Good morning! Finally, a series win for the Minnesota Twins.

The state government’s workforce has grown by about 8 percent during the tenure of Gov. Tim Walz. MPR News analyzed data kept by the Department of Minnesota Management and Budget from early 2019 to this summer. Total state employment went from 52,663 to 57,203. It’s important to note that the figure also includes workers at state universities, but that head count has actually shrunk by 1,742 employees over that eight year stretch. There’s no mistaking the upward trajectory of overall executive branch employees, which dipped midway through Walz’s first term but spiked in the last few years. The Minnesota Association of Professional Employees overtook the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees as the largest union in 2023 and MAPE now has 2,245 more covered employees than AFSCME. More than 60 percent of the net new employees are MAPE members (that makes sense given the creation of offices that manage the paid leave and cannabis regulatory programs.) The size and scope of government will continue to be a point of contention as the fall campaign moves toward its November conclusion.

Minnesota is getting ready to secure $1 billion to feed a bunch of previously authorized construction projects. The Sept. 9 bond sale follows Minnesota’s good grades from rating agencies that study creditworthiness of government entities. Minnesota routinely finances long-term construction projects and pays the cost back over time with interest. Including this bond sale and some concurrent refinancing of past bonds, the state will have about $7.4 billion in general debt outstanding. The bonds will support projects that date to 2012, ranging from roof repairs to trail development to bridge projects. There is a long roster of work the bonds will support, including some approved by the Legislature this spring. Among the eligible uses are $40 million for the Roy Wilkins Auditorium renovation, $45 million toward fix-up of the veteran’s home campus in Hastings and a whole lot for local roads, wastewater treatment and public works facilities.

Cait Kelley and Peter Cox played political bingo at the State Fair — and you can too! The Great Minnesota Get-Together is a key campaign stop for candidates all the way down the ballot. Many candidates log long hours at the fair: doing live interviews with the press, chatting with voters and eating that year’s unique food on a stick. Peter and Cait competed Monday to see who could get bingo of all the classic campaign activities at the fair. Click here to access the bingo cards so you can play with a friend. If your friend isn’t yet a Capitol View subscriber, send them this link so they can access today’s newsletter with the bingo cards and they can sign up for the newsletter themselves.

More notable State Fair moments are expected today when the two major party nominees for governor discuss housing policy in back-to-back appearances. KARE 11 is partnering with a few housing construction advocacy groups to conduct half-hour conversations with the potential next governor. Danny Spewak will be asking the questions about how to build affordable homes, keep rental properties affordable and meet workforce housing demands. The sitdowns with DFL candidate Amy Klobuchar and Republican candidate Lisa Demuth begin at 2:30 p.m. at the KARE 11 booth. The station and ours will livestream them if you can’t make it!

Do you live in a precinct that offers only mail-in voting? That's the case in more than 1,100 precincts across greater Minnesota. Or maybe you choose to mail in your ballot. If you're willing to talk to reporter Kirsti Marohn about voting by mail, email her at kmarohn@mpr.org