Government & Politics
Minnesota State University Moorhead to cut 10% of jobs
Minnesota State University Moorhead will cut 10% of jobs over the next two years in the face of a $6 million budget shortfall, the university announced earlier this month. The university’s proposed 2022 budget eliminates 66 of its 632 full-time positions, the majority of them faculty jobs, as well as 10 academic majors. Although the […]
Minnesota higher ed in crisis, administrators tell Legislature
Minnesota’s public colleges and universities face steep financial shortfalls during the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education officials told legislators Tuesday. Between dwindling enrollment, canceled events, refunds for students and the real possibility that campuses won’t reopen this fall, Minnesota’s public colleges and universities could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, amounting to nearly 10% […]
Federal airport money under scrutiny, but Brainerd Lakes comes out a winner
The Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t explained why a small Minnesota airport is receiving nearly $18 million in federal funding under the recent COVID-19 aid package, far more than busier airports in Rochester and Duluth, for instance. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act includes $10 billion in funding for airports affected by pandemic. […]
Public Policy Polling survey shows Trump in trouble in Minnesota; Walz solid
Liberal-leaning Alliance for a Better Minnesota commissioned a poll from Public Policy Polling, and the results show President Donald Trump’s hopes of flipping Minnesota looking distant. The poll of 1,384 Minneosota voters, taken April 24-25, shows Trump’s approval rating is 40%. First term DFL Gov. Tim Walz, meanwhile, is on solid ground, with 70% of […]
Minnesota Senate votes 42-25 in favor of legislative authority, oversight of $2B in federal COVID-19 funding
The state Senate advanced a measure Monday that would give Minnesota lawmakers explicit authority to decide how to spend roughly $2 billion from the federal government to stop the spread of COVID-19. By a 42-25 tally, the Republican-led effort earned some DFL votes, including the former Senate DFL leader, Sen. Tom Bakk of Cook. The […]
When the Legislature allowed restaurants to sell takeout beer, they left out the breweries
Lawmakers agreed to allow restaurants to serve takeout alcohol last week, and the moment brought the warm buzz that often accompanies a second pint of beer. In this case, however, the glow arrived not from a glass of beer but from a rare moment of bipartisan comity at the State Capitol. But there was one […]
Minneapolis and St. Paul receive 10,000 rental assistance applications and counting
More than 4,500 Minneapolis households have applied for emergency housing assistance since the city began accepting applications Wednesday morning, three times more households than will receive grants. In St. Paul, more than 5,200 people applied for housing assistance during the 10-day application period, which ended April 19. Around 1,000 eligible families will be selected to […]
Minnesota schools won’t re-open this spring
Minnesota schools will remain closed through the end of the school year in hopes of slowing the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Tim Walz announced Thursday, five weeks after he first closed schools so educators could plan for distance learning. That means most of the state’s 875,000 students have at least another six weeks of distance […]
House GOP pushes for tax exemption on Payroll Protection Program loans
House Republicans on Thursday called for immediate action to change Minnesota’s tax code so that federally-guaranteed business loans to cover payroll during the pandemic won’t be taxed as income. Minnesota businesses have received $9 billion from the recently-approved Paycheck Protection Program through April 16, according to data from the Small Business Administration. Congress created the […]
Northern Minnesota counties weigh joining “reopen” movement, defying public health experts
Commissioners in seven northern Minnesota counties considered similar resolutions Tuesday calling on Gov. Tim Walz to end the stay-at-home order and allow restaurants, bars and other places of public accommodation to reopen. Three county boards voted to approve, one rejected, and four discussed it but took no action. Commissioners for another eight counties, which did […]
Gov. Walz, Mayo Clinic, U announce deal to test 20,000 Minnesotans daily
Gov. Tim Walz announced a strategy Wednesday to test up to 20,000 Minnesotans daily for COVID-19, dramatically ramping up the state’s capacity in an effort to get a clearer picture of the pandemic. The joint effort with the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota will test for active infections, as well as people who […]
Progressive strategist Jeff Blodgett on the next six months, with America hanging in the balance
The death toll of COVID-19 mounts, and Washington and Saint Paul are consumed with crisis management, with varying levels of competency. Make no mistake, however, there’s an election in six months. Out of view, strategists and operatives are planning campaigns, raising money, researching their opponents and writing ads. The election season will likely be different […]