Don’t expect much to get done during the Minnesota Legislature’s latest special session
One issue that might be taken up this week: using federal CARES Act money to increase grant funding to provide day services for people with disabilities.
State Government
The fence restricting access to the Minnesota State Capitol isn’t coming down anytime soon after all
Two weeks after the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Administration said the fence would soon be gone, she is now recommending that it remain in place — with no date for removal.
How local governments are spending their share of Minnesota’s $841 million in federal COVID-19 aid
Under the federal government’s use-it-or-lose-it constraints, Minnesota cities and counties are quickly finding ways to spend the money.
Despite projected deficit, Minnesota officials in no rush to implement budget cuts
Compared to other states, Minnesota hasn’t taken drastic measures, or many measures at all.
A field guide to one of the weirdest Minnesota primary elections ever
From most compelling races to the oddity of voting in the time COVID, an overview of what might be one of the more notable elections of our lifetimes.
How Minnesota’s child care industry has managed to hang on amid the pandemic
Predictions of widespread closures among Minnesota child care providers have not come to pass, at least not yet, though the industry remains wobbly.
For many Minnesotans, in-person voting will be a lot different this year
Because of COVID-19, local governments have changed numerous polling locations or — in some smaller, rural precincts — gone to mail balloting.
New U of M research could make waves in fight over wakesurfing
Without state money, University of Minnesota researchers have turned to an unusual source to finance the project: crowdfunding.
As Congress debates additional pandemic relief money, Minnesota debates how to spend the last of what it got in March
Some in the Legislature want to use what’s left of Minnesota’s CARES ACT money to reimburse the state for its pandemic response, while Gov. Tim Walz worries the money will be needed to fund additional costs related to COVID-19.
What my yearlong effort to get information about an officer-involved traffic accident reveals about Minnesota’s public records laws
After witnessing an accident involving Minneapolis police officers, I decided to use the incident as a way to look the MPD’s response to citizen requests for public information.
Thanks? How the Legislature’s police reform bill gives Minnesota cities a power they may already have
Some hailed the policing legislation for significantly changing law enforcement in Minnesota. But when it comes to the question of residency incentives, lawmakers may not have changed anything at all.
How the bonding bill went bust
A bill to fund $1.8 billion in public construction projects in Minnesota now appears dead — due to a dispute over Gov. Tim Walz’s use of emergency powers to combat COVID-19.
The Legislature just passed a police reform bill. What it does — and doesn’t do — to reshape law enforcement in Minnesota
Even as lawmakers celebrated the bill’s passage, a debate broke out over whether the Legislature should have done more to reform policing in Minnesota after the killing of George Floyd.
Is the latest deal to end the 2020 Legislature even constitutional?
The mechanics of the deal — putting a tax bill inside a public construction projects bill — are rare if not unprecedented, and some GOPers are questioning whether it’s even legal under the Minnesota Constitution.
Bonding bill includes historic funding for bus rapid transit in Twin Cities
The $1.35 billion bill for public construction projects includes $55 million to complete funding for both the D Line and B Line Bus Rapid Transit routes, which would serve some of the region’s most highly used transit corridors.
In Minnesota, the pandemic doesn’t prevent seniors from being forced to leave assisted living facilities
While Gov. Tim Walz has instituted a temporary ban on most evictions in Minnesota, current law provides no way to appeal terminations of medical services at assisted living facilities, which can force people from their homes.
The state is putting $100 million toward rental assistance for low-income Minnesotans. Why did it take so long?
It took four months for the state to put a rental assistance program amid the economic fallout of COVID-19 — even after there was a general agreement on the issue among Republicans and DFLers.
Despotic or spot on? The debate over the governor’s emergency powers shows just how differently the parties see the pandemic in Minnesota
Some Minnesota Senate Republicans expressed doubts about the seriousness of the dangers posed by COVID-19, portraying Walz’s use of his emergency powers as dictatorial.
Nobody at the Legislature has proposed defunding the police. So why is it such a big deal at the Capitol?
For weeks, Republicans at the Minnesota Legislature have said they won’t pass any bills that would abolish, defund or diminish police departments in Minnesota — even though DFL lawmakers say that’s not something they’ve ever proposed.
Former CMS head Slavitt: Minnesota can have its economy back — if it stays ‘hyper-vigilant’
During an appearance before a special select committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives Wednesday, the former acting director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services offered some hope for battling coronavirus.
