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Decades-high inflation taking big bite out of Minnesota budget surplus
The November Minnesota state budget and economic forecast painted a rosy picture of the state’s finances: lawmakers have an expected $7.7 billion budget surplus, the largest surplus the state has ever forecasted. But some of the state’s top economists warn that surplus figure is incomplete because of a 2002 law change that prohibits budget forecasters […]
State commission proposal to modify sentences for repeat offenders sparks fierce debate
A proposal from the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission to no longer consider a repeat criminal offender’s custody status at sentencing generated fierce debate on Thursday, with a list of testifiers that included lawmakers, police chiefs, crime victims and others. The commission, made up of 11 members appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court chief justice and […]
House GOP leans on Mayo Clinic to call off its vaccine mandate
Gov. Tim Walz and DFL lawmakers are slamming a letter signed by more than three dozen House GOP state representatives that asks the Mayo Clinic to end its vaccine mandate for hospital employees. The letter goes further, threatening to withdraw support for state funding intended to alleviate health care workforce shortages. Earlier this month, state […]
Fight gun violence on many fronts | Opinion
The most pressing issue facing Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as he begins his second term is the ever-increasing gun violence that has propelled what may be a record number of gun-related homicides in the city in 2021. To confront violence in the city, Frey announced in early December a new Community Safety Workgroup, tasked with […]
Minnesota’s changing weather, in five charts
Winter is officially here, with the Twin Cities’ first lingering snowfall and several days of sub-freezing temperatures — but you might not need that parka quite as much this year, thanks to climate change. As one of the fastest-warming states in the country, we’re already feeling the effects of climate change, with milder winters, heavier rainfalls […]
The Death of Snow Days | Opinion
Late last year, an email arrived in my in-box from the Minneapolis Public Schools, with an odd heading: “We’ve changed how we handle winter weather.” I read on: Earlier this year, the Minneapolis Board of Education approved an e-learning plan for our schools. That means that MPS no longer has to cancel school due to […]
Q&A with activist Erica Mauter on why she’s voting ‘yes’ on Question 2
Even as the police murder of George Floyd spurred Minneapolis to reform the police department, the city has endured one of its worst crime waves since the city was dubbed “Murderapolis” in 1995, numbering more than 500 citizens shot and 78 killed so far this year. Voters must wrestle with this as they consider Question […]
Red Lake citizen Lee Cook or Waase Waagos was ‘larger than life’
This story originally appeared in Indian Country Today. Leon “Lee” Cook, a lifelong advocate for the betterment of Native people, champion for Indian education and former National Congress of American Indians president, died Oct. 13. He was 82. Cook, a citizen of the Red Lake Nation in northern Minnesota, was a larger-than-life figure, a groundbreaker […]
6 key findings from U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn ethics committee referral
The Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent, non-partisan entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against members of Congress, on Thursday issued a 23-page report outlining why it says there is “substantial reason” to believe U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn committed ethics violations. The matter was referred to the House Ethics Committee on a 6-0 vote […]
New Senate GOP leader shaped by family’s work ethic, hardscrabble immigrant story
WINONA — In 2019, Jeremy Miller was on a run in downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row, stunned at the poverty, grime and decrepit conditions of the unsheltered residents, many of whom are veterans and struggling with substance addiction. He was there on business, attending a scrap recycling convention. Miller, who is a regular runner, met […]
He refused the shot, and COVID-19 nearly killed him. Local GOP party chair now urges vaccine
By the time Mark Korin leaves the hospital, he will have lost 40 pounds and spent nearly two months battling COVID-19. And he still has a long recovery ahead. The former Oak Grove mayor, chair of the Senate District 31 Republican Party and Trump supporter had refused the COVID-19 vaccine, believing he did not need […]
The lion’s historian: Five questions with local author Rosemond Owens
Rosemond Sarpong Owens has held a number of titles throughout her career: President, director, interpreter, author, faculty member — and now “lion’s historian.” Owens, an Eagan resident, says the moniker is inspired by author Chinua Achebe: “Until the lions have their own historian, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” It’s the […]