Daily Digest: DFL perks

Good morning and happy Thursday. Here's the Digest.

1. Many of the people invited to sit in publicly owned seats in luxury suites at U.S. Bank Stadium had something in common. They were either Democrats or friends of Democrats. Some have paid back the cost of their tickets, and some have not. The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority released a plan this week to change its policy, so that board members will no longer be allowed  to invite friends and family to games and other events. The Authority is set to vote on the plan tomorrow. (Star Tribune)

2. Some Republicans are objecting after laid off DFL staffers were granted benefits from the state’s Dislocated Workers Program, which is normally used for mass layoffs from private companies. The staffers lost their jobs because their party lost the election. More than 50 Democratic staffers lost their jobs after the election, and they’ve banded together to take advantage of benefits for workers who are subject to a mass layoff. The benefits include assistance with rent and mortgage, utility bills, car payments and job training. (WCCO-TV)

3. African-Americans were frisked or searched more often than any other racial group when stopped by St. Paul police, according to data the department released Wednesday on more than 500,000 traffic stops made over the past 15 years. St. Paul police officers have recorded the race of drivers since 2001. The data show whites made up nearly half of the stops. Black drivers made up more than a third. African-American drivers also received more citations than did drivers of any other racial or ethnic group when stopped. (MPR News)

4. Metro Transit is facing a big budget shortfall. The Metropolitan Council is projecting an $89 million shortfall in its transportation operating budget over the next two years. Met Council officials are looking for help from the Legislature. From this piece:  The main issue confronting the regional planning body involves a $43 million projected decline in motor-vehicle sales tax (MVST) revenue through fiscal 2019. Consumers pay a 6.5 percent tax whenever they buy a new or used vehicle, but revenue projections keep falling because people are holding on to their cars longer in lieu of buying new, council officials said. This tax revenue makes up about 44 percent, or $225 million, of the council’s overall transit operating budget for 2016. (Star Tribune)

5. The U.S. government believes Vladimir Putin was personally involved with the effort to interfere in the U.S. election, NBC News reported, citing unnamed senior intelligence officials. The report says: Putin's objectives were multifaceted, a high-level intelligence source told NBC News. What began as a "vendetta" against Hillary Clinton morphed into an effort to show corruption in American politics and to "split off key American allies by creating the image that [other countries] couldn't depend on the U.S. to be a credible global leader anymore," the official said. (NBC News)

6. President-elect Trump told a group of tech company executives that his administration wants to help them do well. Silicon Valley generally backed Hillary Clinton over Trump.  From this story: Many in the industry are worried that Trump will stifle innovation, curb the hiring of computer-savvy immigrants and infringe on consumers' digital privacy. He immediately tried to allay those fears. "We want you to keep going with the incredible innovation. Anything we can do to help this go on, we will be there for you," Trump said. "You'll call my people, you'll call me. We have no formal chain of command around here." (AP)

• Politics Friday: Should we stop trusting pre-election polling?
• MPR News congressional debates: 7th District and 8th District
• Politics Friday: 1st District, 3rd District congressional candidates debate the issues