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Minnesota Senate passes bill giving undocumented residents a chance at a driver’s license
Minnesota state senators passed a bill early Wednesday to give driver’s licenses to qualified undocumented residents after a decade of advocacy from immigrant rights groups. The bill will go back to the House — where passage is expected — and then heads to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk, where he is expected to sign it. “It’s […]
Bill to restore voting rights to people still on parole, probation passes Senate
The Minnesota Senate passed a bill 35-30 Tuesday to restore voting rights to people still on parole or probation. The bill goes back to the House — where passage is expected — and then heads to Gov. Tim Walz, who’s said he’ll sign it. “People in our communities are being taxed without being able to […]
Minnesota House passes bill to ban ‘conversion therapy’ for minors
The Minnesota House on Monday passed a bill to ban “conversion therapy” for minors and vulnerable adults, a discredited practice aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill, introduced by Rep. Athena Hollins, DFL-St. Paul, passed 81-47. The companion bill will soon be up for a vote in the Senate, according […]
Minnesota House passes bill to crack down on catalytic converter thefts
The Minnesota House on Monday passed a bill (HF30) with broad support, 113-15,* to crack down on catalytic converter thefts. The companion bill is still making its way through the state Senate. Minnesota is one of the worst states for catalytic converter thefts in the United States. Thefts have skyrocketed in recent years: Nationally, the […]
Minnesota House passes bill to create an Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls
The Minnesota House on Monday passed a bill to create an Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls, the first of its kind in the country. The bill (HF55) passed 110-19. It still requires Senate passage and Gov. Tim Walz’s signature to become law. The push to create a new office followed a […]
Immunocompromised Minnesotans struggle with mental toll of isolation three years into pandemic
Sometimes, Eddy Samara thinks he might be willing to put himself at risk of hospitalization or death to get a cup of coffee with a friend: He’s just not willing to risk his partner’s life. Samara and his partner, Max Colleatti, are both severely immunocompromised: Samara has a rare auto-inflammatory disorder and Colleatti has a […]
Annual march for missing and murdered Indigenous relatives draws hundreds
Hundreds of people gathered at a rally for murdered and missing Indigenous relatives in Minneapolis on Tuesday — many of whom said they had loved ones who were murdered or missing. “It’s not new to anybody. It’s ‘Who is it this week?’ Who is it today?’” said Stephanie Skinaway, a citizen of Red Lake Nation […]
Rep. Angie Craig assaulted in D.C. apartment building
Rep. Angie Craig was assaulted in the elevator of her D.C. apartment building Thursday morning, the Minnesota Democrat’s office said in a statement. “Rep. Craig defended herself from the attacker and suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically okay,” said her chief of staff, Nick Coe. Craig’s office said the attack did not appear to be […]
House lawmakers advance a bill creating a MinnesotaCare public option for all state residents
Minnesota House lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a bill (HF96) to expand the state’s public health insurance program called MinnesotaCare, allowing all Minnesotans to buy in to the program. The MinnesotaCare buy-in proposal would provide affordable, government insurance for workers who need it, including the self-employed and undocumented residents, said chief author of the bill, Rep. […]
Minnesota’s Flint Hills refinery is one of the largest polluters of a toxic metal, according to new report
Flint Hills Pine Bend Refinery in Rosemount is one of the largest polluters of a toxic metal called selenium, according to a new report from the Environmental Integrity Project, an organization established by former Environmental Protection Agency regulators. Selenium is toxic to fish and other aquatic life, causing mutations and reproductive problems. Selenium can also […]
Medical students, community protest potential merger between Sanford and Fairview
Medical students, health care workers and community members gathered outside a University of Minnesota building on Friday, braving a wind chill of minus 14 degrees to rally against a planned merger between Sanford Health and Fairview Health Services. “The values of Fairview and Sanford are very different from the University of Minnesota,” said Brianna Wenande, […]
Juneteenth is now a state holiday
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday on Friday. Juneteenth, or June 19, commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans. It marks the day — two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed — that a group of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned they were free. […]