In the Know

Minnesota DFL
Feb. 26, 2016
210 days before people can begin to vote by no excuse absentee ballot, Sept. 23
255 days until Election Day, Nov. 8
4 days until DFL SD 48 Caucus, Mar. 1

Events today

• In honor and remembrance of United States Marine Corps Sergeant and Delano, Minnesota resident Dillion J. Semolina, who passed away on January 14, 2016 in service to his country, Governor Mark Dayton has ordered all United States flags and Minnesota flags be flown at half-staff at all state and federal buildings in the State of Minnesota, from sunrise until sunset today.
• 11 a.m. – Bernie Sanders will hold a rally at Hibbing High School. More information available here.
• 1:15 p.m. – The Office of Management and Budget will release the February forecast. Department of Revenue, 600 Robert St., St. Paul.
• 2 p.m. – Following Minnesota Management and Budget’s presentation on the state budget forecast, Governor Dayton will hold a media availability in the Skjegstad Room at the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
• 4:30 p.m. – Doug Peterson, president of Minnesota Farmers Union, will moderate a transportation town hall. Lt. Gov. Smith, Commissioners, and members of the Minnesota House and Senate will discuss local transportation needs, including improvements to Highway 23. Kandiyohi County Health and Human Service Building, 2200 23rd St NE, Willmar.

Events Saturday

• 9 a.m. – Some 800 people will gather at the RiverCentre for Gov. Mark Dayton’s “Water Summit: Our Water. Our Challenge. Our Future,” called to bring attention to the challenges facing ground and surface waters in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Thanks to the generous support of the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront, the opening remarks from Governor Mark Dayton (9 – 9:30 a.m.) and the Water, Business and Stewardship Panel (1 – 2 p.m.) will be available via a web-based livestream. The link to that webstream will be available from the homepage of the Governor’s website by Feb. 26.
• 10 a.m. – The DFL African American Caucus will meet, 3240 Library Ln, Minneapolis.
• 2 p.m. – The Senate District 36 DFL will hold a Fundraiser and Elections Pre-Caucus Rally. North Hennepin Community College, College of Business & Technology, Grand Hall, 7411 85th Ave N, Brooklyn Park. Participants will discuss the importance of Elections in Minnesota and your local Senate District. Keynote speakers are Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey. Suggested donation $20. All donations appreciated. Please RSVP with Reva Chamblis at or call Reva at .
• 2 p.m. – Precinct caucus training will take place in Rochester in the new DFL Headquarters. It is located in the ground floor of the 1500 building on 1st Ave NE, behind Silver Lake shopping center. There is a DFL sign in the window and a separate entrance. Everyone is welcome to attend.
• The Democratic South Carolina Democratic primary.

Precinct caucuses March 1

• 7 p.m. – Help spread the word that people can find their precinct caucus locations here.

Mark your calendars

• March 5 – 2016 DFL Elected Officials Convocation, 10 a.m., DFL Headquarters, 255 Plato Blvd E., St. Paul. The convocation will elect representatives to various roles in the party: five persons from each Congressional District to serve as delegates to the State DFL Convention; 10 persons to serve as delegates to the State DFL Central Committee for a two-year term; three persons to serve as directors on the State DFL Executive Committee for a two-year term; and six persons who are DFL endorsed, elected members of the Minnesota House of Representatives or State Senate, State Constitutional Officers, or members of the U.S. Congress to serve as members of the State Platform, Issues, and Legislative Affairs Committee for a two-year term.
• March 6 – Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will debate in Flint, Michigan at 7 p.m. on CNN.
• April 30 – CD 2 DFL Convention, 10:30 a.m., Shakopee West Junior High School, 200 10^th Ave. E, Shakopee.
• April 30 – CD 7 DFL Convention, 1 p.m., Courtyard Marriott Hotel, 1080 28^th Ave. S, Moorhead.
• May 7 – CD 5 DFL Convention, 10:30 a.m., South High School, 3131 S 19^th Ave., Minneapolis.
• May 7 – CD 8 DFL Convention, 10 a.m., Duluth Holiday Inn, 200 W 1^st St., Duluth.
• May 14 – CD 1 DFL Convention, 1 p.m., Worthington Event Center, 1447 Prairie Dr., Worthington.
• May 14 – CD 3 DFL Convention, 10:30 a.m., Osseo Senior High School, 317 2^nd Ave. NW, Osseo.
• May 21 – CD 6 DFL Convention, noon, St. Cloud Apollo High School, 1000 44^th Ave. N, St. Cloud.
• May 22 – CD 4 DFL Convention, noon, Carpenters Union Hall, 700 Olive St., St. Paul.

Fundraisers

• March 12 – Senate District 63 DFL hosts its annual Spaghetti Dinner. 5 p.m., Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church, 4120 17th Ave. S, Minneapolis.
• March 12 – The Senate District 16 DFL fundraiser will be held at Jackpot Junction, Morton. It kicks off at 5 p.m. and will feather a buffet meal, silent and live auctions and speakers.

2016 election

Legislature
State Rep. Tim Sanders will not seek re-election, KSTP

President
More math that shows why Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, Washington Post
David Duke: Voting against Trump is ‘treason to your heritage,’Politico
A Rubio-Cruz ticket might be the only way to stop Trump, The National Review
GOP donors pour cash into Rubio super-PAC, The Hill
Franken reads mean tweets for Clinton campaign, Star Tribune
Sanders unloads on Clinton during raucous speech in Chicago,Washington Post
5 wacky new media theories about the presidential race, Washington Post

• Marco Rubio is angling to be Donald Trump’s running mate.
• John Kasich will be VP pick – for Hillary Clinton.
• Both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are actually running for president in 2020.
• Maybe Trump is more popular with Latinos than we thought.
• There will be a viable independent candidate not named Michael Blomberg.

2016 session
Gov. Dayton, legislative leaders lay out 2016 session plans, Session Weekly
Dayton, leaders preview session hurdles ahead, MPR
GOP legislators show off tax bill ahead of session, Brainerd Dispatch
Lawmakers at odds before legislative session starts, WCCO
Legislators bracing for battle over transportation spending in upcoming session, Fox 9
Dayton, legislative leaders predict tough session, Star Tribune

Budget (state)
How big is Minnesota’s budget surplus? We find out Friday, Pioneer Press

Debate
Winners, losers in final GOP debate before Super Tuesday, The Hill
Rubio, Cruz throw everything they can at front-runner Trump, The Hill
Debate brawl: Rubio and Cruz go hard after Donald Trump, The Hill
Marco Rubio mocks and spars with Donald Trump in 10th GOP debate, Washington Post
Marco Rubio came out swinging at Trump, and one punch really landed: Trump University, Washington Post
GOP rivals barrel toward Super Tuesday after wild debate, MPR
11 most interesting moments of the GOP debate, Politico

Education (E-12)
New strategies to expand early education are key to education success, Star Tribune 

Environment
Southwest Minnesota: Land of impaired waters, West Central Tribune
Gov. Mark Dayton struggles to reconcile desire for clean water and a strong farm economy, Star Tribune
Report finds widespread water contamination in Minnesota, Star Tribune 

Flags at half-staff
Dayton orders flags lowered in honor of Minnesota Marine, MPR 

Gun control
Former Arizona Congresswoman Giffords brings gun control initiative to Minnesota, Star Tribune
Gabrielle Giffords in Minnesota, calls for gun control, MPR 

Labor
Minnesota child care union law gets fresh challenge, Pioneer Press

Mexico
Former Mexican presidents Fox and Calderón take aim at Trump and his ‘stupid wall,’ Washington Post 

Minnesota
Family members, not candidates for final MN push, MPR
Minnesota gears up for Super Tuesday, KARE
White nationalist group makes robocalls to Iron Range supporting Trump, Star Tribune
Rubio nets backing from two dozen state legislators, MPR

Check out the #ICaucus video from the Minnesota DFL! https://youtu.be/JfMH5-IHeWs 

Polls
Trump trumps Rubio among Florida Republicans, Quinnipiac University poll finds; leadership is important factor in race,Quinnipiac University
Cruz, Trump tied in WFAA Texas poll, WFAA

In Texas, Cruz is up 15 points over Trump in a Thursday poll. InVirginia — which, like Texas, votes on March 1 — it’s Trump in the lead, 41 percent to Rubio’s 27 percent and Cruz’s 14 percent. And in Florida, a winner-take-all state that votes March 15, Trump is ahead of Rubio, 44 percent to 28 percent. CNN

Republican National Convention
Marco Rubio’s campaign is preparing for a contested Republican Convention as one option to take the GOP nomination away from Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, his campaign manager told top donors at a closed-door meeting in Manhattan on Wednesday night. Terry Sullivan, Rubio’s top adviser, used a PowerPoint presentation and took questions from attendees to lay out the two courses that Rubio’s quest for the GOP nomination could take in the coming months, two people present told CNN, speaking anonymously to share details from a private meeting. One showed the scenario in which none of the hopefuls gain the simple majority delegates needed to clinch the nomination before the convention, unleashing a messy and potentially unpredictable battle where multiple candidates are vying for the title.CNN

Shooting
4 dead, 14 more hurt in shooting at Kansas manufacturing plant, MPR

Soccer
St. Paul soccer stadium takes two major steps forward, MinnPost

Super Tuesday
Ted Cruz still does not have a single colleague in the U.S. Senate supporting his campaign. Until this week, when Greg Abbott endorsed him in Texas, he didn’t have any sitting governors either. But, as he scrambles to stop his Southern firewall from cracking apart on SuperTuesday, Cruz can count on the strong support of many state representatives and senators. Washington Post

Bigger picture, Arkansas is both a microcosm of the larger three-way GOP contest and a bellwether for Super Tuesday. Cruz, Rubio and Trump each have stops planned here this weekend. Rubio is going to Bentonville – the headquarters of WalMart – on Saturday and then coming back on Monday. Cruz has a big rally scheduled in Little Rock Saturday, and his backers on the ground say he plans to attend a church service in northwest Arkansas on Sunday morning.

Astute observers say Cruz does not have the state wired, but he does have a path to victory. It boils down to finding a way to win evangelicals again and making inroads with libertarians.

Trump, who drew a characteristically huge crowd in Little Rock the night after the Iowa caucuses, does not have the level of organization across the state’s 75 counties that both Cruz and Rubio do. Neither does he have endorsements from elected officials. But that didn’t matter in South Carolina or Nevada. Washington Post

Texas
Texans warn amped up rhetoric is erasing Republicans’ progress with Latinos, MPR

United States Supreme Court
Nevada governor withdraws name from high court consideration,MPR

Voting
Election chief Simon vows to make turnout great again, MPR

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