Good morning. We're all tired.

Democrats are leaning into immigration as a campaign issue unlike in past years when they struggled to confront it. Immigration has historically been a politically toxic issue for many Minnesota Democrats, but after the surge of federal agents in the state they’re embracing the issue and betting it will animate voters in November. Cait Kelley reports that at the Minnesota Capitol, DFL legislators introduced 30-something bills seeking to restrict the power of federal immigration agents and support Minnesotans who were financially impacted by the agent surge. Immigration has also become a way for Democrats to set themselves apart from each other. That’s most apparent in the race between U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Democrats will hold the state DFL convention in Rochester starting on May 29, but the race between Craig and Flanagan could also stretch into an August primary.

Prediction markets are under the political microscope and now a DFL candidate for Congress has apologized for using a platform to wager on a race he’s part of. State Sen. Matt Klein said it was a mistake to put $50 on his belief he’d win the primary for an open 2nd Congressional District seat. He made the wager last October and said it was done as he checked out the site Kalshi out of curiosity. He was fined about $540 by the platform and suspended from it for violating terms about what Kalshi called “political insider trading.” Klein is one of three politicians nationally to be sanctioned for using that prediction market in a race they’re involved with. The other candidates are in Texas and Virginia. Klein says he’ll press on in the race and continue to seek restrictions on the way the platforms operate. He’s the consponsor of a bill to limit their presence in Minnesota. One of his competitors for the DFL nod made light of the Klein admission. Former state Sen. Matt Little posted to social media that “I do not have a Kalshi account.” Rep. Kaela Berg, another candidate, is also slamming the political insider trading.

When you're not running for reelection, slipping out to Los Angeles for late-night TV is no big deal. Gov. Tim Walz appeared last night on the Jimmy Kimmel show. He talked about his connections to former Vice President Kamala Harris, saying they talk "every month or so." He described his belief that President Donald Trump sent in thousands of ICE and other immigration agents because "he hates Minnesota because we take care of our people." Walz wondered aloud where the states' rights crowd was during the ICE surge: "Where are the ‘Don’t tread on me people’? Because we were certainly getting tread on in Minnesota.” He also said the fraud problems didn't push him out of the race, saying despite announcing for a third term that "two terms is probably enough." Meanwhile, before going on Kimmel, Walz also announced yesterday that he’s writing a book called “Good Neighbors,” which he says will be inspired by Minnesota’s response to the surge of federal immigration officers in the state. “Last winter, Minnesotans from all walks of life showed up for one another with compassion, courage and resilience,” Walz said. “Here in Minnesota, it’s simple — we call it being a good neighbor. I’ve always been fascinated by the ways in which we keep community in America, and how we interweave our lives.” Next time we get a chance, we’ll ask the governor if he’s getting a financial advance and what it is. 

Senate Democrats say they’re prioritizing a Capitol security package as part of their priority list. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy told the Senate Finance Committee yesterday that provisions that had been riding in several spending bills would be pulled out and packaged together as a separate bill. The committee advanced an amended bill yesterday afternoon, teeing it up for a vote on the Senate floor. Under an executive order from Gov. Tim Walz, Capitol security officials put in new safety measures in the building this year, including enhanced patrols and weapons detection technology. Lawmakers are proposing to keep those measures in place beyond the end of the legislative session. The bill would also create a protective services unit under the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tasked with ensuring the safety of state legislators. Sen. John Marty said while lawmakers would prefer to spend the money in other ways, the events of the last year demonstrate a need for additional security. “I think we all recognize the importance of security. It's a huge expense that nobody wanted to have to do, but I think we have to,” he said.

Murphy also talked about what’s become an increasingly murky runway to the end of session. Traditionally, the Senate and House would pass bills that match or have similar issues within them that would get negotiated into a final draft in a conference committee. But with the tied House, several bills have stalled. That means Senate bills that have passed don’t have a companion and conference committees don’t automatically bring members of each chamber together. Murphy said she’s been getting asked how the end-of-session negotiations can happen. “A lot of questions about what's happening in the other body,” Murphy said. “And I wish I was a person with the crystal ball on what's happening there. We all know that they are in a tie, and that has, I think in this session, perhaps made things less clear.” Sen. Eric Pratt raised concerns about the Senate not working in good faith. “It feels like the Senate is going rogue on this one. We've just decided we're going to do it this way. We don't like omnibus bills, but we're going to put everything in an omnibus bill and move it forward,” Pratt said. “I just wish we were working better between the two chambers, then we are trying to push these things forward in the manner that we are.”

A Minnesota Senate collision over commissioner confirmations could be coming if the taste offered yesterday is any sign. Majority party Democrats moved a slate of gubernatorial appointments off a Senate roster for votes back to committees for possible but not fully promised hearings. Unlike the federal government, Minnesota allows commissioners and other appointees to serve in their positions while their confirmations are pending. Only denied confirmation removes them from their posts (retirement, resignation or firing are outs as well). DFLers said the committees, not the Senate floor, are the best places to get into confirmation job appraisals. Not lost on people is the fact that many, if not all, of the Walz commissioner appointees will be gone after his term and anyone appointed by his successor would be subject to new confirmation. But Republicans said a vital accountability step has been erased so far. “This narrow majority of the Democrats with one more vote — this is their way to bury these appointments and let them continue to work and frustrate Minnesotans without any scrutiny or review by the Senate,” said Sen. Torrey Westrom, R-Elbow Lake. “The Democrats continue to be derelict in their duties.” DFL Sen. Ron Latz pushed back, noting that some of the prior confirmations were held up by Republicans when they were in charge. “The GOP majority knew that as long as they held on to those confirmations, they thought they would have leverage

to hold in check the policies implemented by those commissioners on behalf of the governor who had appointed them,” he said. “It was the GOP majority that failed to exercise their constitutional obligations to bring forth those appointments expeditiously.” There are some confirmation hearings in committee coming up, so keep close eye on those calendars.

The Minnesota Senate has passed a bill that would incorporate suicide reduction measures to some public bridges. The bill, which passed the Senate 63-4, is known as Kayla’s Hope Act. It’s in memory of a young woman who died by suicide on Minneapolis’s Washington Avenue Bridge. The legislation would require the state’s transportation and health agencies to identify bridges with a history of suicide-related deaths and incorporate life saving interventions, like railings, to those bridges. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, says intervention measures create a buffer that could save lives. “We know that suicide is often an impulsive act in a moment of acute crisis, and we also know clearly from evidence across the country in the world that physical barriers and thoughtful design saves lives,” he said. “Senate File 2971 establishes a statewide framework to incorporate those life saving measures into how we design and rehabilitate our bridges.” A companion House bill awaits a final vote. Anyone in crisis or worried about others can call 9-8-8 for resources.

Yesterday, we wrote about candidate filing. Reader Max Hailperin says we got it wrong. We wrote that “Local office candidates have a bit longer to get their names on a ballot, with a late-July filing window for nonpartisan offices.” Max reminds us: “The nonpartisan offices at the county and soil and water conservation district level, as well as in some cities and school districts, have the same May 19 to June 2 filing period as applies to state and federal candidates. In particular, this applies in those cities and school districts that use the August primary to narrow down the number of candidates appearing on the November general election ballot.” But as Max reinforces, candidates should know when to file and shouldn’t get their guidance from a newsletter. Well said.