroll its three-block business district, and some would tell a different story: The Swift County Monitor-News, the tiny newspaper that’s reported the news here since 1886, is not telling the truth. The vaccine is untested, they say, dangerous. And some will go further: People, they’ll tell you, are being killed by COVID-19 vaccinations. One little town. Three thousand people. Two starkly different realities. It’s another measure of how, in an America increasingly split by warring visions of itself, division doesn’t just play out on cable television, or in mayhem at the U.S. Capitol. It has seeped into the American fabric, all the way to Benson’s 12th Street, where two neighbors-- each in his own well-kept, century-old home -- can live in different worlds.
The first phase of a federal vaccine mandate kicked in Thursday for workers in health care facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes in many states. MPR's Peter Cox reports: In Minnesota’s nursing homes, with a health care workforce already facing significant staffing issues, the vaccination mandate has added stress on an already strained system. According to federal data for the state’s nursing homes from mid-January, about 120 facilities out of about 360 did not have 80 percent of their staff with at least one shot. But that data just shows partial vaccinations, and not exemptions. About a third that fell short were within 5 percent of the threshold.
President Biden confirmed Thursday he will choose a Black woman to replace Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, and that does not sit well with Republican gubernatorial hopeful Kendall Qualls. "I have nearly 30 years of experience in business and I’ve interviewed thousands of people from various backgrounds to hire and promote. If I, a Black man, had attempted what Biden is promising with his Supreme Court Justice designee, I would have been fired, the company sued, and our credibility would have tanked,” Qualls said in a statement. “I was never once fast tracked to a promotion because of the color of my skin, but Biden is eroding U.S. meritocracy by doing just that with his Supreme Court nominee. The America that I know and love is better than “black tracking” our nation’s leading intellectuals and decision makers. I’m running for governor of Minnesota to prove that Black Americans don’t need consolation handouts because we’re perfectly capable of working hard, and earning our spot in society just like everyone else.” A check of the numbers shows 115 people have served as Supreme Court justices, and 108 have been white men. Two Black men and five women have served on the court.
Gov. Tim Walz’s proposed supplemental budget spends just about all of the projected state budget surplus, MinnPost reports: After unveiling plans for health care, public safety, climate change, housing, economic development, education, child care and social services, the DFL governor produced a spreadsheet that totaled up the proposals for new spending. The cost: $7.58 billion. All this on top of the two-year budget passed last summer that will spend $52 billion, with nearly half already expended by the time any supplemental budget is passed and signed this spring. In addition, Walz proposes to spend the remaining $1.1 billion in money sent to the state from the federal American Rescue Plan on bonuses for frontline workers who could not work remotely during the opening months of the pandemic. And he wants to sell bonds to cover $2.7 billion in construction projects.
From Sahan Journal: At least six men who allegedly participated in a broad scheme to defraud the federal government by stealing food-aid funds made donations to the reelection campaign of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. The men are tied to Safari Restaurant and Event Center, a popular dining and catering venue in south Minneapolis. Safari is alleged to be a significant player in the larger scam surrounding Feeding Our Future, according to a federal warrant unsealed on January 21 in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota. Federal investigators believe the nonprofit organization defrauded the U.S. government of millions of dollars intended to feed lower-income children across Minnesota. None of the men named in the warrant has been charged with any criminal activity related to Feeding Our Future. The donations listed in campaign disclosure filings have not been alleged to violate any state or federal laws.
State Sen. Mike Goggin, R-Red Wing, said Thursday he will not seek reelection this year. Goggin was first elected to the Senate in 2016. Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, said he is running for the seat Goggin is leaving. Drazkowski was first elected to the House in 2007. Rep. Barb Haley, R-Red WIng, also announced a run for the Senate seat. She was first elected to the House in 2016.
Former Minneapolis City Council President Paul Ostrow is running for Hennepin County Attorney. The Star Tribune has the story: Ostrow is an assistant Anoka County Attorney. His challengers for the post, which comes up for election this November, are former Hennepin County Chief Public Defender Mary Moriarty, Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Saraswati Singh, Richfield City Council Member Simon Trautmann and Minnesota House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. | 
