At a state Capitol food safety hearing, state officials passed around the actual 5-pound "smoking tub" of peanut butter that helped them crack a nationwide salmonella case. Forum Communications' Don Davis reports that state food inspectors are off to search Minnesota's groceries and convenience stores to make sure 800 suspected items are off the shelves.

The last of the Big Three has sued Denny Hecker — for a half a billion dollars ... plus. The PiPress' Nicole Garrison-Sprenger relays Chrysler's $550 million suit; Hecker personally guaranteed $50 million, with the other half-bil pledged against his businesses. His attorney doesn't dispute the whopping number. Garrison-Sprenger notes Chrysler is in a bit of a tight spot itself financially, but Hecker's goose appears fully cooked.

Say what you will about Norm Coleman, but his office forced the Navy to look at the death of a Zimmerman, Minn., sailor electrocuted in a shower while on Iraq duty. AP says the death was originally listed as "natural causes." David Cedergren was the 11th Minnesota to die in the war, and, incredibly, the 18th such electrocution death under investigation.

The state found the state's Q-Comp program is great, AP reports. But the best the report can say is that Gov. Pawlenty's three-year-old teacher-bonus pay plan "has been perceived as having a positive impact on schools." A recent Strib investigation

was more critical, and conveniently, the Ed Department's analysis comes a day before the legislative auditor releases its evaluation.

Related: The Strib's Emily Johns says because so many kids are poised to fail a new high-stakes math test, state lawmakers have proposed an alternative: Students "could still graduate if they meet three conditions: complete all other state and district graduation requirements; participate in the district's remediation program for the subject they failed, and try to pass the test two more times."

Alleged RNC Molotov-cocktail builder David McKay got to taste the cold Minnesota air after a jury deadlocked. He'd been in jail four months, but after a judge refused to let jurors review trial transcripts, they threw up their hands, the Strib's James Walsh reports. They were wrestling with whether a paid FBI informant entrapped McKay, the PiPress' David Hanners says. No word on how the jury split. The feds will retry McKay March 16.

Even though ridership is soaring, Metro Transit needs federal stimulus dollars just to run its system, the PiPress' Dave Orrick reports. Some local officials are decidedly unhappy with the news; sounds like they want to build stuff, not run it. Motor vehicle taxes are down $12 million from 2004; this year, the system will get by on $30 million in one-time local money, the Strib's Kevin Giles writes. Bell also wants to use "livable communities" development funds to run trains and buses.

Related: Two Republican legislators want to strip $100 million from transit and fund rural school buses, KSTP reports. It has no chance of passing, but shows the seriousness of GOP geographic-warfarers. Also, KSTP notes that Southwest Transit, which is not part of Metro Transit, is cutting rides because of lower car-tax proceeds.

Speaking of things that won't become law, the Strib editorial page warns the Minneapolis City Council not to kill charter reform in its crib. There's a plan afoot to abolish the city's park board, its board of estimate and install a city administrator. As a longtime fan of the idea, I can also say there won't be the muscle or support to get it approved, but like the editorialists, I'd like officials to let me vote on it in November.

More longshots: MPR's Tom Scheck runs down options should — gasp! — the state raise revenue. There's a no-hope plan to raise taxes on top wage-earners, another that would tax clothing (but, says a sponsor, would only offset other taxes), or installing slots at Canterbury Park or the airport. Non-profiteers and think tankers make the tax-hike case in the Strib's op-ed section.

Four DFL candidates for governor reported fundraising totals: longtime candidate Tom Bakk is in the lead, but the Cook state senator is hotly pursued by a relative newcomer, Minneapolis Rep. Paul Thissen, MPR's Tom Scheck reports. Bakk netted $146,000, while Thissen plucked $115,000. Another long-time entrant, Ramsey County prosecutor Susan Gaertner, raised $46,000, while Sen. John Marty brought in $30,000. Other candidates didn't have to report.

Speaking of cash, MPR's Mark Zdechlik and Bob Collins list the interesting donors to Coleman's and Franken's recount efforts. Norm got money from a controversial hedge fund manager, a coal mining CEO and the owner of Menard's. Franken got dough from Mike Meyers, Ben Stiller, Roy Lichtenstein's widow and private equity firm dudes. Each candidate raised more than 3 million and had more than a million bucks to play with at the end of '08.

Politics in Minnesota's Britt Robson says Gov. Pawlenty's health care cuts will cost more than they save. That's because foregone insurance will torpedo basic care. The resulting after-the-fact treatments will cost local governments and folks with private insurance, who must subsidize hospitals. Most interesting claim: Most of the "unsustainable" hikes are not from pricey treatments, but from the weaker economy, which forces more people into subsidized care.

Related: Riffing off recent reports that Pawlenty's plan to cut health care will imperil up to $2 billion in federal dollars, PIM's Steve Perry notes that no one yet knows the dollar amount the state would have to restore. Any amount would unbalance the budget, necessitating other cuts or tax increases. Perry also gives Finance and Commerce's Bob Geiger credit for breaking the story.

The U again batters corn ethanol, judging it no better and, in some cases, worse for the planet than gasoline, the Strib's Tom Meersman reports. Meersman says it's the first study to judge the economic costs of human health. Corn growers blame the messenger, noting the U's negative conclusions about corn ethanol and global warming last year. Cellulosic ethanol (from ag waste products, trees and weeds) again gets high marks, but may not prove out. MPR's Bob Collins adds context.

In a PiPress op-ed, St. Paul Chamber president Kristofer Johnson says adopting California clean-fuel standards in Minnesota is wrong. Cali's fuel is easier to clean than Minnesota's Canadian supply, he argues. A tougher standard would force us to get Middle Eastern goo, raising costs and costing local refinery jobs.  Policies "should come from within Minnesota and must be based on our own circumstances, not California's."

Four in 10 Twin Cities homes sold last year netted a loss, the PiPress' Christopher Snowbeck reports. Most were foreclosures, according to a Zillow.com survey. However, homes held more than 10 years have appreciated at about 5 percent annually. The Strib's Jim Buchta says prices in Edina and Minneapolis' Bryn Mawr and Kenwood neighborhoods went up. Few foreclosures there.

If you want the day's best read, check out MPR reporter Mark Steil's fascinating account of a century-old Lakota oral history transcript rediscovered by an Edina 25-year-old. The oral history recounted annual events going back to 1790.In a terrific use of the web,MPR matched the document to a pictograph of the same events.

KARE's Boyd Huppert profiles the Walters, Minn., woman who took photos at Buddy Holly's final show in Clear Lake, Iowa. That happened 50 years ago Monday night.