Daily Digest: Early votes are rolling in
Here we are, Daily Digesters. We made it to Friday -- it's been fun. Michael Mulcahy is back Monday.
1. Tim Walz pledges grants and other spending to help cities. The DFL candidate for governor is proposing a new state grant program to help local government improve public infrastructure and to spur development. Walz outlined his “One Minnesota Community Prosperity Plan” Thursday in a conference call with reporters. It’s similar to a proposal the 1
st
District congressman outlined last week for a national grant program aimed at rural cities. Walz is also proposing an increase in the gas tax and a boost in local government aid. He wants to invest $300 million in high-speed internet access throughout the state. (MPR News)
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2. Early voting is WAY up in the primary election. Minnesota is on track to triple the number of people who voted early in the state’s August primary election. According to the most recent data from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office, 29,657 people had already cast their ballots by July 26 using the state’s “no-excuse absentee” voting option, which was passed by the Legislature in 2013. That’s up dramatically from the last statewide primary in 2016, when 11,806 people had voted by this point, and more than 2014, the first year no-excuse balloting was an option, when 9,062 people had voted by this date. The primary, on Aug. 14 this year, is still more than two weeks away. (MPR News)
3. Gomm mourned as Stillwater prison safety questions linger. Killed in the line of duty, Stillwater prison officer Joseph Gomm was remembered Thursday at his funeral as a compassionate, funny and dedicated guardian. Hundreds of police and correctional officers from across Minnesota paid their respects as the investigation into his death continued. Gomm had just marked 16 years as a correctional officer when an inmate allegedly attacked and killed him at the prison last week. At least three Minnesota corrections officers have quit their jobs since the incident. (MPR News)
4. They thought this was Trump country. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders visited Wichita, Kansas, to woo progressives in support of congressional candidate James Thompson. It’s one thing to push the Democratic party left in New York City. It is quite another to rabble-rouse for universal healthcare, wind energy and a livable wage in Charles Koch’s backyard. Doing so takes, my friends in the north-east might say, “hutzpah." But some are wondering -- is the red state ready to turn blue? (The Guardian)
5. How repeat rapists slip by police. Part two of the special report looks into how Minnesota police have failed to investigate dozens of rape suspects even though they had been accused of, charged with or convicted of previous sexual assaults. Public records reviewed by the Star Tribune from 2015 and 2016 show dozens of rape cases in which police failed to investigate suspects even though they had been accused of, charged with or convicted of sexual assault in previous incidents — sometimes more than once. (Star Tribune)