The Daily Digest: Pre-K plan faces skeptics
Good morning!
In Minnesota
After making free all-day kindergarten available around the state, Gov. Mark Dayton wants to spend more than $100 million on pre-school programs for four-year-olds in public schools. But some early education groups and experts are skeptical, which may not bode well for Dayton in the Legislature. (MPR News)
Gov. Mark Dayton gave pay hikes to his cabinet in January that amount to $802,990, riling Republicans. (MPR News)
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Minnesota officials said late Thursday it would immediately stop accepting tax returns filed through TurboTax, a popular tax preparation software, due to possible fraudulent activity. (Star Tribune)
Longtime state Rep. Phyllis Kahn, who has tried for years without success to lower Minnesota's drinking age, is back with two bills that would allow people younger than 21 to drink in bars and restaurants. (Pioneer Press)
You could call it a toll to take a stroll. Some Republicans in the Minnesota House are discussing requiring walkers and bicyclists to pay a fee to use the state’s trails. (MPR News)
A proposal before Minnesota lawmakers would make it a requirement that parents with minor children take a marriage dissolution course before their divorce case could proceed. (AP via Pioneer Press)
A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is lining up in support of legislation to expand early learning scholarships for disadvantaged young children. (MPR News)
National Politics
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, who has overseen food and drug safety for nearly six years, will leave at the end of March. (Politico)
The growing influence of paid fund-raisers has angered donors in both parties, who are skeptical of Washington’s consultant class and the secret, often lucrative deals they reach with campaigns. (New York Times)
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday positioned himself as a pragmatic, pro-compromise presidential candidate, dismissing 2016 rivals whom he said merely seek to be “critic-in-chief.” (Politico)