Good morning. Thaw that bird. 

It’s cutdown day on the flag front.  The State Emblems Redesign Commission is set to meet today with a goal of picking finalists for a new state flag and seal. MPR’s Dana Ferguson is watching it all unfold. She says the panel of elected leaders, historians and others is set to meet in St. Paul to narrow the field of thousands of submissions to five. The group will take testimony from members of the public and hear from an expert in flag design. The panel plans to meet again next month to move from the five finalists to one design each for Minnesota's next flag and seal. The Minnesota Historical Society said hundreds of thousands of people accessed its online gallery to view and critique the designs online. Barring a veto from the Legislature, the new state emblems will replace current ones in May. Here were some flagged by MPR reporters and editors as unique for one reason or another.

Don’t expect a turkey to grace the flag, but a pair of them got widespread attention yesterday. President Joe Biden pardoned Liberty and Bell, two birds raised near Willmar, to carry on a tradition that dates to the Truman administration. As The Associated Press reports, the pampered pair will return to Minnesota, specifically the University of Minnesota, to finish their natural lives without fear of becoming a holiday dinner.

Besides the Minnesota turkeys, the state had a notable presence at the White House pardon ceremony. State Auditor Julie Blaha, Sen. Rob Kupec and Reps. Samantha Vang and Kristi Pursell were all in attendance. All are Democrats. 

A major voting rights law ruling covering Minnesota and other states in the region could trigger a showdown before the U.S. Supreme Court. NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang says an 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in an Arkansas case could further limit the reach of the Voting Rights Act’s protections for people of color. The legal dispute will dictate whether private individuals and groups can sue to enforce aspects of the landmark civil rights law or if only the government can. The appeals court ruled 2-1 — in an opinion written by David Stras, who got his judicial start on Minnesota’s Supreme Court — to limit enforcement avenues for voting-rights challenges.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal from former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd. Without comment, justices declined to disturb state court rulings affirming Chauvin’s conviction and 22 1/2-year sentence. Chauvin is also contesting his federal conviction on civil rights charges.

Mark your calendars for the 2024 general election debate schedule. The Commission on Presidential Debates has announced dates and locations. The three-debate circuit for presidential nominees is set to start in Texas on Sept. 16, then move to Virginia on Oct. 1 and conclude on Oct. 9 in Utah. The vice presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 25 in Pennsylvania. Of course, that’s what’s on paper. We don’t know yet whether the nominees will all agree to show up. Stay tuned!