Good morning, and happy Friday. Here’s the Digest.
1. National Guard helicopter crash kills three. A Minnesota Army National Guard helicopter crashed Thursday afternoon in Stearns County southwest of St. Cloud, killing all three guardsmen aboard. The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter took off from St. Cloud around 2 p.m. for what the Guard described as a “maintenance test flight” and called mayday about 9 minutes after takeoff. Gov. Tim Walz confirmed the crash and the deaths at an evening briefing with reporters. “They paid the ultimate price in service to Minnesota and to the United States of America,” said Walz, a retired Minnesota Army National Guardsman. “Words will never ease the pain of this tragic loss.” The names of the dead will be released following notification of family members, he said, adding that the “coming days will be dark and difficult.” Stearns County authorities said it took several hours to find the craft following the mayday signal. Emergency responders rushed to the scene after it was discovered about 16 miles from St. Cloud. MPR News
2. State has $1.3 billion on the bottom line. Minnesota has a $1.3 billion projected budget surplus heading into the 2020 legislative session, setting up a potential conflict between a divided Legislature and DFL Gov. Tim Walz over how to use the extra money. Minnesota budget officials released the latest economic forecast on Thursday, noting that improved income and sales tax collections and a slight decrease in expected spending contributed to extra money on the bottom line. There’s also a surplus projected ahead into the next state budget, but economic officials said uncertain trade policies and a change in confidence from consumers could change that outlook. “The risk [is] that consumers, the champions of this economic expansion, get spooked and hold onto their wallets,” State Economist Laura Kalambokidis said. The total surplus was actually $284 million larger, but state law required that money flow automatically into state’s rainy day reserves. The reserve fund is now at $2.359 billion, the level recommended by budget officials. Lawmakers convene the 2020 session on Feb. 11. They will get another forecast weeks after that which they will use to make final decisions. MPR News
3. People moving to the state helped create the surplus. After years of losing population to other states, more people now are moving into Minnesota rather than leaving. That is one reason why the state’s economy continues to grow, contributing to a state budget surplus of $1.3 billion for the current two-year cycle. “Improvements in both migration to the state and household formations represent bright spots for Minnesota’s economic outlook,” state finance officials wrote in an economic forecast released Thursday. Households form when, for example, kids move out of their parents’ basement and into a home of their own. Between 2010 and 2017, Minnesota added about 10,000 new households a year, down from the pre-recession 10-year average of 24,500. But 2018 marked a spike in new households with the addition of 32,000 new homes. That growth coincided with two years of more people moving into Minnesota rather than out, reversing a 15-year trend of the Gopher state losing residents to other states. “Positive domestic net migration combined with positive international net migration to make 2017 the largest year for net migration to Minnesota in nearly three decades,” the report said. Pioneer Press
4. Leadership battle brewing among state Senate Democrats. State Sen. Tom Bakk is facing a challenge from a fellow Democratic senator for the post of minority leader. Sen. Susan Kent, an assistant leader of the caucus, announced her intention to run against Bakk in an e-mail to fellow DFL senators on Wednesday. “I’m writing to let you know that during out December 10th caucus meeting, I intend to run for minority leader,” Kent, of Woodbury, wrote in the brief e-mail. “I look forward to the caucus discussion.” On Thursday, Bakk, from Cook, sent his own e-mail to the caucus postponing the Dec. 10 meeting because, he said, not all DFL senators would be able to attend. “Sen. Kent’s e-mail request for a new leadership election is a serious matter and it’s important to have full caucus participation in that discussion,” Bakk wrote. “Given the gravity of Sen. Kent’s request, we will postpone Tuesday’s caucus until a date when we can accommodate all 32 Senate DFL members.” Kent, reached by the Star Tribune, declined to discuss her plan. “Really, in our caucus we’re a family and I never talk about family,” Kent said. “Families have discussions and that’s where I’m going to leave it today.” Bakk, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment. Star Tribune
5. Harpstead makes key hires. The new head of the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has filled several key management positions in her ongoing effort to address leadership turmoil and financial missteps that have wracked the $18.5 billion agency since the summer. Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead announced the appointment of two top administrators Thursday to oversee the Community Supports Administration, a large and complex branch that oversees services for about 500,000 Minnesotans. The area has a $393 million annual budget and includes mental health, substance use disorder services, housing supports and disability services. In a message to DHS staff, Harpstead said Community Supports is “leading some of our most significant initiatives,” including substance use disorder reform and recent efforts to streamline and simplify services under the state’s Medicaid waiver program, which pays for services for nearly 90,000 Minnesotans who are older or have disabilities.Gertrude Matemba-Mutasa, former executive director of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center in north Minneapolis, will take the helm as assistant commissioner of Community Supports on Jan. 6. Previously she held leadership positions at First Children’s Finance, an organization dedicated to increasing the supply of affordable child care, and WomenVenture, which supports female-led businesses. Harpstead also appointed Doug Annett, former vice president at Opportunity Partners, a Minnetonka-based nonprofit provider of services for people with disabilities, to be deputy assistant commissioner of Community Supports, a new position. Annett also served on the board of directors of ARRM, the state’s largest association of residential service providers for people with disabilities. Star Tribune |
