When a tent becomes a castle, eagles vs turbines, problems with marriage

Senate passes bill that expands use of deadly force

MPR News: "A bill that would allow citizens more freedom to use deadly force is now on a fast track to Gov. Mark Dayton. The Senate passed the bill Thursday with bipartisan support in a 40-23 vote after heated debate. The bill gives gun owners significantly more latitude to use deadly force for self defense. The bill creates a presumption that anyone who uses deadly force while in a home or dwelling does so believing themselves in danger of harm or death. It expands the definition of dwelling to also mean a hotel room, tent, car or boat. Dayton has not said if he will veto the bill, but was concerned with police opposition."

The Uptake: Police opposition to Minn gun bill doesn't worry author

Controversial Goodhue wind farm environmental impact plan rejected

MPR News: "The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission rejected a developer's plan to protect eagles and other wildlife that might be harmed by a controversial wind farm project in the southeastern region of the state."

Pioneer Press: Concern over migrating eagles may kill Goodhue windmill project

Racial disparity runs deep

Duluth News Tribune: "Racial disparity is broad, systemic, historic and persistent in Duluth, but an array of efforts are under way to bring more equity to people of color."

Charter school segregation target of new U of M report

Huffington Post: "Charter schools often promise to bring greater equity to education, but a new brief starts with the assumption that they fall short in delivery -- and provides recommendations to fix the alleged injustice."

Sales increase, but Hormel's first quarter earnings drop 14%

Austin Daily Herald: "The company reported fiscal 2012 first quarter net earnings of $128.4 million, down 14 percent from earnings of $148.8 million a year earlier. Sales totaled $2.04 billion, which was up 6 percent from fiscal 2011."

Superior's arch could make comeback

Superior Telegram: "A century ago, an arch honoring local Civil War veterans stood 90 feet above Tower Avenue and Broadway Street. Built in 1900, a decorative arch with four gracefully curved steel shafts and an ornate top was placed at the corner to welcome members of the Grand Army of the Republic to the city."

Redistricting fallout continues

Capitol View: "The biggest question is what GOP House Majority Leader Matt Dean intends to do. Dean has been paired with Rep. Carol McFarlane, R-White Bear Lake. McFarlane told MPR News that she's not sure whether she's going to run again."

St. Paul downtown ballpark pitch gets warm reception at legislature

MinnPost: "The contrasts between the push for a new baseball park for downtown St. Paul and a Vikings stadium couldn't be greater."

Kids on Field Trip Find Body in Eden Prairie Park

Fox9: "A group of Oak Grove Middle school students stumbled across a dead man with a gunshot wound to his head on a Thursday field trip in Eden Prairie, Minn."

Op-Ed

Robert Franklin: Straight talk about the marriage commitment

Today, as 29 years ago, it isn't gays and lesbians who threaten marriage as an institution.

Look at the statistics: Half of U.S. marriages end in divorce. About 40 percent of children are born outside of marriage, more than half among mothers under 30.

For the first time, the 2010 census found that fewer than half of U.S. households include a married couple. About 7.5 million opposite-gender couples live together unwed, up 50 percent in a decade.

The focus on defining marriage in the face of all this suggests that the constitutional amendment isn't so much about preserving the institution as it is a revolt against a growing acceptance of gays and lesbians in American culture (and, cynics might say, about getting out the social-conservative vote).

It's like: "The house is on fire! Call an architect!" (Star Tribune)

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