Good morning, and happy Tuesday. Here’s the Digest.
1. Another Republican is entering the race for governor. State Sen. Dave Osmek of Mound is serving his second term in the senate and wants to step up. He says he’s running to make Minnesota affordable to the taxpayers. Osmek says he wants a smaller government and has been a leading advocate of abolishing the Metropolitan Council. He says he would bring the frankness of President Trump to the governor’s office. He joins an already crowded field of candidates for the job, which will be open because DFL Gov. Mark Dayton is not seeking another term. Already more than a half dozen Republicans have announced campaigns, and more are considering a run. ( Pioneer Press)
2. Just before an explosion at Minnehaha Academy killed a receptionist and custodian and hurt nine others earlier this month, a maintenance worker heard and smelled gas being released. He went to the source of the gas, in the basement of the building on the school’s Upper Campus. As he left the basement, he used his hand-held radio to announce the presence of gas and tell everyone to evacuate. The worker then ran up the stairs to search for anyone left inside. Less than a minute later, the building exploded. These new details come from a preliminary report released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the Aug. 2 blast. ( MPR News)
3. Gov. Mark Dayton and Lt. Gov. Tina Smith Monday said they have “serious concerns” about the Mayo Clinic’s decision to end some services at its Albert Lea facility. Minutes after Dayton and Smith issued their statement, Mayo announced that it will invest more than $3 million in the Albert Lea hospital. Mayo wants to end inpatient, intensive care and birthing services at the hospital and consolidate them a half hour away in Austin. Albert Lea will maintain an emergency room, outpatient services and behavioral health services. In a statement, Dayton and Smith said that Mayo “owes it to the Albert Lea community,and any community it serves, to engage in an open discussion about the impact of its business decisions on people… especially when a decision like this affects so many.” (MPR News)
4. A painting deemed too controversial for the Minnesota Capitol will have a new, temporary home beginning next month in another historic building. The Minnesota Historical Society announced Monday that the 1904 painting “Attack on New Ulm” by Anton Gag will be part of a new exhibit opening Sept. 16, at the James J. Hill House art gallery. The exhibit is scheduled to run through Jan. 14, 2018. The painting of a scene from the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 hung inside the Capitol since 1923. But amid concerns about the painting’s depiction of Native Americans, the MNHS executive council voted last December for its removal. (MPR News)
5. As communities struggle to address the rising use of heroin and other opioid narcotics, another familiar drug has continued to tighten its grip. Figures from law enforcement and addiction treatment specialists show that methamphetamine remains the most commonly used hard drug in the region. Minnesota has experienced a 489 percent increase from 2009 to 2016 in meth seizures, according to the Department of Public Safety. And while 2009 marked a low point in levels for people seeking treatment, methamphetamine arrests and seizures have dramatically increased since then. (Forum News Service)
