Polinaut: December 29, 2008 Archive

Daily Digest: 12-29-08

Posted at 11:30 AM on December 29, 2008 by Molly Bloom (1 Comments)
Filed under: Daily Digest

Local election officials have until this Friday to deliver 1,350 wrongly-rejected absentee ballots to the Secretary of State's office.

The Secretary of State has until January 4 to count these ballots, but it is possible we still won't have a Senator on January 6, when the other freshman Senators are sworn in.

If the results are contested in court, MN law is unclear about who should judge the contest.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar suggests a temporary Senator should be sworn in after the wrongly-rejected absentee ballots are counted next week.

The Pioneer Press answers many questions about what has happened in the recount so far and what we can expect in the coming weeks.

State Government

Gov. Tim Pawlenty may be looking to privatize some state assets to close the budget gap.

The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul talk with MPR about the budget cuts cities and counties are facing.

The state may loosen some mandates in order to help cities and counties save money.

Rural schools gear up for state budget cuts.

Local MN governments are coming together to jointly purchase fuel in order to lock in lower prices.

Hunters worry about the sale of state wildlife land.

Congress

The Minnesota Farm Bureau outlines the national issues they'll be working on.

SE Minnesota is hoping for a high-speed rail line that may or may not include Rochester. Rep. Tim Walz and Jim Obertstar are mentioned.

Rep. Walz turns down his raise -- again.

Sen. Klobuchar will hold a forum on broadband internet access in Minnesota.

Obama

David Axelrod, adviser to President-elect Obama, gives a little more detail on their proposed stimulus package.

Minnesotans are hoping to see some of that money come their way.

A new Minnesota coalition wants to see women and minorities benefiting from the stimulus.

And the incoming administration shifts some attention from the economy to Israel.

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Harry Reid on Senate race

Posted at 9:50 PM on December 29, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Jim Manley, the spokesman for Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, released this statement regarding the Senate race:

"At this stage, it appears that Franken will be certified the winner by the State Canvassing Board. We're keeping abreast of the situation and will make a decision with regard to Senate action at the appropriate point in the process."

By the way...

I'm off for the next two weeks so I'll have infrequent posts on the blog. The ever capable and very kind Molly Bloom will be doing the Digest in my absence.