Minnesota legislature

Don Davis Forum News Service ST. PAUL —Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has had a lot of time to think in the past month. The 67-year-old governor is stuck at his official state residence in a body cast, recovering from hip surgery he underwent at Mayo Clinic just over a month ago....

ST. PAUL — Kurt Rutzen trusted his personal care attendant, who helped him with such varied tasks as bathing and filling out complex government forms. The Minneapolis man told a Senate committee on Thursday the attendant left the company that provides services to the disabled and...

ST. PAUL — Minnesota students would be guaranteed school lunches if senators agree with a House vote. By 130-0, representatives Thursday approved pumping $3.5 million into the school lunch program. The action came after a February report showed some school districts refused to...

ST. PAUL — A state Senate committee decided more information is needed about Minnesota’s 2-year-old wolf hunt, so they voted Tuesday to suspend the hunt. The 8-6 vote in the Senate Environment and Energy Committee favors a milder version of bills wolf proponents want to permanently...

ST. PAUL — Minnesotans might be surprised to learn that the government can track their movements. “They are literally shocked that the government can access the location of your cell phone without notice,” Rep. Joe Atkins, D-Inver Grove Heights, said Tuesday before a state...

ST. PAUL —Minnesota House Democrats want voters to know that most rural residents should pay lower property taxes on their homes after actions they took. “We think it is good news for Minnesotans and Minnesota homeowners,” House Speaker Paul Thissen, D-Minneapolis, told a handful...

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota House passed a $500 million tax cut Thursday and the governor announced he wants to trim taxes by $616 million, but the Senate is headed for smaller cuts. Democrats said the bill representatives passed 126-2 would provide tax relief to nearly 1 million...

ST. PAUL — A $1.2 billion budget surplus does not mean massive new state spending. Gov. Mark Dayton made that clear Thursday when he unveiled his plan for election-year budget changes: About half of the projected surplus would go to tax cuts, $162 million would be spent on what...

ST. PAUL — Allowing liquor stores to open on Sundays remains a steep climb in the Minnesota Legislature, so its prime proponent is willing to accept “baby steps.” Sen. Roger Reinert, D-Duluth, has introduced seven bills that to varying degrees allow Sunday sales, including...

ST. PAUL — Western North Dakota’s oil boom puts Minnesota in a dangerous position, a key Minnesota lawmaker says, and the state should increase its rail oil safety oversight. Most of the highly volatile oil moves from the Bakken oilfields through Minnesota. “We are at the...

ST. PAUL — Minnesota veterans could request to take off Veterans’ Day under a bill a House committee passed Wednesday. Rep. Andrew Falk, D-Murdock, said that veterans often cannot attend events honoring them because they are stuck at work. “This is a holiday meant to honor...

ST. PAUL —A Minnesota House committee approved the use of marijuana to help suffering patients after 7-year-old Amelia Beaver provided an example Tuesday night of why some want the practice legalized. The girl suffered a seizure, one of about 30 she suffers a day, while her mother...

ST. PAUL — Minnesota Democrats are getting advice from some of their leaders: Don’t push for more spending and higher taxes. As Gov. Mark Dayton put it the other day, Democrats need to be satisfied with hot dogs and not hold out for sirloin steaks. Listen to Ken Martin and you...

Don Davis Forum News Service ST. PAUL —Rural interests and state legislators are banding together behind a proposal to inject $100 million into expanding high-speed Internet access across Minnesota. They say the funding would put a dent in the $3.2 billion needed to complete...