In the Know: June 23, 2020

Days to the November Election:  133

2020
The First Major Elections of the George Floyd Era, The American Prospect
9 things to watch on a huge primary day for Democrats, Politico

Agriculture
FARMLAND VALUES CONSTRAINED BY FALLING INCOME, PANDEMIC, Successful Farming

DFL News
DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin’s Statement on Jason Lewis’ History of Sowing Divisiveness and Racist Comments, dfl.org

Donald Trump
Trump Baselessly Accuses Obama Of ‘Treason’, Huff Post
Protesters Outside White House Try to Take Down Statue of Andrew Jackson, Trump’s Favorite President, New York Magazine
Trump’s 2020 strategy: A never-ending war with states, Politico
More On Bill Barr’s Friday Night Caper, Talking Points Memo

Economy
The Second Great Depression, The Atlantic
Larry Kudlow fights statistics on black-white wealth gap, Axios
Trump Uses the Pandemic to Suspend Visas for Temporary Workers, Mother Jones

Environment
Revealed: millions of Americans can’t afford water as bills rise 80% in a decade, The Guardian
‘Godzilla dust cloud’ from Sahara blankets Caribbean on its way to US, The Guardian

Governor Tim Walz
Federal relief is held up after a special legislative session deal broke down, Star Tribune

Health
New U.S. COVID-19 cases surge 25% last week; Arizona, Florida and Texas set records, Reuters
Florida’s Reopening Party Season Is Already a COVID-19 Fiasco, Daily Beast
COVID-19 case growth drops in Minnesota despite protest fears, Star Tribune
US urged to prepare for ‘tremendous burden’ of Covid-19 and flu at same time, The Gaurdian
New U.S. COVID-19 cases surge 25% last week; Arizona, Florida and Texas set records, Reuters
LGBTQ Clinics Sue Trump Administration Over Discrimination In Trans Health Care, NPR

Immigration
Trump Suspends Visas Allowing Hundreds of Thousands of Foreigners to Work in the U.S., New York Times

Joe Biden
Joe BIden’s Statement on the 21st Anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Landmark Disability Rights Decision in Olmstead v. L.C., Medium
Biden campaign agrees to 3 debates with Trump and slams push for more debates as a ‘distraction’, CNN

Labor

What’s up with unemployment in Minnesota? The view from the May numbers, MinnPost
Black Medicare Patients With COVID-19 Nearly 4 Times As Likely To End Up In Hospital, NPR

Minnesota News
More gunfire as Minneapolis calls in other agencies to help restore order, Star Tribune
Amazon’s Shakopee warehouse has 88 COVID-19 cases, UNFI’s Hopkins site has 11, Star Tribune
COVID-19 case growth drops in Minnesota despite protest fears, Star Tribune
Students of color press St. Paul district to cut ties with Police Department, MPR News
Hormel to open new full-service clinic for its employees, Rochester Post Bulletin
Mayor paints grim financial picture for Duluth due to pandemic, Duluth News Tribune

Minnesota State Legislature
Minnesota Legislature ends special session without deal on policing reforms, MinnPost
Legislators had a long to-do list for special session. They did almost none of it. Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal
Communities Urge Minnesota Lawmakers To Pass Bonding Bill, COVID Relief Deal After Special Session Fails, WCCO

Representative Angie Craig (CD2)
Rep. Kennedy Urges Trump Admin. to Revoke Anti-trans Health Care Rule, Washington Blade

Representative Dean Phillips
Upended by COVID-19, a Wayzata florist landed a federal loan. And then the wait started, Star Tribune

Republicans
Kentucky Votes Today. Here Are All the Ways Mitch McConnell Has Made That Harder., Mother Jones
Michigan U.S. House candidate references ‘this whole race nonsense’ as ‘fake’, Detroit News
G.O.P. Faces Risk From Push to Repeal Health Law During Pandemic, New York Times
McEnany defends Trump using racist term to refer to coronavirus, CNN
GOP rallies around Trump after firing of Manhattan US attorney, The Hill
How the Coronavirus Spread QAnon, Mother Jones
Confederate Flag-Waving Trump Supporter Praises KKK, Vows To Teach Hate, Huff Post
Giuliani Claims BLM ‘Wants To Come And Take Your House Away’ In Doomsday Rant, Talking Points Memo

Senator Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar staff gather information on caring for senior citizens during COVID-19, Austin Daily Herald
Senators Klobuchar & Markey Urge Consumer Product Safety Commission to Protect Children from Drowning During Coronavirus Pandemic, Amy Klobuchar

Secretary of State Steve Simon
FULL INTERVIEW: Secretary of State Steve Simon discusses mail-in voting ballots with KSTP’s Kevin Doran, KSTP

Senator Tina Smith
Juneteenth Should Be a National Holiday, Mother Jones

Supreme Court of the US
6 major questions the Supreme Court still needs to resolve this term, Vox

U.S. News
Is The Constitutional Right To Choose Abortion Doomed?, New York Magazine
An Illustrated History of Government Agencies Twisting the Truth to Align With White House Misinformation, ProPublica
The Revolt of the Judges, The American Prospect
UNHEARD, ProPublica
Soldier charged with providing information to white supremacist occult group to “ambush” his own unit, CBS News

Voter Protection
If you or someone you know has trouble registering to vote or casting a ballot, we encourage you to reach out to the DFL’s new Voter Protection Hotline at 833-DFL-VOTE (833-335-8683).

World News
How Bolsonaro has left Brazil’s Indigenous people vulnerable in the pandemic, Vox
It’s Not Just Covid That Has Hondurans Starving. It’s Also U.S. Policy., In These Times
Afghans accuse Taliban of killing 333 people as U.S. pulls thousands of troops out, CBS News
WHO reports biggest one-day rise in coronavirus cases to date, CBS News
Saudi Arabia announces drastic curbs to numbers for annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Washington Post
Putin ploughs ahead with Victory Day parade despite coronavirus threat, The Guardian
MNGOP
Minnesota GOP lawmaker says Antifa and Muslim organization plan to ‘police Minneapolis under Muslim rule’, Minnesota Reformer

Upcoming DFL Events

With the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation, we suggest you check with the hosting organization to see if meetings, etc. are being held.

• June 23
  • 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 1:00 to 4:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 4:00 to 7:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 4:00 t0 5:30 PM — SD40 DFL Nominations Screening, contact them for more information.
• June 24
  • 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 1:00 to 4:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 4:00 to 7:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 4:30 to 5:30 PM — Virtual Round Table with Sen. Tina Smith and Tribal and Urban Indian Leaders, more information and RSVP here.
• June 25
  • 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 1:00 to 4:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 4:00 to 7:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
• June 26 through August 10 — Primary Election Early Voting Window, more information here.
  • 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 1:00 to 4:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 4:00 to 7:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
• June 27
  • 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 12:00 to 4:00 PM — SD40 DFL Nominations Screenings, contact them for more information.
  • 1:00 to 4:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 4:00 to 7:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 6:30 to 9:00 PM — DFL Environmental Caucus Annual Membership Virtual Meeting, here’s a link to more information.
• June 28
  • 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 1:00 to 4:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 4:00 to 7:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
• June 29
  • 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 1:00 to 4:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 4:00 to 7:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
• June 30
  • 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 1:00 to 4:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
  • 4:00 to 7:00 PM — Virtual Phone Bank with the DFL in CD3, more information and sign up here.
• July 1 — Somali Independence Day
  • 6:30 to 8:30 PM — SD50 DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
  • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD33 DFL Central Committee Virtual Meeting, contact them for specifics.
• July 3 — Independence Day (observed)
• July 4 — Independence Day (actual)
• July 7, 5:00 to 7:00 PM — DFL Virtual Grassroots Fundraiser:  Where We Go From Here, more information and RSVP here.
• July 9
  • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD36 DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
  • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD46 DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
  • 7:00 t0 9:00 PM — SD48 DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
• July 13
  • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD44 DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics
  • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD49 DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
• July 15
  • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — No CD3 DFL Committee Meeting this month
• July 18, 1:30 to 4:00 PM — SD40 DFL Central Committee Virtual Business Meting, contact them for more information.
• July 10, 7:00 to 9:00 PM — Anoka County DFL Meeting, contact them for specifics.