The Daily Digest

Minnesota's jobless rate dropped to 6.7% in January.

MPR says Gov. Dayton and GOP lawmakers are making little headway in their promise to create new jobs.

The Star Tribune takes a look at the permitting bill and whether companies would be able to draft their own environmental rules under the law. Dayton has until midnight tonight to sign the bill.

The House and Senate are expected to take up a bill that expands alternative teacher licensure. Here's how it would work in Minnesota.

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Here's a look at the pluses and minuses of going to All Day Kindergarten, a proposal by Gov. Dayton.

State funding cuts aren't the only reason for college tuition hikes.

Three Beltrami District Court judges write an op-ed saying the state's justice system is underfunded.

Minnesota's Catholic Bishops say the wealthy should pay more.

Gov. Dayton named his Met Council appointments.

GOP state Sen. John Carlson says he didn't do his "homework very well" by authoring a bill that would cut pay equity for women. He's yanking the bill.

The PoliGraph says a claim made by AFSCME's Eliot Seide holds up.

The president of the Vikings met with state lawmakers.

Lawmakers are considering a bill that would require all Internet retailers to pay sales taxes in Minnesota.

A DFL lawmaker uses Tim Pawlenty's own words (in video form) to defend a bill that would keep the state's renewable energy standard in place. Republicans want to remove it.

DFL state Sen. Chuck Wiger has been appointed to the Education Commission on the States.

Congress

The federal government avoids a shutdown, for now.

President Obama would accelerate the sale of unneeded federal real estate.

The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protects military funeral protesters.

MPR takes a look at where Minnesota's Congressional delegation stands on Wisconsin and public employee unions.

DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Patty Wetterling want to use IRS data to find missing children.

DFL Sen. Al Franken hired former DFL state Rep. Al Juhnke to handle Agriculture, Energy, Environmental Outreach in Minnesota.

GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen unveils an Iphone App.

New York Republican Congressman Peter King will hold hearings on Muslim extremism on March 10th. DFL Rep. Keith Ellison, who has criticized the hearing, is scheduled to testify.

GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann targets light bulbs.

2012 Race for President

CNN reports Pawlenty will form an exploratory committee in two to three weeks.

Tim Pawlenty is headed to South Carolina on March 16th.

A new Wall St. Journal/NBC News poll shows Mike Huckabee leading other 2012 contenders. The Fix says Pawlenty is happy that his number jumped from 3 percent to 8 percent when those polled are asked about their second choice. Note: GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann wasn't included in the poll.

President Obama leads both Romney and Pawlenty by a wide margin in the poll.