Good morning, and happy Friday. Joan Gabel will be officially installed as the 17th president of the University of Minnesota today, even though she's been on the job since July. Here's the Digest. 1. GOP puts insulin plan on the table. Republicans in the Minnesota Senate Thursday proposed a new way of getting expensive insulin to people who can’t afford it. The legislation would require manufacturers to supply physicians with adequate amounts of insulin at no cost. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been wrestling with insulin access and affordability since the end of the 2019 session, when a House DFL-crafted proposal failed to become law. Sen. Eric Pratt, R-Prior Lake, said the new proposal, called the Minnesota Insulin Patient Assistance Program, would help people in need. “We recognize that Minnesotans are struggling to afford insulin, and I believe that we have a plan here that will help fix that.” Under the proposal, insulin manufacturers would have a new state licensing requirement to provide their product to physicians at no cost. The physicians would then dispense free insulin to eligible patients with diabetes. People could qualify if they're not already on a public program such as Medicare, Medicaid or MinnesotaCare, and their family income is less than 400 percent of the federal poverty line. Pratt said that puts the cap for individuals at around $50,000, and around $100,000 for a family of four. (MPR News) 2. Emotional beginning to task force. Tribal elders spoke aloud the names of loved ones murdered or missing and with tears and smiles, they made a commitment: to end the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women and girls. The Minnesota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force on Thursday met for the first time, starting a 15-month timeline to write a report guiding law enforcement and the Legislature on the systemic causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls. In an emotional ceremony, tribal elders and leaders, lawmakers and state officials acknowledged that the creation of a board to study the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women was a long time coming and the state had work to do in repairing relationships with Indigenous communities. For years, survivors and advocates have asked the state to investigate the disappearances and murders and for media outlets to take them seriously. Earlier this year lawmakers unanimously approved the proposal, teeing up the task force. "Today we start with the signing of what should have happened centuries ago," Ojibwe Elder Mary Lyons said. "Today we as Indigenous women rise. We're not being forgotten today. We can call each of our missing and murdered women's name out loud and we can embrace them in prayers. Today we let them know they did not fall to their deaths only to be forgotten." ( Forum News Service) 3. Police arrest suspect in vandalism to East African-owned stores in Minneapolis. A surveillance video from one of the vandalized stores shows a man wearing a black tank top throwing rocks at the glass windows of $5 Pizza at Franklin Avenue and 2nd Avenue South. “He did not come here to steal. The motive of the guy was to cause harm,” said Bashir Egal, who owns the pizza store. The store’s glass windows were damaged, and Bashir estimates it would cost about $5,000 to fix them. About 30 minutes later, the same man is seen on a surveillance video throwing rocks at the glass windows of Seward Market & Halal Meat at Franklin Avenue and 25th Avenue South, about two miles east of $5 Dollar Pizza. “This brings fear,” said Salah Mohamed, who runs the halal market. “It’s adding up.” “We’re very worried,” said Shamsudin Hassan, who owns a grocery store nearby. “This is the biggest East African-owned [collection of stores]. This is our shopping center. We don’t feel safe.” The halal market’s doors and windows were not damaged. But Abdirahman Awad wasn’t so lucky. His business, Capitol Cafe, appeared to have the most extensive damage. Police said it was too early to speculate on a motive. (Sahan Journal) 4. Proposed changes would cut food assistance. More than 35,000 Minnesotans could lose federal food stamp benefits under a proposed Trump administration rule change that would leave more people hungry in the state, Minnesota officials say. Some 18,000 children in Minnesota would be affected, according to the Department of Human Services. A public comment period on the proposal ends Monday and interested people can submit their comments online through the Federal Register. The administration’s goal is to end what it calls a “loophole” in the food stamps program that allows states like Minnesota to offer help to more people. Minnesota and dozens of other states use what’s known as “broad-based categorical eligibility” for food stamps, which are formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. In Minnesota, that allowed DHS officials to increase the income limit for receiving food stamps from 130 percent of the federal poverty guideline to 165 percent. For a family of three, that means a jump from a $27,024 annual income limit to $34,296, per DHS. The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees food stamps. Nationally, 3 million people are expected to lose food stamps. (MPR News) 5. Students prepare to stage 'climate strike.' As untold numbers of Minnesota students prepared for a global student climate, Minnesota House Democrats formed a “Climate Action Caucus” Thursday in what one veteran lawmaker said was the party’s intent to “double down” on climate change legislation. “We hear you, and we stand with you,” state Rep. Patty Acomb, a first-term Democrat from Minnetonka, said as she turned to a group of leaders of the student strike during a news conference at the state Capitol. Student climate strikes — where students walk out of school to protest perceived inaction to human-caused aspects of the earth’s warming — have rapidly become the hallmark of a global movement which has grabbed attention but whose impact remains uncertain. Friday’s will be a big one. With demonstrations in more than 130 countries, Friday’s climate strike is being billed by organizers as perhaps the largest mass protest in history. In Minnesota, events range from Bemidji to St. Paul, where participants will gather at 11:30 a.m. at a sculpture garden west of the Capitol. The movement’s local demands range from largely symbolic — “declare a statewide emergency on climate” — to specific and controversial — “safe removal and a halt on construction of Line 3 and similar pipelines.” ( Pioneer Press) | 