Gov. Mark Dayton delivers his fifth State of the State speech, and first of his second term, before a crowd of state lawmakers and other officials Thursday night in the House chamber.
Dayton said last week that his 7 p.m. speech would likely run about 30 minutes. He's expected to put a particular emphasis on what's become his signature proposal of the 2015 session, a multimillion dollar spending boost for early learning programs including universal preschool at Minnesota public schools.
Dayton will have a number of guests watching the speech at his invitation, including former Gov. Wendell Anderson, his son Eric Dayton; Ibrahim Mohamed, a Dayton appointee to the Metropolitan Airports Commission who drives a luggage cart at the Twin Cities airport; a father and daughter from Maxfield Elementary whom Dayton met on a visit to the school; a preschool teacher from Newport Elementary School; Worthington Mayor Mike Kuhle, and the U of M and MnSCU chancellors.
Dayton's speech will be streamed live at Startribune.com. Political reporters Abby Simons and Patrick Condon will be tweeting about the speech at @ajillsimons and @patricktcondon. A full story about the speech will be posted online and published in Friday's newspaper.
Arizona judge rejects GOP wording for voters' abortion ballot initiative pamphlet
FBI says Trump was indeed struck by bullet during assassination attempt
![Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday in St. Paul. The Minnesota leader is in the mix as Vice President Kamala Harris considers possible running mates.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/7NK5CNH5Z5F67I7WAVOM3K6PHM.jpg?h=91&w=145&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)