Good Monday morning. There's a lot to catch up on over the last few days.:
1. Perspectives on Iran tensions. Yvonne Herzan does her best to keep her fear and tears at bay. But controlling emotions has been difficult the past few days as tensions between the United States and Iran rapidly escalate following a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad early Friday that killed a top Iranian general. When Herzan woke later that morning to news that Iran vows to retaliate for the drone strike that killed the powerful commander of its Revolutionary Guards Corps, “I busted out crying,” she said, worried about her daughter, Sarah, 20, who is among the nearly 700 Minnesota National Guard soldiers who recently deployed to the Middle East. “I’m scared of the unknown,” the Eden Prairie mother said. Like thousands of other families and friends of soldiers across the country, Herzan anxiously awaits the next development in the crisis, hoping hostilities between the two countries ease and their loved ones stay safe. Star Tribune
Members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation are weighing in on the U.S. strike that killed Iran’s top military official. Iran has vowed “harsh retaliation” for the strike. MPR News
A coalition of anti-war groups gathered for a rally and march Saturday in Minneapolis to protest the escalation of U.S. military action in the Middle East, specifically against Iran. The gathering came in the wake of a U.S. air strike that killed top Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani and heightened Mideast tensions. Organizers said the protest in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood was held in coordination with other events across the nation Saturday. The marchers chanted as they headed down Cedar Avenue: "No justice, no peace — U.S. out of the Middle East." MPR News
2. Lobbying rules on hold. Sensing resistance, Minnesota’s campaign and lobbying regulatory board intends to hold back on sweeping legislative recommendations that would redefine advocacy rules and expand a program aimed at encouraging small-dollar contributions. At a meeting Friday, the six-member board decided instead to write a letter to the Legislature to encourage a hearty debate over a campaign and lobbying structure that hasn’t changed much in recent years. Board members said they and board staffers would work to refine their suggestions in the meantime. Board Chair Robert Moilanen said the letter would stress to lawmakers that current laws are outdated but acknowledge there is “not a consensus on the solution.” MPR News
3. Best fundraising quarter for Klobuchar. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she took in $11.4 million for her White House bid to close out the year, while New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said he raised $6.6 million. It was the best fundraising quarter so far for both Klobuchar and Booker.Klobuchar said 145,126 people donated between September and December, with an average contribution of $32. Campaign manager Justin Buoen cited a “massive surge in grassroots support.” The Associated Press
4. Liberians celebrate victory in long immigration fight. On the surface, Congress and President Trump’s recent approval of a new law granting most Liberians in the United States a pathway to citizenship may seem like a surprise. Supporters, though, describe it as the product of decades of effort by the Liberian community and its allies. “This has been a 20-plus-year fight where people have not known their fate,” said Abena Abraham, co-director of the Black Immigrant Collective. “The passage of this is a relief. It assures Liberians that the U.S. is their home.” Since 1991, when President George H.W. Bush granted Liberians in the U.S. temporary status as a civil war broke out in their home country, the laws keeping Liberian immigrants in the U.S. have been precarious at best. But under the recently passed Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act, all Liberian nationals who have lived in the U.S. continuously since Nov. 20, 2014 are now eligible for lawful permanent residency, or green cards. Minnesota is home to the largest Liberian population in the U.S., estimated around 30,000 people. Sahan Journal
5. “One Minnesota” after one year. The former high school teacher was in his element, with an auditorium of juniors and seniors and a pitch he had honed over a year in office. “I ran on the theme that we’re one Minnesota,” Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said from the stage in the Waseca auditorium. “You can’t divide Minnetonka from Mankato. You can’t divide Waseca from Warroad. That our — the state, our nearly 6 million people — are intricately tied around industries like agriculture, mining, forestry, health care, high tech, manufacturing.” Walz has not let up on that campaign theme nor on his election-season travel pace since he landed in office 12 months ago. Supporters and opponents applaud his drive to hear from all industries and corners of the state. But with much of his time focused on consensus-building, hiring and passing a budget, many campaign promises remain on the table. Walz enters his second year in office facing a list of unfinished policy priorities, some politically fraught decisions and the complicated backdrop of the 2020 election, which will decide control of the Legislature for the rest of his term. Star Tribune
6. Declaration time coming for primary voters. Republican or Democrat? Which are you? If you don’t want to answer that question — and you have to pick one or the other — you won’t be able to vote in Minnesota’s presidential primary. And it won’t be a secret; all the major political parties — and there are now four in Minnesota — will know in which party primary you voted. The information won’t technically be public — but there don’t appear to be restrictions on what the parties can do with the information, although that might change. That’s the new law in Minnesota, and if it makes you uncomfortable, you’re not alone. The state’s top election official, Secretary of State Steve Simon, doesn’t like it, either. Pioneer Press | 