Daily Digest: Searching for a deal

Good morning and Happy Martin Luther King Day. Here's some news to get your day started.

1. Democrats and Republicans at the Minnesota Capitol agree that relief for people seeing big spikes in health insurance premiums is a top priority. But months after talk of a special session and two weeks after the start of the regular legislative session the issue is still unresolved. The delay stems from deep differences over how to provide the relief and how many changes to the insurance system should come along with an infusion of cash. (Pioneer Press)

2. Mower County in southeastern Minnesota went for Donald Trump in November's election. It was the first time since 1972 a Republican presidential candidate won the county. Some of the voters there were angry. Some just wanted a change. Now people are waiting to see what comes next, and it seems nobody's quite sure what will happen in the next election. (Star Tribune)

3. Farmers continue to question the state's new public water buffer strip requirement as a November deadline approaches. The requirement was pushed hard by DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. Many farmers say it's an unfair. Some state legislators are pushing for repeal. The intent is to create natural filters that trap soil and chemical pollutants in farm field runoff and prevent them from reaching rivers and lakes. While Dayton is open to changes, a spokesman says he will veto any attempt to repeal the requirement. (MPR News)

4.  President-elect Donald Trump says he will soon announce a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act with the goal of “insurance for everybody.”  He also says he will force drug companies to negotiate directly with the government on prices in Medicare and Medicaid. Trump didn't provide any specifics in an  interview with The Washington Post. From this piece: Trump’s plan is likely to face questions from the right, following years of GOP opposition to further expansion of government involvement in the health-care system, and from those on the left, who see his ideas as disruptive to changes brought by the Affordable Care Act that have extended coverage to tens of millions of Americans. (Washington Post)

5. Meanwhile Democrats held rallies in dozens of cities Sunday to protest GOP efforts to repeal Obamacare. Sen. Bernie Sanders used his email list from the campaign to help organize the rallies, which ranged from an event led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco to one featuring Sen. Elizabeth Warren in Boston. Sanders and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer went to Warren, Mich., where Trump did very well in the election. (NPR)

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