Norm Coleman may not be allowed to use campaign cash to cover his various legal woes. According to Chris Steller in the Minnesota Independent, that appears to be the FEC's view of Coleman's request to do just that. The FEC issued two draft opinions prior to a meeting next week. In the first,  "Opinion A says the law won’t let Coleman tap campaign accounts to pay for legal representation in the Texas or Delaware lawsuits or the FBI investigation, but the campaign can pay half the costs of monitoring the out-of-state lawsuits." What was that last time Coleman had any good news?

It isn't fair. You just build up speed after the latest construction site slow down and what happens? You plow into a deer bounding across the friggin' freeway. John Brewer of the Pioneer Press reports on the pretty stunning numbers of car-deer collisions all over the state. He notes the recent death of a motorcyclist who hit Bambi on I-694. He reports, "The state deer herd is estimated at 1 million and accounted for an average 4,490 reported vehicle crashes a year over the past 10 years. While the most recent state data show a decrease in collisions — 2,538 in 2008 versus a peak of 5,557 in 2002 — last year was the deadliest in a decade: Nine people died in crashes with deer in 2008; seven of the dead were on motorcycles." One expert asserts that there are more deer in Minnesota now "than when the pilgrims landed." Who did the census back then, I have no idea.

Oh, and by the way, forget about trying to go anywhere this weekend. MPR's Elizabeth Baier reports on road closings around the metro. The nut of it? "Highway 280 will be closed in both directions between Como Avenue and Interstate 35W. During the closure, there will be no access to Broadway Ave. Drivers will be able to reach southbound Hwy 280 at Como Avenue. The northbound roadway will also be open to Como Avenue. Southbound Hwy 280 traffic will detour east on Hwy 36 to southbound I-35E and west on I-94. Northbound traffic will detour east on I-94 to northbound I-35E and west on Hwy 36." Don't say you weren't warned.

The PiPress runs an Associated Press story on the Star Tribune's notice that it intends to emerge from bankruptcy this fall. It has Strib publisher saying, "the end is in sight." Ummm, can we get a re-write on that one?

The Strib's own story on the bankruptcy, written by David Phelps, includes the vital information that "the Star Tribune would emerge from Chapter 11 with $100 million in debt and would be worth between $118 million and $144 million, including the value of its real estate," and that "majority stakeholder Avista Capital Partners and the Chris Harte Family Trust, would be out of the ownership picture and walk away with nothing."  And that, folks, would be "nothing" after a $530 million investment.

Our own David Brauer, of course, is up with his own report. Says Brauer, "While there are tons of questions — 'Who's in charge?' chief among them — there was a risk the Strib wouldn't make it out and be liquidated, so it will be nice to see the paper on firmer footings, even amid an environment that remains shaky as hell." He adds, "As for Harte, his tenure will be remembered for its fecklessness, from his ill-timed personal investment to his ill-considered Par Ridder hire to sanding off the edges of his editorial board. Insiders say he's a guy who sincerely cares about journalism, and to some extent was the victim of circumstances affecting everyone. But on a fundamental level, he destroyed a lot of value for himself, his pals at Avista (whom he convinced to do the deal), his employees and this community."

Maria Elena Baca has a piece in the Strib certain to set off the eminent domain crowd. You know, the folks certain that the gummint is coming to seize their garages and gun racks? She reports on an uptick in settlement checks for property, going not to the resident of the property, but the mortgage holder, another group strapped by the popping of the real estate bubble. Baca writes: "Most homeowners' mortgage contracts include language that allows lienholders the option to claim proceeds from a condemnation process. In an economic environment of stressed banks and highly leveraged real estate, people are finding that the banks are exercising that option." You can imagine where talk radio will take this one.

It's nice when your daughter can use her national TV audience to advocate for the family business. GM's decision to end its multi-decade relationship with Main Motors in Anoka had Fox News' Gretchen Carlson complaining on air how unfair this was to her mom and dad, Lee and Karen, owners of the dealership. The Strib's Paul Levy tells the Carlson's end of the story. He says: "The dealership exceeded recent objectives. And its positive turnaround in 2009 sales ranks seventh among Twin Cities General Motors dealers." No comment from GM or GM's new owner ... uh, that'd be you and me.

Being a precedent-setter can be a bummer sometimes. Thirty-two-year-old Jammie Thomas-Rassert of Brainerd has earned herself a permanent place in music and internet trivia by getting walloped with a $1.92 million judgment for downloading 24 songs via the Kazaa music sharing site. For the math-impaired, the Pioneer Press runs Steve Karnowski's Associated Press story which calculates that to $80,000 per tune. The trial, the second, after the judge ordered a re-trial, is the only one of its kind so far. Karnowski reports that "Cara Duckworth, a spokeswoman for the RIAA [the recording industry association], said the industry remains willing to settle, but she refused to put a figure on it."

The Strib's Alex Ebert covers the same story and quotes the defendant, Ms. Thomas-Rassert, a mother of four, reacting to the judgment with a terse, "Good luck getting it from me.'"

Speaking of tunes, geezer rock gods Eric Clapton and Stevie Winwood were in town at the Xcel last night for a concert much-anticipated by everyone who still knows where their LP copy of "Blind Faith" and their 1970s roach clip are stashed. The Strib's Jon Bream gives the show a middling review. He says: "It was embarrassing to have Winwood try to play guitar standing next to one of rock's all-time great guitarists. Keyboardist Winwood, a journeyman at best on guitar, is no Derek Trucks, the young stud who sparked Clapton on his 2006 tour." On the other hand, says Bream, "let's be honest, most of the crowd came to experience Clapton. He was wonderful on a cookin' 'After Midnight' and 'Tough Luck Blues,' on which he was so fired up that he was dancing on one leg."

Ross Raihala of the PiPress was a bit more complimentary. He also notes: "For large stretches of the show, the audience sat in hushed reverence, breaking only to applaud ravenously for the numerous solos. Only near the end of the night did large sections of the crowd start dancing, particularly during the monstrous final song, Traffic's psychedelic classic 'Dear Mr. Fantasy.'" City Pages has yet to post anything on the show.

Very nice game by young Twins starter Nick Blackburn yesterday. Yeah, he clutched up in the ninth and blew his chance for a very rare shut out, but he hung on for another win. The Strib's LaVelle E. Neal III writes, "The righthander's sinker dropped faster than the housing market." Ha! Not bad.