Happy Friday! Be sure to tune into MPR News at 11 for Politics Friday with Mike Mulcahy. Now that the dust has settled on Super Tuesday, he'll discuss the results with two political analysts. Here's the Digest.
1. At campaign event, Karen Pence says Minnesota 'will make a real difference.' She was the featured speaker at the Trump campaign re-election rally. The vice president had been scheduled to appear but traveled instead to Washington state to monitor developments around the spread of COVID-19. Karen Pence said her husband, who toured Maplewood-based 3M earlier in the day, said he’s concentrating his time on the administration’s response. "The safety and the security, the health of the American people is the priority. That is the priority. So above campaign events and politics, that is where the vice president had to be tonight," she said. Still, Mrs. Pence said Minnesota is an unmistakable focus of the president’s re-election campaign. “It is imperative that we get this president re-elected. It is imperative that we win Minnesota,” Pence said. MPR News
2. Klobuchar asks Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to investigate Myon Burrell case. “As you are aware, significant concerns about the evidence and police investigation have been raised by a press investigation, by members of the Hennepin County community, and by Myon’s family,” Klobuchar wrote to Freeman. “For that reason I believe that your office should initiate an independent review of the case and the evidence.” In response, Freeman says he has met with Burrell's lawyer and that a review of the case is ongong. Star Tribune
3. State audit looking at funding for high-poverty schools suggests removing some reporting requirements. "In the fiscal year 2018, the state allocated $551 million in compensatory education revenue to schools across the state. And last year state lawmakers decided that it’s time to assess whether or not that large investment — year after year — is actually having an impact. State statute requires that districts determine whether compensatory revenue increased student achievement. But after digging into this particular state education revenue stream, state auditors with the Office of the Legislative Auditor came back short on answers. 'Expecting school districts to report on that impact — of one funding stream, isolated, out of all things that happen in a school — is unrealistic,' Judy Randall, deputy legislative auditor, told legislators Wednesday. 'As a result, we are recommending that the Legislature eliminate this reporting requirement.'" MinnPost
4. Minnesota House passes paid family leave bill, but it's likely going nowhere this year. "We in the Minnesota House DFL believe that all Minnesotans deserve time to care for themselves and for their loved ones, and they shouldn't have to choose between a paycheck and taking care of their family members," DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman said. But House Republicans opposed the bill, arguing that it amounts to a tax increase that would put restrictive mandates on employers. They also said the measure would grow government. Forum News Service
5. Looking back at Amy Klobuchar's presidential campaign. "In all, it was a campaign that bet on Iowa, but lost; walked into New Hampshire, and defied expectations; and finally, sputtered out when it couldn’t win an election with a coalition of mostly white moderate voters. While other campaigns dispersed their operation, Klobuchar’s campaign put almost all of its resources into Iowa. The theory was that, if Klobuchar were to win Iowa like Barack Obama, she might be able to pick up some momentum moving into the more diverse later primary states." MinnPost | 