1. The Senate Rules Committee held a hearing Friday on the internal rules that govern the Senate. No votes were taken as legislators offered possible changes and amendments. Sen. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) offered…
Pointless A helpful way to begin assessing proposed legislation is to ask two questions: What problem does this bill address? How will this bill address that problem? A good example…
State and local taxes and spending Star Tribune: Proposal would tax Minnesota farmers to help pay for cleanup of nitrate pollution Duluth News Tribune: Our View: New tax credit can…
The top law enforcement officials in a northern Minnesota county have teamed up to take aim at DFL-sponsored bills they maintain will increase litigation, criminalize law-abiding citizens and fail to…
DFL vs Ridesharing On Monday, I — along with thousands of others, I imagine — received an email from Lyft reading: John, the Minneapolis City Council is considering an ordinance…
Today is Super Tuesday, and the 2024 political campaign kicks off in earnest for Minnesota and the fifteen other states holding primary elections. So, it’s time to check in with…
Governor Tim Walz received some very good news this week when they announced the state budget survived the 2023 legislative session and in fact is still delivering more money than…
A new and disturbing trend in state government is the use of bonding dollars (borrowed money) to fund new buildings for private, non-profit companies. Traditionally, state-taxpayer-funded bonding projects have included…
Plenty. Deena Winter of MN Reformer did a deep dive today into the tsunami of cash going directly to nonprofits in last year’s state budget. She comes up with a…
In 2008, Brian Flowers, a month shy of 17, participated with another juvenile male in the brutal murders of Katricia Daniels and her 10-year-old son Robert Shepard in their North…
We have been sounding the alarm that the DFL-led Legislature is poised this session to further weaken sentencing for criminal offenders. Yesterday HF 4277 was introduced into the House Public…
WCCO traced the origins of one of the guns found at the scene where two policemen and a firefighter/medic were killed earlier this month. A third policeman was injured in…
Two weeks ago I wrote about a proposal from some DFL legislators in St. Paul to hike Minnesota’s state sales tax, with the revenue dedicated to housing programs. Now, the…
House Democrats heard a bill in the Elections Committee this week to address what they think is a disturbing trend in Minnesota: people actually paying attention to local school board elections. Life…
A DFL bill with a “book banning” prohibition would prevent school boards from “ban[ning], remov[ing], or otherwise restrict[ing] access to a book or other material based on the viewpoint, content,…
In a newly introduced bill SF 4019, three DFL senators have suggested gradually raising Minnesota’s minimum wage for all employers to $20 by 2028. Currently, large employers pay $10.85 an…
In last week’s legislative preview, we commented that the proposed fix to the SRO issue was on the right track, “but it remains to be seen if the defund-the-police crowd…
It’s Truck to the Capitol Day, a time for members of the Minnesota Trucking Association to make the drive to St. Paul to meet with “elected officials to let them…
Monday afternoon, a man prohibited from possessing firearms shot and killed his apartment manager in Brooklyn Park after she called the police on the man for assaulting his father. Read…
It’s not clear why the bison falls into the category of Native American names and mascots subject to unanimous approval or not by Minnesota tribes, as ordained by the DFL-controlled…
It was free-food day in this morning’s meeting of the state House Children and Families committee. Minnesota Democrats have discovered that free food is extremely popular with the public (72…
Yesterday, I wrote about a bill being pushed by three DFL Senators — McEwen, Seeberger, and Hoffman — which would erect a costly regulatory apparatus to govern who could buy, sell, or use…
Last week, I released my new Policy Briefing, “Counteracting Regulatory Burdens,” which calls for state policymakers to enact a Pay-as-You-Go provision whereby new regulatory requirements or costs must be offset…
Never say never. Dubbed the “North Star Act” (as in “follow the North Star from the southern border”) the bill would designate all of Minnesota as a sanctuary state for…