Good morning. A welcome double gold-medal honor hits the Saturday Night Live stage. 

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is running for governor and sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, posed questions to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem about the Minnesota operation. Klobuchar asked about the killings of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti as well as instances where constitutional rights were alleged to have been violated, including arrests of people in the country legally. Noem defended the conduct of her officers and said they conduct “targeted operations.” Klobuchar responded at one point, “These ICE agents were not following police procedures.” Noem declined during the hearing to retract her statement that Pretti was engaged in domestic terrorism, an accusation she and other officials leveled in the immediate aftermath of his death. Noem tried to parse the prior comments by saying “I did not call him a domestic terrorist. I said it appeared to be an incident of.” Klobuchar reacted incredulously and said, “I think the parents saw it for what it was.” Klobuchar also pressed Noem on state investigators being excluded from the shooting probes. Noem wouldn’t agree to lobby the Trump administration to change that, saying she’ll leave it up to the FBI to dictate the terms. As an aside, Noem said there are 650 federal Homeland Security agents in Minnesota still, including agents investigating fraud. Asked when DHS will get down to the usual footprint of about 150 agents, Noem said her agency is moving in that direction but would remain at a higher presence during ongoing fraud investigations.

Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison are on Capitol Hill today to answer questions from a House committee about Minnesota’s fight with fraud. According to the opening statement Walz plans to give, he’ll talk about steps Minnesota is taking to head off more instances of fraud . But he’ll also hone in on what he calls President Trump’s "political retribution at an unparalleled scale." He said he won’t let Minnesota yield to what he calls "political scapegoating." Walz also recaps the immigration surge that he says has had devastating effects on his state. Under the guise of combatting fraud, the federal government has flooded Minnesota with masked, untrained and unaccountable agents who are wreaking havoc in our communities,” his opening remarks say. Republican Committee Chair James Comer of Kentucky said the goal of the hearing is simple: “The American people deserve clear answers about how such widespread fraud was allowed to flourish under their watch.” Watch the stream online and hear dispatches throughout the day from Dana Ferguson, who is in Washington.

A federal judge is now considering what course to take in a lawsuit asking Minnesota to turn over voter registration data to the Trump administration. It follows a hearing in court yesterday . Judge Kate Menendez asked Department of Justice attorneys if federal agencies could use that information for immigration enforcement. An attorney for the government said that wasn't the intended use, but he said he wasn't sure if other agencies would be able to access that information for their own purposes. The Justice Department wants data including drivers license and social security numbers. Minnesota's Secretary of State Steve Simon is seeking to block that request. His attorneys said the federal government doesn't have the legal grounds for it.  Advocates raised concerns over federal interference in elections and worry that the federal government could use personal information in immigration enforcement. Menendez asked both parties to file more information while she considers the arguments. 

Minnesota lawmakers will again have to balance sports passions with a request for subsidies toward a pro sports facility. The Minnesota Wild’s owners and the new mayor of St. Paul have come forward with a new ask of the Legislature that the state put $200 million toward a $600 million arena complex renovation. It’s not just the Grand Casino Arena but the St. Paul RiverCentre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium would also get spruce-ups. The Wild and St. Paul, using an extension of a sales tax, would cover the rest of the bill. The Timberwolves ownership group might not be far behind as visions of a new arena turn into an actual proposal, which might not come this session. Stadium and arena legislation tends to break from party lines and also gets disproportionate attention at the Capitol. The final deals resemble the initial proposals, so lots of twists and turns are ahead.

After months of rumors, it's now confirmed that Google is behind a massive data center planned for the city of Hermantown. The company announced its plans Tuesday , calling Hermantown, a city bordering Duluth, “a natural fit for this project.” The $650 million data center project had been relatively secretive, with local officials signing non-disclosure agreements and only referring to it as Project Loon. The company is working with Minnesota Power to design a power-usage plan that the company said it hopes will contribute to local energy affordability. But some residents have raised concerns over water use, energy use and an overall lack of transparency on the project from both the company and local leaders. While the state Legislature approved bills last session that put some guardrails and rules in place around building data centers, opponents of these facilities are pushing for the legislature to take further action this session, including a two year moratorium on new data center development.

A bill under discussion would bar pet shops from selling dogs and cats in Minnesota. The legislation aims to remove the pipeline between puppy mills and pet shops. Backers say their goal is to instead promote pet adoptions and the breeder-to-consumer model. The bill would allow animal control agencies or nonprofit rescue organizations to use pet stores to offer animals for adoption. It was up for debate in a Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee and advanced to another committee for further discussion. Michael Swanson, who owns a pet store in Blaine, says this bill would put him out of business. "This bill harms consumers, takes away consumer choice and where to purchase a puppy, and threatens the future of my business and the livelihoods of my entire team," he said. He says his store, Four Paws and a Tail, is the only pet store left in the metro area. A few legislators on the committee like Sen. Steve Green, R-Fosston, were worried about putting Swanson out of business. Green said he was disturbed by that and recognized the concern about puppy mills, but ultimately thought the bill was “a waste of time.”

Kendall Qualls is leaning into the notion that Minnesota voters want a fresh start and political outsiders in the governor’s office next year. Qualls, a leading Republican in the race, has picked Brian Nicholson as his running mate. It creates a pairing of two businessmen who haven’t held political office previously. Qualls says that’s an asset and provides a “stark contrast” between his bid and others in the race. Nicholson runs an Albertville construction firm that focuses on manufacturing buildings. He’s somewhat new to the political scene: His only donation to state and federal candidates was $1,000 to Qualls at the end of last year. The campaign he’s joining said Nicholson will bring real-world knowledge of how permitting, regulations and taxes affect Minnesota’s business climate. Qualls finished second in last month’s precinct caucuses to House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who has picked attorney Ryan Wilson as her choice for lieutenant governor. All candidates who file for office must announce their ticket mates prior to filing for the ballot by the early June deadline.  

Hugh McTavish, who ran as an independent for governor in 2022, is setting his sights on a U.S. Senate campaign as a Democratic candidate. McTavish, a scientist and businessman, said he is running because he has ideas on how to fix what he sees as a broken government system. McTavish is advocating for a system that would put bills through citizen juries so party politics would not get in the way of good legislation, he wants to cut income and payroll taxes in half and make that revenue up through a wealth tax for the top 10 percent of earners, and he wants to expand open lands for natural habitats. While he’s run as an independent in the past, he said, “I'd like to win. I think it's very much impossible in our system to win as an independent.” He said he’s more aligned with the Democratic party, being pro-choice, an environmentalist and in favor of some gun control. He said he also  favors smaller government and a balanced budget. McTavish sued Life Time Fitness in 2024, after the gym cancelled his membership after he placed campaign leaflets on vehicles in the gym’s parking lot. He sued saying it violated his membership contract and free speech rights, but the state appeals court sided with Life Time.