Good morning, it’s Monday, June 29, 2026. In today’s edition, aging highway system faces maintenance backlog; Rhode Island limits self-checkout options; new polls in Ohio, New York, Colorado:
Top Stories
TRANSPORTATION: President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act on this day 70 years ago, marking the birth of the nation’s interstate highway system. A new report from a transportation research nonprofit shows the maintenance backlog growing to an estimated $196 billion: 11% of pavement is in poor or mediocre condition, and 3% of bridges are structurally deficient. (Pluribus News)
ECONOMY: Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) has signed first-in-the-nation legislation that will require grocery stores to maintain one staffed manual checkout station for every three self-service checkout station. The bill would require employees monitoring self-checkout areas to be relieved of other duties. Similar bills were introduced in at least seven other states this year, but Rhode Island’s is the only version that got across the finish line. (Pluribus News)
REDISTRICTING: Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) is floating the possibility of a special session to redraw legislative district map lines ahead of the 2027 election. Lawmakers would have to reconvene before January, because candidate qualifying ends on Feb. 1. Reeves said he isn’t willing to commit to a date for the special session yet. (Mississippi Free Press)
ENERGY: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) said her state will no longer accept applications for 20-year sales and use tax exemptions for qualified data centers. Healey also rolled out guidance focusing on energy independence and environmental impacts of data center construction and operation. (State Affairs) Rhode Island Gov. McKee vetoed legislation that would have required data centers to report energy use. (Boston Globe)
EDUCATION: The Texas State Board of Education has approved a mandatory reading list that includes Christian stories for K-8 students. The list of stories taught to children will include Adam and Eve, the eight Beatitudes and the parable of the Prodigal Son. The reading lists take effect during the 2030-2031 school year. (Texas Tribune)
CHILD WELFARE: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) and streaming giant Roku have reached a settlement over allegations the company improperly collected and sold data about children who use the platform. Roku will spend an estimated $25 million to update child protections and give parents more say over their children’s streaming experience. (State Affairs)
HOUSING: The Michigan House has approved legislation barring large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. The legislation applies to corporations, investment funds, limited liability corporations and joint ventures that already own more than 100 single-family homes and have net values of more than $375 million. The bill won passage on a broad bipartisan vote. (Detroit News)
In Politics & Business
OHIO: A new AARP survey conducted by Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research finds former state health director Amy Acton (D) narrowly leading entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (R) 47% to 44% in the race for governor. Acton is up 56%-28% among independents, while Ramaswamy leads by 10 points among those over 50 years old. (AARP)
NEW YORK: A Siena College poll finds Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) leading Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R) 52%-32% in her bid for re-election. Hochul’s job approval rating stands at 53%, up five points since April, while more than half of voters say they have no opinion of Blakeman. (Siena)
COLORADO: A Public Policy Polling survey conducted for Fighting for Colorado, a super PAC backing Attorney General Phil Weiser (D), finds Weiser leading U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D) in the race for the Democratic nomination for governor. The poll shows Weiser up 45%-36% over Bennet. The primary contest happens tomorrow. (Colorado Sun)
SOUTH DAKOTA: State Republicans selected Heather Baxter (R) as their candidate for Secretary of State, ousting incumbent Monae Johnson (R) at this weekend’s GOP convention. Baxter supports hand-counting paper ballots. Johnson herself beat incumbent Steve Barnett (R) at the 2022 convention. (South Dakota Searchlight)
By The Numbers
8%: The decline in Minnesota’s net exports in the first quarter of the year, driven by a drop in energy sales to Canada. Just five states saw exports drop more than Minnesota’s. (Minnesota Reformer)
84%: The favorable rating of Benjamin Franklin, the highest of any Founding Father, according to a new Marquette Law School poll. George Washington’s favorable rating stands at 81%, followed by Thomas Jefferson at 76% and John Adams at 66%. Alexander Hamilton is seen favorably by 64% of Americans, while just 22% see Aaron Burr favorably. (Marquette)
Off The Wall
The steps to the Colorado State Capitol building has a marker showing exactly where the city reaches its legendary mile-high elevation — but the exact site keeps changing. Markers placed in 1909, 1969 and 2003 show different steps at exactly 5,280 feet above sea level. Now, officials are changing the marker again, but it’s not clear exactly which step will get the honor. Researchers at NOAA are measuring the precise height, with a goal of spotlighting the landmark by Aug. 1. (Denverite)
Supporters of California Forever, the group attempting to build a new city from scratch on San Francisco-area farmland, have hired former Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D) and former Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D) to lobby the legislature. The group, backed by Silicon Valley billionaires, want permission to use an 18-year old environmental impact report relating to a shipyard development to build their new city. (CalMatters)
Happy update: Last week we told you about a giraffe that had escaped its enclosure in Texas. Gracie the giraffe has been found safe about four miles south of her home, the Real County Sheriff’s office said. (UPI)
Quote of the Day
“People spend money to either make money or protect money.”
— Washington Sen. Marcus Riccelli (D), on legislation to prevent the “corporate practice of medicine,” in which corporations play a role in determining medical decisions. A similar bill won passage in Oregon. (Cascadia Daily News)