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Capitol View®
Bill Wareham

Daily Digest: Can Klobuchar win over progressives?

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Good Monday morning. Let's get your week started with some politics.

1. Viewing Klobuchar from the left. As she runs for president, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar says one of her key selling points is that she can appeal to independents and some Republicans along with Democrats. But some Minnesota Democrats say that from health care to climate change to paying for college, Klobuchar falls far short when it comes to representing them on important issues. "I don't think that a middle-of-the-road candidate is what we need right now," said Patrick Murphy, 28, a freelance copywriter who lives Minneapolis. (MPR News)

2. Walz invests time, money in outstate Minnesota. Dairy farmer Mike Orbeck sat across the table from Gov. Tim Walz and told him, finances are tight. But if he made more money, he could lose his access to MinnesotaCare. Walz, the first governor from greater Minnesota in nearly three decades, assured Orbeck and others gathered in a small conference room in St. Cloud on Thursday that he had a plan to expand public health care programs so people who earn more could use them. That’s just one of the points he and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan have highlighted as they tour the state — nine stops outside the metro this month alone — to tout a budget Walz calls “the single greatest investment in Greater Minnesota in the history of our state.” (Star Tribune)

3. Reps. Peterson and Craig hold town hall meeting. "How many of you are in favor of the wall?" U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson asked in a machine shed full of farmers gathered at a town hall meeting at a farm outside of Red Wing, Minn. Only a couple of farmers raised their hands. Then another said, "Only if it has a gate." Immigration — and finding a way to address the farm labor shortage — was one of several issues that came up during the event with U.S. Reps. Peterson and Angie Craig Friday. Others included health care, trade, mental health and low commodity prices. (MPR News)

4. DNR commissioner brings angler's patience to job in the hot seat. Sarah Strommen stands proudly in a small fishing boat, a grin on her face, holding the biggest walleye of the day in her outstretched hands. The folksy photograph, taken under an overcast sky at last year’s governor’s fishing opener, belies Strommen’s heavyweight résumé, which includes a master’s degree from Duke, a Fulbright scholarship, and leadership roles with a handful of the state’s most prominent conservation groups. But it also helps explain why Gov. Tim Walz chose the lifelong angler as his commissioner for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). It’s a hot-seat job that requires a deep understanding of Minnesota’s passions, and she arrives at a time of testing for the state — a changing climate that could force new restrictions on walleye fishing and the looming prospect of copper mining at the doorstep of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. People who have worked with Strommen say she can handle the pressure. (Star Tribune)

5. What to do with state's medical marijuana task force? Members of a task force charged with evaluating Minnesota’s medical cannabis program say the group is ineffective and poorly run. It didn’t even meet for a two-year stretch. The state set up the task force when it legalized medical marijuana in 2014. State law said the group would hold hearings to assess patient experiences, access and other issues. The program is not working for many of the patients who need it. High prices have pushed many patients into the black market and the state’s two growers have lost millions because of a strict tax structure. The task force met several times over its first few years. But after its meeting in January 2017, it did not meet again for two years. This left members frustrated and patients without a voice. “We were there because we thought our voices mattered and we were going to say something. It didn’t,” said Sarah Wellington, a medical marijuana patient who sits on the task force. State Sen. Scott Dibble, a Minneapolis Democrat on the task force, agreed. He said he would like to see the group strengthened or disbanded. (Pioneer Press)