The State of the State, the decline of the moose and the meaning of 'The Book of Mormon'

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton enters the House chamber to deliver his state of the state address Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 at the State Capitol in St. Paul. (MPR Photo/Jennifer Simonson)by Phil Picardi, Minnesota Public Radio,
Hart Van Denburg, Minnesota Public Radio
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Today on the MPR News Update: The governor signals his support for same sex marriage, the impact of the sequester for Minnesota, the embattled St. Paul Police crime lab won't be drug testing anymore, the moose population is in dramatic decline and a theologian looks at a wildly popular show now playing in the Twin Cities.

STATE OF THE STATE: Gov. Mark Dayton used his third State of the State address last night to make an expected defense of his budget proposal. But he also used his pulpit to declare support for legalizing same sex marriage. Dayton stopped short of calling on legislators to send him a marriage bill to sign this session, but he told a joint convention of the House and Senate that he wants Minnesotans to marry whomever they choose. Tim Pugmire was there. And the transcript of his speech is here.

PULLTAB GAMBLING REVENUE FALLS SHORT - AGAIN: Minnesota's roll out of electronic pull tabs continues to fall short of revenue projections. After a strong debut in a handful of bars in September, the expansion of the games designed to help fund the new Vikings stadium has been slow, and the games in bars aren't drawing the crowds backers had hoped. Now, Tim Nelson reports that calls for change are starting at the Capitol.

STADIUM WATCH: In related news, we just launched the new Stadium Watch blog, which tracking more than a billion dollars worth of pro sports facilities development underway in the Twin Cities for the Vikings, the Timberwovles and the St. Paul Saints.

SEQUESTRATION DAMAGE ASSESSMENT: Experts say sequestration, the across-the-board budget cuts scheduled to kick in March 1 that were part of the 2011 debt limit deal, wouldn't hit Minnesota as hard as it would other states. Brett Neely reports that Minnesota Management and Budget says the state is ranked 49th in terms of federal dollars spent per resident, which would lessen the impact seen in Minnesota.

COSTS MORE, DOES LESS: The St. Paul City Council released more than a million dollars in funding to fix the troubled St. Paul police crime lab. The lab will not resume drug testing, work which will be outsourced, but instead will focus on fingerprints, crime scene processing, video analysis and reconstructing crash scenes. Madeleine Baran has more here.

DYING MOOSE: The DNR announced the results of its annual aerial survey yesterday. It shows the northeastern Minnesota moose population at about 2,700 -- down from about 4,200 just a year ago, representing a 35 percent drop. Elizabeth Dunbar reports it's a bigger decline than the DNR expected, and has prompted cancelation of this year's moose hunting season.

"BOOK OF MORMON": The touring production of the Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon" is now playing in the Twin Cities. It's a story about two Mormon missionaries who are sent to Africa. As you might expect from something written by the creators of "South Park," the show is outrageous and profane. Morning Edition producer Jim Bickal went to see the show with Bruce Forbes, an ordained United Methodist minister and professor of Religious Studies at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa.

POSTAL SERVICE REACTION: News that the postal service plans to trim its delivery to five days a week has letter carriers worried. Ending Saturday delivery service is expected to save the U.S. Postal Service about $2 billion. But in Minnesota and surrounding states, it may cost thousands of jobs, Tim Nelson reports.

BURNED SUGAR WORKER: Officials are saying little about an accident that seriously burned a worker at the American Crystal Sugar Co. plant in East Grand Forks last week. A Crystal Sugar spokesman says the man "came into contact with lot liquid and was burned," and that the Moorhead-based sugar beet processor is investigating.

FLOOD REPAIR MONEY: The impact from flooding last year continues to be felt: The Rushford-Peterson and Moose Lake districts plan to join forces to ask the Legislature for $20 million each to offset part of their rebuilding expenses, hopeful that a collective approach will boost their chances. Liz Baier has more.

CONFLICTED OF INTEREST? Liz Baier also reports that some residents in Red Wing say their mayor, Dennis Egan, should not have accepted a job with the newly created Minnesota Industrial Sand Council. It's a group of companies with interests in silica sand mining -- a quickly growing industry that is also creating controversy in a number of cities and counties in southeastern Minnesota, including Red Wing.

EATING ELY: The mere mention of the phrase "February in Minnesota" is enough to get some people sprinting to the airport for a flight to somewhere tropical, or least vaguely Southern. But, if you love ice fishing or other winter sports, or you're just looking to embrace winter and have a good time in the deep freeze, you might head the opposite direction, to a place like Ely. Food writer James Norton from the Heavy Tabletraveled there for a cold long weekend in January, and came back with a sampling of the town's local winter flavor for Tom Crann on All Things Considered.

Phil Picardi is a newscaster for MPR News, and occasionally fills in as Morning Edition host when Cathy Wurzer is away.

Hart is the morning online editor at MPR News.

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Horses and bayonets: The state of the world with Obama and Romney

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama walk past each other on stage at the end of the last debate at Lynn University, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012, in Boca Raton, Fla. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)by Phil Picardi, Minnesota Public Radio,
Hart Van Denburg, Minnesota Public Radio
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On the MPR News Update today, we pull together the post-mortem on the final presidential debate. The owners of Accent Signage say they're back in business after last month's shooting rampage. Outside groups are spending a lot on Minnesota's elections. And the Minnesota Orchestra isn't tapping its endowment during a contract dispute. First, let's get through the debate fallout:

ROLE REVERSALS: President Barack Obama came to the third and final presidential debate ready for a fighting finish, deriding Mitt Romney as reckless and overmatched in world affairs. What he found instead was a subdued Republican challenger who seemed determined to show he was not a warmonger.

MONKEYWRENCHING: No moment was more telling than when Romney had a clear opening to respond to Obama's lecture that he was wrong and irresponsible on foreign affairs. He responded by giving his five-point plan for fixing the economy, leading to a bizarre exchange that took the debate wildly off topic.

DEBUNKING THE BUNK: Contrary to Romney's assertions, the president never embarked on an "apology tour," and Syria can't be Iran's only route to the sea because Iran already has its own coastline in the Gulf. And those education scholarships that Obama said started after Romney left the governor's office in Massachusetts? Wrong. They happened on Romney's watch.

WHAT DID THEY LEAVE OUT? The president, his challenger -- and moderator Bob Schieffer-- covered a lot of ground in 90 minutes. Some of it even stuck to the topic at hand: world affairs. Still, a lot was left unsaid. What did you think should have been covered, but wasn't?

THE BIG WINNER? 'HORSES AND BAYONETS': Romney challenged the president on military strength by saying the Navy is too small and has fewer ships than it did in 1916. Obama's response: "Well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets. ... We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines. And so, the question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting ships." The Internet promptly issued a collective guffaw.

DIDN'T GET ENOUGH LAST NIGHT? For anyone feeling the need experience the horses and bayonets show one more time, visit the archived live blog here. And don't miss all our special coverage of Campaign 2012.

WHAT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT GEORGE MCGOVERN: In all of the eulogies for former U.S. Sen. George McGovern, who died Sunday, many spoke of his 1972 campaign for president and opposition to the Vietnam War. But as Julie Siple reports, McGovern left another legacy -- his work as a tireless advocate for the hungry, work that can be traced to his early days on the prairies of South Dakota.

SITE OF SHOOTING BACK IN BUSINESS: Accent Signage Systems, the Minneapolis sign factory where six people were fatally shot last month, is trying to move on, family members said Monday. Shereen Rahamim, wife of company owner Reuven Rahamim, spoke publicly on Monday for the first time since the shooting and his death. Tim Nelson reports she said the company is trying to move on.

BIG MONEY, NEW RULES: The candidates for the Minnesota Legislature and special interest groups that support them are using a variety of tactics to try to win in November. Every seat in the Legislature is on the ballot this year. Some of the outside groups appear to be spending a lot of money on some races, but as Tom Scheck reports, state law doesn't require them to say exactly how much they're spending.

ENDOWMENT DEBATE: Both major Twin Cites orchestras have now locked out their musicians in tandem contract disputes. Martin Moylan reports that one of the central issues in the Minnesota Orchestra dispute is the use of $140 million in endowment funds to pay for ongoing operations. Management says the endowments cannot sustain the multi-million dollar withdrawals of recent years.

MORE GRIST FOR THE ST. PAUL CRIME LAB STORY: Madeleine Baran says the work of the troubled St. Paul police crime lab has come under question in yet another drug case. The St. Paul lab suspended drug testing in July amid allegations of shoddy science.

THE MOTHER'S HEROIN: A 37-year-old Maple Grove woman is facing felony child endangerment charges after authorities determined she'd been smoking heroin and marijuana with her 12 year-old-daughter. Tim Nelson reports that Rebecca Hill is being held at the Hennepin County jail.

Phil Picardi is a newscaster for MPR News, and occasionally fills in as Morning Edition host when Cathy Wurzer is away.

Hart is the morning online editor at MPR News.

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State employees nearer to pay raise; plant fanatics up a tree

The Minnesota Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. (MPR Photo/Hart Van Denburg)by Matt Sepic, Minnesota Public Radio,
Hart Van Denburg, Minnesota Public Radio
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In the news today, Minnesota state workers are getting closer to their first pay raise in more than three years. St. Paul considers shutting down drug evidence testing at its troubled police crime lab. Sen. Amy Klobuchar introduces a plan to make it easier for American companies to hire skilled foreign workers. And Edina schools will start before Labor Day.

PAY RAISE: A 2 percent pay increase for thousands of state employees is one step closer to reality after legislative action yesterday. The joint Subcommittee on Employee Relations is recommending the Legislature approve state contracts for thousands of state employees.

CRIME LAB: St. Paul police may decide to pay the state to conduct all drug analysis rather than resume testing at the troubled St. Paul police crime lab. The police lab suspended drug testing six months ago amid allegations of contamination and shoddy work.

EDINA SCHOOLS: The Edina School Board has approved a plan to start school before Labor Day, despite the objections of many parents. The board voted unanimously to begin classes on Aug. 25, starting with the 2014-2015 school year.

TUITION HIKES: University of Minnesota finances chief Richard Pfutzenreuter says colleges raise tuition in part, simply because they can.

JOB CUTS: Boston Scientific, which has a significant Minnesota presence, plans to cut as many as 1,000 additional jobs this year as the company expands a push to reduce operating expenses.

IMMIGRATION: DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar, along with Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, are introducing a bill today to help legal immigrants with advanced skills in science and technology to continue working in the United States.

HEROIN USE: A new report on drug trends in the Twin Cities shows heroin use remains a growing problem, while the abuse surrounding of opiate-based pain killers, like methadone and OxyContin, may be slowing.

WITCH'S BROOMS: Have you bought any shrubs or landscape plants lately? Chance are, they originated in a witches broom. We're not talking Harry Potter here, but rather about small, tightly woven masses of branches that can appear high up in pine trees across northern Minnesota. These "brooms" are actually the genetic source of a lot of the landscape plants and shrubs sold at nurseries. But they're often not easy to retrieve, as we found when we joined the "broom hunters."

BOY SCOUTS: Facing diverse and ceaseless protests, the Boy Scouts of America is signaling its readiness to end the nationwide exclusion of gays as scouts or leaders and give the sponsors of local troops the freedom to decide the matter for themselves.

IMMIGRATION: Side by side, leading Democratic and Republican senators pledged Monday to propel far-reaching immigration legislation through the Senate by summer providing a possible path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people now in the U.S. illegally.

A TASTE: The Taste of Minnesota festival may return to St. Paul this summer, three years after it was forced into bankruptcy.

ART HERO: Maria Genne, the founder and artistic director of Kairos Dance, used to have a career that focused on dancing with young people. But as she grew older, Genne began looking at how she could create dance in which everyone felt welcome.

Matt Sepic is a newscaster and general assignment reporter for MPR News.

Hart is the morning online editor at MPR News.

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Unite to strengthen state Madan

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State Department Issues Global Travel Alert Warning Of Potential For Terrorist Attacks

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The State Department Friday issued a global travel alert in light of threats against American embassies.

The department said in a statement posted online that the potential for terrorism is particularly heightened in the Middle East and North Africa.

The statement also said that an attack could occur or come from the Arabian Peninsula, KNX 1070’s Jon Baird reported. U.S. Issues Global Travel AlertJon Baird

But many travelers departing from Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX weren’t fazed by the alert.

“If we were to fear every warning of a possible terrorist attack, we would probably have to stay in our homes,” one traveler said.

“This kind of news [occurs] all the time so you kind of don’t know to take what serious, what not,” another traveler said.

Destinations for those waiting in line included: Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Africa, and Pakistan, CBS2's Dave Lopez reported. Emirates Airline, Turkish Air, and other carriers headed to the region said they had very few cancellations.

Meantime, the State Department urged U.S. citizens to be aware of their surroundings and to stay away from unattended luggage. Also, travelers were cautioned not to hang around large hotel lobbies.

“Because of the travel alert, people will be a little more alert. A little more attentive. People checking in to their bags and people will watch their bags and won’t leave them unattended,” said another traveler.

The alert comes in the wake of information of an alleged al Qaeda plot, according to intelligence agents. The alert is set to expire at the end of this month.

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