As Minnesota’s Republican Party was giddily tweeting the news that the party had fielded candidates for all 201 seats in the state Legislature for the first time in 30 years, the Independence Party of Minnesota was quietly celebrating its own milestone: 16 candidates for the Legislature in 2010, seven in Senate districts and nine in House districts.

The state House on Wednesday launched into the turbulent skies of campaign finance policy.

As the 86th Minnesota Legislature commences its last lap, most members think the session is likelier to end with a whimper than a bang. Barring the unexpected — the undoing of Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s $2.7 billion in unallotments by the Minnesota Supreme Court, or a holdup in the federal passage of additional FMAP health care dollars — all that’s really left is the resolution of another $155 million in health and human services cuts. But there's a House DFL leadership contest lurking behind the gubernatorial race to which everyone is now turning their attention.

While campaigning for her seat in 2004, Rep. Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, listened to several former Minnesota Finance commissioners complain about the state budget’s volatile ...

The 3rd: Ramstad Retires In re U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN 3) and his retirement announcement this week, D.J. Leary, one of Politics In Minnesota‘s ...