Peter Callaghan covers state government for MinnPost. Follow him on Twitter or email him at pcallaghan(at)minnpost(dot)com.
There’s a disconnect between that unfathomable $17.6 billion surplus and the other half of the report. While taxes continue to overperform, the underlying economy – state, national and global – is getting squishier.
That’s a lot for a state that spends about $2.16 billion a month and sets up Gov. Tim Walz and the DFL-controlled Legislature to increase spending and reduce taxes.
Without licensing of those who make and sell edibles, the board instead relies on complaints from the public to identify and investigate bad actors in the new business created by legislation last spring. Or, in the case of civil litigation it announced Monday, it responds to investigations from the federal Food and Drug Administration.
Walz said that while he is reluctant to “forecast the forecast” that will be released Tuesday, he said indications are that the state economy remains strong.
In the case of the complex and often inexplicable process created by state law to appoint the 12 people who form the legal governing body of the state’s flagship university, Friday’s application deadline is more of a suggestion than a rule, because state lawmakers can submit names later.
A budget surplus, DFL control and high needs leave housing leaders at the State Capitol feeling optimistic.
More votes were cast in suburbs in the seven-county metro area than in Greater Minnesota or in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and many suburban voters cared about abortion.
It’s a huge win for DFL Gov. Tim Walz, who won’t have to worry about things like his agenda going nowhere in the GOP-controlled Senate or his commissioners being fired.
In Tuesday’s election, Ellison kept up the DFL’s AG winning streak, which started in 1970. Republicans trailed in every statewide race, imperiling the party’s shot at its first statewide victory since 2006.
Walz, a former congressman from the state’s southern-most district, defeated GOP nominee Scott Jensen, a maverick state senator and family physician who became a pandemic questioner with a national following.
In a return to pre-pandemic voting patterns, more of the vote — likely about 75 percent — will be in person on Election Day, rather than by mail or at early voting sites. Here’s a look at what’s at stake.
Is abortion access settled law in Minnesota? Listening to DFL and Republican candidates might leave you feeling confused. This MinnPost guide to abortion law in Minnesota has you covered.
The Alliance has already spent $13.8 million of the $15.8 million it has collected, and nearly all of it has been spent producing and airing TV and online ads against GOP nominee for governor Scott Jensen.
For DFLer Tim Walz, it was after his high school students were questioned at a campaign rally for then-President George W. Bush. For Republican Scott Jensen, it was a call from the producers of Laura Ingraham’s FOX News program during the pandemic.
During a 60-minute debate that sounded more like an argument, Gov. Tim Walz defended the state’s response to the pandemic and GOP challenger Scott Jensen criticized it. In turn, Walz attacked Jensen’s national prominence as a COVID skeptic and Jensen defended it.
Urban voters are reliably Democratic and, increasingly, rural voters are safely Republican. But there are votes to be won and legislative seats to be claimed by both parties in suburban districts.
Ventura, a former Navy Seal and onetime professional wrestler, called his endorsement of any major party candidate unprecedented. But the one-term governor cited Walz’s response to COVID-19 and the threat to abortion rights as reasons for changing tactics.
In a general election, Trump’s support can be as damaging among independent voters as it is helpful among the GOP base.
While crime and inflation were cited as top issues by voters of both parties, they were more often of concern to those who identify with the Republican Party. Abortion was an issue mostly for Democratic-supporting voters.
Within the confines of a strict format with questions posed by regional TV reporters that focused on issues, not politics, the debate covered little new ground but did offer some memorable moments.
