Minnesota Lawyer

As the Legislature begins work again next year a constant presence will be lobbyists. Condemned, reviled, lambasted and occasionally crucified, lobbyists see themselves as a key component in the democratic process, the paid and unpaid petitioners to legislators and the governor.

By this time next year the grounds and neighborhoods surrounding the state Capitol will have an important new feature — the Central Corridor light rail transit line.

Former Sen. Ellen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul, recalls with relish and little regret the 18 years she spent in the Legislature. The frenetic nature of the sessions and the relentless pace proved a match for the preternaturally enthusiastic legislator.

Betsy Lulfs faces an enormous challenge as the director of the one-year-old Minnesota Science and Technology Authority (MnSTA).

Back before Minnesota had much of an art scene or any great artistic institutions, the public would head to the state Capitol to view masterworks of painting and sculpture.

Sitting at a coffee shop in St. Paul, former state Sen. John Hottinger begins a 15-minute answer to the question of what he has been up to since he left the Legislature after 16 years of service in 2006.

Assigned the task of updating a 1962 history of Minnesota by her publisher, historian Mary Lethert Wingerd found herself with a daunting challenge of trying to tell a complex story of a state that spanned several hundred years.

Now that the state shutdown appears to be over, it seemed a good time to wonder what goes on in those conference rooms for hours ...

The state government shutdown has stopped some transportation projects in their tracks. One that is not being halted — at least not in the immediate term — is the St. Paul Union Depot.

At the Minneapolis Convention Center on Dec. 5, more than 1,600 people of faith gathered to hear from and speak to Gov. Mark Dayton and his transition team.