Good morning, and happy Wednesday.

St. Paul teacher union members are voting on a tentative new contract that was agreed upon just hours before they nearly went on strike last week.MPR’s Elizabeth Shockman reports St. Paul Federation of Educators president Leah VanDassor praised the contract as one that “invests in our students and recognizes the hard work of St. Paul educators, especially our educational assistants.” The tentative agreement includes a 2 percent annual salary increase over the next two years for teachers and community service professionals as well as a $3,000 one-time bonus for pandemic work. It also addresses pay for education assistants, who will get a 13.5 percent wage increase. The median compensation for EAs will be just under $50,000 by the end of the contract. Starting wages for EAs would also go from $15.94 per hour to $18.82 per hour. The contract includes language about class size averages and caps. In some high-poverty schools or grades, the cap decreases by one student per classroom. And the district has agreed to hire six more psychologists to better support students’ mental health. If ratified by union members, the St. Paul board will vote on the contract on April 19.

Thousands of Minnesota businesses are paying higher taxes because lawmakers couldn’t agree on refilling the state’s unemployment trust fund. Brian Bakst reports the latest round of negotiations at the Capitol ended 15 minutes after it began, with House and Senate leaders accusing each other of being intractable. Gov. Tim Walz urged all sides to keep talking about ways to quickly reverse the unemployment tax increase.  “We believe that this was a very real deadline for businesses,” Walz said of a March 15 date for action that his Department of Employment and Economic Development communicated to lawmakers. “We started talking about this in December, and here we are." DEED Commissioner Steve Grove said the situation is complex because each business assessment is unique, depending on their size, staff churn and layoff history. “We will have to figure out a way to repay them what they overpaid and that could take months, several months,” he said in an interview Tuesday. Grove said it’s not a matter of pushing a button to wipe away the tax increases because agency staff will have to put eyes on all 130,000 business accounts. While businesses have several more weeks to make payments and some might wait until it’s all worked out, Grove said they don’t deserve the turbulence. “In times of uncertainty in the economy, you want to provide as much certainty as you can to employers,” Grove said. “And I think just the stability of having this great system in our state – again this system that put out $15 billion to help keep our economy and our workers afloat through the darkest days of the pandemic – is so important.”

The Minnesota House will vote on a bill that would replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day as a recognized state holiday on the second Monday in October. MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports members of the House state government committee approved the bill Tuesday by a vote of 8-5. The bill also requires school districts to observe Indigenous People’s Day if schools are in session that day. Supporters say it’s a long overdue change to honor Native people. Prairie Island Indian Community Vice President Shelley Buck urged lawmakers to support the bill. ["Recognizing Indigenous People's Day is one way to demonstrate that we have learned from the history of genocide and you are committed to making sure  it never happens again,” Buck said. Rep. Jon Koznick, R-Lakeville, was among those who opposed the measure. “It not only just uplifts the Indigenous culture, but it’s canceling another culture and some achievements that other people are celebrating, and I think rightfully should be celebrating,” Koznick said. A companion bill in the Senate has not yet received attention. 

A total of 20 candidates have filed to run for the 1st District congressional seat left vacant by the death of Republican Jim Hagedorn.  Filings closed at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The list includes 10 Republicans, 8 Democrats and one candidate from the Legal Marijuana Now Party and one from the Grassroots Legalize-Cannabis Party. The election is on August 9, and a special primary election will be held on May 24 to narrow the field of candidates. On Election Day in November voters will decide who fills the seat in a newly redrawn district for the next two year term. 

An update to a story I linked to yesterday: Officials with the Robbinsdale school district say they are "disappointed, but not surprised" that the New Prague school district reported an investigation could not substantiate reports of racist taunts at a high school basketball game in February. Robbinsdale Superintendent David Engstrom and other district officials said they believe the Robbinsdale Cooper student-athletes and coaches who reported the taunts at a Feb. 15 girls basketball game at New Prague. "We believe the first-person statements they made about the incident, and we believe the team did experience racist taunts and jeers from the New Prague crowd," Engstrom and the other officials wrote — adding that "regardless of the findings of New Prague’s investigation, Robbinsdale Area Schools, including Cooper High School, will not compete in any athletic events against New Prague for the foreseeable future."

The U.S. Senate wants to end “spring forward.” NPR reportsthe Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent across the U.S. beginning in 2023.  What’s called the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 was approved by unanimous consent, but would still require House approval and President Joe Biden's signature to become law. For those wishing for an end to annual clock shifting, this most recent push in Congress is perhaps better late than never. "We don't have to keep doing this stupidity anymore. And why we would enshrine this in our laws and keep it for so long is beyond me," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., one of the sponsors of the bill, said on the Senate floor. "Hopefully, this is the year that this gets done. And pardon the pun, but this is an idea whose time has come," he added. It's not clear if House leadership will push for the legislation to move to a vote anytime soon.