Daily Digest: New general; Digi-Key booms
Good morning and happy Thursday, the last Thursday (unofficially) of summer. Here's the Digest.
1. Gov. Mark Dayton Wednesday named Major General Jon A. Jensen to a seven-year stint as the new Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard. Jensen will succeed Major General Richard Nash, who is retiring at the end of October. He has more than 29 years of National Guard service, including assignments in Kuwait, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iraq. The Iowa native currently serves as commanding general of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division and as Nash’s chief of staff. Jensen said one of his top priorities is to bring greater diversity to the guard, with soldiers who mirror the community. His appointment comes days after President Trump ordered a ban on transgender military service, a reversal of a policy under the Obama administration. Jensen acknowledged Minnesota has an unspecified number of openly transgender soldiers. "We have supported them, and we will continue to support them going forward." (MPR News)
2. From its 200-square-foot beginning in Thief River Falls, Digi-Key has mushroomed into a powerhouse in its field. And the company is about to get a whole lot bigger, with the help of millions in tax incentives and grants awarded this spring by state and local government. The build-up will test the capacity of the region’s tight labor supply and pose other challenges. On Sept. 15, Digi-Key will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for a $200 million to $300 million expansion. The project is expected to add one million square feet to the component distributor’s global hub, more than doubling its current size. (MPR News)
3. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has been violating state law to the detriment of White Bear Lake, a judge has ruled. Wednesday’s ruling by Ramsey County Judge Margaret M. Marrinan serves as a victory for homeowners, businesses and others who sued the DNR several years ago, alleging the agency had failed to protect the popular lake and its users by mismanaging groundwater pumping permits in the area, exacerbating the lake’s notoriously fluctuating water levels. They were right, Marrinan concluded. (Pioneer Press)
4. Gov. Mark Dayton said Wednesday that Mayo Clinic Health System's plan to eliminate most inpatient services at its Albert Lea campus "calls into serious question" how Mayo is living up to its responsibility to serve people in southeast Minnesota. Dayton said Mayo has done a poor job communicating about the changes, which involve moving the Intensive Care Unit, inpatient surgeries and childbirth center to Austin. "We are very, very concerned about what Mayo is doing in terms of the effect of it and also the lack of satisfactory communication with the people of Albert Lea and that surrounding area before these decisions — if they are final decisions — were made," Dayton said. (Rochester Post Bulletin)
5. “Do you plan to vote against Paul D. Ryan continuing his speakership?” It was an easy-sounding question, asked at the end of a friendly Republican candidate forum at the Minnesota State Fair. To the pleasant surprise of Democrats, four of five Republicans seeking to flip House seats next year declined to support the speaker of the House, offering instead criticisms of Paul Ryan’s leadership. “I think he’s going in the wrong direction,” said state Rep. Tim Miller. “I would prefer someone else,” said commercial pilot Dave Hughes. “We’ll see who runs for speaker,” said businessman Jim Hagedorn. “He might not even run for speaker,” said St. Louis County Commissioner Pete Stauber. (Washington Post)
The Digest is taking tomorrow and Monday off. See you here again Tuesday.
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