Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday.
Gov. Tim Walz and his Republican-endorsed opponent Scott Jensen are scheduled to appear at a forum at FarmFest today. MPR's Brian Bakst caught the scene there yesterday: The event tucked between cornfields and country roads is sponsored by farm groups, equipment dealers, seed companies and others. And in this election year, it offered some of the year's first side-by-side views of candidates for Congress. The 1st District Congressional Forum was supposed to be the day's big draw. That's in part because of a two-track election that will send somebody new to Washington next week to replace the late Rep. Jim Hagedorn, a GOP lawmaker who died this winter. The special election is between Republican nominee Brad Finstad, a farmer and former state legislator, and DFLer Jeffrey Ettinger, the former Hormel CEO. The same two are angling for their party's nominations for the November election that will decide who holds the seat in the next term. Ettinger bowed out at the last minute after testing positive for COVID-19. Finstad shared a stage with three other candidates, including GOP state Rep. Jeremy Munson.
And Brian sent this: Jensen said he'd speed up permitting, reduce fees and make other moves to prop up farming and meat production. Jensen laid out a 10-point plan Tuesday that he said would invigorate rural parts of Minnesota. Jensen said he would eliminate a tax on fertilizer and find other ways to pay for the agriculture research it funds. He said he'd add more geographic diversity to agency commissioner posts. And he said he'd put more trust in farmers to watch out for the environment. "I grew up in Sleepy Eye," Jensen said. "You know what, farmers don't need help, particularly from the arrogant urbanites. They're stewarding the land. They live here." Pressed on the term "arrogant urbanites," the Chaska physician and former state legislator says he hears from farmers who are frustrated by the notion they won't take care of natural resources unless ordered to do so.
Rep. Angie Craig would not say Tuesday whether she would support President Joe Biden if he runs for a second term in 2024 and urged a "new generation" of Democratic leadership, reports Walker Orenstein at MinnPost. "I'm talking about Congress and I'm talking about up and down the ballot," Craig told MinnPost at Farmfest in rural Redwood County. "I think Dean Phillips and I are in lockstep and alignment with that and I'm going to do everything in my power as a member of Congress to make sure that we have a new generation of leadership." Craig was referring to her colleague, 3rd District Rep. Dean Phillips, a Democrat who told WCCO radio last week that he wouldn't support Biden in 2024.
The Becker school board voted this week to table discussion on a proposed policy that has been met with resistance from community members as well as state organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and Education Minnesota, the statewide teachers union. MPR's Elizabeth Schockman reports the draft policy aims to bar "political indoctrination" and "the teaching of inherently divisive concepts," which, according to the draft, includes concepts in which "an individual's moral character is inherently determined by his or her race, sex or faith" or "an individual, by virtue of his or her race, sex, or faith, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, sex, or faith." Close to a dozen Becker community members spoke at Monday's board meeting in opposition to the draft policy, including several teachers and students.
Minnesota's electric grid is slated for a $2 billion upgrade,reports MPR's Catharine Richert. The investment is part of a $10 billion grid expansion in the Midwest by the Mid-Continent Independent System Operator. It's the largest grid investment in U.S. history. Minnesota Project locations will be in Alexandria, Benton County and Rochester. The investment will lead to more reliable electricity and create jobs, said Minnesota Department of Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold. The investment will also relieve congestion in the grid that's prevented renewable energy projects from moving forward. "We want to recognize that there are wind projects in southern Minnesota that have been curtailed because of the transmission line congestion," Arnold said. "Local renewable development projects in solar have been put on hold because there isn't enough capacity in these lines to get those energy resources into the market."
And just one result from voting around the country Tuesday: Voters in Kansas rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment Tuesday that would have said there was no right to an abortion in the state,NPR reports. Nearly 59 percent voted no compared to 41 percent who supported the measure, according to the Associated Press. Kansas For Constitutional Freedom, the main abortion rights group opposing the amendment, called the victory "huge and decisive." "The people of Kansas have spoken," said Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for the group. "They think that abortion should be safe, legal and accessible in the state of Kansas." In the lead-up to the vote, supporters of the amendment argued that it was necessary to correct what they say was the Kansas Supreme Court's overreach in striking down some of the state's previous abortion restrictions in 2019. Opponents argued that the amendment would set state lawmakers up to pursue a total abortion ban. | 
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