State Rep. Tina LieblingLiebling leaving governor’s race. KSTP’s Rebecca Omastiak reports: “On Monday, Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL) announced she has suspended her campaign for governor. … The long-term state lawmaker announced her initial run in April 2017. … ‘I launched my campaign for governor last year because I believe Minnesotans are looking for bold leadership that recognizes how poorly the economy is working for ordinary Minnesotans,’ Liebling said in a statement. ‘With our nation experiencing an unprecedented concentration of wealth and power, Minnesota needs leaders to offer and fight for bold solutions, so everyone can have a future to believe in. While our message has reached many people and we have received tremendous encouragement and support, it is clear that we cannot succeed in the DFL endorsement process. I am suspending my campaign for governor.’ ”
Just wait till the easy-to-win trade war starts. The Star Tribune’s Tom Meersman reports: “Prices for farmland declined across Minnesota in 2017, another sign of a weak farm economy that’s been plagued by low crop prices and reduced incomes for the past four years. … Experts say many farmers are dealing with land values about 20 percent lower than when the market peaked in about 2012, when commodity prices were historically high. For 2017, numbers based on fiscal year sales data reported to the Minnesota Department of Revenue and analyzed by the University of Minnesota showed that the median price per acre of farmland was $4,625, down 5.4 percent from the previous year.”
St. Paul development. The Pioneer Press’ Frederick Melo reports: “In the industrial area southeast of University Avenue and Vandalia Street, a developer’s plans to convert a former slaughterhouse and meatpacking plant into 64 residences with coworking spaces is hitting opposition from a neighboring employer. … On Feb. 23, the St. Paul Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for developers Rich Pakonen and Clint Blaiser to remake 2103 Wabash Ave. into livable space open to new businesses.”
Thundersnow explainer. The New York Times’ Kendra Pierre-Louis writes: “In the middle of a nor’easter that disrupted travel in the Northeast and inundated areas already drenched from last week’s storm, some New Yorkers and others on the East Coast made a resounding discovery: ‘thundersnow.’ … The curious phenomenon, when thunder and lighting are heard and seen during a snowstorm, has been documented since at least the year 1099 . But its rarity — a 2009 analysis found that only 0.07 percent of snowfalls are accompanied by thunder — means that it never ceases to excite.”
In other news…
Hot ticket: “Superstar couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z to play U.S. Bank Stadium together Aug. 8” [Star Tribune]
Some people really like Target: “Couple Hilariously Shoots Engagement Photos at Target Because They Love It So Much” [Inside Edition]
Minnesota farmland prices
Hmmm… To fall back on the words of a conservative Republican president: “Well, farmers never have made money. I don’t believe we can do much about it. But of course we will have to seem to be doing something; do the best we can and without much hope. The life of the farmer has its compensations but it has always been one of hardship.” Calvin Coolidge.