Before we commence, allow me to extend an invitation to come chat with us. Bring your ideas, comments, criticisms and queries directly to us. Free soft drinks and munchies with beer to purchase for those of age. It’s at a Lakeville brewery. Get your free ticket here. I’m serious. Mayor Luke Hellier will be there after his daughter’s flag football game. Don’t leave the poor guy alone with us.

I suppose it’s too late for this year, but after seeing the Michigan “I voted” sticker design contest winner featuring an “unhinged werewolf,” I can’t help but think the Laser Loon must be incorporated into the Minnesota design ASAP. Paging, Secretary of State Steve Simon. I have to believe Minnesotans would strut around on Election Day like four-star generals with those stickers on their chests, driving up voter turnout. (Disturbing development for Minnesota exceptionalists: Another winning Michigan design reads, “Ope, I voted.”)

The New York Times did its version of a sweeping summary of the governor’s debate performance and the writers had more than a few withering words, saying that Walz has a “habit of misstating facts and otherwise getting over his skis.” They also posed the (ouch) question of how well he had been vetted by the Harris camp. That’s a polite version of, “What were they thinking when they picked this guy?”

The story questioned the Harris campaign strategy of keeping Walz off national television since he joined the ticket. Mr. Walz — a veteran politician who has participated in many debates — has effectively been kept in “Bubble Wrap” and off the national media, “negating what was seen as one of his greatest strengths.”

There’s lots more where that came from, including that “Democrats see him as a walking permission structure for white working-class men in particular, who often view the Democratic Party as a bastion of coastal elitism.” (Our story here.)

REPUBLICAN CROSSOVER: While Vice President Kamala Harris was in Ripon, Wis., receiving the endorsement of former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, some Minnesota Republicans announced their support for the Democratic ticket.

Led by former Gov. Arne Carlson, the Minnesotans say they are part of Republicans for Harris, a coalition seeking to reach out to GOP voters who “reject the chaos, division, and violence of Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda.” Joining Carlson in the coalition are public affairs pro Tom Horner, and former state GOP deputy chair Michael Brodkorb, whose name I like to put in the headline to freak him out, hoping he gets a call from his sister asking what he’s done now.

“Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are the perfect team and the right tonic for this moment in history,” Carlson’s statement read. “I am voting for Vice President Kamala Harris to preserve our democracy and to free America from Donald Trump’s relentless thirst for oabsolute power.”

Meanwhile, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Anoka has been on national TV, saying the media is “rabidly obsessed with taking shots” at Trump. Emmer also calls Walz a “serial liar” among many other things.

From prosecutor Jack Smith’s latest filing with newly revealed evidence that Trump sought to overturn the 2020 election: At a private lunch on Nov. 12, 2020, then-VP Mike Pence ‘’reiterated a face-saving option’' for Trump, telling him, ‘’Don’t concede but recognize the process is over.’’

In another lunch days later, Pence urged Trump to accept the election results and run again in 2024. “I don’t know, 2024 is so far off,’’ Trump told him, the filing states.

Bruce Springsteen isn’t a Republican, but he’s endorsed Harris-Walz. The governor responded on X that it was an honor, given he’s been a Springsteen fan his entire life. In other musical endorsements, Michael Stipe and Jason Isbell plan a free concert in Pittsburgh for Harris-Walz.

INDEPENDENTS DAY: Colleague Janet Moore checks in with six self-described independent voters to gather their thoughts on the election. Based on Minnesota Poll data, these iconoclasts are bearish on the economy, she reports. Most are leaning one way based on their own concerns with one woman issuing a blanket statement that politicians “need to get back to a moral high ground.” One doesn’t think he’ll vote for the top of the ticket, saying neither candidate has persuaded him.

DAIRY SETTLEMENT: Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a $250,000 settlement payment by Evergreen Acres Dairy in Paynesville and our Ag writer Christopher Vondracek has the story. Ellison alleged the dairy stole wages and housed workers, many of them Hispanic, in squalid conditions. The dairy is subject to monitoring for three years. “Today we send a strong message that dairy farms like Evergreen and all employers in Minnesota cannot illegally profit off the backs of workers,” Ellison said in a statement. “If it weren’t for the courageous workers who came forward — despite Evergreen’s threats — to hold this company accountable, we would have never been able to investigate this case and achieve this settlement agreement.”

DC DESSERT: Our woman in Washington, Sydney Kashiwagi reports on the role U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is playing a lead role in attempting to ensure the 2024 election results are certified and there’s not a repeat of Jan. 6, 2021. Lest anyone forget that Sen. JD Vance of Ohio on Tuesday declined to answer Walz’s question about whether Trump lost the 2020 election. “I have a constitutional obligation to make sure that what happen[ed] on Jan. 6 never happens again,” Klobuchar told Kashiwagi.

The senator also said anything can happen. “No matter what he says or anything that happens, we have to make sure that the votes are counted, and then we have to go through the process,” she said.

NEVER FORGET: The Star Tribune has a voter’s guide loaded with information and we’ve taken down the paywall for the election stories.

CARTER CENTENARY: He made it, as you know.

WHERE’S WALZ:

At noon he’s interviewing candidates for a vacancy in the Sixth Judicial District. I wonder how it is for these judge candidates to interview with Walz after seeing him on the national stage.

READING LIST

The Dockworkers strike is off for now — at least until Jan. 15 so they can negotiate a new contract.
Jobs report shows the labor market remains sturdy.
Colleague Deena Winter writes that the Minneapolis City Council wants to get a deeper look into Mayor Jacob Frey’s books.
As if moving to a shelter to escape domestic violence wouldn’t be hard enough, imagine abandoning a pet. Maplewood’s Tubman Center East is solving that problem by allowing dogs and cats, colleague Greta Kaul reports. Tubman CEO Jennifer Polzin said nearly 50% of survivors of domestic violence delay leaving an abusive situation because they fear for a pet’s safety. I have to believe that cat or canine companionship would ease the recovery journey from abuse.
Election denier Tina Peters, a former Colorado clerk, was sentenced to nine years for a scheme dating to 2020. Peters allowed a man to misuse a security card to access to the Mesa County election system. That man was affiliated with My Pillow chief executive Mike Lindell. The judge wasn’t sympathetic to Peters. ‘’It’s just more lies. No objective person believes them. No, at the end of the day, you cared about the jets, the podcasts and people fawning over you,’’ he said. Did I watch the entirety of the judge’s comments at sentencing? Yes.
Trigger Warning: The Gregory Brothers show why Tony Hale is a national treasure. Beware if you’re drinking coffee or anything wet.
I’d be remiss if I failed to mention that the LA District attorney is taking a new look at the convictions and sentences of the Menendez Bros in the 1996 killing of their parents.