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What’s in Minnesota’s marijuana legalization bill
Possession limits, home grow provisions, public health and more.
Minnesota is getting older, new Census data show
There are more than 1,500 centenarians living in Minnesota.
What’s in the ‘transformative’ climate, energy and environment bill
A PFAS ban, wildlife protections, outdoor recreation upgrades and clean energy are among the signature items in the $2 billion spending bill.
Minnesota lawmakers bring national popular vote one step closer to reality
One provision tucked away in the omnibus election bill passed by the House and Senate would dramatically alter the way presidential elections are conducted in the U.S. if enough other states sign on. The provision, called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, would award all of the state’s presidential electors to the candidate winning a […]
House, Senate settle on a marijuana possession limit
Negotiators moved closer Monday to finalizing a bill legalizing marijuana, with agreements resolving most of the major conflicts between the House and Senate bills. The only outstanding items remaining are taxes and appropriations, which Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, said would be addressed in a meeting on Tuesday, setting up final floor votes for later […]
Are Minnesotans really fleeing to low-tax states?
Minnesota conservatives have been issuing warnings about fallout from the DFL trifecta’s unabashedly progressive policy agenda in St. Paul this session. One argument that’s come up repeatedly: DFL-favored policies, specifically ones involving taxation, are going to drive people away from the state. “Is the DFL trying to chase people out of Minnesota?” asked economist John […]
Legalization bill inches forward in conference
House and Senate negotiators moved closer to finalizing the marijuana legalization bill on Friday with agreement on four of the ten total articles included in the legislation. They include: Article 3, Business Development, which creates the regulatory framework for the legal cannabis industry; Article 6, Miscellaneous Provisions, which includes a hodgepodge of rules governing everything […]
Marijuana legalization: What’s different in the House and Senate bills
Minnesota is poised to become the 23rd state allowing legal marijuana sales following the passage of bills in the state House and Senate this spring. Before that can happen, however, negotiators from the two chambers must meet to iron out the differences between the bills. The broad brush strokes of the legislation are the same […]
House Speaker awaiting more information on lawmaker’s DWI arrest before deciding response
House Speaker Melissa Hortman says she’s waiting for more information on the drunken driving arrest of Rep. Matt Grossell, R-Clearbook, before deciding whether to strip him of his committee assignments. MPR News’ Brian Bakst first reported on Friday that Grossell was arrested on DWI charges in northern Minnesota. His blood alcohol content was 0.15 – […]
Minnesota is in the middle of the pack on gun safety, federal data show
Several pieces of gun control legislation are making their way through the Legislature this session, with narrow DFL majorities in both chambers making their eventual passage into law a distinct possibility, but by no means a certain one. Those bills include: Universal background checks for gun sales between private sellers; A red-flag law that would […]
Minnesota farmers received $1.5 billion in federal payments in 2021
If the USDA subsidies that went to farmers in Marshall County, Minn., were distributed equally to the entire population there in 2021, every man, woman and child would have received a check for $6,000. Instead, the $54 million in subsidy payments were divvied up among the county’s roughly 1,000 farmers, with the largest receiving hundreds […]
Bill would sharply curtail turtle harvesting for profit
Minnesota is one of just a handful of states allowing wild turtles to be harvested, sold and exported for profit. But that could change this year if the DFL-controlled Legislature succeeds in passing a total ban on the practice that’s been decades in the making. “Turtles are one of the most vulnerable species in our […]