Minnesota Progressive Repartee – May 16, 2019

We talk tote bags, if only there were someplace to get progressive talk radio without being shamed for listening without sending money… OH WAIT THE REPARTEE! Progressive talk without the tote bags!

The South Cedar Lake Trail between Hopkins and France Avenue in St. Louis Park will be closed through the fall of 2021. The Kenilworth Trail in Minneapolis will be closed from the Midtown Greenway to West 21st Street through the summer of 2022.

The Southwest Light Rail Transit (LRT) project (METRO Green Line Extension) will operate on a route from downtown Minneapolis through the communities of St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie, passing in close proximity to Edina. The line will include 16 new stations and will be part of an integrated system of transitways, including connections to the METRO Blue Line, the Northstar Commuter Rail line, many bus routes, and proposed future transitways.

Legislators draw plans for nearly $50 billion in two-year budget spending.

There are many qualifications: that carry forward budget doesn’t include much of the inflationary costs of state programs, and the projections are subject to uncertainties like global politics and trade policies. Republican attack on the public welfare with extreme prejudice.

Crunchtime at the Capitol, what are some issues flying under the radar in the last few days.

Right to Repair, HF 1138, looks dead this year, here is an interview with Tim Schaefer about the bill a few weeks ago on the Repartee.

Opioid Stewardship Bill stuck in conference committee, listen to an interview of Michael Daub from the Steve Rummler Hope Network from May 15, 2019 on the status of this bill.

2020 census redistricting, Here in Minnesota we could be on the verge of losing a congressional seat because we are not gaining population as fast as other parts of the country. We could go from 8 seats in congress to 7. Trump wants to add a birthright citizenship question on the census, which could skew the results dramatically. The DFL tried to get millions in funding for census security however the GOP led Senate has been opposing it. This could bite the Republicans down the road though as it could open up the possibility of DFL gerrymandering.

Rabbi Zimmerman joins to talk about Temple of Israel’s upcoming event and fundraiser Voice’s 2019 on May 21st. Click here for more information. Ana Navarro and Van Jones, two savvy and engaging policy strategists and political commentators on CNN will have a discussion from opposing viewpoints.