Lobbyists who have been waiting on pins and needles for the House and Senate to release their committee rosters got an early holiday present on Wednesday, when the Senate GOP sent out a final list of Republican names that will make up the majority in the chamber's 16 committees next year.

The Minnesota Vikings have had a disastrous season on the field. Just one year after nearly reaching the Super Bowl, and with virtually the same roster, the team inexplicably scuffled to a 3-7 record in its first 10 games. At this point it would take a miracle for the Vikings to qualify for the playoffs. Last week head coach Brad Childress was pushed off the plank in order to placate the angry Sunday afternoon faithful.

Republicans pummeled DFLers in the suburbs and greater Minnesota on Tuesday night to take control of both chambers of the Legislature for the first time since the modern partisan era started in the early 1970s.

Voters in a large chunk of southern Minnesota farm country may not see DFL candidates on the ballot in a number of state House and Senate races this November.

In the ongoing parlor game to guess which Minnesota Republicans will run for governor and for Congress in 2010, state Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, is starting to attract some attention.

[This story first appeared in the 7 November 2008 issue of the PIM Weekly Report.] I’ve speculated in the past about Democrats looking to run ...

Wadena Mayor Wayne Wolden credits the state’s job opportunity building zones (JOBZ) program for keeping a long-time local business from leaving his central Minnesota community ...