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Minnesota’s new normal: Special sessions and government shutdowns
Not since 1999 — the first year of Jesse Ventura’s single term as governor — has a budget session of the Minnesota Legislature ended on time without a special session, partial governmental shutdown or red-letter controversy.
Could tax loopholes and exemptions provide a route out of Minnesota’s budget standoff?
Minnesota residents who strap on their downhill skis at Buck Hill in Burnsville are required to pony up the state's 6.85 percent sales tax when purchasing lift tickets. By contrast, individuals who choose to explore the state's cross-country ski trails are spared the sales tax when purchasing a pass from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Minnesota’s budget showdown could threaten the state’s credit rating
Minnesota has traditionally enjoyed high marks from the three primary credit rating agencies - Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings. Starting in 1997, all three firms gave the state their highest Aaa rating. But in 2003 Moody's downgraded Minnesota's bond rating to Aa1, citing concerns about balancing the state's books through volatile, short-term fixes. The assessmen[...]
Senate DFL: Goodbye to all that
In 1972, the state Senate's Liberal Caucus won the majority in the general election. When they took office, both chambers switched to a partisan affiliation footing, and and Senate DFLers started a run in the driver's seat that would last nearly 40 years. As Republicans prepare to end their 38-year drought by taking control of the Senate next week, Capitol Report sifted through the archives to gle[...]
Dayton taps veterans Dave Frederickson and Ken Peterson for top posts
With his inauguration less than two weeks away, Gov.-elect Mark Dayton has announced two more state agency commissioners, and they are both familiar figures at the Capitol. Dave Frederickson will head the Department of Agriculture, and Ken Peterson has gotten the nod to lead the Department of Labor and Industry.
Ken Peterson named next Labor and Industry commissioner
Ken Peterson, who was Minnesota's labor and industry commissioner during Gov. Rudy Perpich's administration, will return to the same position in Gov.-elect Mark Dayton's administration.
Search and employ
Gov.-elect Mark Dayton’s transition team is casting a wide net as he assembles the first DFL administration in a generation.
Melendez under fire after DFL election debacle
It didn't take long after the election night DFL bloodletting for the pot to begin stirring in the liberal blogosphere.
Dayton meets with former finance commissioners
Former Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, who is facing a likely recount in the Minnesota governor's race against GOP nominee Tom Emmer, aligned finance officials of the last four governors on Wednesday to talk about the $6 billion budget deficit and long term fiscal problems in the state.
Dayton plays to moderates, tries to avoid late miscues
In the final weeks leading up to the general election, Democratic political operatives and pundits seem haunted by what many refer to as “the ghost of Mike Hatch.” Like this year’s DFL gubernatorial nominee, Mark Dayton, Hatch was leading in nearly every poll in the final month before Election Day 2006, and Democrats across the state were starting to see a clear path to the governor’s offi[...]
Possible Iron Range leadership sweep worries some Democrats
There is erosion on the horizon for the region's standing in the legislative balance of power; population declines have many predicting a loss of seats in the 2012 round of redistricting. Which makes it all the more ironic that the stars could be aligning for a 2011 Iron Range leadership sweep in the legislative and executive branches that some lawmakers find unpalatable.
Redistricting has been a mess in each of the past four decades
Few political issues have been as intractable in the last half-century as redistricting, according to University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs.
Top News
- Melodie Rose named president at Fredrikson
- Supreme Court lawyers have rituals of their own
- Minnesota artists consider what’s next in AI copyrights
- Defining ‘and’ in sentencing statute falls to Supreme Court
- Hashtag rates higher libel protection
- Court: Performance issues, not bias, prompted union to fire organizer
- Robot milker case yields $122M
- 2023 Up & Coming Attorneys
Expert Testimony
- Briefly: A chat with Supreme Court Commissioner Tim Droske
- Perspectives: Oral arguments at high court stir lively debates
- Quandaries & Quagmires: Advance waivers: Lessons from Paul Hastings vs. Coca Cola
- Perspectives: Recent cellphone ruling recalls high court cases
