Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday.
Any way you look at it, it’s a lot of money. Minnesota now has a projected surplus of $7.75 billion. And as you might expect, there are a lot of ideas about what to do with all that money. MPR’s Brian Bakst has the story : “This is good news for Minnesota,” said DFL Gov. Tim Walz Tuesday. “This is what responsible policies look like. This is what happens when you invest in people.” Walz suggested the money could be used to provide Minnesotans with paid family and medical leave, improve child care and health care, and lower the cost of energy. The fiscal gusher will undoubtedly feed calls for tax cuts, increased payments to schools and additional programs to help people regain their footing after the long pandemic. “The top priority of Senate Republicans this session will be to provide additional tax relief to Minnesotans across the state,” said Republican Majority Leader Jeremy Miller of Winona. Business groups are already lobbying to head off a hike in unemployment taxes set to kick in to refill a fund drained over the past two years, and House Republicans are on board with that idea, saying it would block a tax increase on businesses of up to 15 percent. Asked about the fund on Tuesday Walz responded, “We’ll fix it.” But the governor said he would not cut taxes for the “1 percent of the 1 percent.”
The Republicans running for governor met for a forum last night in Wayzata. Tim Pugmire was there and sent this: The Republicans who want to win the governor's office from Tim Walz next year say most of the state budget surplus should be returned to the taxpayers. Former Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said the size of the $7.7 billion surplus proves government is taking too much money from Minnesotans and changes are needed. "What are the things that we can do to fundamentally change our tax code? We're in the top five or six states, worst taxed states in the country," Gazelka said. "Now is the time to do that. So, anything that the governor wants to do to spend more money is a huge mistake." Michelle Benson also criticized Walz’s record on taxes. "We are becoming anti-competitive,” Benson said. “We need to get rid of the Social Security tax completely, because we are chasing grandpas and grandmas out of this state. We are chasing retirees who would invest their time, talent and treasure in our churches, in our museums." The candidates also discussed abortion, crime, emergency powers and vaccinations. All five revealed they have had COVID-19.
Opening statements are set for today in the manslaughter trial of Kimberly Potter, the former Brooklyn Center police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright.The Associated Press has a preview: Jurors will be presented with starkly different views of the Minnesota police officer who killed Black motorist Daunte Wright during opening statements at her manslaughter trial Wednesday, with the defense claiming that Kimberly Potter made an innocent mistake by pulling her handgun instead of her Taser and the prosecution portraying her as a veteran cop who had gone through extensive training that warned of such a mix-up. Potter, 49, is charged with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in Wright’s April 11 death in Brooklyn Center. The white former officer – she resigned two days after the shooting – has said she meant to use her Taser on the 20-year-old Wright after he tried to drive away from a traffic stop as officers tried to arrest him, but that she grabbed her handgun instead. Her body camera recorded the shooting.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Tuesday named deputy chief Amelia Huffman as the city’s interim police chief starting next year. The appointment comes the day after current chief Medaria Arradondo announced that he will not seek another term as chief. Huffman leads the department's professional standards. She also oversees administrative services, internal affairs, technology and support services and training. Since joining the force in 1994, Huffman has served as a patrol officer, a member of the community response team, a shift lieutenant and head of the 5th Precinct. Frey said the city will launch a nationwide search for a permanent chief, and Huffman said she’s interested in the permanent job.
This is encouraging, if it pans out. From the AP: Pfizer said Wednesday that a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine may protect against the new omicron variant even though the initial two doses appear significantly less effective. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said lab tests showed a booster dose increased by 25-fold the level of so-called neutralizing antibodies against omicron. Pfizer announced the preliminary laboratory data in a press release and it hasn’t yet undergone scientific review. The companies already are working to create an omicron-specific vaccine in case it’s needed. | 