It's Wednesday! Here's today's Digest.
1. 'Wiggle room,' deleted emails, and a controversial phone call: What we learned after five days of testimony in the PolyMet hearing. "In March of 2018, staff at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency were slammed. The regulators were answering a rush of comments on a draft water pollution permit for a copper-nickel mine owned by PolyMet Mining. And with only days left before the comment period ended, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was planning to submit its own critiques of the controversial project. So John Linc Stine, commissioner of the MPCA at the time, called the EPA with an unusual, if not unprecedented, request: Would they delay commenting along with the public and save their concerns for later? ... That plea is now at the heart of a legal fight in district court over whether the MPCA was actually trying to bend rules to hide the EPA’s criticisms from the public." Minnpost 2. As Democrats scramble for caucus support, many farmers say they'll stick with Trump. "One of the largest indoor farm shows in the country opened in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday and it’s clear that many of the thousands of farmers attending who helped elect Donald Trump in 2016 will support him again in November. ... Many of the attendees at the Iowa Power Farming Show had no interest in talking politics with a reporter. Of those willing to share an opinion, many are solid Trump supporters who say they would not even consider supporting a Democrat." MPR News 3. Minnesota pollution officials propose water permit fee hikes. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says raising fees for several types of municipal water quality permits will help the agency avoid a shortfall in state and federal funding. But some worry permit fee hikes will be passed on to home and property owners. The Forum of Fargo 4. In Klobuchar's past, questions linger about a teen jailed for life. Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar has told the story of Tyesha Edwards throughout her political career. The 11-year-old was killed by a stray bullet, and Klobuchar was Hennepin County Attorney at the time. Her office charged Myon Burrell for the crime, and he was convicted. But an Associated Press investigation into the 17-year-old case uncovered new evidence, raising questions about whether the teen was wrongfully convicted. The Associated Press 5. Remembrance: Longtime Minnesota American Indian activist Marvin Manypenny. The father of Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan died over the weekend. He was 72. Fellow activist Raymond Bellcourt described Manypenny as a “scholar” of the White Earth tribe’s constitution and treaties and said he was respected throughout the six bands of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. “He always had the people's interest at heart,” Bellcourt said. “It was never about money, it was never about personal gain, it was always about the protection of the people who had no voice, who had no way to protect themselves." MPR News | 