A pair of DFL lawmakers who fell short last year of gaining enough support in the legislature to turn Minnesota into a ranked-choice voting state aren’t giving up on their goal. They’ve just scaled back their efforts to more incremental steps.
On Wednesday, a committee in the state House approved a bill that would make it easier for cities across the state to implement ranked-choice voting as a method of electing local representation.
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Republicans are calling for an investigation into allegations that Gov. Tim Walz’s Department of Education “engaged in deceptive practices” in order to conceal records in a lawsuit related to the Feeding Our Future case.
Aimee Bock, the founder and executive director of the defunct nonprofit, claimed in a court filing last month that the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) “intentionally deleted and hid documents from discovery” when her organization sued MDE in November 2020.
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The Minnesota Republican Party accused the DFL Party of breaking the law when they allowed felons and non-US citizens to participate in their caucus process.
The party pointed to the state’s voter eligibility requirements as cause for their concern.
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The Minnesota Republican Party elected a new chair on Saturday, to replace the former Chair Jennifer Carnahan. The newly elected chair, David Hann, was a former state senate minority leader.
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State Senator Jeremy Miller (R-Winona) was elected to replace former Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka on Thursday. In a press conference announcing the decision Miller said, “I’m certainly not the only one that could be standing up here today because of the amount of talent we have but I did it because I know I have the opportunity to unite our caucus and at the same time work together with colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate to get things done.”
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Jennifer Carnahan, the Chair of the Minnesota GOP, resigned Thursday night after allegations of harassment, abuse and ties to a child sex trafficker came to light. Carnahan is the wife of Representative Jim Hagedorn (R-MN-01).
Allegations harassment and workplace abuse began being anonymously posted on social media after the indictment of Anton Lazzaro, a long-time GOP donor and political activist, on child sex trafficking charges. Reportedly, Lazzaro had a long time relationship and friendship with former GOP Chair Carnahan, and was even invited to Hagedorn and Carnahan’s wedding.
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The new executive director of the Minnesota Republican Party once called on former President Donald Trump to “get the f— out of the White House.”
Minnesota GOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan appointed Andy Aplikowski as the party’s new executive director, she announced in an email Tuesday.
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While Minnesota is recovering from a 2020 budget deficit and public health hangover, Gov. Tim Walz proposed a $52.4 billion budget – a $4 billion spending increase from the prior biennium budget and the largest proposed spending plan in state history.
“As a result of rising costs and inflation, it is expected that budgets will increase biennium to biennium,” Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) spokesman Chris Kelly told The Center Square in an email.
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The Minnesota Republican Party is calling on DFL congressional candidate Quinn Nystrom to apologize for seemingly mocking U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber’s use of a hearing aid.
Nystrom is the DFL-endorsed candidate challenging Stauber in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District, which Republicans flipped in 2018 after the retirement of former U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan.
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Republican candidate for MN’s 3rd Congressional District Kendall Qualls has outraised incumbent Dean Phillips (DFL-MN-03) once again. According to the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) July pre-primary reports released last Thursday, Qualls accumulated significantly more campaign contributions and cash-on-hand than Phillips.
In total, Qualls raised over $106,000 more than Phillips, and has about $68,000 more cash-on-hand. Representative Phillips’s $250,000 debt from his previous campaign was also listed on the report.
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Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan called on Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to resign for their “failed” leadership during last week’s riots.
“Gov. Walz and Mayor Frey have been largely silent, other than a handful of unhelpful tweets and press conferences blaming everyone but themselves. Minneapolis is decimated. Minneapolis is damaged to a level we never could have imagined. The destruction caused this past week will unfortunately live in our memories forever. It’s a dark stain on our state,” Carnahan said in a statement released over the weekend.
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The Minnesota House passed two controversial gun control bills Thursday night after hours of contentious debate.
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The editor of a Minnesota-based Hmong publication compared Asian Pacific Minnesotans who support President Donald Trump to Jews who worked for the Nazis.
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Minnesota Senate Republicans plan to introduce legislation to require a photo ID for voting, but a DFL state senator thinks the idea is “racist.”
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State party leaders exchanged a number of accusations throughout the week regarding the release of voter data under Minnesota’s presidential primary law.
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Minnesota Senate Republicans unveiled their “2020 Vision” agenda during a Monday press conference, highlighting their priorities for the upcoming legislative session.
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Several Republican members of the Minnesota House announced a bill Thursday that would repeal the city of St. Paul’s new college savings program.
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A report released Monday “completely exonerates” Minnesota Rep. Jamie Long (DFL-Minneapolis) from allegations of illicit lobbying activity, according to House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park).
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Education Minnesota, the state’s largest teachers union, urged Minnesotans to “vote in a new Senate” after an education budget agreed to by party leaders was released. “This is a lukewarm outcome to a legislative session that had a lot of potential for Minnesota students,” Education Minnesota President Denise Specht said in a press release. “We have a status quo in our public schools that is driving out educators, failing to serve the needs of thousands of students and was rejected by voters who elected a former educator as governor in a landslide last year.” Gov. Tim Walz, House Speaker Melissa Hortman (D-Brooklyn Park), and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) agreed on an education budget over the weekend that will increase the general education funding formula by two percent for the next two years. Looks like education might be settled or largely so, by leadership/gov. #mnleg pic.twitter.com/PkC34wJszf — Brian Bakst (@Stowydad) May 21, 2019 Education Minnesota’s response to the deal isn’t exactly a positive sign for Walz, who considers teacher unions to be among his strongest political allies. But Specht placed the blame for the “disappointing” budget squarely on the shoulders of the Republican-controlled Senate. “Educators recognize that Gov.…
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The Minnesota House approved a 20-cent gas tax increase Monday in a vote along party lines, but the proposal is likely dead-on-arrival in the Republican-controlled Senate. “We’re not going to do a gas tax. I’ve made it very clear that is not a direction we’re going to go,” Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) said Monday, according to The Star Tribune. The transportation bill passed the House in a 74 to 58 vote. Under the bill, the state’s gas tax would jump from 28.5 cents per gallon to 48.5 cents, which is a 70 percent increase. The bill also included a metro-wide sales tax to help fund Light Rail, a vehicle registration tax increase, and a new vehicle tax increase. “The House DFL’s plan to raise excessive tax and fees, including a 70 percent gas tax increase, a metro area sales tax, and more expensive tab fees is reckless and will cause serious financial harm to Minnesota families,” Rep. Jon Koznick (R-Lakeville) said. “Their plan puts Minnesota drivers in reverse.” DFL legislators staunchly defended the tax increases during a Monday press conference held before the vote. “This morning we are joining Gov. [Tim] Walz in offering Minnesotans a choice.…
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Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) unveiled his highly anticipated budget proposal for the 2020-2021 biennium at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. When all is said and done, the two-year budget registers at $49.5 billion with no cuts to any existing spending. “I’ve often said that a budget is far more than a fiscal document; it’s a moral document. This budget reflects the morals and values of the people of Minnesota. This is the budget that Minnesotans voted for in historic numbers in November,” Walz said during his lengthy address. Walz said his proposal prioritizes three core areas: education, health care, and “community prosperity.” For the first, Walz proposed a three percent followed by a two percent increase in education spending, which is roughly $523 million more. “While some schools have turf fields and a stadium, another school is trying to pass a referendum to fix a leaky roof,” he said. “As a former teacher, I’ve seen firsthand the power of investment in a child.” He went on to lay out a number of health care proposals, including a “OneCare Minnesota” public buy-in option, and the continuation of the two percent provider tax, which Republicans would like to let expire at…
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Minnesota’s Republican-controlled Senate hit the ground running Thursday by introducing 91 pieces of legislation. Many of the items correspond with the top five priorities Republicans outlined at a Tuesday press conference, though there were several noteworthy outliers. Senate File (SF) 80, for instance, would impose “aid reductions” on sanctuary cities in Minnesota. The bill defines a sanctuary city as any city that prohibits or restricts local public safety officials from enforcing federal immigration law, or any city “designated as a sanctuary jurisdiction” by the Department of Homeland Security. “Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, a city may not receive aid payment under sections 477A.011 to 477A.03 if it is determined to be a sanctuary city,” the bill states. Cities such as Minneapolis and Rochester have declared themselves sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants. Republicans also introduced what is often referred to as a “stand your ground” bill, which allows for the use of deadly force in life-situations and is generally pushed by pro-Second Amendment activists. “An individual taking defensive action pursuant to subdivision 2 may use all force and means, including deadly force, that the individual in good faith believes is required to succeed in defense,” SF 72 states, noting…
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