The Daily Digest: Bachmann’s movie role
Good morning!
In Minnesota
A bipartisan group of state Senators said they support raising new revenue to fund transportation needs. (MPR News)
Meanwhile, Rep. Ron Erhardt, a longtime player in transportation politics at the Capitol, broke with fellow DFLers to suggest that money from the state general fund should be used to repair roads and bridges. (Star Tribune)
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The PoliGraph looks at claims made in a GOP ad about the budget surplus. (MPR News)
Even environmentally conscious Minnesota pollution regulators have concerns about EPA plans to cut carbon emissions in the state. (MinnPost)
State agencies would be clearly prohibited from making loans and grants to political entities if a new bill in the Minnesota Legislature becomes law. (Star Tribune)
Minnesota's top technology official says MNsure may need another two years of work before it's on solid footing. Office of MN.IT Services Commissioner Tom Baden also told lawmakers he doesn't think the exchange will need more state or federal money to make necessary fixes. (AP via Pioneer Press)
More than three decades after the controversial deal that established the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota, relatively small plots of land in the wilderness continue to generate big disputes. (MPR News)
National Politics
Congressional Republicans are set to introduce their budget plans soon. They intend to balance the federal budget within 10 years but doing so would entail more than $5.5 trillion in spending cuts if no tax increases are part of the plan. (Politico)
One of the few bipartisan bills, to combat human trafficking, moving forward in Congress has been stalled because of a dispute over abortion. (Roll Call)
The Strib profiles 6th District Congressman Tom Emmer's first months in office. (Star Tribune)
There's a touch of Alice In Wonderland in the 2016 presidential campaign. What's weird isn't that it's started so early, and not that the hopefuls are raising so much money. It's that almost all of those running insist they're not really candidates. (NPR via MPR News)
While Hillary Clinton may be having trouble over her emails, plenty of senators are happy to brag that they don't use email, in 2015. (New York Times)
And finally...Michele Bachmann, movie star. (Huffington Post)