Good morning, and happy Friday.
First a couple program notes: On the radio today at noon I’ll talk to Secretary of State Steve Simon about elections and voting. I hope you can tune in. And as noted earlier this week, President Joe Biden will be in Minneapolis on Sunday for a memorial service for Walter Mondale, who died last year at age 93. We will stream that service live at MPRNews.org on Sunday at 1:30.
The House and Senate are expected to vote today on a long-stalled deal to repair the state’s unemployment insurance fund and deliver hero checks to some frontline pandemic workers.MPR News’ Brian Bakst reports legislative leaders announced the agreement Thursday. It would clear the way for bonuses to as many as 667,000 workers that have been held up since House and Senate negotiators deadlocked on a plan last summer. Refilling the unemployment insurance trust fund that was depleted during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and paying back a debt to the federal government would take businesses off the hook of having to pay higher taxes to resolve the problem. House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, offered a brief sketch of the agreement. “The tentative agreement is $500 million for frontline workers, $2.7 billion for unemployment insurance and allowing the governor to have $190 million to spend on COVID-related management costs,” she said. Each worker eligible for the bonuses would get a payment averaging $750, Hortman said.
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights report this week that found a pattern of racial bias in the Minneapolis Police Department came as no surprise to many Black Minnesotans. The Star Tribune reports : "We have seen a lot of officers within the Minneapolis Police Department violate the civil rights of Americans, and when we brought this to the Police Department, nothing was done — they didn't even get suspended," said Bishop Harding Smith of the Spiritual Church of God in Robbinsdale. "So, this doesn't come as a shock to us because we knew that racism was embedded in the very foundation of the Minneapolis Police Department." Smith said that he suspected police were using social media to monitor people calling for justice and equality but didn't think it was at the level described in the report. "This is a violation on a major scale," Smith said. "This is so wrong. So, we're not out there chasing the criminals, we are out there monitoring people that are trying to bring change. … What a waste of time and resources." Many were skeptical of Mayor Jacob Frey's remarks voicing outrage over the findings, believing that he had to know about the abuses — and that he had the power to change the police department he oversees.
MinnPost has a profile of Jeff Ettinger, the former CEO of Hormel who is running for congress in Minnesota’s 1st District. Ettinger has been involved in politics, mostly as a donor, but is a first-time candidate. In an interview from his house in Austin, he said he was inspired to run for office because of the “extreme partisanship polarization, the hostility, just the lack of respect and ultimately lack of results” in politics. But Ettinger was also frustrated with Republican Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who died in February of kidney cancer, saying Hagedorn listened only to those who agreed with him. Those concerns culminated in a “gut punch” to the district, Ettinger said, when Hagedorn wouldn’t vote to certify the 2020 presidential election after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters.
MPR’s Kirsti Marohn reports this spring’s outbreak of avian influenza has sparked renewed protests from animal welfare activists over the destruction of large numbers of poultry birds. Several groups have raised objections to methods used to kill chickens or turkeys once they’ve been exposed to the deadly virus. In particular, they say a method called ventilation shutdown — recommended as a last resort — is cruel and inhumane. The protests have generated media headlines here in Minnesota. During a Timberwolves’ April 12 game at Target Center a woman glued her hand to the floor of the court, wearing a T-shirt that read, “Glen Taylor Roasts Animals Alive.” In Minnesota, the main method used to quickly destroy poultry — usually turkeys — that are raised on barn floors is to pump in a water-based foam, which smothers them. In some barns where foam isn’t a feasible option, a small number of birds are put into a crate or cart, and carbon dioxide is pumped in, said Dr. Beth Thompson, state veterinarian and executive director of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. The ventilation shutdown method currently facing criticism involves turning off the airflow in the barn, which overheats the birds. The USDA and AVMA also recommend adding additional heat or carbon dioxide to speed up the process, a guideline that Thompson said is always followed in Minnesota.
A new national poll indicates most parents aren’t wrapped up in the culture war political debate over how race, gender or history are tackled in public school classrooms. That's according to a poll by NPR and Ipsos. By wide margins — and regardless of their political affiliation — parents express satisfaction with their children's schools and what is being taught in them. In the poll, 76 percent of respondents agree that "my child's school does a good job keeping me informed about the curriculum, including potentially controversial topics." "It really is a pretty vocal minority that is hyper-focused on parental rights and decisions around curriculum," observes Mallory Newall of Ipsos, which conducted the poll. | 