Friday a.m. update: Minnesota’s lingering slavery law
Good morning and welcome to the weekend. Here’s what you need to start your Friday.
Our high forecast is ... above freezing! Mid-30s across Minnesota, to be more precise. Congrats, readers — we made it. Plus it’ll be sunny. The Twin Cities will reach a high near 40 and have winds between 10 and 15 mph. At night, statewide lows between 12 and 18. More on Updraft. | Forecast
Minnesota’s constitution still allows slavery as punishment for a crime. A group of lawmakers and St. Paul’s police chief say it’s time for that law to go. Their proposal would have the issue go to voters this November.
“When people go into the criminal justice system ... it should not be viewed as an exception to slavery.” That was St. Paul police Chief Todd Axtell’s message to reporters on the proposal to remove the slavery clause from state law. He went on: “People who are paying their debt to society should not be viewed and should not be treated as if they are slaves.”
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An ongoing fire is polluting Minnesota skies. The blaze at Becker’s Northern Metal Recycling facility is worsening air quality in the region, and state pollution control officials are urging people with respiratory issues to limit their time outdoors. Smoke is making its way to the Twin Cities, nearly an hour’s drive away.
Minnesota GOP’s plan for the budget surplus: Cut income taxes. Their plan would reduce the lowest income tax rate, which everyone pays, from 5.35 percent to 4.9 percent. The GOP’s proposed elimination of the tax on Social Security income would cost another $430 million, as Tim Pugmire reports.
For DFLers, the Republican’s plan is “a dreamer’s wish list.” Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, said the GOP hasn’t offered any details on how it’d pay for the tax cuts. The budget surplus, at $1.3 billion, would be spent down to $0 in less than three years under that proposal. After that, the cuts would create financial burden for the state.
The “Elena” line didn’t work out well for Sen. Amy Klobuchar in Nevada. Writes Aida Chavez of The Intercept: “In one of the most cringeworthy campaign moments so far, Klobuchar opened her address to the Culinary workers by telling the predominantly Latinx audience: ‘My name is Amy, but when I took Spanish in fourth grade, my name was Elena.’ She added that she was given the name because she couldn’t roll her R’s. There are no R’s in ‘Amy,” and the anecdote, which drew blank stares from the audience, was also relentlessly mocked online.” We’ll see how it plays out on Saturday’s caucuses in Nevada.
The State Fair vs. The Replacements’ “Let It Be.” Who you got? The latest round of our contest for Minnesota’s most-loved thing is ready for your votes.
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