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Tom Bakk: Remembrance of the session past
In the end, the DFL-controlled 2013 Legislature finished its budget work on time — with four minutes to spare, to be exact. It was 11:56 p.m. on adjournment day by the time the Minnesota Senate wrapped up its vote on the tax bill.
OLA report examines special ed challenges
Coming off the 2012 election, lawmakers are looking to make good on campaign promises to improve education and lower property taxes. On the issue of special education, both of those concerns are at play on a large scale.
Both parties eye pickups in District 36 contest
Over the past decade, Senate District 47 — stretching around north metro area cities like Champlin, Coon Rapids and Brooklyn Park — has been a place where moderate Democrats could prosper despite the district’s slight GOP tilt.
The top 25 Minnesota political donors of the past decade
Matt Entenza and his wife, Lois Quam, aren’t exactly the first names that pop up when Minnesota politicos talk about heavy-hitter political donors.
So long, adios, auf wiedersehen
After adjourning in the wee hours of Thursday morning, the Minnesota House of Representatives plunged ahead with the bittersweet biennial ritual of retirement speeches from departing members.
Quid pro quo helped trust lands, DNR fee bills
Two marquee pieces of environmental legislation in the 2012 session owe their victories in no small part to horse trading between Gov. Mark Dayton and the Legislature.
Denise Dittrich won’t seek a fifth term
Dittrich has carved out a career as a conservative DFLer in winning elections in her swing district in the northern Twin Cities suburbs.
Racino push may wither again
There was little fanfare when not one but two racino bills surfaced in the Minnesota Legislature last week. The perennial proposal to install slot machines in racetracks usually enters into the political milieu with news conferences and headlines.
School trust lands: conservation or cash?
The most often cited sources of K-12 school funding in Minnesota are per-pupil aid from the state and property taxes levied by local districts. But a less well known source of funding for schools is being scrutinized by state lawmakers and Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration.
‘The Late Debate with Jack and Ben’ attracts a small but loyal audience of Capitol conservatives
“The Late Debate with Jack and Ben” got off to an inauspicious start. At the beginning of the debut broadcast in April, one of the microphones didn’t work for the initial eight minutes. The first words uttered over the air were, “Do you hear me?”
House GOP vote on marriage amendment was defining issue of session’s last days
Around 4 o’clock last Saturday afternoon, the central drama of Session 2011’s closing days finally reared its head on the House floor. Shortly before the chamber recessed for dinner, GOP Rep. Mary Liz Holberg stood to announce the addition of a controversial constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage to the calendar for that evening’s proceedings.
House votes to put gay marriage ban on the ballot
After five hours of emotional debate, the House voted to place a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on the 2012 ballot. The amendment – which previously passed the state Senate on a largely party-line vote – passed off of the House floor on a 70-62 vote Saturday evening. Four Republicans voted against the amendment, with two DFLers crossing over to vote for the measure.
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