Good morning.  Today would’ve been late House Speaker Melissa Hortman’s birthday.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that it won’t reinstate a 2024 ban on certain gun trigger mechanisms. But it also opted against striking the rest of a more than 1,400-page law as part of that decision. Dana reports that the court upheld a ruling from Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro severing the provision from the rest of the law and keeping its enforcement on hold. The challenge stemmed from a mega bill passed under full DFL control in St. Paul. The Minnesota Gun Owners caucus challenged the policy arguing it violated the state’s single-subject rule. Castro agreed that it did violate the rule and said that provision ought not be enforced. Both parties appealed portions of that ruling, but the Court of Appeals didn't depart from it . In allowing the rest of the bill to stand, the appeals panel cited a prior single-subject decision from the state Supreme Court. The Attorney General’s Office said it’s reviewing the ruling and possible next steps. Meanwhile, the Gun Owners Caucus called it a win. An appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court is possible. The federal Court of Appeals also weighed in on a separate gun case yesterday. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals turned back a challenge to Minnesota’s permit-to-carry law filed by a Georgia man. The long-haul truck driver sued because he wanted Minnesota to recognize the permit laws of his home state as well as Florida, where he also has permission to carry a gun in public. The panel upheld a lower court’s ruling that Minnesota had a legitimate process for evaluating other state permits. 

Vice President JD Vance trumpeted recent anti-fraud prevention efforts the Trump administration has taken in Minnesota at a White House roundtable with Republican state attorneys general yesterday. The meeting is the latest collaboration effort by Trump's new fraud-fighting task force. Vance highlighted the group's work in Minnesota, where last week, the Department of Justice charged 15 people with Medicaid fraud. "The only way to protect the American taxpayer is to ensure that the fraudsters go to prison and that they stop this ridiculous scam on the American people,” he said. Many Democratic attorneys general said they were given less than one business day to respond to Vance's invitation and declined to attend. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison did send his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Director to Washington for the meeting, but he was denied entry. Republicans in a similar role were given invitations sooner.

The DFL party will make its endorsements for several statewide offices this weekend, but the U.S. Senate matchup offers a glimpse of conflicting visions for the party. U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan will make their cases to delegates over the weekend as to why the party should back them. Those delegates will decide between Flanagan, whose politics are heavily influenced by the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, and Craig, a moderate who has succeeded as a Democrat in a purple congressional district. While the race is likely headed to a primary, the endorsement process is a key benchmark going forward in the race. Also on the convention agenda are the race for governor, where U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has a clear advantage; state auditor, where a group of candidates are running for the open seat; and both the offices of secretary of state and attorney general, where incumbents Steve Simon and Keith Ellison respectively hope to hold onto their offices. Peter Cox offers a preview of the convention. 

Minnesota set an ambitious goal to eliminate lead service lines by 2033, but local governments say without more money that’s a pipe dream. Harshawn Ratanpal reports that replacing all of Minnesota’s lead service lines , which connect water mains to buildings, will cost about $1 billion. But the money initially invested in the program is drying up and the state has capped the money available for new projects. The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, which includes more than 100 local governments, lobbied this session for first $250 million and then just $100 million for the program. Lawmakers ultimately included just $15 million for lead pipe replacement in their $1.2 billion bonding bill. “That's a pretty big disappointment, frankly," Bradley Peterson, a lobbyist for the coalition, said. “A lot less work will be done. I mean, I'm sure the work won't stop completely, but you're just going to be able to do a lot less, and that's just math.” Peterson said if Minnesota is going to reach its goal, the next governor and Legislature will need to prioritize funding to replace lead pipes and perhaps establish a dedicated funding source “so that we don’t have to rely on the back and forth, ups and downs, maybe, maybe not, of a bonding bill from year to year.”

Lawmakers took a step toward ending Minnesota’s 32-year-old moratorium on new nuclear power plants. The Legislature authorized $500,000 for a study to consider building new power plants in the state. Kirsti Marohn reports that the study will investigate costs, federal regulations, financial risks and environmental impacts of nuclear energy, including the issue of how to store or reprocess radioactive waste. A coalition of utilities, counties, clean energy groups and labor unions pushed for the Legislature to fund the study. They argue Minnesota needs more nuclear energy to have access to reliable power as demand increases and to meet the state’s goal of carbon-free electricity by 2040. Having a nuclear moratorium in 2026 “just feels incredibly antiquated” and puts Minnesota behind other states, bill sponsor Rep. Spencer Igo, R-Wabana Township, said. However, he noted that the study is no guarantee that more plants will be built. Even if the moratorium was lifted, it could take decades for a new plant to be permitted and constructed.

Social media could look really different for Minnesota’s kids by the middle of next year. Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill into law yesterday that earned broad bipartisan support this session and aims to make social media safer for children . The law requires social media companies to determine the age of users and requires parental consent to create a child account for users under 16 years old. Child accounts can’t have targeted ads or addictive features like infinite scrolling. “As social media becomes more advanced, we need to make sure our families don’t fall victim to the powerful companies that use kids as a testing ground to make algorithms more addictive,” Walz said in a statement. The gun violence prevention organization Annunciation Light Alliance, representing families of Annunciation Catholic Church and School, advocated for the legislation this session. The organization said in a statement that the law recognizes “the role social media and online environments can play in escalation, isolation, and exposure to harmful content before a crisis occurs.” The law goes into effect July 1, 2027. However, the law could face legal challenges. Tech companies have sued the state to stop a Minnesota law passed in 2025 that requires social media companies to post health warnings on their platforms.

Walz is on a signing streak. The governor also signed nine other bills yesterday, including one that aims to keep lawmakers safe. The law includes money for ramped up security for judges, legislators and the Capitol complex in the wake of increased threats against public officials and the assassination of former Speaker Melissa Hortman. It also establishes a statewide program to reduce overall violent crime by prioritizing solving nonfatal shootings and bans prediction markets. Walz also signed into law bills legalizing donating poultry eggs for up to 30 days after their expiration date, a measure to increase public school funding if voters approve a ballot measure this fall, and a health and human services catch-all bill that includes food shelf funding and brings Minnesota into compliance with recent federal changes to Medicaid and SNAP.