Minnesota has seen 385,318 new applications for unemployment insurance since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Commissioner Steve Grove said Thursday.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Monday that his office has created a “discrimination helpline” amid “rising reports of discrimination from the Asian American community.”
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan claimed that America has a “distinct pattern” of “increased discrimination during uncertain and trying times, of needing someone to blame.”
“This is unacceptable and, as Minnesotans, we must work to break this cycle,” she added.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz touched on nothing but the coronavirus pandemic during his second State of the State address Sunday night.
The address was originally scheduled to take place March 23 before a joint meeting of the House and Senate, but was canceled because of the pandemic. Instead, Walz delivered a televised address from the Governor’s Residence that was just over 10 minutes long.
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Gov. Tim Walz unveiled a COVID-19 dashboard that tracks the most recent available data on ventilators, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, personal protective equipment (PPE), and testing.
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House Republican leaders sent a letter Friday to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz asking him to clarify the status of surgical abortions during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Attorney General Keith Ellison said his office received more than 500 complaints about price gouging in Minnesota last week alone.
The influx of complaints is part of Ellison’s effort to stop companies from hiking their prices on essential products during the coronavirus pandemic. Doing so is now illegal under an executive order issued by Gov. Tim Walz, which will remain in effect for the duration of Minnesota’s peacetime emergency.
Ellison’s office announced a statewide crackdown on businesses engaged in “pandemic profiteering” last week and encouraged Minnesotans to report instances of price gouging to his office.
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The Minnesota Legislature passed a $330 million omnibus bill this week to address the coronavirus pandemic, but some Republican lawmakers were frustrated with the unprecedented lack of transparency in the process.
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Gov. Tim Walz has issued a statewide shelter-in-place order for Minnesota to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The order took effect Friday at midnight and will remain in effect until 5:00 p.m. on April 10. As opposed to a complete lockdown, a shelter-in-place order still allows for many everyday activities and permits numerous industries to continuing working.
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The Star Tribune initially refused to run an advertisement in its print edition that was critical of Gov. Tim Walz’s “severe reactions” to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced during his Wednesday press briefing that he is issuing a statewide shelter-in-place order to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The stay-at-home order, as the governor is calling it, will go into effect at midnight Friday and will remain in effect until 5:00 p.m. on April 10.
“What our objective is now is to move the infection rate or slow it down and buy time,” Walz said during the press conference. The governor noted that the order won’t necessarily reduce the infection rate, but will postpone the peak of the outbreak while the state prepares.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said during a Monday press briefing that he predicts 40 to 80 percent of the state’s population will be infected with the coronavirus.
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Gov. Tim Walz announced Monday morning that he is in self-quarantine at the Governor’s Residence after contacting someone with the coronavirus. “After learning I had contact with someone who has COVID-19, I plan to lead by example and work from home. I currently have no symptoms and will continue working tirelessly to combat the spread of COVID-19,” Walz said on Twitter. After learning I had contact with someone who has COVID-19, I plan to lead by example and work from home. I currently have no symptoms and will continue working tirelessly to combat the spread of COVID-19. #StayHomeMN — Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) March 23, 2020 He later revealed that a member of his “dedicated” security detail tested positive for COVID-19 late Sunday night. “He did everything exactly right. I had been with him a few days prior, so according to the CDC and Minnesota Department of Health regulations, I am self-quarantined with my family here. We are operating everything as normal,” the governor said in a video message later in the day. This isn’t a typical Monday morning but we’re still hard at work to combat the #COVIDー19 crisis. Minnesotans have been through long winters before, we’ll get…
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Monday that her husband (pictured right) has been hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Klobuchar said her family received the test results early Monday morning and said her husband, John, is currently “cut off from all visitors.”
He started to feel sick when the senator was in Minnesota and he was in Washington, D.C. for his teaching job. According to Klobuchar, her husband was “checked into a hospital in Virginia” after he “started coughing up blood.”
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Gov. Tim Walz has issued 12 executive orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but Senate Republicans think some of his actions aren’t within his constitutional authority.
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An average of 2.9 percent of Minnesotans who have been tested for COVID-19 ended up testing positive, according to the latest data from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).
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Gov. Tim Walz said Friday morning that a statewide “shelter in place” order is possible after Minnesota saw its number of confirmed COVID-19 cases soar past 100.
“Well, I certainly think it is a possibility,” the governor said during an interview with WCCO Radio. “We have to have every tool in the toolbox.”
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State lawmakers said Wednesday that an employee of the Minnesota House of Representatives has tested positive for COVID-19.
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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota has asked the state government to “aggressively” limit arrests to “the most serious offenses” during the coronavirus pandemic.
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The Minnesota Department of Health said Tuesday that it is tightening its “testing criteria” for the coronavirus because of a “national shortage of COVID-19 laboratory testing materials.”
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Republican lawmakers said they appreciate Gov. Tim Walz’s leadership in responding to the coronavirus outbreak, but think his executive order closing most private businesses is “an overreach that will be devastating.”
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The Minnesota Legislature will be meeting on an “on-call” basis for the next 30 days, leaders announced Monday morning.
During that time, much of their legislative work will focus on responding to the coronavirus outbreak, which reached 54 confirmed cases in the state as of Monday afternoon.
“Over the next few weeks, the Minnesota Legislature will continue to work, but by alternative means. We expect to operate efficiently and safely to aid Minnesotans with COVID-19 preparedness and response, and to continue our work to address other pressing needs of the state,” leaders of both the House and Senate said in a joint statement.
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Gov. Tim Walz ordered the temporary closure of all K-12 public schools in Minnesota Sunday in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Under the executive order, all schools will be closed to students by Wednesday, March 18 through Friday, March 27 to accommodate teachers and administrators as they devise a long-term plan for responding to the virus.
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Health officials identified seven new cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota Saturday morning, including the first case in a rural county.
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Minnesota Democrat Governor Tim Walz just had his annual forum at the University of Minnesota, and he was shouted down by leftwing protestors. The protestors held signs about the evils of oil, and were protesting the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline. Walz assured the protestors that he was doing all he could to “fight climate change.”
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) officially suspended her campaign and endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden at a rally in Dallas, Texas Monday night.
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The Minnesota House passed two controversial gun control bills Thursday night after hours of contentious debate.
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Minnesota Management and Budget’s annual February economic forecast projected a budget surplus of $1.513 billion for the 2020-21 budget cycle.
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Gov. Tim Walz sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week expressing his opposition to “any agreement resulting in the deportation of Hmong and Lao Minnesotans.”
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Minnesota’s next gubernatorial election is still more than two years away, but MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said he is warming up to the idea of running.
A January article in The Star Tribune claimed Lindell was “open” to the possibility and suggested he would make a “dream candidate” for Republicans, given his fame, wealth, and inspiring life story.
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The Minnesota Legislature kicked off its 2020 legislative session Tuesday, but the House began with an unexpected debate about whether or not it should even be meeting.
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A Minnesota Republican thinks his Democratic colleagues are sending “mixed messages” to Minnesotans on the impact of substance use.
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An annual survey of Minnesota’s manufacturing sector shows respondents anticipate stable or improved economic conditions in 2020.
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Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday that he raised more than $1 million in 2019 for his reelection, but he won’t face voters again until 2022.
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A conservative policy fellow with the Center of the American Experiment applied for Gov. Tim Walz’s “Advisory Council on Climate Change,” which promised to “represent different perspectives and experiences.”
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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined 15 attorneys general and New York City in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps.
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Minnesota voters began casting their votes early Friday in the state’s first presidential primary since 1992.
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A progressive powerhouse in Minnesota politics has endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president over hometown candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
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Gov. Tim Walz’s December 13 decision to say yes to more refugees in Minnesota grants the federal government permission to resettle refugees from any country it desires into the state, including up to 720 refugees from Middle East countries that the government of Australia has refused to accept.
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Both of Minnesota’s most populous counties will officially continue to accept refugees.
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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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A Minnesota lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would reverse the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission’s recent decision to cap probation for most felonies at five years.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) accused Beltrami County of “denying refugees a chance at a better life” after it voted to opt out of refugee resettlement.
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A high-ranking Minnesota lawmaker is threatening to withhold state aid from Beltrami County after it became the first county in the state to opt out of refugee resettlement.
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Dozens of mayors from across the country recently issued a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to ask for continued refugee resettlement in their respective cities and townships.
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The Minnesota Department of Education maintains that the “state of our students is promising” despite continued drops in reading and math scores, and a persistent achievement gap.
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The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday overturned a portion of the environmental impact study of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project. The court’s ruling is available here. The ruling says: Although we reject most of realtors’ assertions of error, we agree that the FEIS is inadequate because it does not address the potential impact of an oil spill into the Lake Superior watershed. Accordingly, we reverse the commission’s adequacy determination and remand for further proceedings consistent with this decision. FEIS refers to the final Environmental Impact Statement. Enbridge in April 2015 applied for a certificate of need and routing permit to install of 337 miles of pipe and facilities from the North Dakota-Minnesota border to the Minnesota-Wisconsin border to replace the already existing Line 3, part of Enbridge’s Mainline System, the court said. Environmental organizations and tribal bands had challenged a decision made last year by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) which found the FEIS was adequate, the court said. However, the court also upheld most of the environmental impact statement and dismissed most of the opponents’ arguments, Minnesota Public Radio said. The rejected arguments included claims that the study didn’t take into account the…
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he expects businesses and Republican legislators to suggest a gas tax to him next year. The governor, a member of the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, made the remarks Friday during an interview with Mary Lahammer on Twin Cities Public TV. The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus provided a video clip here. Hard pass. Again. ✋ pic.twitter.com/SU0QHuNGR2 — Minnesota Senate Republicans (@mnsrc) June 1, 2019 Walz said, ”I fully expect that the business community and Republicans legislators will suggest it to me.” The full interview is available here. (The gas tax discussion starts around 12 minutes and 6 seconds.) He said his proposal is not ideological but about needs. “That’s what the engineers tell us we need,” he said. It was obvious to him during negotiations that “Republicans weren’t going to do a single penny,” he said. When asked if he would revisit the tax next year, Walz made the remark about opponents coming to him. The reaction was overwhelmingly skeptical on the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus’ Facebook video post here. In February, Center of the American Experiment criticized Walz’ planned tax hike of 20 cents per gallon of gas. So, even with a projected budget surplus…
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Gov. Tim Walz called a special session for the Minnesota Legislature so it could finish passing some of the state’s major budget bills, but some Republicans think a special session could have been avoided. The Legislature officially adjourned on Monday, May 20 at midnight after Walz and party leaders had spent most of the prior week in closed-door meetings hashing out their disagreements. Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa), however, said “there was nothing in the last-hour agreement” that Walz couldn’t have had a week earlier. “By demanding so much, he lost so much more. As of the Monday deadline, the Democrats had not achieved a single one of their top ten goals,” he added. Drazkowski thinks that if Walz “had pivoted a week earlier, he could have succeeded.” “But he just dug in his heels and lost everything,” he continued, calling Walz “the big loser of the year when the 2019 legislative session crashed to a halt.” He said legislators didn’t stand a chance of passing bills on time since “no general targets were set until Sunday evening,” the night before the final day of the session. “It is unsurprising that Governor Walz could not negotiate against experienced legislators,” Drazkowski…
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An omnibus transportation budget bill is on its way to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk without any gas tax increase. After clearing the DFL-controlled House Friday evening, the bill passed out of the Senate later Friday night in a 54-13 vote. It’s official…no gas tax increase in Minnesota. Senate just passed transportation bill after House passed earlier. On its way to the governor. pic.twitter.com/Yk81S8lq3j — Tom Hauser (@thauserkstp) May 25, 2019 The transportation bill was one of 13 bills state lawmakers passed during their marathon 21-hour special session that wrapped up Saturday morning just before 7 a.m. “This year we drove down the cost of health care, gave tax relief to the middle class, made historic investments in education, and funded roads and bridges. This is a budget that all Minnesotans can be proud of,” Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) said Saturday morning. “This year we drove down the cost of healthcare, gave tax relief to the middle class, made historic investments in education, and funded roads and bridges. This is a budget that all Minnesotans can be proud of.” #mnleg pic.twitter.com/IiBzkg1Og0 — Paul Gazelka (@paulgazelka) May 25, 2019 Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson), chair of the Senate Transportation Finance…
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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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