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2012 legislation: The gates open
Minnesota lawmakers want to get in and out of the Capitol as quickly as possible this year, a fact that’s evident in skimming through the first bills of the 2012 session.
Range DFLer jumps in to challenge freshman Rep. McElfatrick
DFL La Prairie City Council member Joe Gould plans to challenge first-term Republican Rep. Carolyn McElfatrick for her Iron Range House seat next fall.
Range legislators fire back over GOP proposal to use dedicated cash
Lawmakers from the Iron Range are fuming over a move by Republicans to use dedicated northern Minnesota economic development dollars to help solve the $5 billion budget deficit.
GOP rural caucus isn’t out to make big waves in budget negotiations, but may be forced to do so
Rep. Bob Gunther doesn't want the Republican rural caucus he helped form this session to be seen as adversarial to suburban and metro legislators. In his view, the bicameral caucus' main purpose is to educate the large number of rural GOP members of the House and Senate, many of them freshmen, on issues of special concern to outstate members.
Just like old times in District 5B race
There's something distinctly familiar about Carly Melin's quest to become a legislator. After she won a five-way DFL primary Tuesday in the special election for Tony Sertich's House District 5B seat, Republicans went after the Hibbing native the very next morning, questioning whether she had really lived back in the district for at least six months as required by state law.
2010 campaign finance reports: State lege races
Today's 2010 campaign finance reports indicate some state legislative races were spendy affairs. We survey some of the marquee races.
GOP legislators form rural caucus
As expected, rural legislators joined hands this week to form separate caucus to meet throughout the session. Former GOP Minority Leader, Sen. Dave Senjem, announced his intentions to form the caucus with Rep. Bob Gunther last fall.
Meet the freshmen: House GOP, part II
Many Republican frosh have records of local civic service HD 15B: King Banaian King Banaian was surrounded by politics growing up in New Hampshire. The state is inundated with presidential hopefuls every four years, and Banaian was recruited at 15 to put flyers on doors for the George McGovern campaign.
How the lege was won
In many cases, DFLers simply got caught in an undertow in districts that are fundamentally split in their political allegiances; in some, like rural Senate District 16, they handed back control of districts no one had expected them to win in the first place; in others, it appears, they failed to take steps to protect incumbents who faced discernible pockets of Republican opposition.
November surprise: Top five state Leg upsets
Few political prognosticators believed the Republicans had much chance of winning majorities in both the state House and Senate. But when the electoral smoke cleared early Wednesday morning that's exactly what had occurred. The GOP established a 37-30 majority in the Senate and a 72-62 hold on the House (barring any changes via mandated recounts).
Republicans in 3B are waging ‘uphill’ battle to defeat Solberg
There's buzz in the Northland that the battle for the 8th Congressional District seat is making state House Ways and Means Chairman Loren Solberg's re-election bid more competitive than in previous election cycles.
Top News
- Mexican food trademark fight grinds on in federal court
- Target faces ‘non-drowsy’ meds suit
- Melodie Rose named president at Fredrikson
- Supreme Court lawyers have rituals of their own
- Minnesota artists consider what’s next in AI copyrights
- Defining ‘and’ in sentencing statute falls to Supreme Court
- Hashtag rates higher libel protection
- Court: Performance issues, not bias, prompted union to fire organizer
Expert Testimony
- Briefly: A chat with Supreme Court Commissioner Tim Droske
- Perspectives: Oral arguments at high court stir lively debates
- Quandaries & Quagmires: Advance waivers: Lessons from Paul Hastings vs. Coca Cola
- Perspectives: Recent cellphone ruling recalls high court cases
