The Capitol Note: MMB plans to go forward with stadium bond sale

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1.) Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter rejected calls from American Indian activists who were pushing for the delay of bond sales on the new Minnesota Vikings stadium, the Star Tribune reports. The activists are trying to get assurances that the word “Redskins,” the’ nickname for the Washington, D.C. NFL team, will not be displayed inside the stadium. Attorney Larry Leventhal, who is representing the activists, said the display of the offending word would be in violation of city and state human rights laws. Following Schowalter’s dismissal of the issue yesterday, Leventhal said he would appeal the issue to Gov. Mark Dayton, who last week called the Redskins’ name “racist” shortly before the Vikings played host to that team.  The activist group is asking for a chance to argue their case before the Minnesota Supreme Court. “This puts the governor to the test,” said Leventhal. “Does he give as much attention to a situation he has found to be racist, or does he push to the issuance of bonds?”

2.) DFL activist Dan Wolgamott made his campaign in House District 14A official on Monday, telling the St. Cloud Times that he plans to run against first-term Rep. Tama Theis, R. St. Cloud. Wolgamott, 23, is already something of a campaign veteran, having worked on successful election efforts by former Democratic lawmaker Larry Hosch, and the 2012 campaign of DFL Rep. Zach Dorholt. He also helped organize for Joanne Dorsher, the Democrat who ran and lost against Theis in a special election to replace outgoing GOP Rep. Steve Gottwalt. Wolgamott was born in Nebraska but moved to Minnesota to attend St. John’s University, where he played on the school’s football team; he now works as a realtor. He is the first Democrat to declare a candidacy in that race.

3.) Supporters and opponents of medical marijuana held a public forum to debate that issue in Duluth on Monday night, Northland’s News Center reports. Rep. Bob Barrett, R-Lindstrom, argued against the idea, saying the handling of which substances are legal is better left to the federal government. Speaking in support of the issue was Rep. Carly Melin, DFL-Hibbing, who will co-sponsor a bill to legalize medicinal prescription of marijuana next year. Melin said the legislation would come with strict guidelines for allowances of marijuana possession and use. “People will only be able to possess up to 2.5 ounces,” Melin said, “and it has to be a recommendation from their physician, and there will only be one dispensary in each county.”

• Rep. Debra Hilstrom, DFL-Brooklyn Center, announced via Twitter that she’d picked up the first labor endorsement in the Secretary of State race, having nabbed the support of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis. Her DFL counterpart Rep. Steve Simon (Hopkins) recently announced that he had secured the endorsement of dozens of fellow Democratic lawmakers.
• Former GOP legislator and congressional candidate Allen Quist has endorsed Aaron Miller in the 1st Congressional District contest. Quist made the announcement to the Mankato Free Press. Miller, a U.S. Army Reservist, is competing with Rep. Mike Benson, R-Rochester, and Jim Hagedorn for the Republican nomination. Quist won the GOP primary in that district last year, but ultimately lost to DFL U.S. Rep. Tim Walz by a wide margin.
• Gov. Mark Dayton has a pair of public speeches scheduled for today. At 4:30 p.m., Dayton will be at the Ramada-Plaza in Minneapolis to address a primary care workforce summit organized by the Minnesota Medical Association. At 6:00 p.m., the governor will speak to the Metropolitan Independent Business Association (MetroIBA) at Hamline Law School in St. Paul.
• The Senate Capital Investment Committee is embarking on a tour of potential bonding bill sites in St. Paul beginning at around 8:00 a.m. this morning.
• Boosters of the “5% Campaign,” which calls for a rate increase for home and community-based services, will hold a Capitol rotunda rally at 11:00 a.m. this morning. A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Rep. Tom Huntley, DFL-Duluth, Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, and Senate Minority Leader David Hann are expected to be on hand for the event.
• Burger Moe’s in St. Paul will be the site of a fundraiser for first-term GOP Rep. Nick Zerwas (Elk River) at 4:30 p.m. today. House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt and Reps. Matt Dean (Dellwood) and Kurt Zellers (Maple Grove), among others, will be in attendance. Suggested contributions are $100 per person. RSVP to [email protected].