The Capitol Note: Bond sale delay could cause “major problems” for Vikings stadium

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1.) The Minnesota Department of Management and Budget announced on Sunday that a lawsuit filed against the state would force a delay in bond sales for the new Minnesota Vikings stadium, the Star Tribune reports. Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority chair Michele Kelm-Helgen portrayed the situation as a potentially dire one, saying the delay could lead to “major problems.” Specifically, the state would be left $28 million short in paying expenses related to the stadium unless the bond money is in-hand by the end of the month. Receiving bond proceeds later than Jan. 23, she continued, could put the stadium at risk of not being ready for use in time for the 2016 NFL season. The legal challenge was brought by three Minneapolis residents, including former Minneapolis School Board member David Tilsen and former mayoral candidate Doug Mann.

2.) Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon will discuss her political future with Gov. Mark Dayton today, according to the Associated Press. Prettner Solon told reporters last week that she had made her own decision about running again, but had not shared the information with Dayton yet. Prettner Solon has, in recent months, expressed disappointment with her diminished role within the administration, saying she felt left out of almost all major decisions. A number of possible replacements has been floated in the political rumor mill, with the inside track thought to belong to Senate Assistant Majority Leader Katie Sieben, DFL-Newport.

3.) Tax revenue collections continue to exceed expectations, with the state collecting $172 million more than projected during the months of November and December. That amount is 5.4 percent higher than the original estimate, and was arrived at on the strength of higher income tax collections ($1.43 billion, or 6.7 percent over projections) and sales tax revenues, which came in 4.6 percent higher than originally forecast, at $838 million over the two-month period.

COMINGS & GOINGS

• Hennepin County is hiring an operational director for its nonprofit Metropolitan Health Plan (MHP) program. Qualified candidates should have a degree in hospital administration, public health or a related field, and should have working knowledge of the current state and federal laws on health care. More information and online application available here.
• Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, took to Twitter to announce that she’d been endorsed for re-election by Barkrad Abadrahman, the young actor who played one of the pirates in the 2013 film “Captain Phillips.”
• Meanwhile, Kahn’s DFL challenger in House District 60B, Mohamud Noor, registered his candidacy with the campaign finance board, listing Meredith Matthew Musel as his chairman; Musel works at Bethlehem Academy, and was previously an organizer with OutFront Minnesota.