Daily Digest: Fireworks and other issues

Good Tuesday morning. Here's the Digest.

1. The Minnesota House passed a bill that would legalize firecrackers and bottle rockets in the state. But Gov. Mark Dayton opposes the measure, and it seems unlikely it will become law. (MPR News)

2. The Metropolitan Council has studied why there are persistent racial gaps in education and economic progress in Minnesota.  The study finds that racial bias is not the only reason for the gaps, but not everyone is endorsing its conclusions. Some critics say the study is not rooted in what's actually happening. (Star Tribune)

3.  Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, is trying to mend some fences inside his own caucus this session. His moves include creating new committees, holding more conference calls with members and talking more to the governor's office. (MinnPost)

4. Some Democrats in the Legislature introduced a bill that would require a special prosecutor to be appointed in every case involving police use of deadly force. The move comes after the controversy surrounding the death of Jamar Clark. The bill's sponsor acknowledges it's too late in the session to pass the bill, but he says he wants to start a conversation. (AP via MPR News)

5. Hundreds of people were arrested on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Monday. They're part of a group that calls itself Democracy Spring, and their goals are to get Congress to pass legislation limiting money in politics, to restore powers in the Voting Rights Act, and to put an end to gerrymandered districts that protect incumbent lawmakers from serious challenges. (NPR)

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