News
Here’s where renewable power is increasing (and where it’s not)
Despite supply-chain problems amid the lingering effects of the pandemic, 2022 saw major increases in solar and wind power in the United States, though that growth varied by state, according to a report released last month by a nonprofit focused on climate change. Nationally, electricity generated from solar and wind grew 16% from 2021, with […]
State election officials at U.S. Senate hearing discuss threats to workers, call for funding
WASHINGTON — Election officials on Tuesday detailed to the U.S. Senate Rules Committee how their states countered threats to election workers and worked to combat misinformation and disinformation during the 2022 midterm election. With the 2024 presidential election closely approaching, Senate Rules Committee Chair Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she was concerned about threats to election […]
USDA secretary battles with U.S. House Republicans over costs of federal nutrition programs
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans tussled with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Democratic committee members over work requirements in federal nutrition programs as well as spending levels for those programs at a Tuesday hearing. Republican members of the House Agriculture Committee charged Vilsack with evading bipartisan oversight in the USDA’s 2021 redesign of the Thrifty […]
Members of U.S. Senate panel press financial regulators on massive bank failures
WASHINGTON — Financial regulators promised a full review of Silicon Valley Bank’s massive failure as members of a key U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday interrogated the officials about what led to the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs asked if the Federal Reserve could […]
Infant formula crisis could recur, former FDA official tells Congress
WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday debated if enough has changed to prevent a repeat of the infant formula shortage, more than a year after a nationwide crisis began. The U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services heard from two experts that while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration […]
Minneapolis DFL throws out delegates for City Council due to ‘irregularities’
The Minneapolis Democratic-Farmer-Labor party is looking into irregularities in the party endorsement process for Minneapolis City Council. The Minneapolis DFL Executive Committee voted unanimously Monday night not to accept a significant number of council candidate Victor Martinez’s delegate signups in Ward 5 because one of his campaign volunteers signed up 358 delegates using the same IP address, and was unable to validate them with paper signup forms.
Native American agricultural leaders detail farm bill priorities at U.S. Senate hearing
WASHINGTON — A roundtable of Native American agricultural leaders at a recent U.S. Senate hearing lobbied for increased sovereignty and social justice in the coming farm bill by expanding tribes’ jurisdiction over U.S. Department of Agriculture programs. It’s called “638” authority and refers to Public Law 93-638, which gives tribes the power to manage certain […]
Senate GOP unveils ‘compromise’ spending offer, including $500 million boost for nursing homes
Minnesota Senate Republicans on Monday imagined a world in which Roe v. Wade wasn’t overturned and the national party didn’t drag down their midterm prospects, releasing a list of budget targets and tax cut proposals. It wasn’t just a gimmick, however. They say if their requirements are met, they’ll provide the needed votes to pass […]
3 kids, 3 adults killed in shooting at Nashville private elementary school
Three children and three adult staff members are dead after a mass shooting event Monday at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood. Among the victims are three 9-year-old children: Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney. The adult victims are Cynthia Peak, 61, Mike Hill, 61, and Katherine Koonce, […]
Democrats propose quarter-cent sales tax to fund new rental assistance program
The high-level budget agreement between Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders includes the biggest number for housing in state history: $1 billion over the next two years, eight times larger than the last budget appropriation. Yet nearly all of that is one-time funding, paid for with part of the state’s $17.5 billion budget surplus. That […]
Help wanted: Women needed for U.S. chips manufacturing plan to succeed
Natalie Bell was thinking about a career in art after college when a welding class and a delivery of four pizzas changed her career trajectory. “I was taking a delivery out to a construction site and I met an ironworker who I was taking the delivery to,” said Bell, who lives in Columbus, Ohio. “I […]
Bipartisan former members of Congress call for boost in funding to secure elections
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of former U.S. lawmakers on the National Council on Election Integrity called on Congress on Friday to spend $400 million on election integrity to insulate the system from foreign interference. “The Department of Homeland Security designated our election system as critical infrastructure in 2017,” the four wrote in a letter. […]