From Columbine to Red Lake to Newtown, a sad memento changes hands
Today on the MPR News Update, Red Lake high school students want to share their mass shooting experiences with survivors in Newtown, Conn. We hear about the possibility of a sales tax extension as a means of boosting state revenues. And, the popular mayor of Minneapolis is thinking about what's next.
RED LAKE MISSION: Survivors of the Red Lake school shooting in 2005 are on the road to Newtown, Conn., today to show their support for the victims and survivors of the elementary school shooting there. And they have a gift to share. It's a plaque that they received from former students at Columbine High School in Colorado.
GUN CONTROL: Meanwhile, President Barack Obama is launching an administration-wide effort to curb gun violence, underscoring the growing political consensus over tightening gun restrictions following the horrific massacre. Vice President Joe Biden, a longtime gun control advocate, will be spearheading the effort. In Minnesota, the congressional delegation is split on the issue.
RYBAK AND THE RYPAC: Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak has formed a political action committee that will allow him to raise money and donate it to candidates for state office in Minnesota. The formation of the wryly named RYPAC comes at a time when the political establishment in Minneapolis is waiting for Rybak to announce whether he'll seek a fourth term as mayor.
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SALES TAX: The major tax overhaul that Minnesota lawmakers are expected to consider next year could include some significant changes in the state sales tax. Extending the sales tax to clothing remains an unpopular and unlikely option, but many other transactions could be taxed for the first time as a way to boost state revenues. Extending the sales tax to clothing remains an unpopular and unlikely option, but many other transactions could be taxed for the first time as a way to boost state revenues.
GOLDEN VALLEY APPROVES BOTTINEAU LINE: Early plans for what could be the Twin Cities' fourth light-rail transit spoke are moving ahead, with the blessing of the city of Golden Valley. The city council there has given its initial approval to the proposed Bottineau route. Golden Valley had been the sole dissenter out of the five communities along the path connecting Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park.
OLD SCHOOL: There is an alternative to mass-produced holiday greeting cards: Those that are printed, one at a time, on a 126-year old letterpress. That's Jon Drew's specialty. And this year he's making the cards as a labor of love for the widow of Robert Papas, the high school teacher who taught him the craft. More in Minnesota Sounds and Voices.
MEDICAL TOP 10: MPR's medical analyst Dr. Jon Hallberg joined All Things Considered Tuesday to talk about what he considered the top 10 medical stories of the year, including fungal meningitis, hepatitis C and health issues surrounding Hurricane Sandy.
GAME OVER: Eagan native Nicholas Mrozinski will be coming home after placing third on NBC's vocal competition show "The Voice." known to audiences of as Nicholas David, HE impressed viewers with his soulful crooning reminiscent of both Marvin Gaye and Joe Cocker, and in the finale, he sang a duet with Smokey Robinson. But the love and harmony wasn't enough to earn him the most audience votes; the popular winner was contestant Cassadee Pope.
BORK DIES: Robert H. Bork, who stepped in to fire the Watergate prosecutor at Richard Nixon's behest and whose failed 1980s nomination to the Supreme Court helped draw the modern boundaries of cultural fights over abortion, civil rights and other issues, has died. He was 85.
STATE DEPARTMENT CHIDED: The leaders of an independent panel that blamed systematic State Department management and leadership failures for gross security lapses in the deadly Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya will explain their findings to Congress on Wednesday.
INTERNET PAYDAY SETTLEMENT: An Internet payday lender will pay the state of Minnesota $760,000 to settle a lawsuit filed in 2011 by Attorney General Lori Swanson. Sure Advance LLC, based in Delaware, also agreed to stop lending to Minnesota customers unless the company registers to do business in the state and complies with state interest rate caps and other consumer protection laws, Swanson said.
COLD SPRING 911 TRANSCRIPTS: The Stearns County Sheriff's Office has released transcripts of two 911 calls placed on the night Cold Spring police Officer Tom Decker was killed. The transcripts provide a brief firsthand account of the shooting scene events, including the sighting of a mysterious "black van."
