Mark Olson

Jan 5, 2011

Where do new legislators come from? Often it’s the ranks of legislative staff

Rep. Sarah Anderson had been a staffer in the Minnesota House of Representatives for 10 years by 2006. That's when her predecessor in House District 43A, former Rep. Jeff Johnson, decided he'd leave the Legislature to make a run for the attorney general's office.

Nov 23, 2010

Meet the freshmen: Senate GOP, part II

As the Minnesota Legislature prepares for a transition that will see 60 freshmen join the rolls of the state Senate and House, PIM continues with our series of post-election portraits of the 2011 class. In this latest edition, we look at seven more members of the incoming Senate Republican majority.

Oct 1, 2010

Can Fobbe bottle lightning twice?

DFLer Lisa Fobbe's election to the District 16 Minnesota Senate seat was anything but normal. Running in a 2008 special election occasioned by the appointment of popular GOP state Sen. Betsy Wergin to the Public Utilities Commission, Fobbe faced two Republican opponents - one of them a dispossessed state rep running a write-in campaign - in a heavily Republican district.

Nov 5, 2008

Legislature: DFL has net gain of two seats in House, but GOP has victories to savor, as well

Rep. Sarah Anderson had been a staffer in the Minnesota House of Representatives for 10 years by 2006. That’s when her predecessor in House District 43A, former Rep. Jeff Johnson, decided he’d leave the Legislature to make a run for the attorney general’s office. At the time, Anderson had served as a legislative aide, constituent ...

Apr 7, 2008

Gov. Tim Pawlenty and legislative leaders still at loggerheads over budget proposals

Rep. Sarah Anderson had been a staffer in the Minnesota House of Representatives for 10 years by 2006. That’s when her predecessor in House District 43A, former Rep. Jeff Johnson, decided he’d leave the Legislature to make a run for the attorney general’s office. At the time, Anderson had served as a legislative aide, constituent ...