Good morning, and welcome to Thursday.

The Minneapolis teachers’ strike is in its third week, and the two sides did not meet for negotiations Wednesday.MPR’s Elizabeth Shockman reports that earlier in the week, district leaders put forward what they called their “last, best and final” offer to MFT teachers. The proposal includes a complicated offer outline for wage increases between 5-12 percent for teachers in their first through sixth years of teaching and cost-of-living wage increases for teachers with more than six years’ experience.  The offer also has contract language around class size caps, $3,000 bonuses, a full-time social worker in every school and lower ratios for social workers and counselors at high needs schools.  But it’s still $167 million away from what teachers are asking for in terms of cost to the district, according to district estimates.

After an opening created by Republicans this week, efforts to pass a new Minnesota law on paid parental and health leave for workers will hinge on the extent of the coverage and who pays with considerable distance between plans now on the table.MPR’s Brian Bakst reports Senate Republicans gave paid-leave advocates a glimmer of hope this week when they presented proposals that could encourage more companies to provide leave benefits to workers. They don’t go as far as plans proposed by DFL lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz to guarantee paid time off to bond with a new child, cope with a serious illness or tend to a sick family member.  “This is just smart policy. It's long overdue,” Walz said at the outset of a stakeholder discussion Wednesday at a St. Paul coffee shop. The shop’s owner told Walz he would like to provide his workers a family leave benefit but can’t afford it on his own. Legislative Republicans insist on a voluntary program where employer costs are offset with tax credits. They oppose full state oversight of a leave benefit.

The Star Tribune reportsHennepin and Ramsey Counties saw population declines in 2021, according to census data. From the story: Hennepin County's population, which includes Minneapolis, dropped by nearly 13,900 last year and Ramsey County, which includes St. Paul, declined by 8,200 people, according to new census estimates released Thursday. In contrast, five suburban counties — Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Washington and Scott — experienced modest population growth ranging from 1,300 in Carver County to 4,100 in Washington County. State demographer Susan Brower said it's still too early to say if this is a one-year blip or the leading edge of a trend. Brower said it's also too soon to say if other factors, including more flexible work-from-home arrangements and concerns about social unrest and crime in the Twin Cities contributed to the decline.

Police are pushing at the Capitol for expanded authority to use vehicle tracking devices.FOX 9 reports police already use the devices, which they shoot or attach onto a car, when the vehicle's owner gives permission. But state law bans them from using the technology when they can't find the owner, so law enforcement groups are asking to use tracking devices anytime a vehicle is reported stolen by its owner. "I would ask for your support because this is one of the best ways we can reduce high speed chases," Ramsey County Undersheriff Mike Martin told the Senate Judiciary committee during a Wednesday hearing. The legislation has already cleared two committees in the House, although the Senate committee didn’t vote Wednesday. It has Republican and Democratic support, but senators in both parties have raised privacy concerns. "I think we’re one more step closer to harming privacy rights in a way where I think if we breach that barrier, we’re never going back," said state Sen. Andrew Mathews, R-Princeton.

The Associated Press reports:The Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out Wisconsin state legislative maps that were preferred by the state's Democratic governor and selected by Wisconsin's top court, making it unclear what the boundaries will be for the fall election. But while the justices in an unsigned opinion threw out voting maps the Wisconsin Supreme Court had selected for the State Assembly and Senate, they left in place state congressional maps. The state's highest court selected the maps from a range of options after lawmakers and the governor couldn't agree. Republicans had complained that Gov. Tony Evers' maps moved too many people to increase the number of Assembly districts with a majority of Black and Hispanic voters from six to seven in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in favor of adopting Evers' maps earlier this month, with a conservative justice joining three liberals in the majority. Republicans immediately appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the maps drawn by Evers were racially gerrymandered.