Welcome to Thursday. Here's today's Digest.

1. Activists call on Klobuchar to end presidential campaign over 2003 case. "The father of a man who says he was wrongly convicted as a teenager of killing a child in 2003 under then-Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar joined more than a dozen activists in Minneapolis on Wednesday calling on her to end her campaign for president. Michael Toussaint cited a recent Associated Press investigation that raised questions about the case against his son, Myon Burrell, who is serving a life sentence for the 2002 killing of Tyesha Edwards, an 11-year-old girl who was struck by a stray bullet in south Minneapolis. Burrell was 16 at the time. The call by Toussaint and his supporters came just days ahead of the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, where Klobuchar, now a U.S. senator, has pinned her hopes on gaining traction in the Democratic presidential primaries." Star Tribune

2. Tangle over voter data splits Republican lawmakers. A group of Republican state lawmakers announced Wednesday they would introduce a bill to halt collection of data by Minnesota election officials about which party’s presidential primary ballot voters choose. The bill they intend to bring before the Legislature next month would also force a purge of any data already gathered in early voting ahead of the March 3 primary. Minnesota is holding its first primary since 1992. The rules, particularly that voters express allegiance to a party to get a ballot, have caused a stir. MPR News

4. Wells native, now a Washington Times journalist, has thoughts about Bloomberg's recent visit to rural Minnesota. Christopher Vondracek, a graduate of United Central High School in Wells, titled his op-ed, “Mr. Bloomberg (nearly) goes to Wells, Minn.” He questioned Bloomberg for visiting an area farm but skipping a visit to the town itself. Mankato Free Press

5. Steelworkers call on Stauber to support union bill.  "United Steelworkers is putting GOP Rep. Pete Stauber to the test, asking him to meet them on the union's side of an upcoming piece of workers' rights legislation. A group of United Steelworkers members from across Minnesota’s Iron Range met Wednesday in Eveleth with officials from Stauber’s office, urging the congressman to support a workers’ rights bill currently under consideration in the U.S. House. They asked him to support legislation which would make it easier for unions to organize, and penalize businesses that obstruct unionizing drives. What made the visit unique was that the Steelworkers went on record with the meeting in a news release afterward."
Duluth News Tribune