Good morning, and happy Thursday. It's the last day of March and the end of the first quarter of 2022. 

Just over 83 percent of Minnesota’s class of 2021 was able to graduate within four years,reports MPR’s Elizabeth Shockman. That’s according to the latest release of data from the state Education Department.  It’s a drop of 0.5 percentage points compared to the class of 2020, whose senior year of high school only saw three months of pandemic-related disruptions. This most recent data reflects graduation rates in the first full school year affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The half-a-percentage point drop in the class of 2021’s graduation rates corresponds to an 0.3 percentage point increase in the dropout rate and a 0.2 percentage point increase in the unknown rate — a designation that could signify a student has transferred, moved, dropped out or left for other reasons and not notified their district. Gaps in graduation rates between white students and Black students, Native American students and Hispanic students persisted in 2021, although Black students saw a 1.5 percentage point increase in graduation rates. 

Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Ed Graff announced Wednesday he will not seek a third term with the district when his current contract ends in June of this year.  The announcement, shared by a letter with the school board, comes just after the end of an educator strike during which the district’s 30,000 students missed three weeks of classes.  Graff in a statement said he was proud of his six years of work in the state’s third largest district, calling it a “extraordinary opportunity to fulfill a life calling and make a difference in the lives of children.”

MPR’s Tim Pugmire reportsGov. Tim Walz signed legislation Wednesday that provides $20 million for ALS research and another $5 million for ALS caregivers. The legislation was championed by Independent Sen. David Tomassoni of Chisholm who was diagnosed with the disease last year. Using communication technology, Tomassoni thanked the governor and others for their support of the bill. He said the bill means hope. “This is about making the future better,” Tomassoni said. “We can all be proud of that. This is truly a good day.” ALS is progressive disease that affects the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. People gradually lose their ability to talk, walk and breathe. There is no cure. The research money will go to the Office of Higher Education to award competitive grants. The legislation passed in the House by a wide margin and in the Senate with unanimous support. 

The Star Tribune reports: In the year since the federal government devoted $1.9 trillion to a pandemic stimulus package, Minnesota has used some of the cash on everything from the expected — supporting hospitals and students — to boosting Girl Scout participation and providing financial aid to crime victims. And there's more to spend. State government has yet to decide how to use more than a third of its $2.8 billion. Cities, towns and counties have through 2026 to spend their $2.1 billion. "It wasn't perfect, but I'm glad it got passed. Has it kicked off our economy? You bet it has," said Luverne Mayor Pat Baustian, who said a freezer warehouse company and hog processing facility have moved to his city in the southwest corner of the state. "We have industry growing in our community that might have stayed stagnant if our economy would have been on the status quo."

Deena Winter at the Minnesota Reformer writes:At least eight people affiliated with the right-wing activist group Action 4 Liberty are running for governor or the Legislature, challenging what their leader calls “weak and feckless” Republicans.   And some are winning: Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt lost to newcomer and “pro-health freedom” nurse Natalie Barnes at the Saturday endorsing convention for newly drawn Senate District 54.  Tom Dippel, another Action 4 Liberty candidate, was endorsed over state Rep. Tony Jurgens, R-Cottage Grove, in new Senate District 41. Action 4 Liberty President Jake Duesenberg celebrated those endorsements as wins against “liberal” RINOs (Republican In Name Only).  And, earlier this month, Mark Bishofsky, a respiratory therapist who says he was terminated for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccination, was endorsed by Republicans in new House District 33B created by redistricting in Washington County.  Bishofsky defeated a St. Paul police commander and Stillwater School Board member for the Republican endorsement.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum is calling for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to resign amid revelations that his wife Virginia pushed Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to help overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The recent disclosures have left the justice "ethically compromised,” McCollum wrote in a statement Wednesday, noting that Thomas continued to hear cases tied to the 2020 election. 🎧 Listen to McCollum's interview with Tom Crann