Capitol View for March 29

Good morning. Opening Day should be a national holiday.

The Legislature might be on break, but we’re not done for the week: A good Politics Friday show is lined up. We have an interview with Attorney General Keith Ellison on some of the (many) things his office is up to and some of the criticism he’s encountered for it. Ellison was undergoing shoulder surgery this week – which means he won’t get to argue a voting rights case before the state Supreme Court on Monday as he hoped – so we taped it. We won’t have room to air it all at noon, but we’ll post the entire conversation on our podcast later. Also on tap is Joe Tierab, one of the Republicans who could face Democratic Rep. Angie Craig in the most-competitive congressional district race on this year’s docket. We invited the other Republican, Tayler Rahm, to join but he couldn’t fit it in. Show starts at noon; stream it here.

As I mentioned, Ellison taped with us earlier in the week. You’ll have to tune in for the extended remarks, but the attorney general said he hadn’t been formally asked yet to assist or take over the prosecution of a State Patrol officer charged in a fatal shooting. Trooper Ryan Londregan faces multiple charges in the 2023 death of Ricky Cobb II as he fled a traffic stop. The prosecution by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has been fraught with controversy and spurred calls for the governor to step in. Ellison said the case would present a logistical challenge because his office also represents the State Patrol in civil matters. “We in the Minnesota attorney general’s office are set up to manage these kind of conflicts. We wall off people and say look, ‘these people are in a whole different part of the office; they cannot communicate.’” He noted that there is a lawsuit threat but wouldn’t say if settlement discussions were under way. We also talked about guns, car theft, the anti-trust case against Apple and consumer protection matters.

Lawmakers revised the state law around school resource officers in a bill given final approval and signed about two weeks ago. That law distinguishes some between sworn law enforcement officers and other school personnel when it comes to regulations around prone holds of students. But it also requires a statewide model policy and more training. In a somewhat quick turn, the state Department of Public Safety is now looking to hire up to three people to serve in a training and planning role “to support the development, enhancement and implementation of school safety programs and initiatives.” An application period closes on April 15, according to a job posting.

Work on a new Minnesota military museum is moving ahead. This week, the Department of Administration advertised for a main contractor to undertake the project. The Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum will be located at Camp Ripley, near Little Falls. It’ll be about 46,000 square feet on an 18.5 acre site and house collections of artifacts, learning space and exhibits of vehicles and aircraft. There will be a Court of Honor and parade grounds. Lawmakers approved $5.7 million toward the project in last year’s construction package. Completion is expected in January 2026.

We wrote yesterday about the status of electric vehicle tax credits and how they’re aimed at juicing demand for the cars. But the publicly accessible charging capacity remains an issue for EV owners. The AP writes that only four states have opened charging stations funded by the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. States, local governments and tribes have been awarded $623 million to speed development of the stations and additional charging ports.

Three presidents, one fundraiser and a $25 million haul. With the help of former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, current President Joe Biden hauled in a record amount yesterday in New York. It will help him expand a cash advantage over repeat rival, former President Donald Trump. The Republican presumptive nominee was also in New York yesterday to attend the wake of a New York City police officer killed in the line of duty.

Another hearing around Donald Trump’s criminal charges was held yesterday in Georgia and his attorneys said that the election interference case should be dropped on protected speech grounds. Trump attorney Steve Sadow says the underlying charges all hinge on conduct that should be covered by First Amendment protections. “There is nothing alleged factually against President Trump that is not political speech,” Sadow told the judge. Prosecutors say what Trump said and did was both false and in the furtherance of a crime and should not be covered by speech protections. The judge didn’t immediately rule.