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In the Know: December 17, 2020


Agriculture
BIDEN VOWS TO PAY FARMERS TO PLANT COVER CROPS AND PUT LAND IN CONSERVATIONSuccessful Farming

Attorney General Keith Ellison
Ellison pledges to hold businesses that defy COVID-19 restrictions accountableKSTP

Congress
$900 Billion Pandemic Relief Deal Takes Shape, New York Times
McConnell included $600 checks in COVID-19 stimulus plans after hearing that opposition could cost Republicans the Senate runoffs in Georgia, report says, Yahoo News
Lawmakers face shutdown deadline amid ongoing stimulus talks, CNN
McConnell getting much of what he wants in emerging relief dealThe Hill

Education
‘Losing A Generation’: Fall College Enrollment Plummets For First-Year Students, NPR
Supreme Court Takes on College Athlete PayInside Higher Ed
How The Biden Administration Can Focus On Education In The First 100 DaysForbes

Environment
Biden to Pick Brenda Mallory to Run White House Environment OfficeNYTimes
The Environmental Upside to the COVID-19 LockdownsNPR

Georgia Senate Election 
‘It’s nonstop’: Georgia Senate battles rage far from Atlanta, Politico

Governor Tim Walz
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to loosen COVID restrictions on bars, gyms, youth sportsStar Tribune

Labor
Amazon Faces Unionization Push in Alabama, a Test in Labor Organizing BidWall Street Journal
Argentina to add more transgender people to labor forceABC

Minnesota Legislature 
State report details victimization of Minnesota’s American Indian womenTwin Cities Pioneer Press
MN COVID-19 Business Relief Package BreakdownLakeland PBS
Minnesota Legislator Who Believes ‘Water Cleans Itself’ Defends Potato Giant’s Irrigation Expansion in Fragile Pineland SandsEWG

Minnesota News
Walz’s newest COVID-19 order: 7 questions, answeredMPR
Minnesota will suspend liquor licenses of two bars and restaurants defying no indoor-dining order, Star Tribune
Minnesota elementary schools can reopen Jan. 18MPR
Just like a century ago, there’s a class war in rural America, and the wrong side is winning, MN Reformer

President Elect Joe Biden
Biden cuts ad for Georgia Senate candidatesThe Hill

Representative Dean Phillips (CD3)
For Rep. Dean Phillips, COVID-19 relief talks in Washington have been a balancing actStar Tribune

Representative Ilhan Omar (CD5)
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar: A look back — and forward — at the end of a first termStar Tribune
‘We Are Not Embarrassed Enough’: Ilhan Omar Slams Congress for Failing the Public on Covid ReliefCommon Dreams

Republican Party 
GOP launches legal war on absentee voting ahead of Georgia runoffs, Politico

Republican Party in Minnesota
The real winner in the 5th Congressional District? D.C. political consultantsMN Reformer
No, you’re not ‘just asking questions.’ You’re spreading disinformation., MN Reformer

Senator Tina Smith
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall Applauds House Passage Of Two Bills Improving Services For Native American VeteransLos Alamos Daily Post

Trump
Report: Trump Floated Not Leaving White House on January 20New Yorker
Pence prepares to oversee Trump’s loss — and then leave townPolitico

U.S. News
People Thought Covid-19 Was Relatively Harmless for Younger Adults. They Were Wrong., New York Times
US sets new record for Covid-19 cases and deathsThe Guardian
California, the latest epicenter, is reporting more coronavirus cases than most countries in the world, Washington Post
Congress to pick up COVID relief talks as lawmakers eye stimulus checks, USA Today
Groups hope Buttigieg opens door to more LGBT nomineesThe Hill
Lie of the Year: Coronavirus downplay and denialPolitifact

World News 
French President Emmanuel Macron tests positive for COVID-19, Insider
In Landmark Ruling, Air Pollution Recorded as a Cause of Death for British Girl, NYT
Fourteen People Convicted in Charlie Hebdo Terrorist Attack TrialWall Street Journal
Brexit Countdown: What To Know As The United Kingdom Breaks With The EU, NPR
Life has got worse since Arab spring, say people across Middle EastThe Guardian

Upcoming Events:

You can find non-DFL events on our Action Alert post.

  • Today to December 18 — Minnesota Stay at Home Order
  • Today through December 18 — Chanukah
  • December 21 — Winter Solstice
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — Anoka County DFL Virtual Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics.
  • December 24 — Christmas Eve
  • December 25 — Christmas Day
  • December 31 — New Year’s Eve
  • January 1 — New Year’s Day
  • January 2 — 116th U.S. Congress ends
  • January 3 — 117th U.S. Congress convenes
  • January 5 — 92nd Minnesota Legislative Session Convenes
  • January 6
    • 6:30 to 8:30 PM — SD50 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD33 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
  • January 7, 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD46 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
  • January 11
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD44 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD49 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
  • January 14
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD36 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD48 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
  • January 18 — Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — Anoka County DFL Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
  • January 20 — Inauguration Day
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — CD3 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, more information as it becomes available
  • January 28, 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD47 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for more information
  • February 2 — Groundhog Day
  • February 3
    • 6:30 to 8:30 PM — SD50 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for more information
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD33 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for more information
  • February 4, 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD46 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for more information
Categories: DFL In the Know
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