Good morning, and happy Tuesday.
In State Fair interviews an hour apart Monday, Republican governor candidate Scott Jensen and DFL incumbent Gov. Tim Walz revisited the civil unrest after George Floyd's May 2020 killing and whether enough was done to stop it. MPR's Brian Bakst reports Jensen has made the nights of destruction and a torched police precinct a prominent criticism of Walz's public safety record. "He froze," Jensen said on WCCO Radio, saying Walz should have done more to restore order and defend the 3rd Precinct headquarters in Minneapolis. "They just didn't get it, what they were giving up. This absolutely demoralized, not just the cops in the 3rd Precinct. This demoralized peace officers across Minnesota." Walz told another WCCO interviewer that he acted with the best information he had at the time and mounted an unprecedented National Guard mobilization within days. "When the ask came, they were mobilizing," Walz said. "Trying to decide how quickly folks can mobilize, these are not on standby waiting to go. Many of them are simply trying to do their jobs and they responded as quickly as they could." The Guard deployment was the subject of examination by the Republican-led Senate in the months after the unrest. At the time, the Guard's leader testified that soldiers were called up faster and in greater numbers than any event since World War II. But documents also revealed that there was internal debate and external pressure around how to move quicker.
The candidates for Minnesota Secretary of State have widely different ideas about the security of Minnesota elections.The Star Tribune interviewed DFL incumbent Steve Simon and his Republican challenger Kim Crockett Monday. From their story: Crockett's push to impose tighter voting laws stems from her belief that the 2020 election was "rigged" in Minnesota, a falsehood that has no evidence supporting it. Her charge follows the same line used by former President Donald Trump about the national presidential election, even though that assertion by Trump has been repeatedly disproven. "Even if everything is on the up-and-up, people are looking at [election results] and saying, 'I don't believe it anymore,'" said Crockett, an attorney. "It's tearing apart families and it's tearing apart our country. It has to stop, and the only way to do that is to look at our election laws and say, 'Where are we leaking confidence?'" Simon, who's seeking his third four-year term, said politicians who have repeated falsehoods about the 2020 election or falsely portrayed the election system are partly to blame for growing public distrust. "I think the number one challenge to our democracy nationally, and I'd say in Minnesota, too, is this wave of disinformation that has unfortunately washed over too many places in our country and in our state," Simon said.
A proposed mine in northern Minnesota highlights the tension over protecting the land and acquiring the metals necessary to move to climate friendly technologies.The New York Times has the story about the nickel mining venture by Talon Metals, which has a contract to supply Tesla: The project, which lies 50 miles west of Lake Superior, highlights some of the challenges that are emerging as the Biden administration tries to transition America to electric vehicles. The administration has said it wants to make the supply chains for batteries more resilient by sourcing minerals inside North America. But that desire could bring its own potential for environmental damage and infringement of the rights of Indigenous Americans. Much of the nation's supply of battery materials is near tribal land.
A federal program that helps renovate the homes of low-income seniors is set to get a small boost in funding, some of which will be invested in the Twin Cities. MPR's Jon Collins reports the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's Older Adult Homes Modification Program helps low-income seniors fix up their homes by adding grab bars, new lighting and other improvements. Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Chris Coleman says his organization is handling more than $800,000 in grants related to the program. He said that will be enough to serve 155 senior homeowners. "Our seniors can stay in their homes as long as they want to and retain the value of those homes so that they can create generational wealth that can be passed on to future generations," Coleman said. HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said the program has already invested $30 million nationally, with another $15 million dollars on the way.
NPR's Martin Kaste took a look at the rise in shootings across the United States. If you missed it on the radio, it's definitely worth reading the whole thing: Hopes for a rapid decline in the pandemic murder spike are fading. National statistics for 2022 aren't yet available, but you can get a sneak peak from an informal year-to-date tally of murders in major cities compiled by data analyst Jeff Asher. The total count in those cities has dipped slightly lower than last year, but it's still well above pre-pandemic levels. And in 40 percent of the cities listed, homicides are trending higher. Some of the worst trouble spots are cities such as Philadelphia and Baltimore, where year-to-date homicides are rivaling the high tallies of 2020 and 2021. In Portland, Ore., the mayor has declared an "emergency" over gun violence, as the city struggles to reel in an annual murder count that shot up to 88 in 2021, from 36 in 2019. Even some smaller cities, such as Little Rock, Ark., are in danger of eclipsing last year's murder numbers. | 
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