PolyMet, the EPA, and the accusations against the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, explained
As PolyMet marches toward construction, new questions have emerged about a critical state water permit issued by the MPCA.
State Government
Walz’s bill-signing ceremonies: lots of ceremony, not so many actual bills
The Walz administration has created a new Capitol fixture: signing ceremonies for bills actually signed long ago.
Legislature’s inaction turns St. Paul Saints into minimum-wage sinners
Meeting the state minimum wage presents a problem for the Saints. Team officials say it would put them in violation of their league’s salary caps and subject the team to expulsion from the American Association.
For Minnesota cities and counties, the 2019 increase in state aid was long awaited
International Falls will get an increase of $153,000, which it uses it for essential services like paying police officers and funding the public works department. In Mower County, an increase of about $255,000 will go into the county’s general fund.
A ‘thug’ no more? Minnesota’s most outspoken labor leader looks back at 14 years of being ‘loud and sometimes obnoxious’
As he prepares to step down as head of SEIU Local 26, Javier Morillo — the self-styled ‘thug in pastels’ — talks about how Minnesota politics has changed.
Walz open to calling special session on emergency insulin access — if there’s bipartisan agreement on a solution
On Wednesday, the governor met with activists to discuss fighting rapid increases in the cost of insulin.
Minnesota’s Legislative Water Commission, left in limbo, hopes for quick resuscitation
It was either an innocent snafu, partisan budget negotiations gone awry or a mix of the two. But either way, the LWC is stuck in government purgatory — granted new funding but still set to sunset on July 1.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman on how the 2019 legislative deal got done
They key to a relatively productive legislative session, says Hortman? Waiting until 2020 to wage the 2020 campaign.
What now for Metro Transit’s bus rapid transit plans?
The 2019 state budget deal omits any money for new transit, which means Saturday’s celebration of the opening of the C Line BRT could be the last party of its kind for some time.
The Legislature talked a lot about changing Minnesota’s approach to equity funding. Here’s why it didn’t happen.
The equity program has been popular at the Capitol. But it has also been the source of friction between some nonprofits and the state Department of Employment and Economic Opportunity, which administers the funding.
Voter data from Minnesota’s 2020 presidential primary will be given to the state’s major political parties — and only the political parties
What the parties do with the information is up to them, as long as they don’t use it for commercial purposes. The public will not have access to the same data.
Once a death sentence, Minnesota officials now have a plan to ‘effectively end’ HIV epidemic in the state
New drugs can make the disease untransmittable — but not everyone can afford them.
Minnesota remains ‘point of access’ to abortion services as other states rush to impose restrictions
As the overall number of abortions performed in Minnesota has gone down, the share of nonresidents receiving abortions in the state has risen.
A setback for Line 3: What the latest court ruling means for the future of the project
The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed a decision by the state’s Public Utilities Commission, a ruling that may delay Enbridge’s progress toward building the 337-mile pipeline.
Despite some big wins at 2019 Legislature, affordable housing advocates say much more needs to be done
The state of Minnesota is hardly the only funding source for affordable housing projects — but it is often a key source.
In Washington and St. Paul, progress on rural broadband internet is slow, spotty
Both parties in both capitals claim to be for rural broadband development. That doesn’t mean the problem’s getting solved quickly.
Losing the Amazon HQ bid may have been very good for Minnesota’s fiscal health
A study looking at tax incentives for businesses in 32 states found they rarely paid off, and usually made the states’ financial situations worse.
Combating fraud came to dominate the Legislature’s debate about child care in Minnesota
What that means for parents, and business owners, concerned about making child care cheaper — and easier to access — across the state.
Well, that happened: Making sense of Minnesota’s 2019 legislative session
The 2019 session of the Minnesota Legislature was one of conflicting expectations.
Incremental change, ‘lackluster’ year: Compromises all around in final Minnesota education budget
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle held up the four of the biggest funding areas – general and special education aid, preschool, and school safety grants – as victories, even though each made significant concessions to reach a deal.
