Over the course of a single day, President Donald Trump went from threatening Iran with “annihilation” to proclaiming that Iran's leadership had presented a “workable” plan that led him to agree to a two-week ceasefire.
The Minnesota National Guard has been called to Winona County to help with the ripple effects of a cyberattack there. Gov. Tim Walz authorized the Guard to help county officials
respond to the attack. The attack has hampered the county’s emergency and municipal services. Winona County Administrator Maureen Holte said the county detected and responded Tuesday to a ransomware attack on its computer network.The county has taken its systems offline, “out of an abundance of caution,” while it works to secure and restore services safely. The public should expect delays as a result. Walz said the Guard will, “help to protect critical systems and maintain essential services.” The governor said other state agencies, along with the FBI and outside cybersecurity experts, were responding to the incident. Walz’s office said the county requested support from the Guard “due
to the scale and complexity of the incident.” The Guard was previously called out to help the City of St. Paul to deal with a cyberattack last summer.
Speaking of tech troubles, the delay-plagued launch of the Department of Natural Resources’ new electronic licensing system has been held up by a number of problems. This is the system the DNR plans to use to provide electronic hunting and fishing licenses and to maintain other outdoor activity registrations. The Office of the Legislative Auditor released a scathing special examination
yesterday that lays out “significant concerns” about several aspects of the project. The system was supposed to go live in March 2025 but has been on hold. The DNR has been working for years to replace a licensing platform that was deemed outdated after 25 years and ripe for security risks. The modernized version is almost a decade into development. The state has already paid a vendor known as PayIt $300,000 for an enforcement aspect of the system. Millions of dollars have been put into the system upgrade, and auditors estimate that ongoing project costs are $93,000 per month. In a joint letter, leaders of the DNR and Minnesota IT Services discuss the project challenges and steps
they’re taking to address them. “Overall, the concerns and recommendations provided in your report align with the project management issues and actions on which we are already actively working,” they wrote.
Some DFLers say the digital advertising boom justifies rethinking tax policy.
As business to business transactions, advertising sales aren’t generally taxed. But a few states including Washington and Maryland are rethinking that policy. A DFL bill would lower Minnesota's sales tax rate, but expand the tax to include nondigital and digital advertising. Eric Bernstein of We Make Minnesota, a coalition of labor unions, told Minnesota Senators that big tech companies are raking in digital ad dollars and should be taxed. "The opposition to this bill will be dressed up as defense of small business or of entrepreneurship. There's nothing pro competitive about furthering monopolistic advantages through preferential tax policy," Bernstein said. Brian Cook of the
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce disagreed, saying Minnesota businesses of “all kinds and all sizes” will bear the burden of the tax and costs will be passed onto consumers. Legislative Republicans have said they'll oppose any tax increases this session.
A bill to aid businesses affected by the immigration enforcement surge has emerged as a key session flashpoint.
The bill would provide grants of $5,000 to $25,000 to small businesses if they can prove they were significantly financially impacted by the immigration agent surge this winter. Stephanie Lopez testified yesterday that her family’s restaurant in Willmar lost about 50 percent of its revenue during the ICE surge. Lopez is a U.S. citizen, but she said the restaurant closed for two months because the risk of detention was too high. “The thought that I could be targeted and detained while completely complying, while working, is absolutely terrifying, and if that was to happen, my family stability would absolutely collapse,” Lopez said. Republicans oppose the bill, arguing Minnesota
businesses would be more resilient if taxes were lower. Rep. Isaac Schultz, R-Elmdale Township, said the Twin Cities deserved extra federal attention because of “sanctuary policies” and ongoing fraud investigations. “Within my district, I have not heard one negative consequence of immigration enforcement,” Schultz added. Schultz said tax dollars from counties that comply with ICE shouldn’t go to this program. Rep. Pete Johnson, DFL-Duluth, said Schultz’s district will feel the consequences if the Twin Cities economy doesn’t recover. Metro mayors say their cities lost millions in January and February. “Whether you or I want to admit it, those of us from Greater Minnesota rely on the
economic engine that is the seven county metro," Johnson said. The bill is likely to be in the mix for final legislative negotiations.
You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. This week, boosters of the Minnesota Hockey Hall of Fame took a shot at getting some state funding for a new museum. The new hall of fame is planned for Inver Grove Heights, where the 120,000-square-foot building would house a hall of fame of great Minnesota hockey players and moments, as well as have an ice rink, a bar/restaurant and a performance hall for ceremonies and concerts. Backers of the project are asking for the state to chip in $20 million to help with the cost of building the space, and $5 million in bonding for infrastructure improvements around the site. According to the
project website, it could open as soon as 2028. Rep. Roger Skraba, R-Ely, raised concerns it might compete with the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth. Organizers of the new museum say they hope to work in tandem with the Eveleth museum.
The presumed Republican frontrunner for the party’s U.S. Senate nomination says she can live with President Donald Trump’s crude and incendiary communication because “I’d rather focus on the results.”
In a rare Minnesota media interview, Michele Tafoya told WCCO Radio that people should “take a deep breath” and echoed a Wall Street Journal commentary that “language is not a war crime.” Tafoya was interviewed by guest host Tom Hauser, a veteran political journalist, who pressed her on a range of topics. On Trump’s threats to annihilate a civilization, Tafoya said: “This is the president that we have and this is his M.O.” She said the reduced nuclear threat from Iran is what matters. On the higher domestic costs attributed to the war, Tafoya said she hopes people are willing to accept a “short term bit of pain” that will amount to “a blip” to support the nation’s military cause.
“I feel the expense of daily life just like everyone else does,” she said. About the tough election environment Republicans face this year, Tafoya said she’s undaunted. “If you’re going to be concerned about every external variable, then what’s the point of running?” Tafoya said Minnesota Democrats could be held back over feelings about Gov. Tim Walz, who has dropped his third-term bid.
Tafoya is a strong bet to win the GOP nomination this summer, but is no sure bet to gain the party endorsement at the May state convention. She was kept out of a Republican candidate forum on Tuesday because she hasn’t committed to abiding by the party endorsement. Her absence from the stage didn’t mean she was absent from the conversation, as other hopefuls took after her anyway, according to Walker Orenstein of the Minnesota Star Tribune. He notes that Adam Schwarze, Royce White, Mark York and Alycia Gruenhagen
criticized Tafoya repeatedly and labeled her a proxy of the Republican establishment in Washington. Tafoya’s campaign took the bashing as a sign that she is ahead, saying that the former sports broadcaster will spend her time taking on the potential Democratic nominees. Schwarze, a military veteran, has been a favorite in local party unit straw polls.
A new Democratic candidate in the Senate race has emerged. Howard Dotson, a health care chaplain and bereavement counselor, filed paperwork yesterday with the Federal Election Commission to build a campaign. He’s run for office before, launching a campaign for the Minneapolis mayor’s job last year (he didn’t formally file for the ballot though). He’s also gotten some media attention previously for
service work around opioid addiction and
being sued successfully for defamation. A periodic reminder that setting up a campaign and carrying one out are entirely different things. For now, the Democratic race is truly between two nomination contenders: Angie Craig and Peggy Flanagan.
Also in the candidate entry lounge: Dave Meissner, a Republican running for Minnesota secretary of state. His background is in IT and supply chain logistics. He’s also the founder of a faith-based nonprofit called Nation Under God, according to his website biography
. He said he’s running on a three-point platform that puts election judges more in the driver’s seat on ballot handling throughout the election cycle. Tad Jude and Wendy Phillips are also seeking the GOP nomination to challenge three-term DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon. Also in the mix are Libertarian candidate George “Chip” Tangen and Green Party candidate Seth Kuhl-Stennes.
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