Good morning and welcome to the first Thursday of fall. 

The fault lines in Minnesota politics over the events of Jan. 6 and the legitimacy of President Joe Biden’s election are stark, according to a new Minnesota Poll from MPR News, the Star Tribune, KARE11 and FRONTLINE. The poll found 46 percent of voters thought Jan. 6th was an insurrection, while 42 percent believe it was a legitimate rally that was derailed by the acts of a few violent extremists and 12 percent aren’t sure.  Sixty percent of Minnesota voters surveyed said Joe Biden was indeed the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential election. Another 26 percent said he wasn’t, and 14 percent said they weren’t sure. Views of the election and the events of Jan. 6 differ sharply by region and by party. Eighty percent of Democrats say Jan 6 was an insurrection; just 7 percent of Republicans say that.  In Hennepin and Ramsey Counties more than three fourths of respondents said Biden legitimately won office. In the Twin Cities suburbs and greater Minnesota, the figure barely cracks 50 percent.  Matt Sepic did the story for MPR News.

And NPR has this: Republican state lawmakers continue to investigate the 2020 election, now nearly 11 months after voting concluded. The probes come despite a lack of evidence of any widespread issues or fraud. In Arizona, the end appears in sight for a widely discredited election review. The GOP-led state Senate plans to release findings from that effort Friday. But similar reviews are only just beginning elsewhere. That includes in the swing states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — states won by President Joe Biden last year, and with Republican-led legislatures and Democratic governors.

The candidates for mayor of Minneapolis discussed crime and policing at a forum last night. MPR News reporter Jon Collins had this on the radio: Incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey said he's made reforms in the police department since George Floyd was murdered. Frey also said he's worked with the police chief to ensure public safety amid an uptick in violent crime. "We've set up a litany of reforms and changes to the police department, advocating for those beyond our control, and we've pushed an honest and clear path towards a both-and message and structure for public safety,” Frey said.  Frey's opponents said he demonstrated ineffective leadership in the wake of George Floyd's murder and during the ensuing social unrest. Candidate Kate Knuth started the debate arguing that Frey had failed the city in the last eighteen months. "Our mayor has not helped us meet this moment on public safety because he's beholden to the status quo,” Knuth said. “And he hasn't been able to deliver either on the promise to reduce crime, or on the promise to truly build public safety and reform police." And on the proposed charter amendment that would create a new department of public safety,  candidate Sheila Nezhad said attempts to reform the police department over the years have failed, and that the city needs more mental health and social workers to respond to calls for help.  "I support the new department of public safety because I believe that we need more options, that when you call for help, that you shouldn't have to fear the help that comes," Nezhad said. Candidates Knuth, Paul Johnson, and Jerrell Perry said at the forum sponsored by the Racial Justice Network that they support the charter change. Candidates Clint Conner and A.J. Awed said they oppose it. 

The effort to reach a bipartisan compromise on changing the way police across the country do their jobs has officially failed. Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey said the long stalled talks will end, and Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina promptly blamed Democrats for not being able to reach a deal. The two have been negotiating since April when Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd.  But they were unable to agree on big issues, including whether to change criminal and civil penalties to make it easier to punish police officers for misconduct.  Read more from the New York Times.

Speaking of Washington, as President Biden tries to convince Democrats in the Senate to back his budget plan, there’s another big showdown over the debt limit, as NPR reports : Democrats in Washington are working against a rapidly approaching deadline to end a standoff with Republicans that could force a partial government shutdown and a panic over the nation's credit rating. Leaders chose to tie an extension of the federal borrowing limit to a bill to extend routine government funding that runs out at the end of the September. Republicans have insisted for months they will not support that plan, meaning a shutdown and default could be imminent.

Rep. Ami Wazlawik, DFL-White Bear Township, announced in a news release Wednesday that she will not seek reelection to the Minnesota House next year. She won by 100 votes in 2020, and the seat is likely to be hotly contested, depending of course on what happens with redistricting. “After a great deal of consideration, I have decided to explore other professional opportunities instead of running for reelection,” Wazlawik said. “I plan to continue fighting for our community and to make the most of my final year in the Legislature.”