Happy Friday! Here's your Valentine's Day digest.
1. Some Democrats in Congress not loving the idea of Bernie Sanders on the November ballot. "Some of the most vulnerable House Democrats are expressing significant unease at the prospect of sharing a national ticket with an avowed democratic socialist. 'I think it would have some significant down-ballot effects, and what I tell everybody is he may well win the popular vote,' freshman Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota told CNN's Manu Raju on Thursday. 'In fact, I wouldn't doubt that. But the five or six states that are going to matter in the Electoral College makes it a real question mark in maintaining the House of Representatives. There are probably 25-30 seats that absolutely would be impacted directly by having a self-avowed socialist at the top of the ticket. And I say that ... you know ... he's not a Democrat, you know, and that's something that I wish was better understood.'" CNN
2. Child care assistance program may get additional love in 2020. "In 2019, the Legislature passed a slate of laws to reduce fraud in Minnesota’s largest child care subsidy. Now, state lawmakers are considering whether to give new money to the program and raise tuition reimbursement rates for low-income families to meet federal standards. State Sen. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, said changes to the Child Care Assistance Program have opened the door for possible new funding, signaling a different strategy for a Republican-led Senate that tried to abolish the program last year. Yet finding money in a legislative session with several competing priorities will be the largest obstacle to spending on CCAP, not fraud concerns, said Abeler, who chairs the Senate’s Human Services Reform Finance and Policy Committee. 'I’m very convinced that they have moved into the controlling fraud mode because of the pressure put on by the Senate,' Abeler said of the Department of Human Services and legislative Democrats." MinnPost
3. Everybody would love to get a piece of growing charitable gambling revenue, but Vikings say it should be used to pay off U.S. Bank Stadium early. "A windfall of charitable gambling revenue is touching off a new debate at the State Capitol over what to do with all the extra money. The Vikings want to use it to speed repayment of the public debt on the $1.1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium, for which it covered half the cost. But charities across the state that run the electronic pulltab operations generating all the money say they are entitled to a larger share. Recent estimates indicate there will be almost $250 million in the account to pay off the debt by 2023. That number could grow with the forecast at the end of the month, creating a tempting pot of cash that lawmakers may choose to tap for other purposes. The Vikings want to block that move. 'We’ve been strongly advocating that the state leaders use the money for its intended purpose, which is to pay down the bonds on U.S. Bank Stadium,' Vikings vice president Lester Bagley said Wednesday." Star Tribune
4. As much as lawmakers would love to reach consensus on insulin assistance, there is none -- yet. "The ongoing debate over insulin access and affordability took another turn Thursday when the state Senate Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee approved a plan to provide access to insulin to Minnesotans who can’t afford it. The newly revised Senate insulin bill evolved much later than another version backed by House Democrats, which has drawn sharp opposition from the pharmaceutical industry. Unlike the House bill, the Senate version does not impose a new fee on insulin manufacturers. Both measures are a response to sharp price increases in insulin, which is needed by people with diabetes to maintain healthy blood sugar levels." MPR News
5. Legislative panel shows some love for primary voter privacy. "Minnesota lawmakers are one step closer to tightening access to Minnesotans' private voter data. Minnesota's House Subcommittee on Elections on Thursday approved a bill that would restrict who could access primary voter rolls, and what they could do with that data. Under Minnesota's current primary system, voters must fill out separate ballots depending on whether they vote in the Democratic or Republican primaries. Secretary of State Steve Simon told legislators that all four political parties then have access to lists of which Minnesotans voted in which primaries — even outside of their own party — and there are 'no restrictions whatsoever' on what the parties can do with that data. 'The political culture in Minnesota, at least in my judgment, is that most people don't like to wear their party affiliation on their sleeve,' Simon said. Forum Communications | 
