The Daily Digest (Bachmann closes VA office, Dayton visits NW MN, Pawlenty portrait released)

Gov. Dayton will visit the fire in northwestern Minnesota and will then hold an economic summit in Thief River Falls today.

Dayton held a similar summit on Friday in Duluth on Friday.

Dayton will host a breakfast on Tuesday at the Governor's Residence for the Minnesota Lynx. The team won the WNBA Championship on Friday night.

Dayton will attend the governor's first pheasant opener in Montevideo next Saturday.

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The arrest of a Human Services worker is raising alarms about how Minnesota cares for the state's most vulnerable.

The Pi Press reports that Minnesota's child care ranks among the least affordable in the country.

Forum Communications says local government officials are preparing for property taxpayers' blast.

A Mankato based "green" recycling company that received government subsidies went bankrupt.

Mining

GOP Rep. Chip Cravaack held a meeting on Friday to discuss the PolyMet permits. Wild Rice may pose a problem for the permit approval.

Frac sand operations proliferate in the Winona area.

Occupy Wall St.

The protests will continue at Hennepin County government center.

Former Gov. Jesse Ventura helped kick off the protest in Minnesota.

Protests are popping up all around the country.

Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson called the protesters "anarchists, socialists and flower children."

Vikings Stadium

The Star Tribune says the Vikings are worried about a feasibility study that the state will release this week.

Europe

France and Belgium agree to nationalize the troubled Dexia bank.

German and French leaders are also promising a blueprint this month that will help ease the crisis.

Congress

60 Minutes interviews General Electric President Jeffrey Immelt. President Obama charged Immelt with figuring out to get U.S. firms hiring again.

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI, says he sees a possible compromise on corporate taxes.

The New York Times says U.S. incomes continue to fall even though the recession ended.

House Republicans may start issuing subpoenas in the Fast and the Furious case.

The PoliGraph says GOP Rep. John Kline's Twitter claim on President Obama's jobs record could use deeper context.

Kline dismissed criticism of his labor bill.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Wisconsin's changes to collective bargaining could be a national model.

DFL Rep. Betty McCollum wrote an op-ed saying her GOP counterparts want to bust unions.

McCollum says it's time to end the war in Afghanistan.

DFL Rep. Keith Ellison will discuss humanitarian efforts in Libya today at the U of M's Humphrey School.

GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen was glitter bombed on Friday.

Race for Congress

GOP state Sen. Mike Parry says he'll challenge DFL Rep. Tim Walz.

Democrat Brian Barnes will announce today that he's going to challenge GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen. Barnes is also running ads with the hopes of gaining DFL support.

Race for the President

President Obama's numbers in the key state of Pennsylvania are getting no better.

The Washington Post says the GOP field is vague on solutions for the economy.

Politico says Rick Perry's immigration problem is growing.

The New York Times says Perry will start running TV ads criticizing Romney.

One of the ads accuses Romney of flip-flopping on RomneyCare.

Former Sen. Judd Gregg, R-NH, signs up with Romney's team today.

GOP Rep. Michele Bachman closed her Virginia office.

AP also reports that Bachmann said the debt ceiling fight has kept her out of New Hampshire. The vote on the issue was on August 2.

Bachmann sidestepped questions on CNN as to whether Mitt Romney is a Christian and refused to say whether she intends to make another run for Congress.

Politico says Romney's Mormon issue has returned to the campaign.

Herman Cain won the Midwest Republican Leadership Conference's Straw Poll. Bachmann got second.

Ron Paul won the Straw Poll at the Values Voter Summit. Bachman got fifth despite making the hard sell to religious conservatives at the event.

The Daily Beast asks whether Bachmann can make it to the Iowa Caucuses.

Reuters says Bachmann vows to fight on despite her drop in the polls.

Bachmann also sat down with Fox News on Friday.

Bachmann says her personal finances are $1.28 million but she couldn't say how much she'll make from her book.

Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty will attend the unveiling of his official portrait tonight.

Pawlenty will be on MPR's Midday on Tuesday.

Pawlenty will also speak at the Gridiron Club.

Pawlenty will be on NBC's Meet the Press next week.