The Daily Digest

Welcome to the Daily Digest, where the Vikings stadium plan is rejected by a House committee, fundraising numbers trickle in, and the Buffett Rule stalls in Washington.

Around Minnesota

A Minnesota House committee has voted down the Vikings stadium proposal.

The Legislature sent Gov. Mark Dayton a bill that would forbid state child care assistance money from being used to pay union dues.

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Zeal for an early fishing opener fades in Senate.

The Legislature has passed a bill that would allow employers to set a hiring preference for veterans and some of their spouses, the Pioneer Press reports.

The Metropolitan Council is considering working with URS Corp., a firm that consulted on the collapsed I-35W bridge, but Dayton has repeatedly expressed concerns about doing business will the company.

Money and Politics

First quarter fundraising numbers continue to trickle in.

Potential Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Severson has raised $53,884 and ended March with a little more than $40,000 in campaign cash on hand.

Republican Kurt Bills, another U.S. Senate hopeful, reports raising $47,000 from 470 donors.

Norm Coleman's super PAC gets $5 million from casino owner Sheldon Adelson.

Erik Paulsen's campaign reports raising more than $337,000 in the past three months.

Here's MPR's round-up of all the fundraising reports.

The Washington Post has a crib sheet on the first quarter's fundraising winners and losers.

Wisconsin News

A Democratic poll shows that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has a slim lead over his Democratic recall election challengers.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday won't consider the state's appeals of two rulings blocking Wisconsin's new voter ID law from taking effect.

The Waukesha County District Attorney is investigating a complaint that Mitt Romney violated election bribery law.

In Washington

The U.S. Senate voted 51-45 to approve the so-called Buffett Rule, but the chamber couldn't muster the 60 votes needed to continue debating the measure.

Congressional retirements are the highest since 1996.

When is lobbying not lobbying? When it's called a "dialogue," of course.

General Services Administration officials were grilled about lavish spending during a Capitol Hill hearing.

On the Presidential Campaign Trail

The Washington Post writes that Mitt Romney has a tax return problem.

Romney's camp is playing down the candidate's comments about changing the tax code made at a private fundraiser over the weekend, the New York Times reports.

Working to consolidate support among conservatives, Romney was in Pennsylvania wooing tea party supporters, NPR reports.

A Democratic super PAC is targeting Romney's wealth, writes the WaPo.

A Gallup poll has President Barack Obama and Romney in a statistical dead heat.