Good morning. Here's your Tuesday Digest. 1. Omar seeks force resolution. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar introduced a resolution to block the use of U.S. military force against Iran without congressional authorization, and is one of many lawmakers calling for more consultation with Congress on the precarious situation. Many members of Congress condemned President Donald Trump’s decision last week to order an airstrike without notifying them first. The strike killed top Iranian military leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani — escalating tensions with the country, which has promised revenge for his death. “Let’s not mince words: the assassination of Qasem Soleimani was an act of war undertaken without Congressional authorization, in violation of the Constitution of the United States of America … We in Congress must exercise our Constitutional duty — and do everything in our power to stop another disastrous war,” Omar said in a statement. Star Tribune
2. State Supreme Court hears White Bear Lake water levels case. The Minnesota Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in the case involving water levels on White Bear Lake. Homeowners and others concerned about the lake sued the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in 2012, claiming the agency mismanaged groundwater pumping and caused the lake's levels to reach historically low levels. The lake has since recovered, and the DNR issued a study in 2018 showing groundwater pumping has a minimal impact on the lake’s levels. But the White Bear Lake Restoration Association and the White Bear Lake Homeowners Association continue to argue that groundwater pumping permits have a cumulative impact on the lake and that the DNR failed to assess and address the issue. A Ramsey County district judge sided with the homeowners in 2017, but the decision was overturned earlier this year by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. It said the homeowners must challenge each pumping permit individually and leave it up to the DNR to hear and decide each challenge. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, but on Monday some justices seemed reluctant to weigh in on the issue. MPR News
3. An avenue to retaining congressional seat. Minnesota is likely going to lose one of its seats in the U.S. House after the next round of reapportionment — when the allocation of congressional seats is redistributed based on the 2020 Census — dropping the state’s current eight to seven. It’s not that Minnesota isn’t gaining population, it just isn’t gaining it fast enough compared to other states. If Minnesota loses a seat in the U.S. House, it will be the first time that’s happened since 1960. As if that isn’t already a blow to the state’s collective self esteem, Minnesota would then have fewer seats than Wisconsin. And have the same number as Alabama. That’s the bad news out of last month’s release of state-by-state population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and a reapportionment analysis by Election Data Services, a Virginia-based political consulting firm. The good news? There’s still a shot that the state could hold on to its eight current seats. MinnPost
4. Stauber’s close encounter with a loaded handgun. Their paths are forever crossed, but when U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber and the late Timothy Majchrzak converged almost 20 years ago, it wasn’t for very long. It was a confusing and frightening scene that found Stauber and another Duluth police officer, then-Sgt. Jim Wright, facing the barrel of Majchrzak’s 9-millimeter handgun inside an apartment house located at 1820 London Road, next to what is still a Taco John’s. The ensuing melee was quick and the officers reacted on training and instinct. To hear Stauber tell it, he was fortunate to escape with his life. “It was one of the most violent incidents I was a part of in 23 years as a police officer, including my years on the tactical response team,” Stauber, a Republican from Hermantown, told the News Tribune. Stauber has referenced the confrontation repeatedly throughout the past year. He uses it to explain his defense of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and its right to bear arms. Duluth News Tribune
5. St. Paul legislator’s City Hall role raises ethics question. Kaohly Vang Her, policy director for St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, so liked the mayor’s idea to give every capital city newborn $50 for a college savings plan that Kaohly Vang Her, state representative, authored a bill to help pay for it. That’s a potential problem, say authorities on government ethics. Because Carter is Her’s boss, he could show her favor — or withhold it — based on what she might accomplish as a legislator, said Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera, executive director of Common Cause Minnesota. “We are talking about someone she reports to, who determines her salary, performance, whether or not she keeps the job,” Belladonna-Carrera said, adding that Her should have recused herself and had someone else carry the legislation. “It’s a [legal] cloud of grayness.” Star Tribune | 