Capitol Retort

May 14, 2020

Capitol Retort: Bonding blockage; Flynn case dropped; read on Reade

Our review of issues in state and national news, with a rotating cast of political people in the know.

May 8, 2020

In the Hopper: Privacy mini-omnibus legislation advances

If it gets signed into law, its author says, a bill passed unanimously by the Senate on Monday would be the state’s first major data-privacy legislation in about six years.

May 7, 2020

Capitol Retort: Judicial challenge, Barr the door, take me out

Our review of issues in state and national news, with a rotating cast of political people in the know.

Apr 30, 2020

Capitol Retort: Budget cuts, direct injection, Great MN Stay Apart

Our review of issues in state and national news, with a rotating cast of political people in the know.

Apr 23, 2020

Capitol Retort: Peaking early; executive power; ‘one good thing’

The pressure to reboot an economy that has flat-lined is understandable. But how did Rep. Cal Bahr’s statement strike your ears?

Apr 17, 2020

In the Hopper: Workers’ comp; remote marriage; supplemental budget

First responders infected with COVID-19 need not prove that their illness resulted from the job, now that a bill naming the conditional as presumptively work-related has passed into law.

Apr 16, 2020

Capitol Retort: Flu v. COVID; supplemental budget; Zooming

John Hinderaker, in a blog post, argues that COVID-19 deaths are “fractions of a normal flu season” and that coronavirus deaths could one day equal flu numbers, which were “barely a news story.” Is he right?

Apr 9, 2020

Capitol Retort: Backup player; prison outbreak; quarantine reads

The president refers to the federal government as a “backup” to states. What do you think about the how he’s handling things?

Apr 3, 2020

Capitol Retort: Dark democracy; stay at home; whatchya gonna do?

Is the Democracy-dies-in-darkness war cry justified in these dire circumstances?

Mar 27, 2020

Capitol Retort: Tough call; Burr, that’s cold; Captain Kirk

Sen. Paul Gazelka, while noting that these times call for difficult decisions, expressed public concern that Gov. Tim Walz’s leadership “should not be unilateral and unchecked.”