Minnesota's alleged mini-Madoff, Tom Petters, is down to his last $54.09, according to the Strib's David Phelps, who reports that the feds are zeroing in on more than $20 million in real estate to compensate his victims, while being careful not to deprive Petters of assets needed to cover his $850/hr. legal bills. Phelps quotes one of Petters' attorneys offering assurances that there is enough of that kind of cash still left in the system to pay for a defense. To which we can only ask, "Really?"

Jason Hoppin at the PiPress reports on a $32 million debt forgiveness plan tucked into Tuesday's economic development legislation. The provision will allow to St. Paul to break ground as early as this fall on "The Pond," a multi-rink ice facility across the street from the X that the Wild can use for practice and local amateurs can use for ... whatever. One legislator isn't happy that the bill also declares hockey the official state sport. Writes Hoppin, "Rep. Bob Dettmer, R-Forest Lake, a wrestling coach, spoke in opposition. 'We're sending a pretty bad message to the rest of the programs and the rest of the athletes in our state'." Meanwhile, the same bill cuts cash for tourism promotion and the arts. Let them eat pucks.

The Strib's Capitol guy, Mark Brunswick, gets his licks in on a story about the Legislature blowing an hour debating warning language on bags of cocoa shell mulch. It seems dogs eat the stuff, and a few have died. Partisan squabbling reared its mutty head. Brunswick writes, "Fangs started to show when Delano Republican Tom Emmer wondered what language the signs would be written in. Told by Hornstein, whose family dog is a cockapoo, that the signs would be in English, Emmer scoffed: 'I'm very concerned because I don't believe the dog can read that.' "

The Strib's Washington correspondent Kevin Diaz writes that 5th District Congressman Keith Ellison is closing in on a significant legislative victory with House passage of the so-called Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights. (MinnPost coverage here.) A 357-70 vote sent the bill to the Senate, where a vote may come as early as next week. Ellison has been pushing for tough new credit card regulations since first being elected. Obama has his back.

Bob Geiger, writing in Finance and Commerce, reports that Twin Cities ad firms actually had a pretty good year in 2008, more than doubling the national increases in revenue.

KSTP-TV pretty well convicts and jails a Monticello girls basketball coach accused of sexual misconduct with one of his players. Reporter Chris O'Connell wields the hype hammer describing how "shocked" the community is, how the offender has been "stripped" of his duties and ... well, you get the idea.

Over on KARE-11, John Croman covers a claim by the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees that Gov. Pawlenty could "save" $350 million by pursuing unpaid fines and debt. MAPE had annoyed the governor by running TV ads arguing for targeted tax increases to restore tax fairness. In response, Pawlenty challenged them to come up with ideas to save money. Well ... after the impertinent bastards went and held a press conference about this $350 million business, the governor's office said most of that money was unretrievable because of bankruptcies.

Veteran music critic Jon Bream reviews last night's apparently, actually, truly sold-out show at the X, starring Elton John and Billy Joel, and spares no jab at the two geezer rockers' age, lack of hair, paunchiness and, in Joel's case, much ... much ... younger new wife. (Big news if Elton ever does the trophy wife thing.) Ripping Sir Elton's band, Bream writes, "But his take-us-on-autopilot band was, as that once-angry young Billy Joel sings, as boring as hell. No sense of fun, no sense of dynamics and no sense of coiffure." In an apparent case of "Elton Who? and Why?" City Pages just links to Bream's review.

CP does cover the British pop group, Bloc Party, in a make-up gig at First Avenue. Writer Amber Schadewald is enthusiastic. In a line we'd like to see Bream drop into one of his reviews sometime, Schadewald writes of Bloc Party's drummer, "Midway into the set, drummer Matt Tong lost the T-shirt and relaxed in his swim-trunk-esque shorts. A fan blew his tousled black locks as he beat the drums to a bloody pulp; all the while he looked comfortably naked."

First, all that swine flu craziness, now Brett Favre ... again. Judd Zulgad and Chip Scroggins file a story for the Strib that has Vikings coach Brad Childress meeting with the ex-Packer sometime this week to discuss un-un-retiring and joining the Vikings. Columnist Jim Souhan makes a case for keeping Favre far, far from Winter Park. Says Souhan, "Favre is the supermodel who maxes out your credit cards. He is the sports car that wipes out your bank account." Tom Powers, over at the PiPress, kind of likes the idea. Using the "He's good copy" rationale political reporters used to apply to Richard Nixon, Powers says, "I've been stumping for the Vikings to acquire Favre for a couple of years. For me it's not so much about how he plays. Instead, it just seems like it would be a blast having him here. What a ruckus that would create throughout the whole NFL." Everyone else in town has coverage on this latest mania.