Fresh perspectives on recent news events from Jeff Kolb, Sarah Janecek and Abou Amara.

Sen. Michele Benson, R-Ham Lake, said Dayton had "made a promise he couldn't keep," and House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt called the decision "disrespectful."

The lack of plans available was thought to be caused by the relatively expensive cost of health care in that region.

Minnesota's health insurance exchange will offer more than 100 insurance products with a starting prices as low as $91 per month when it opens for business on Oct. 1, state officials announced on Friday.

In the flurry of activity that closed out the 2013 legislative session, a sales tax on farm machinery repairs became part of the omnibus tax bill ultimately signed into law. Now that the tax is on the books and farmers are facing levies on the labor costs of having their tractors and milking parlors fixed, it’s no surprise that the 11th-hour development at the Capitol is one of the hot topics at the annual Farmfest expo near Redwood Falls.

The state of Minnesota has a potential pool of revenue at its disposal that many lawmakers may not know about. Over the last decade, the value of assets held by the state as unclaimed personal property has more than tripled.

A bipartisan group of legislators unveiled a bill on Wednesday to create a state-administered marketplace where individuals and corporations will be able to purchase health insurance. Minnesota must enact such legislation by the end of March in order to be in compliance with the federal Affordable Care Act, which will be fully implemented in 2014.

For casual observers outside Minnesota health care policy circles, the health insurance exchange that’s being pursued under the strictures of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act appeared to be a collaborative process. At least until recently.

The state of Minnesota has reached a settlement deal with Accretive Health, Inc., in which the company will pay $2.5 million and not do business in the state for two years.

Obamacare is here to stay. That is the apparent takeaway from the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month that largely upheld the 2010 federal health care overhaul.