Good morning, and welcome to Thursday. Here’s the Digest.
1. Early primary voting starts Friday, but you have to pick a party. Minnesota ushers in a full-fledged presidential primary as early voting begins Friday, a change expected to attract more participation but that is drawing concern about the way it will be conducted. This is unlike other elections in one big way: To get a ballot, you must declare a party. And the ballot you pick eventually will be shared with the state’s four major political parties. Secretary of State Steve Simon, a DFLer, is already making noise about trying to change the law to clearly hem in parties on how they can use the data. “A major concern of mine and of my office is that there are no apparent restrictions on what the political parties can do once they get this very valuable information about who has chosen which party’s presidential ballot,” Simon said this week. “That concerns me to the extreme.” Minnesota ditched its long run with a presidential preference poll at precinct caucuses after voters got fed up in 2016. Widespread frustration with crowded sites and other caucus quirks led lawmakers to bring back a presidential primary. It will be overseen by election professionals instead of party volunteers at a cost to taxpayers estimated to reach $12 million. Voters have almost seven weeks rather than just a couple of hours to participate. Ballots cast starting this week will be counted after the polls close on March 3 -- the Super Tuesday date the primary itself falls on. MPR News
2. Time runs short for Klobuchar to break through. The Democratic presidential candidates are done debating—at least until after the Iowa caucuses. Tuesday night's debate was Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar's last chance to appeal to an Iowa TV audience for support before those caucuses, and some voters said her performance made a difference in their opinion of her while others have ruled her out already. Since she entered the race last year Klobuchar has said that as people get to know her, they will come to support her. To some extent that has been true. But with most polls showing her running fifth behind Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg, she’s running out of time for introductions. And there’s the upcoming impeachment trial which will take her away from Iowa during this critical final push. “I want to barnstorm the state,” Klobuchar said in an interview. “I want to barnstorm New Hampshire. And hopefully somehow, some way, I’ll be able to do it but the truth is I have a constitutional duty. I have to be there, and I think the voters of Iowa will understand that.” MPR News
3. Walz puts bonding plan on the table. DFL Gov. Tim Walz Wednesday rolled out the final part of his plan to borrow more than $2 billion for public construction projects. A bonding measure is expected to get a lot of attention from state lawmakers when the 2020 legislative session begins on February 11, but Republicans who control the state Senate say the governor’s list of projects is too expensive. The final installment of the governor's public works borrowing plan covers public safety-related projects, transportation and upgrades to several state facilities. Walz began laying out the plan last week, when he announced affordable housing projects. That was followed by water infrastructure and higher education. The total plan is made up of projects Minnesota communities are asking for, Walz said. “The needs are real. Interest rates are low. There’s no reason not to act. We’ve had the privilege of going everywhere from East Grand Forks to Duluth to Minneapolis to Marshall, and we’ve seen it firsthand.” MPR News
4. Ellison reaches a deal with Comcast. More than 15,000 Minnesotans will receive $1.4 million in refunds under a settlement agreement between the state and telecommunications company Comcast/Xfinity. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said Wednesday that his office had settled with Comcast after several customers came forward with concerns about not receiving gift cards the company promised them or faced unexpected fees for service. In all, 15,600 Minnesotans will be refunded for unwarranted charges or for services not delivered from Comcast. And 16,000 could see debt relief as a result of the settlement, Ellison said. Comcast will make the refunds to customers and former customers who'd faced unexpected charges or were asked to pay for services or equipment they didn't agree to. And the company will pay out $160,000 to the state of Minnesota, which Ellison's office will use to provide additional Comcast customers who believe they were overbilled by the company since 2013. As part of the settlement, the company will have to prove to the state it is making the required refunds to customers and clearly articulate to customers the price they will pay for services moving forward. "We need to be in touch with the public to make sure this enforcement of this settlement is real and meaningful," Ellison told reporters. "If Comcast doesn't tighten it up and they do new stuff, they're not in the clear." A spokeswoman for Comcast said the company disagreed with allegations made in the lawsuit but felt it was important to settle with the state. Inforum
5. McCollum tries to ban mining near BWCA. DFL U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum introduced legislation Wednesday to permanently ban copper, nickel and precious metals mining across more than 200,000 acres of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota. The bill would forbid new mining operations within the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, including a project proposed by Twin Metals Minnesota, which last month submitted plans to state and federal regulators to open an underground copper-nickel mine outside Ely, and just a couple miles from the southern edge of the BWCA. “This bill establishes federal, permanent protections for this vulnerable and fragile ecosystem to ensure it is not damaged and polluted from sulfide-ore copper mining,” McCollum said in introducing the legislation. U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, a Republican who represents northeast Minnesota’s 8th District in Congress, said in a statement he was “outraged” to learn of the proposal, saying “this utter disregard for our way of life is insulting.” The bill “intends to rob many of my constituents of their livelihoods,” Stauber’s statement continued. “I will fight this attempt at killing mining jobs in my district every step of the way. I’m confident that, with the support of the Trump Administration, our way of life will prevail.” MPR News | 