National attention is focused on the family feuds of European aristocrats. Minneapolis is focused on the long-awaited Chauvin trial. Against all that, politics is still going on, so let's catch up.
Longtime readers might have noticed a new byline at the top of this newsletter. I'm David Montgomery, MPR News' data journalist, and before that a longtime political reporter in Minnesota and elsewhere. You might already subscribe to my COVID-19 data newsletter , which has apparently been successful enough that I've been drafted to write Capitol View, too. Nothing big will change at first, but in the coming days I'll be asking for your feedback about what you like and dislike about this newsletter, and what you'd like to see going forward.
The single biggest issue in the Twin Cities right now is the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of murdering George Floyd last May. This is a political newsletter, so we won't get into every little twist of the Chauvin trial, but it's got plenty of political implications. The Minnesota State Capitol is locked down right now for security reasons, as is much of downtown Minneapolis . Meanwhile lawmakers are still deadlocked over a proposed fund to pay for public safety around the Chauvin trial. As MPR News' Brian Bakst reports, disputes have included how much money, who oversees it and what policy changes for law enforcement are bundled in with the bill. [Read more]
There's still no deal after weeks of negotiating, even on Day 1 of the Chauvin trial. Or at least, what's supposed to be the first day of the Chauvin trial. A jury hasn't yet been selected, with attorneys for both sides wrangling over pre-trial motions, and prosecutors requesting a delay given late-developing legal issues.
Beyond the Chauvin trial, protesters are upset that the Legislature and Minneapolis City Council alike aren't moving as fast as they wish on changing police laws. At the Legislature, gridlock between the Republican-controlled Senate and the DFL House and governor has stalled substantive change; the Minneapolis City Council's divides are more of a far-left vs. center-left nature than the Legislature's left vs. right split. [Read more from Brandt Williams]
The House of Representatives is expected to give final passage to a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Tuesday. The measure includes another round of stimulus checks, extension of supplemental unemployment benefits, a child subsidy program, and a host of other policies. [Read more from NPR News' Barbara Sprunt]
On the pandemic front, Minnesota is about to report that 70 percent of seniors have at least one vaccine dose , with that threshold likely being crossed on Wednesday. Once that happens, Gov. Tim Walz says he'll begin expanding eligibility, starting with people under 65 with serious medical issues, such as cancer patients. That group is pretty small, so expect eligibility to expand even more to include adults with less serious medical issues or a range of essential jobs pretty soon. [Read more in David Montgomery's newsletter]
A groundbreaking new study looked at a huge database of voter registration to shed more light on America's growing political polarization down to the neighborhood level, and found that "a large proportion of voters live with virtually no exposure to voters from the other party in their residential environment." The finding of partisan segregation holds true even when controlling for racial segregation. [ Read more from scholars Jacob R. Brown and Ryan Enos (this link will expire after one day, so click now!)]
Something completely different: I caught the WandaVision finale over the weekend, and generally agree with the emerging consensus that giant battle scene that occupied the finale disappointingly failed to resolve (or even really address) a lot of the interesting questions that the show's earlier episodes had addressed.
