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Mark Zdechlik and Julie Siple

Politics Friday: Tariffs and financial relief for farmers

A tractor drives through a corn field.
A tractor moves through a partially harvested corn field on the Collins' family farm in Murdock, Minn., Oct. 25, 2017.
Evan Frost | MPR News 2017

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First Up: This week, the U.S. agriculture department announced a $12 billion plan to help farmers hurt by President Donald Trump's trade disputes. That means help is on the way for Minnesota farmers suffering lost income from the trade wars — including soybean, corn, dairy, and hog farmers. But the plan has drawn criticism, including from Republicans. MPR's Mark Zdechlik checked in with several people about the tariffs and their impact on Minnesota: MPR Reporter Mark Steil, Agri-Pulse senior editor Philip Brasher, and U.S. Senator Tina Smith.

Then: We turned to Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, where there's an open seat after Tim Walz decided to run for governor. On the Republican side, Jim Hagedorn and state Sen. Carla Nelson will square off in the Aug. 14 primary. The winner will take on DFL-endorsed Dan Feehan in November. MPR's Mark Zdechlik talked with Hagedorn, a businessman and former federal employee from Blue Earth who narrowly lost to Congressman Walz in the 2016 election.

Later: The Aug. 14 primary elections are just over two weeks away. But you don't have to wait until Aug. 14 to vote. We checked in with two county elections officials about early and absentee voting.

Finally: MPR Reporter Brian Bakst joined the program for a look back at the rest of the week's political news.

Click the audio player above to listen to the conversation.