Good Monday morning. Time to get the week started with your Digest. 1. The impeachment chatter in the 2nd District. Perched on a stool at Andy’s Bar and Grill in Belle Plaine, Minn., Don Woestehoff said he’s proudly voted Democratic all his life, but no more. He can’t forgive them for the impeachment hearings. I don't know what the reason is,” he said. “It's not like Nixon years ago. With Trump, they wanted to impeach him from Day One." Then he turned his attention to his local congresswoman, freshman Democrat Angie Craig. “I voted for her, but I won’t vote for her again,” he said. “She’s done.” As the House Intelligence Committee held hours of public impeachment hearings in Washington D.C. this week, Craig was facing a delicate balancing act back home in Minnesota’s 2nd District. It covers more impeachment-friendly communities in the southern Twin Cities suburbs as well as smaller towns to the south where people are more supportive of President Trump. That includes Belle Plaine, a town of less than 7,000 people, an hour drive from the Twin Cities that typically votes Republican. "Angie Craig's district is kind of a microcosm of the nation,” said Dan Hofrenning, a political science professor at St. Olaf College in the 2nd District. “The reality of the impeachment process is, it’s a political trial, not a legal trial. It’s a battle for the hearts and minds of American citizens.” MPR News 2. State says ‘no thanks’ to fed help on mine review. Minnesota regulators said Friday they plan to conduct their own independent environmental review of the proposed Twin Metals Minnesota copper-nickel mine, rather than collaborating on a joint review with federal regulators. Twin Metals has yet to file its mine plan of operations — which will detail the specifics of the operation, from its physical footprint to how it will handle waste material. That will kick-start the environmental review process. The project has already come under fire for its close proximity to the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials made their announcement Friday, after discussing the issue at length with Twin Metals and the federal Bureau of Land Management. With Twin Metals expected to submit its mine plan next month, DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen said “we needed to make a decision.” It signals a departure from the way the agency approached another mine proposal in the region — the PolyMet copper-nickel mine, which would be the first of its kind in Minnesota. For that project, the DNR partnered with the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to oversee the project’s Environmental Impact Statement, a crucial piece of the regulatory process. MPR News 3. Courting black voters. The fifth Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday put at least one pivotal 2020 factor into stark relief: the power of black voters in deciding the party’s nominee, and just how far many candidates in the still-crowded field have to go to earn their support. Chief among those with work to do is U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., whose past as a prosecutor has hindered more than helped her cause among black voters, who often see the criminal justice system stacked against them. Last week, voters caught a glimpse of at least one Klobuchar strategy to make inroads in the black community: a focus on voting rights. At the Atlanta debate, Klobuchar repeated her call for people to automatically register to vote when they turn 18. “If we had a system like this and we did something about gerrymandering, and we stopped the voting purges, and did something significant about making sure we don’t have money in politics from the outside, Stacey Abrams would be governor of this state right now,” Klobuchar said, making a pointed reference to the first black female major-party gubernatorial nominee in U.S. history. Klobuchar joined four other candidates at a breakfast event hosted Thursday by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. Star Tribune 4. New day job job for GOP leader draws DFL criticism. Minnesota House Republican leader Kurt Daudt has taken a job as the chief spokesman for a Washington public relations firm that focuses on influencing state and local governments. Stateside Associates announced Daudt’s new role as public affairs director Friday. The firm said his role is part time and does not involve lobbying. After the announcement, Democratic House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler questioned via social media whether House Republicans planned to pick a new leader. Ken Martin, chairman of the Minnesota DFL, said in a statement: “Kurt Daudt is opening himself up to massive conflicts of interest.” Daudt, who lives near Crown in Isanti County, declined to comment on his new job. A representative said he plans to remain in the Legislature and keep his post as House minority leader. Pioneer Press 5. A ground-level education for the governor. Gov. Tim Walz spent time assisting a home health care worker Friday to highlight the challenges of working with people with disabilities and the elderly. He also highlighted the excess of job openings in the profession of work due to low wages. “We have to make sure that they are able to get a wage that keeps them in this,” Walz said. Walz helped Deb Howze as she cared for her client Jay Spika at his home in St. Paul. Spika suffers from MS and has limited mobility. Home care workers have seen some improvements since unionizing five years ago. But Howze told the governor that her current pay of $13.25 an hour makes it hard to get by. “We have to break the barriers of what’s going on,” Howze said. “You talk about one Minnesota. Well, we need to be included in that one Minnesota.” MPR News
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