Minnesota Republicans Run into DFL Roadblock in Attempt to Fast-Track Passage of School Resource Officers Fix

SRO Class

Republicans in the Minnesota House of Representatives wasted no time in the opening moments of the 2024 legislative session in attempting to fast-track passage of a seemingly bipartisan proposal to fix a new law enacted last year that has hampered the work of school resource officers in several public schools across the state.

But the author of that bill ended up being the GOP’s biggest stumbling block in attempting to pass it on the House floor Monday.

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Minnesota Republicans Criticize Scope of Universal School Meals Program as Price Tag Revealed

A universal school lunch bill that’s fast-tracking its way through the Minnesota Legislature received an official price tag this week.

HF5/SF123 would ensure all K-12 students are served free breakfast and lunch in public schools, regardless of family income. It would also cost the state $387 million over the next two years and nearly $419 million in the subsequent two-year budget cycle. That’s according a non-partisan fiscal analysis provided to legislators in the House Education Finance Committee on Wednesday.

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GOP-Aligned Group Spent Money Against Endorsed, Incumbent Minnesota Republicans Again

A Republican-aligned committee once again spent money against two Republican candidates for the Minnesota House of Representatives, with both of them going on to lose to their Democratic challengers in the general election.

The Minnesota Jobs Coalition Legislative Fund, an independent expenditure committee affiliated with the Minnesota Jobs Coalition, spent a combined $55,134 in TV and direct mail advertising against incumbent Rep. Erik Mortensen and newcomer Mark Bishofsky during their primary elections, according to data from the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board.

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Minnesota Republicans Plan to Address Forced Masking in School

Young girl with brown hair wearing black mask

Republican lawmakers in Minnesota have set out their priorities for the upcoming legislative session beginning Monday.

One of them is to address the issue of forced masking in classrooms across the state.

At a Wednesday press conference announcing the Senate GOP’s priorities, Sen. Roger Chamberlain stated that in the educational sphere they will focus on getting “back to basics.”

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Republicans on Track to Retain Control of Minnesota Senate

Despite millions of dollars being spent against them, Republicans are on track to retain control of the Minnesota Senate, meaning Gov. Tim Walz will have to finish out the remainder of his term with a divided Legislature.

Democrats won an open seat in Senate District 44 and are on track to unseat Sen. Dan Hall in Burnsville, but Republican Zack Duckworth defeated Sen. Matt Little of Lakeville.

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Republicans Sue Minnesota Over Eight-Day Extension to Count ‘Late’ Ballots

Republicans in the state of Minnesota filed a lawsuit after the state government announced that late mail-in ballots could be counted up to 8 days after Election Day, as reported by the Washington Free Beacon.

The plaintiffs in the suit are state representative Eric Lucero (R-Minn.) and elector James Carson (R-Minn.), who sued Secretary of State Steve Simon, the man who ultimately made the decision to extend the ballot-counting deadline by just over a week. The lawsuit points out that such a decision being made by one statewide official violates the U.S. Constitution because it failed to consult the state legislature, and also allows for the counting of ballots that have “no post mark and no evidence of having been cast on November 3rd.”

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