Good morning! Make the most of our fast-eroding daylight by spending this weekend in the great Minnesota outdoors.

Two state agencies have taken action against group homes with problematic operations that were detailed in an MPR News investigative report. A reporting team that included our Ellie Roth documented how a set of homes receiving public money were linked to a Liberian government official who spent much of his time away from the facilities where he was expected to be on site. The state Department of Health revoked the licenses of three Golden Touch Health Care homes linked to Sekou Dukuly. Meanwhile, the Department of Human Services is suspending payments from the Medicaid-funded facilities. There have been deaths scrutinized for neglect at the homes. Residents of the facilities will be transferred to assure continuity of care. Gov. Tim Walz issued his first direct comments on the problem group homes. “I have made clear that any amount of fraud is unacceptable,” Walz said in a written statement. “When fraud is uncovered, those responsible should be investigated and held accountable.”

Hands clasped and arms raised, a group of DFL candidates and officeholders sought to put out a visual message: They’re ready to patch up prior differences and row together. These kinds of post-primary unity events aren’t new. But the party’s U.S. Senate primary in particular was bruising so there’s work to do to make nice. That brings us to yesterday’s DFL post-primary rally in Little Canada. Appearing together were DFL U.S. Senate nominee Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and her primary opponent U.S. Rep. Angie Craig. Speaking from a podium that had the word ‘United’ printed across it, Craig gave Flanagan her full support. “Democrats sometimes have different ideas about how to achieve the goals that we share, but those differences pale in comparison to the contrast with Republicans,” she said. Flanagan complimented Craig’s service and her campaign. “The work that you have done on behalf of Minnesotans is an incredible legacy, and we are all so much better for it,” Flanagan said. Whether the display heals wounds from the fracas earlier this summer remains to be seen. The party can’t afford to head into the fall campaign with a split because many key offices are on the line. As the party in power in Minnesota, making a change argument is more difficult. 

There has been no similar unity show by Republicans. One governor candidate is still questioning his considerable loss to primary winner Lisa Demuth, something Sen. Amy Klobuchar made light of at the DFL event. The GOP convention-backed Senate candidate has said he won’t back the primary winner, Michele Tafoya. Yet Republican Party Chair Alex Plechash issued a statement questioning the absence of one key Democrat — Gov. Tim Walz — from the DFL Party event. The hard truth of this election year is that it won’t come down to the hardcore members in either party. There is no denying that there are fractures in both parties. Weakly affiliated partisans or true independents will decide the outcome of statewide races and swing seats that will dictate legislative majorities. More than 30 percent of eligible voters will probably stay home as well, so watch that enthusiasm metric for better signals of how this midterm will go.

Our increasingly nationalized elections means candidates are increasingly dealing with nationalized narratives. That includes Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, whose firmly liberal campaign message in the U.S. Senate race has drawn comparisons to democratic socialist candidates elsewhere. But Flanagan insists she’s no DSA member and isn’t endorsed by the leftwing offshoot that is making waves from coast-to-coast. The Star Tribune’s Allison Kite examines where Flanagan overlaps and departs from the DSA and why she might not be able to avoid being tagged with the label as the Senate race moves forward. Republicans and their nominee Michele Tafoya are already airing ads calling Flanagan extreme and associating her with socialists. Flanagan, for her part, is quick to align Tafoya with the historically unpopular President Donald Trump with whom Tafoya has a complicated past with. Get ready to hear both national narratives on blast from now to November.  

The Forward Independence Party has launched a new initiative to boost centrist candidates in all parties. At a press conference at the Capitol yesterday, party leaders and participating candidates spoke about their coalition, dubbed “Minnesota Forward Together.” The group’s epresentatives said the idea is to get candidates to commit to working across the aisle. Eight candidates had initially signed on, though one dropped out under pressure from the DFL, according to a Forward Party spokesperson. Three DFLers remain: Denise Slipy, running for Senate District 6; Nicky Hardy, running for House District 6B; and Tara Killen, running for Senate District 10. Monique Doward is running as a Forward Candidate in the Senate District 11 race. Kris Babler is an Independent in the Senate District 49 race. And two Republicans are signed on: Owen Michaelson in Senate District 50 and Todd Podgorski in Senate District 53. “We're not creating another political caucus. We are creating something that the people of Minnesota desperately need-a willingness to put the public interest ahead of the partisan interest,” said Phil Fuehrer, co-chair of Forward Independence.

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a conservative group in a case dealing with the way it wants to talk about voting by felons who aren’t incarcerated. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decided yesterday that a state law criminalizing misinformation about elections within two months of one went too far. It said the Minnesota Voters Alliance is entitled to an injunction stopping enforcement of the law. The case revolves around the group’s efforts to oppose Minnesota’s relatively new law permitting voting by felons who aren’t behind bars but are still on probation or supervised release. The group insists that Minnesota’s felon voting law is unconstitutional, an argument it pressed in state court to no avail. Elections officials say that’s misleading at best and could amount to voter suppression. In the ruling, the appeals panel said Minnesota had other alternatives to get valid information before voters. "It overreaches because at least one speech-promoting alternative exists: counter speech," reads the opinion written by Judge David Stras on behalf of a unified three-judge panel. “Rather than limiting what others say, it could have launched an education campaign consisting of calls, texts, or emails informing them of their rights." The case was sent back to a lower court with instructions that an injunction be issued. Stras, you might recall, is a former Minnesota Supreme Court justice.

Minnesota saw a flat jobs market last month and the unemployment rate remains above the national average, but officials are pointing to green shoots. The Department of Employment and Economic Development released new data yesterday. The topline figure is that the seasonally adjusted rate for July was 4.3 percent for Minnesota, compared with 4.1 percent nationally. The state saw a 0.1 percent decline in jobs (roughly 1,900 nonfarm jobs) compared with a flat rate for the country as a whole. But year over year is another metric. In that, Minnesota’s July-to-July gain of 44,092 jobs was a 1.5 percent increase. Nationally, there were 0.2 percent jobs added over that span. “While monthly numbers can fluctuate, Minnesota’s strong year-over-year growth shows the resilience of our diverse economy.” Perhaps more concerning, though, is that Minnesota’s labor force participation rate — while comparatively high — is still slipping. It’s below 67 percent for the first time since 1977. Minnesota had total employment above 3 million for a long stretch but is now just shy of that barrier (having slipped below it in May).