Good morning. The summer is flying by.

The last few months of state revenue activity have produced higher tax collections than expected even as economic activity has been hampered. A quarterly budget report from the Department of Minnesota Management and Budget shows the state collected about $248 million more than forecast, about 0.7 percent, but that was largely attributed to timing of payments and changes in pass-through entity payments that might have otherwise come in later. Sales tax collections were pretty close to earlier estimates but corporate tax receipts were down almost 10 percent. The report says higher oil prices this year is causing a drag on economic growth and consumer spending is “subdued.” Inflation outpacing wage growth is also a concern.

It’s been oddly quiet in what is supposed to be a competitive GOP governor primary, but get ready for the big push. The Restore Sanity political group backing Lisa Demuth has gone up with broadcast TV ads for the final month. According to documents filed with TV stations, they’re focused on her push to cut vehicle tab fees, ease property taxes and reduce state spending. A perfect segue to promote a story Dana Ferguson did last week ! So far, we haven’t seen any mainstream TV ads from Kendall Qualls, Mike Lindell or groups backing them. Email us if you see any we’ve missed. The GOP campaign has been confined to press releases, parade appearances and other events that don’t get a lot of advance media notice. It’s almost as if the campaigns don’t want pesky reporters around to ask questions on issues or news of the day.

State campaign regulators have been asked to look at ties between Republican-endorsed candidate Kendall Qualls and a nonprofit he led for years. The Star Tribune wrote about a complaint filed by a former Qualls adviser , Dave Osmek, that alleges violations by the candidate and TakeCharge Minnesota. Qualls and his wife, Sheila, founded the nonprofit in 2020 and have been paid by it. Qualls is accused of using the nonprofit’s office for campaign work. The campaign says it is “not affiliated in any manner” with TakeCharge and what it is doing is “perfectly legal.” The campaign said he stopped taking a paycheck in early 2025. The newspaper’s story notes that there are restrictions on what nonprofits can do, including bars on support or opposition of candidates.

A Hmong man who received a pardon in Minnesota for a sexual assault conviction has been deported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The case of 42-year-old Tou Lue Vang has become a political lightning rod after the Board of Pardons granted his request last month to try to head off deportation. The unanimous vote by Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson was slammed by President Donald Trump’s administration and top Minnesota Republicans. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Vang’s deportation on social media by saying “this foreign criminal will never pose a threat to any American ever again.” Homeland Security suggested he had been removed to his native Laos. Vang was convicted in 2006 of sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl; he was 18 at the time. In seeking the pardon, Vang expressed remorse. The girl Vang abused had supported his pardon. A county prosecutor had opposed it. A deportation order against him had been pending for decades.

We’re now about a month out from the primary election and thousands of completed ballots are in the hands of election administrators. New figures on absentee voting through last Thursday show almost 14,000 ballots have been accepted. That includes 9,022 that were sent in by mail and 4,757 that were filled out in person. The ballots won’t be counted until Aug. 11. There have been 300,262 applications for absentee ballots. And to answer a reader’s question, those include the pool of ballots for voters who signed up for permanent absentee status.