Good morning.  Sports letdowns are Minnesota's thing.

The next Minnesota Supreme Court chief justice will come with an existing robe. Gov. Tim Walz is interviewing seven finalists for an opening — or openings — on the highest court. Three current justices are among those who are under consideration: Justice Anne McKeig, Justice Paul Thissen and Justice Theodora Gaitas. Walz is likely to select one of them, giving him an additional pick to replace an associate justice on the seven-member court. When Walz named retiring Chief Justice Natalie Hudson to the role in 2023, he was able to fill her seat with Karl Procaccini, the governor’s former general counsel. Along with the three justices, Walz is also interviewing four other judges: Reynaldo Aligada, Jr., a district court judge in Ramsey County; Elizabeth Bentley of the Court of Appeals; Keala Ede of the Court of Appeals; and Juanita Freeman, a district court judge who sits on the Washington County bench. All of those lower-court judges but Freeman were appointed to their current roles by Walz. The DFL governor’s selections could come at any point. Hudson retires at the end of September.

Minnesota lawmakers signed off yesterday on a proposal to ban prediction markets for votes in the legislative session's final week. A joint agreement is part of a broader public safety bill that advanced through the House and Senate yesterday and is a signature away from happening. The proposal makes it a felony to host or advertise a prediction market in the state. Sites like Kalshi and Polymarket allow users to wager on a broad range of future events. Bill supporters say the sites are effectively gambling platforms. But the sites don't pay state taxes and operate under commodity trading laws. Opponents anticipate lawsuits. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued other states over regulations for the prediction market sites. 

Social media legislation to change the way younger Minnesotans can interact online is also on the march. A bill to require age monitoring and verification of users of social media platforms passed by a 132-2 House vote. The measure would require parental approval to create an account for a child under 16 years of age. Targeted paid ads and more addictive features like infinite scrolling cannot be displayed for children’s accounts. Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover, said the goal is simple: “I'm hoping to prevent addiction.” Rep. Kristin Bahner, DFL-Maple Grove, said Minnesota is poised to take a step other states haven’t. “The reality is we will get sued,” Bahner said. “That's certainly not a reason to not take the first steps to protect kids. In fact, I would argue we should do it anyway.” The Senate version also has bipartisan support, but it needs clearance by that chamber’s Rules and Administration Committee to move ahead because it came together after committee deadlines. That consideration is happening on Wednesday. 

State lawmakers are primed to boost the penalty for impersonating a police officer following a fatal shooting of a former House speaker and wounding of another legislator. The bill passed its final committee hurdle in the Senate yesterday and was approved by the House in April. The bill is sponsored by Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Champlin, who was shot by a man pretending to be a police officer. Authorities say the same suspect shot and killed former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. Hoffman described to his colleagues in the Senate Finance Committee yesterday the moment of confusion he experienced when he opened his door in the middle of the night to someone he thought was law enforcement. Hoffman saw “all the necessary lights and sirens and looking like that person was a police officer,” but as soon as he realized the man wasn’t police, “that was when I first received that first bullet, and then eight after that." If the bill is signed into law, convictions could lead to prison time. A final vote in the Senate is expected this week.

The Minnesota Senate could vote this week on a bill that ramps up safety standards for e-bikes.  The bill requires that anyone under the age of 18 wear a helmet while riding an electric bike and closes a loophole for sellers to sell motorcycles as e-Bikes. It also includes a public education campaign on e-bike safety. The bill got buy-in from the Senate Finance Committee yesterday, but Sen. Eric Pratt, R-Prior Lake, questioned if the bill's call for a bike safety coordinator position is needed. "How often do we have to assist law enforcement, identifying, categorizing vehicles?” Pratt said. “We're collecting data all the time in the DPS, this seems like it's a make-work position." Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart, DFL-Minnetonka, is carrying the legislation and said as e-bikes rise in popularity so do safety concerns. A full Senate vote is up next. Companion House legislation hasn’t moved very far, making it possible the measure stalls for the year unless it gets tucked into another bill during final negotiations.

That Office of the Inspector General bill that awaits Gov. Tim Walz’s signature would set off a build-up of a new entity. Legislative Auditor Judy Randall said it will be a tough task for whomever seeks the job (she’s not planning to). On MPR’s Minnesota Now program , Randall said “it’s going to be a tough position to fill, an extremely important position.” The first person will set the tone, so Randall said the appointment will be key. “I wish that person a lot of luck,” she said. Randall expects the first inspector general to deliver but said she hopes the Legislature will “give this office some time, some grace and some resources.” The selection process begins soon with the goal of having the next governor make the pick.

Starting in early June, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is getting some TV ad backup in her race for U.S. Senate. The Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association has reserved several weeks of broadcast ad time through July.  It’s a decent-sized buy and a sustained one. Flanagan is in a DFL nomination race with U.S. Rep. Angie Craig; Republicans could also have a nomination contest that extends into August. Flanagan, who has been an officer for the DLGA, is among a couple of second-in-commands who could land in Washington after this November’s election. Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is the heavy favorite to fill an open U.S. Senate seat in Illinois after winning her party’s primary in March.

Airwaves watch, Part 2: A group that calls itself Safer Minnesota Fund has also started to lock in airtime on broadcast TV stations. The forms the group has filed don’t list a particular candidate, but the media buying consultant is associated with Republican politics. The firm, FlexPoint Media, has worked with Republican congressional efforts. But a box on a required form says the commercials will focus on issues of state or local importance, not of a national focus. The firm has also previously done ad buying for Kendall Qualls when he was a congressional candidate in 2020 (many forget he ran for that prior to his 2022 gubernatorial run). Qualls is seeking the GOP governor’s nod again this year. For now, though, the ads don’t appear imminent. The first in the set of early reservations say the ads would start in October.

Something else to keep an eye on this fall: Additional corporate participation in Minnesota elections. An unidentified political fund sought and received guidance this week from the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board about what kind of documentation it must supply when corporations put money into a Minnesota independent expenditure fund. That is a political organization that is supposed to operate independently of candidates or causes even if it is closely associated with one candidate’s or political party’s messaging. The fund was described only as a federally registered Super PAC looking to give to a Minnesota registered account. The guidance from state regulators is part of an advisory opinion approved Monday.