Doug Magnus

Feb 1, 2013

Legislator pay issues fester – quietly

Fritz Knaak remembers tripling his billings at his law firm in 1992, the year the Republican state senator from White Bear Lake decided to retire from politics.

Nov 9, 2012

DFL majorities pick their leaders

Close on the heels of Tuesday’s election, members of the new DFL House and Senate majorities gathered behind closed doors on Thursday to elect their leaders. As expected, the minority leaders who helped steer Democrats back into control — Rep. Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, and Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook — were elevated to House speaker and Senate majority leader.

Nov 2, 2012

Caucus leaders hit the road for closing pitches

Leaders from all four legislative caucuses are spending the waning days of the 2012 campaign barnstorming key districts around the state.

Nov 1, 2012

Senate President Fischbach to make final campaign push

Senate President Michelle Fischbach has set a campaign schedule that’s heavy on greater Minnesota districts in the days leading up to next Tuesday’s general election.

Sep 14, 2012

Country strong: DFLers like prospects in SD22

Senate District 22 covers a sprawling nine-county swath of southwestern Minnesota that borders both South Dakota and Iowa. Partisans on both sides agree that the district is staunchly conservative.

Mar 30, 2012

Where have all the amendments gone?

GOP legislators began sounding the constitutional amendment drumbeat even before the start of Session 2012.

Mar 29, 2012

Senate bonding bill heads to floor

The bill emerged largely as introduced Wednesday, except for a nominal amount of funds for a Mankato civic center, which supporters added as a placeholder Thursday morning.

Mar 7, 2012

As endorsing season looms, MN legislators scrambling to finalize election plans

House and Senate races across the state are rapidly shaking out after the release of the 2012 legislative map last month. And with local endorsing conventions set to take place throughout March, incumbents and challengers alike have little time to make decisions about their political futures.

Mar 5, 2012

Legislative contests come into focus

House and Senate races across the state are rapidly shaking out following the release of new legislative maps.

Feb 15, 2012

DFL files campaign finance complaint against Sviggum, 15 senators

The complaint filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings says Senate Republicans used public funds to print partisan literature that was distributed at Republican precinct caucuses last week. State law prohibits using taxpayer money for any campaign purposes.

Jan 23, 2012

Block E casino advocates plan to ‘go and do battle’ at the Legislature

The heads of Alatus LLC will try to lobby legislators to step around decades-old gambling agreements in the state and pass a bill that would allow them to build a casino on the troubled Block E site in downtown Minneapolis.

Nov 16, 2011

Lux wants Block E in stadium funding mix

Like any expanded gambling proposal, the push for a high-end casino nestled on the troubled downtown Minneapolis Block E site faces a host of obstacles in passing through a historically reluctant Legislature.