The Daily Digest: Ready for the session?

Good morning!

In Minnesota

Gov. Mark Dayton intends to ask Minnesota legislators to quickly approve a relief package related to last summer's severe flooding because an existing disaster-aid account ran dry this week. (AP via Star Tribune)

A coalition of utilities and clean energy advocates say they want to give electricity customers more options for power sources while keeping energy reliable and affordable. (MPR News)

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State House Republicans have yanked Rep. Jean Wagenius, a Minneapolis DFLer and longtime ally of environmentalists, from her longstanding spot as lead House Democrat on the committee that oversees state spending on environment and natural resources. (Star Tribune)

The state's jobless rate is now 3.7 percent, the lowest since 2001. (MPR News)

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce will push for a rollback of automatic inflationary increases in the state’s minimum wage. (MPR News)

A look at four of the most interesting new laws that will take effect in Minnesota on January 1st. (MPR News)

Why are some of Minnesota's elected leaders so fascinated with a 30 year old legislative session? (MinnPost)

National Politics

An independent panel recommended sweeping changes at the Secret Service, saying the elite protective agency is “starved for leadership” and calling for a new director, hundreds of new agents and officers and a higher fence around the White House. (Washington Post)

Congressional Republicans plan to fight President Obama's thaw in relations with Cuba by denying Obama funds to reopen an embassy in Havana, stall the nomination of a potential ambassador, vote down a bill to open up travel more widely and ignore requests from the White House to lift a decades-old embargo. (Politico)

Cubans in Minnesota welcomed the diplomatic moves. (MPR News)

Hillary Clinton is studying the mistakes of her 2008 presidential campaign closely as she starts to organize a potential 2016 bid. (New York Times)

While many DFL members of Minnesota's congressional delegation may have already endorsed Clinton's bid, Minneapolis Congressman Keith Ellison says he'd welcome Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's entry into the race. (MSNBC)

Was 2014 the year Congress hit rock bottom? (Politico)

Goodbye, Stephen Colbert...(Comedy Central)