ICE kills another person in the Twin Cities

Plus, why I'm not sure Iowa's governor will get the $10 million she wants

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It has happened again. Protesters and ICE agents collided in Minneapolis. A protester died.

It was Renee Good on January 7th. On January 24th about a mile from where the ICE agent killed Good, it was Alex Pretti.

Pretti apparently had a gun. But was his weapon a threat to ICE agents or was he actually holding a phone before he got shot multiple times?

(Alex Pretti. Image courtesy: va.gov)

This can’t continue. It’s protesters versus ICE. It’s Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vs. President Donald Trump and his administration. It’s the question — legally and morally — of when, how, and why lethal force by federal law enforcement should be justified.

What happens next? Minnesota law enforcement and federal law enforcement should investigate everything that happened before, during, and after the ICE agent killed Pretti. Will the Trump administration allow Minnesota authorities to have access to evidence?

Americans deserve to know the facts. Will we get them? Or will we get more politics?

My question for you: What will de-escalate the tension in Minnesota?

What I Learned This Week…

—When you abbrievate the United Kingdom, UK is apparently appropriate and modern. U.K. is outdated. This is why I needed to know that this week.

—Iowa House Republicans, Senate Republicans, House Democrats, and Governor Kim Reynolds have all released their own property tax reform plans. House Republicans and Governor Reynolds seemed to be most closely alligned early on with their similarities.

—Speaking of Senate Republicans…Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh said that he is doing something really unusual: he is going to be the floor manager for his eminent domain proposal. This is inside politics stuff. But majority leaders usually have way too much other stuff to do; they prefer to have a member of their caucus lead a bill through the debate process.

But after the drama last year with legislation that could have made it more difficult for a private company to use eminent domain to force access on someone’s land to build a carbon sequestration pipeline…an argument that pitted Republicans in the house versus Republicans in the senate (and senate Republicans vs. each other)…Klimesh is taking the unusual step to lead his alternative proposal this year through his chamber.

Klimesh is this week’s guest on “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS. I filled in as moderator for the legendary dean of the Iowa Statehouse press corps, Kay Henderson.

—I appreciate Iowa Speaker of the House Pat Grassley’s sense of humor and availability to answer questions from the Statehouse press corps week after week.

—President Donald Trump returns to Iowa on Tuesday. His visit brought a random conflict for my family. My daughter’s indoor soccer coach had emailed earlier to say they needed to find a new place for practice.

Now we know the reason why: It turned out that the reason for the late change is that President Trump’s speech is taking place in the complex where the soccer team sometimes practices.

—When President Trump comes to Clive, will he talk about Greenland? Or Iceland?

—I sat down for a 1 on 1 with Governor Reynolds. During our conversation she mentioned two people who reminded me just how unique politics is during this Trump era: Linda McMahon — who was once CEO of the WWE and now the U.S. Secretary of Education — and Dr. Mehmet Oz — longtime talk show doctor on television who is now current Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Interesting times indeed.

—Speaking of that interview with Governor Reynolds…We talked at length about her plans to do something about Iowa’s cancer crisis. Full disclosure: this is personal for both of us. My dad, Ron, died of lung cancer. Reynolds’ husband, Kevin, is currently in remission during his fight against lung cancer.

Watch that conversation here about her possible $183 million state commitment.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Thanks for staying curious.

One more thing for paid subscribers: Something makes me think that Governor Reynolds may not get the $10 million that she wants from the legislature.

Keep reading below to find out why.