Whether the proposals will lead to actual legislation is unclear, but both sides were hopeful that a special session to hammer out a deal could be held as early as next week.
The 2020 election’s anomalies are the first place the parties will look when planning for the next election.
There have been 784 deaths from COVID-19 in Minnesota so far in November, making it the deadliest month of the pandemic.
Minnesota has now reported more than 60 deaths for three straight days, and there have been 693 deaths through the first 20 days of November.
Though Minnesota’s restrictions on public life have been labeled tyrannical by some, they look fairly weak compared to measures taken in other cities and states with far milder outbreaks.
Of the $200 million appropriated to a special COVID-19 fund by the Legislature, only $18.565 million remains. And of the $1.87 billion sent directly to the state under the congressional CARES Act, just $208,527 is left to be appropriated.
Walz announced the rules — which will close bars, restaurants and gyms and severely curtail social gatherings for four weeks — in response to a surge in COVID-19 cases around the state.
Minnesota has a relatively non-gerrymandered legislative map. And with Minnesotans once again voting for divided government as the state heads into redistricting next year, things are likely to stay that way.
DFL House candidate John Persell maintains his loss was the result of factors unique to 2020. Republicans see the results as something else: confirmation of a changing political tide.
Meanwhile, even as COVID-19 cases surge across Minnesota, the state Senate was talking about … who would be the president of the state Senate.
The biggest question for Gov. Tim Walz and legislative budget writers is whether Congress will more help to the states, and if so, how much.
The shakeup raises questions about the future of agriculture policy in a Democratic party increasingly made up of lawmakers from the Twin Cities metro.
The restrictions announced Tuesday are an attempt to curb the spread of a pandemic that has already killed 2,698 Minnesotans even as the state is on pace for its deadliest month yet.
The request is one of a dozen made to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for reimbursement under federal disaster declarations for the pandemic.
In response to the explosion of new coronavirus cases in Minnesota, the governor walked very close to saying the state could announce earlier closing times — not a shut-down of the industry — later this week.
Four election takeaways.
For two more years, Minnesota is likely to have the distinction of having the only divided Legislature in America.
The DFL is expected to retain the state House, while close races in St. Cloud, Rochester and Austin could determine whether the GOP retains its slim majority in the Minnesota Senate.
From bellwether Legislature races to congressional district vote totals, here are the things MinnPost writers will be paying attention to as Minnesota starts counting votes Tuesday.
The data offers a look at the state of the races that are likely to determine control of the Legislature, particularly the state Senate.
