Good evening,
Who has time for politics when there's a wild MLB trade deadline? Don't worry, though — we're not trading you for prospects.
Rep. John Thompson settled his most immediate threat today, a formal ethics complaint, by agreeing to make a public apology for calling Rep. Eric Lucero a racist. [Read more from Tim Pugmire]
Two DFL lawmakers and prominent transit supporters are asking the Minnesota Legislative Auditor to investigate the troubled Southwest Light Rail project, following news that it's tapping a $200 million contingency fund. [ Read more from the Star Tribune's Janet Moore]
Democrats said they wanted to focus the state budget on racial equity issues. Did they? [Read more from MinnPost's Peter Callaghan]
Minnesota campaign regulators dismissed two complaints against a libertarian political group, finding the group's actions didn't cross legal red lines. For example, ads stating "ERIK MORTENSEN, CANDIDATE FOR STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 55A, OPPOSES ANY AND ALL TAX HIKES" didn't technically constitute advocacy on behalf of Mortensen because they didn't say explicit words like "Vote for Erik Mortensen." The Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board has recommended that Minnesota update its definition of "express advocacy," but so far the Legislature hasn't done that. [Read the first and second decisions]
A new survey finds members of both political parties are split between whether their representatives in Congress should "stick to their positions no matter what," or compromise with the other party "to find middle ground solutions, even if it means giving up some things they want." Republicans are slightly more likely to endorse compromise than Democrats. [Read more about Democrats and Republicans from AP-NORC] | | |
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Something completely different: Today was the Major League Baseball trade deadline — and quite an active one. The idea of trades are, if you think about it, such an odd thing — imagine if MPR's editor just called up the editor of WBEZ Chicago and sold them my contract in return for two interns and $10,000, without me having any say in it at all? But even beyond that, trades can be exhilarating and traumatizing all at once. That's especially the case for those of us who belong to "sellers," teams that trade away their stars for young prospects. I'm a fan of the Chicago Cubs, who this week put an emphatic nail in the coffin of the 2016 world champions by trading away Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javy Baez, along with plenty of other players. It was pretty gut-wrenching — and yet I'd have probably been more upset if the Cubs hadn't traded these fan favorites, because then they'd have likely just walked away as free agents after the year, ending the era anyway but with no talented young players as compensation. The Twins were in much the same boat, selling off fan favorites like Nelson Cruz and José Berríos, as were the Washington Nationals. Meanwhile fans of contending teams like the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and Giants are celebrating the new stars in their lineups and hoping they didn't just mortgage their future for a few months of glory.
Listen: This ballad by Chuck Brodsky, "Death Row All-Stars," is one of my all-time favorites, an evocative tune about players on a prison baseball team, told that "our executions would be stayed — depending on how well we played." [Listen] | |
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