Dan Skogen

Feb 29, 2012

Former lawmakers look to return to the Capitol this fall

A slew of former DFL and GOP legislators announced campaigns for House and Senate districts this week, including Carrie Ruud, a former Republican senator from Breezy Point, former DFL Rep. David Bly of Northfield, former DFL Sen. Kevin Dahle and former DFL Rep. Paul Rosenthal.

Nov 22, 2011

2012 legislative races start to take shape

Nobody knows what the legislative maps will look like in 2012. The politically charged redistricting process will almost certainly be decided by the courts, most likely in February. But that uncertainty over legislative district boundaries hasn’t stopped numerous challengers on both sides of the aisle from declaring their candidacies.

Aug 1, 2011

Ousted DFL senator plans to challenge Hoffman in 2012

Former Sen. Dan Skogen -- who was ousted by freshman Republican Sen. Gretchen Hoffman last fall -- says he will seek the DFL endorsement in 2012 to return to the upper chamber.

Mar 16, 2011

Bill would transfer $50M burden to workers

Senate Government Innovation and Veterans Chairman Mike Parry, R-Waseca, has sidestepped the traditional route for pension legislation - which runs through the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement (LCPR) - and placed on the fast track a proposal to shift more of the cost of pensions onto workers. His move seems all the more bold in light of the fact that the House has not introduced a[...]

Nov 17, 2010

GOP leaders talk about how they flipped a veto-proof majority in Senate

Late last week, three of the principal architects of the Republicans' Minnesota Senate takeover gathered in Sen. Amy Koch's office for one last time to talk about how they'd pulled it off.

Nov 12, 2010

Meet the freshmen: Senate GOP edition

As Charley Shaw writes this week, the new Republican majority in the Minnesota Senate appears dedicated to projecting a considerably more conservative face when Session 2011 convenes in seven weeks.

Sep 24, 2010

Independent spending on lege races heats up

While the governor's race may be the marquee feature in this year's campaign season, the large number of swing districts in play at the Minnesota Legislature are the object of lower-profile but no less intense campaign spending machinations by a number of groups.

Sep 10, 2010

PCR is sorely missed in lege races

Two weeks before Minnesota's political contribution refund (PCR) program expired, Rep. Julie Bunn, DFL-Lake Elmo, and about nine volunteers unleashed a full-tilt fundraising drive.

Aug 25, 2010