The Daily Digest: House GOP says no to SWLRT
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In Minnesota
Minnesota's coffers are $212 million fuller than state finance officials thought they'd be at this stage. (AP via Pioneer Press)
House Speaker Kurt Daudt says House Republicans will not provide state funding for the Southwest light rail line between Eden Prairie and Minneapolis. (MPR News)
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Democrats in the Minnesota Senate on Monday released their plan for spending $800 million a year for roads, bridges and mass transit construction. Tet money would come from a new 6 and a half percent gas sales tax and higher car registration fees. (MPR News)
Voters whose mailboxes were swamped last fall with political ads from mysterious organizations would be able to find out who paid for the mailings under a bill introduced by three DFL legislators this week. (Pioneer Press)
A DFL state lawmaker is defending his decision to take a job with an Iron Range organization that lobbies the Minnesota Legislature. (MPR News)
A profile of Walter Mondale at 87. (MinnPost)
National Politics
President Obama outlined a series of proposals designed to safeguard personal data the same day, a government Twitter account was hacked. (NPR)
White House officials said they will hold a summit on countering violent extremism next month -- relying in part on the experiences of officials from the Twin Cities. (Star Tribune)
As Congress prepares to overhaul the No Child Left Behind education law, Education Secretary Arne Duncan called the legislation "tired" and "prescriptive." Nevertheless, he declared that the law's central requirement should stand: annual, mandated statewide assessments from third grade through eighth, plus one test in high school. (NPR)
Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's running mate in the 2012 election, said Monday that he has ruled out running for president in 2012. (Bloomberg News)