Minnesota Legislature

ST. PAUL —The Obama administration says it is trying to connect people with money to those in rural America who need funds. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, announced that the administration is setting up a $10 billion fund to jump-start investments...

ST. PAUL — Everyone knew that U.S. Sen. Al Franken and Mike McFadden will run rich campaigns if they face off in November, as expected, but a couple of mostly rural U.S. House races involve more money than usual. Northern and east-central Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District...

ST. PAUL —The Renewable Fuels Association says major oil companies strong-arm retailers that sell gasoline under their brand names to avoid using any more plant-based ethanol than legally necessary. Independent gasoline stations are four to six times more likely to sell higher...

ST. PAUL — Adding something to a petroleum-based fuel always has been controversial, so it should be no surprise that soybean-based biodiesel brings disputes. “It’s blatantly unfair and costly to the trucking industry,” President John Hausladen of the Minnesota Trucking Association...

ST. PAUL —An organization representing greater Minnesota cities continues to lead spending of local government lobbying groups. State Auditor Rebecca Otto’s office reports that the latest information, for 2013, shows the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities spent $835,674 on...

ST. PAUL — A revised two-year Minnesota state budget that starts Tuesday is good news, rural education advocates say. Rich suburban school districts have done well at raising residents’ taxes to improve their budgets, and the state has done a good job of boosting urban districts’...

We face unique economic challenges in Greater Minnesota that are too often ignored by our policymakers in the State Capitol. But these last two years were different. The Minnesota State Legislature has just completed the 2014 session and these were excellent sessions for us in Greater...

Don Davis Forum News Service ST. PAUL — Minnesota Republicans seldom duke it out in primary elections, but the Aug. 12 vote features a pair of GOP contests worth watching. In the Republican U.S. Senate race, unlikely party endorsee Mike McFadden will face Jim Abeler, who received...

Don Davis Forum News Service ST. PAUL — Few people other than politicians think about the Minnesota “L.” But the L is very important this election year as statewide offices and state House seats are up for election. Politicians are eager to get votes from rural Minnesotans...

Don Davis Forum News Service ST. PAUL — People attending next weekend’s Minnesota state political conventions may wonder if they are in the right place. Democratic-Farmer-Labor party delegates meet in Duluth, while Republicans are packing their bags for Rochester. But once...

Bemidji State University students will remember the 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions for their dramatic shifts away from harmful cuts and movement toward the long-awaited investments that began to address the unsustainable epidemic of student debt. These new investments — a vital...

ST. PAUL — Gov. Mark Dayton said early in the year that medical marijuana would not pass the Minnesota Legislature this year. Dayton said that there would not be enough time in a short legislative session (it began Feb. 25) to reach a compromise between law enforcement officers...

ST. PAUL — Minnesota state Sen. Kent Eken fought for years to increase pay for those who care for the elderly and disabled, but as state legislators wound down their 2014 session, he made it personal. “I had a brother who was intellectually disabled,” Eken said about Kyle,...

ST. PAUL — The 2014 Minnesota Legislature ended late Friday with a long list of actions. Bonding Lawmakers approved more than $1 billion for public works projects on the last day of the session, some funded by bonding and some by a state budget surplus. The biggest single project...

ST. PAUL — Pipe dreams expressed early in the 2014 Minnesota legislative session gave way to pipelines as it neared an end Friday night. The House adjourned for the year at 8:59 p.m. Friday, with the Senate to follow after it finished debating a budget bill after two pipeline issues...