Good morning. Half a lion that’s been more lamby.
The symbolic setting figured prominently into an appearance by Vice President Kamala Harris in Minnesota yesterday. Harris toured a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Paul in what the White House said was the first visit by a president or vice president to a facility that provides abortions among its health services. It underscored the Biden-Harris intention to draw sharp contrasts between Democrats and Republicans on reproductive care stances this election year. Abortion was a motivating message for Democrats in 2022, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s watershed ruling to overturn long-standing abortion rights precedent. How much that drives turnout in 2024 could decide the outcome in some swing states.
On Politics Friday today: We’re talking sports betting and the factors lawmakers are considering as they take the effort down the track yet again. Rep. Zack Stephenson, a bill sponsor, and Sen. Erin Maye Quade, who at this point is not on board, lay out the competing arguments. Brian also has interviews with two Minnesota members of Congress — Reps. Ilhan Omar and Dean Phillips — who opposed the bill to require a sale of TikTok if it wants to avoid a domestic ban. MPR’s Dana Ferguson and the Star Tribune’s Briana Bierschbach round out the show.
The Minneapolis city council’s staredown with rideshare services Uber and Lyft reached a new level. The council overrode a mayoral veto of an ordinance around pay and job protections. The companies have threatened to pull out of the city — and potentially beyond — if it takes effect on May 1. As a trio of MPR reporters note, it could draw in the state, where legislation is pending to set Minnesota-wide standards. Republicans are calling for a law that gets in the way of the city ordinance; DFLers said a statewide minimum wage for transportation network drivers might be the better route.
A massive server farm planted by tech giant Meta is coming to Rosemount. Business and government leaders celebrated the $800 million data center planned for UMore Park on the edge of Dakota County. They say it will be fed by renewable energy. Public subsidies seem likely. A 2026 opening is the goal. MPR’s Cari Spencer has details.
The continued effort to split up the Department of Human Services to make its mission more manageable is further down the path.The Star Tribune writes about how the spin-off of direct care services to a new entity will and won't change things.
The great flag and seal inventory has been completed for the Capitol complex. Dana Ferguson reports on the number of emblems that will be due for replacement when the new flag and seal become official in about two months. There are some 120 flags that will come down for a final time on May 10 as the new version goes up on Statehood Day — May 11. | 