Briefs
House adopts robust amendment to DFL marijuana bill creating hemp licensing system
Minnesota House members adopted a hefty amendment to the chamber’s bill to legalize recreational marijuana on Monday, including provisions like the creation of a separate licensing system for Minnesota hemp growers and the low-dose THC products their crops are used for now. The 155-page amendment creates new hemp licenses that allow a manufacturer to produce […]
Assistant chief Huffman assigned to work on coming consent decree
Minneapolis Assistant Police Chief Amelia Huffman has a new assignment: working with the city attorney's office on pending consent decrees with the state and federal government.
Walz signs universal free school meals into law
Gov. Tim Walz on Friday signed a bill to provide free breakfast and lunch to all Minnesota students at eligible schools. Walz signed the bill surrounded by lawmakers, community advocates and young students at Webster Elementary School in northeast Minneapolis. The second-term DFL governor lauded how universal meals will help make Minnesota the best state […]
Legislative week in review: Paid sick leave, nursing staffing levels and sports betting
Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill into law on Friday that provides free school breakfast and lunch to all students in Minnesota (at schools in the National School Lunch Program). Walz signed the bill at Webster Elementary in Minneapolis. “This bill puts us one step closer to making Minnesota the best state for kids to […]
Minneapolis Institute of Art workers overwhelmingly approve new union contract
Workers at the Minneapolis Institute of Art voted by a 95% margin to ratify a new, two-and-a-half year contract on Tuesday, resolving the most contentious labor dispute at the museum in decades. MIA’s 150 unionized curators and other staff will receive $4 per hour raises over the next 16 months in one of the largest […]
Audit paints scathing picture of Met Council’s oversight of Southwest Light Rail construction
A new report by the Office of the Legislative Auditor released Wednesday found that the Metropolitan Council made numerous errors overseeing the construction of the Southwest Light Rail Green Line extension, which is nearly a decade behind schedule and $1.5 billion over budget. Among the problems: Moving ahead knowing they didn’t have sufficient funding, changing […]
Minnesota Senate passes universal free school meals; bill heads back to House
The state Senate on Tuesday passed a bill 38-26 to provide free school breakfast and lunch for all Minnesota students. The bill (HF5) will have to go back to the House for a concurring vote before making its way to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk for his signature. Walz supports the legislation and included universal free […]
Bill would repeal law that limits city, county employees’ salaries at $207,000
Minnesota lawmakers are considering repealing a law that caps city and county employees’ pay at nearly $207,000 this year. The law limits local government employees’ total compensation to an amount tied to the governor’s salary, though exceptions are made for school employees, certain medical workers and elected officials.
Legislature week in review: Driver’s Licenses for All, gender-affirming care and Indian Child Welfare Act
This week, Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill into law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, while Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers advanced a bill to protect families with trans children traveling to Minnesota for gender-affirming care, and moved a bill to Walz’s desk codifying Indian Child Welfare Act language ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling […]
Congress unanimously votes to require declassified information on COVID-19 origins
WASHINGTON — The divided 118th Congress approved its first bill Friday, after lawmakers in both the House and Senate voted unanimously to send President Joe Biden legislation that would require declassification of intelligence on the origins of COVID-19. The four-page bill, which the House voted 419-0 to clear, would require the Director of National Intelligence […]
Bill codifying Indian Child Welfare Act language into state law heads to Walz’s desk
A bill aimed at keeping Native American children within the foster care system in Native American homes will now go to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk to be signed into law after the House passed it on Thursday. The legislation is well-timed — the U.S. Supreme Court appears likely to overturn identical federal laws. The House […]
Walz signs executive order reaffirming right to gender-affirming care in Minnesota
Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday signed a mostly symbolic executive order reaffirming the right to access gender-affirming care in Minnesota for trans and gender non-conforming people. “In this state, hate has no home,” Walz said at the signing while surrounded by Minnesotan families with trans children and gender-affirming care providers. “In this state, love and […]