Good morning. One more day of nice temps before a bit of a dip, which is inevitable, right?

Copper nickel mining will be a test for the new Democratic power structure in St. Paul. Environmental groups that want to ban it near the Boundary Waters are optimistic following last week's election. Advocates for the mining are putting their faith in the Trump administration, which has vocally and procedurally moved to open up extraction opportunities. A bill that would ban the state from issuing permits to copper mines within the watershed of the Boundary Waters was introduced last year. But it never got a hearing in the closely divided Legislature. MPR's Dan Kraker notes that northeastern Minnesota politics used to be dominated by pro-mining, pro-labor Iron Range Democrats. But the region is now mostly represented by Republicans. It could put two Democrats from the area on the spot. DFLer Aaron Schweiger, who flipped a state House seat in a region north of Duluth, said he has reservations about a permanent ban but opposes new mining in the BWCA watershed. GOP state Rep. Roger Skraba of Ely, said he hopes for a collaborative approach from Democrats.

Much has been rightly made of Minnesota joining the majority of states to have a woman as governor, but the Capitol will have slightly fewer women in the Legislature next year. Two recounts could shift the final numbers. Based on where things stand now, there will be 76 women as legislators next session. That’s down from 78 for the past four years . The Senate remained at 23 female lawmakers although the composition of that group has shifted a bit. The House ranks dropped by two. For the first time since 2019, the speaker will be a man. DFL Rep. Zack Stephenson steps into the role, following the two-year run of Republican Lisa Demuth and the six years before that of DFLer Melissa Hortman. Fun fact: Over the past 20 years, the speakership has been occupied by women more frequently (12 years) than men (eight years). The Senate will be led by Majority Leader Erin Murphy, a DFLer. That chamber has had a woman in the top role since 2023.

The interest is high in who will go to the U.S. Senate on an interim appointment. Thousands of people have weighed in on who they want to see fill Gov.-elect Amy Klobuchar’s seat when she resigns. People are taking the MPR News non-scientifc poll (more than 11,000 already) or have submitted their own suggestions (more than 1,200 of those, some overlapping). Talking Sense host Catharine Richert fielded plenty of calls and expert insight yesterday about what lies ahead. If you haven’t been listening to her 11 a.m. show, you’re missing out!

Minnesota’s budget agency is hard at work on the next economic forecast, due out in early December. If there is extra money – revenue collections are running ahead of expectations – a slice of that will be automatically carved out for the state’s rainy day reserve. A report issued late last month noted that the current reserve is $3.422 billion but ideally would be $3.889 billion. That’s to reach a goal of having the reserve cover 5.8 percent of the state revenue that isn’t dedicated to a specific purpose. In other words, what goes into the general fund. The fall budget forecast (there will be another in February) is unique in that the reserve top-off is a prescribed feature by law. This forecast will also set the tone for a budget proposal that Gov.-elect Amy Klobuchar will submit to the Legislature.

The state lawmaker who had the closest election two years ago had a comfortable win this time. We’re talking about DFL Rep. Brad Tabke, whose 14-vote win in 2024 came after a recount and court fight. He won by 14 percentage points this time over the same Republican challenger. Tabke spoke yesterday to our Clay Masters. Tabke, of Shakopee, said the federal immigration agent surge was a motivating factor for voters in his area because people were looking for candidates “to hold government accountable.” He said it fits into what he heard from voters about electing leaders who want to make government work better. “People don't ask for a ton from government, and they just want it to work,” he said.

Another political violence threat case has been resolved through a guilty plea. Jonathan Bohn has pleaded guilty to a felony charge suggesting he had 500 bullets and would shoot someone in the face. He said it was done “in the midst of this immense grief” of the loss of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and the shooting of state Sen. John Hoffman. Walker Orenstein of the Minnesota Star Tribune reports that Bohn, a lobbyist who lives in Woodbury, has pleaded to a single count of threatening violence . While sentencing is set for February, the deal calls for him to serve 180 days in jail should he violates the probationary terms.