Good morning. Black smoke — no pope, no budget deal. 

The highest profile nomination for Minnesota so far is President Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney. On Wednesday, Trump nominated Daniel Rosen, a longtime Minneapolis lawyer, to be the main federal prosecutor for the state . That’s a big role, especially given how predecessor Andrew Luger used the position to go hard after fraud. Rosen is a former member of Minnesota’s campaign finance board and active in Jewish community circles. He has donated largely to Republicans but also to some Democrats over the years (Sen. Amy Klobuchar in 2019 and Rep. Angie Craig in 2018, according to federal records). Interesting side note: The nomination lists Rosen as being “of Florida.” Rosen has a law firm with offices in Minneapolis and Miami (not far from the president’s adopted home area of West Palm Beach). 

Mental health providers and advocates have been pressing lawmakers for years to build out Minnesota’s infrastructure for mental health care. Now, they’re holding out hope that a proposal to boost reimbursement rates for behavioral health services can pass this year. Dana reports that both chambers have health bills that would create a new fee on health insurance plans in the state to cover the cost of increasing Medical Assistance rates to Medicare levels. As the state faces a crisis of kids getting stuck in hospitals and detention centers while they wait for stepped down mental health services closer to home, lawmakers agree they want to do something. But they split on the best way to pay for it.

A bill to stiffen penalties for driving-while-intoxicated offenses has cleared another hurdle. A bill that strengthens consequences for people with multiple DWIs has passed the Minnesota Senate after passing the House last week. The bill lengthens the time an offender has to have an interlock device on their vehicle. It also would increase the lookback period for previous DWIs, which matters given that it can compound punishment for subsequent offenses. The bill will head to a conference committee unless the House backs the Senate version beforehand. The passage comes on the same day the driver in the fatal St. Louis Park Tavern crash last September — the incident that led to the bill — pleaded guilty.

Secretary of State Steve Simon is taking himself out of the U.S. Senate race conversation, if he was ever truly considering it in the first place.  When Sen. Tina Smith announced she wouldn’t seek a new term in 2026, the list of possible successors included many more candidates than have stepped up. Allies of Simon made sure he was mentioned. But now he’s making clear he won’t try to go to Washington. What Simon does in 2026 is still an open question. “I’m focused right now on my job as Secretary of State,” was all he would say this week. He could try for a fourth term, run for something else or back away from public office. Simon has seniority among executive officeholders in Minnesota, but he also steers away from a lot of political confrontations that others gravitate toward. That might make his candidacy for a different office a tougher sell. But he’s also got this: His 2022 vote tally was tops among all candidates on the statewide ballot.

Next year’s election could bring a new array of state leaders in the offices of governor, attorney general, secretary of state and auditor. As such, there is the potential for transitions from the current occupants to newcomers. The state government finance bill approved by the Senate last week — and headed to conference committee — includes money for possible transitions. There is $50,000 each for the secretary of state and auditor transitions (if there are new ones) and $75,000 for the potential of a new attorney general to get set up. There is mention of governor and lieutenant governor, but no specific money allocated for those transitions. The House bill doesn’t contain those provisions.