Monday a.m. update: Klobuchar faces major test in Iowa
Good morning and welcome to a fresh week. Here’s what you need to know to get it going.
After a break, we’re working our way back to February weather. It’ll be mostly cloudy with Twin Cities temps steady in the mid 20s with 10 to 15 mph winds. Statewide highs range from teens in the north to near 30 in the southeast. At night, it gets colder everywhere in Minnesota. More on Updraft. | Forecast
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How will Amy Klobuchar fare in Iowa? Depends if you ask her campaign (she has great momentum) or the latest polling data (she’s in fifth place, with a ways to go). We’ll find out who’s correct Monday night when Iowa Democrats head to the nation’s first caucuses. Here’s a story to catch up.
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Follow along with our caucus coverage all day. MPR News reporter Brian Bakst and I are in Des Moines to watch it all unfold, so follow along on our site, on the radio (we’re carrying a live special) and our Twitters, if you prefer instant updates — Brian’s @stowydad and I’m @codyleenelson.
Tom Bakk is no longer the Senate’s top DFLer. On Saturday, the Senate DFL caucus picked Sen. Susan Kent of Woodbury to replace Bakk, who’s from Cook. As Tim Nelson reports, the leadership change illustrates some rural-urban tensions within the DFL. "Symbolically, seeing Sen. Bakk lose his bid to keep his leadership position is one final sign that the loss of clout in greater Minnesota is continuing. And people have strong feelings about that," said Aaron Brown, a lifelong northern Minnesota resident and political observer.
MnDOT wants your help. The state’s transportation agency wants to know what users of State Highway 13 in Savage and Burnsville think about the roadway. MnDOT is considering improvements for that stretch of the highway, which could include restructuring a couple major intersections.
— Cody Nelson, MPR News
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