Daily Digest: Dayton meets with black leaders
Good morning, and welcome to Thursday of a week that here in Minnesota has been comfortably cool to coincide with the Summer solstice. Here's the Digest.
1. DFL Gov. Mark Dayton said Wednesday that watching the dash cam video of police officer Jeronimo Yanez shooting and killing Philando Castile was one of the “horrific reminders that everyone … is not treated equally in the state of Minnesota.” The governor made his comments after meeting with black leaders for more than an hour. The meeting was filled with “raw emotion” as the community grappled with the visions of Yanez shooting Castile just seconds after pulling him over during a traffic stop last July in Falcon Heights. Dayton has scheduled another meeting with community leaders today. (Pioneer Press)
2. Minnesota government officials have a lot of homework to do in the coming months. The budget bills passed last month were full of requirements for state agencies to research dozens of topics and report back to the Legislature by the end of the year. The final version of transportation bill includes required reports on transportation-related sales tax revenue, project selection, project costs, dedicated funds, toll roads and turnbacks. The state government budget bill calls for about a dozen reports, on topics including county audits performed by the state auditor, cosmetologist inspections, veterans’ homes finances and a different way to calculate agency budgets. (MPR News)
3. Speaking of that study of toll roads, according to MnDOT, the MNPass lanes on interstates 394, 35W and 35E generated about $3.5 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2016. More lane miles were added late last year. The study also seeks information on federal laws that hinder broader tolling, experiences in other states and analysis of toll-road feasibility for various Minnesota corridors. Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, pushed to put tolling to the test. “I’ve paid for my share of use of toll roads in other states, and I see nothing wrong with taking a look at whether or not we will have people from out of the state of Minnesota that will help contribute to the maintenance and creation of new roads and new infrastructure in Minnesota.” (MPR News)
4. St. Paul City Council members voted Wednesday not to grant a landlord's request for an exemption to the city’s skyway hours and urged her to add more security instead of blocking people’s access. The debate over Jaunae Brooks’ building is a microcosm of the larger conversation going on in St. Paul. City officials, residents and building owners are trying to figure out how to improve safety in the skyway system without limiting public access. Unlike Minneapolis, St. Paul’s approximately 5-mile network of enclosed walkways is public. The city paid for most of the skyways and, in exchange, requires private property owners to allow people to connect to them between 6 a.m. and 2 a.m. (Star Tribune)
5. The Minneapolis City Council is set to hear testimony today on a plan for a $15 per hour minimum wage. Supporters say a higher wage will especially benefit low-income and people of color. Some critics, though, warn the ordinance will be bad for workers because it will force employers to make some hard decisions. If passed, the $15 an hour wage will be phased in over five years. "We would probably have to reduce our hours. We would probably, possibly, have to close on Sundays. And hire less people," said JoAnn Brown, who owns an art supply store with her husband Larry in South Minneapolis. (MPR News)
Barring big news, the Digest will take a breather on Friday and return next week.
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