Campaign finance spotlight: The biggest Minnesota political donations of 2008

Steve Perry//July 9, 2009//

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When it comes to top-dollar Minnesota political contributions, the so-called "Legacy Amendment" was the big winner in 2008. Vote Yes Minnesota (VYM), a group formed to promote passage of the ballot initiative–which raises the state sales by a fraction of 1 percent to provide dedicated funding for the environment and the arts–took in a total of $1.82 million in donations of $25,000 or more last year.

That sum amounted to 46 percent of the $3.97 million in total receipts amassed by the group. In all, VYM collected 15 of the 27 political donations of $25,000 or more made by Minnesotans to in-state organizations last year. They also garnered the single largest political gift given by a private Minnesota citizen for the year: $1 million from local philanthropist and Rockefeller heir Alida Messinger.

The full list of $25k-plus donations is below the jump. And I’ll have a further breakdown and analysis of the list in next Monday’s Capitol Report.