A few hundred people filled the halls outside of the Minnesota Senate chambers Friday morning both in support of and opposition to three polarizing bills dealing with gender and abortion.
Protesters opposing the bills held signs saying “Vote no” and “We don’t co-parent with the government.” The bills being voted on included SF23, a conversion therapy ban, SF63, the “trans refuge” bill, and HF366, the “Reproductive Freedom Defense Act.”
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Children in the Hastings Public Schools district can easily get their hands on a book titled “Gender Queer” that includes illustrations of sexual acts, a school board member said.
In an interview conducted by Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Dippel, Hastings school board member Carrie Tate confirmed that the controversial graphic novel by Maia Kobabe is available to schoolchildren in the district. The book depicts oral sex and masturbation.
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New discrepancies were revealed during an ethics hearing Wednesday centered around Democratic Sen. Omar Fateh.
Fateh is under investigation by a Minnesota Senate ethics subcommittee for what Republican legislators describe as a “quid pro quo relationship between Sen. Fateh and Somali TV” that saw the senator introducing a bill to give taxpayer dollars to the news station after it helped his campaign. Specifically, he is accused of receiving free advertising on the channel during his campaign, then apparently repaying the favor by fielding a bill to give half a million taxpayer dollars to the outlet.
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The Minnesota Senate on Thursday passed a bill to reduce certain environmental restrictions and grow Minnesota’s tourism industry.
The legislation, S.F. 4062, blocks the state Department of Natural Resources from implementing new rules without being adopted under Minnesota law.
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The Minnesota Senate passed what Republicans are calling the largest permanent tax cut in state history on Thursday.
SF 3692, passed in a bipartisan 42-24 vote, eliminates state income tax on Social Security benefits and reduces the first-tier rate from 5.35% to 2.80%, according to a press release.
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Proposed legislation in the Minnesota Senate would establish a searchable public database on criminal sentences, if passed and signed into law.
The chief author of SF 3356, Sen. Mark Koran of North Branch, introduced the bill on Monday. Its co-sponsors as of Tuesday afternoon include President of the Senate David Osmek, Deputy Majority Leader Mark Johnson, and Sens. Andrew Mathews and Paul Utke.
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Minnesota taxpayers will spend about $1.1 billion to keep individual insurance rates five more years if a bill the Senate passed Monday becomes law.
The legislators passed the bill, SF 3472, in a 42-24 vote.
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The Minnesota Senate on Thursday approved two pieces of legislation that are connected to the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” that lawmakers introduced last month.
The two pieces of legislation aim to ensure a parent’s right to privacy when they participate in school board meetings and transparency in school curriculum.
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Lisa Hanson, a small business owner who was jailed for violating COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Governor Tim Walz, will run for a Minnesota Senate seat.
She will campaign in a new district that covers Freeborn County and parts of Mower, Faribault, Waseca, and Steele counties.
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According to Minnesota State Senator Gene Dornik, the Senate Democrats asked Republicans to remove their Thin Blue Line lapel pins that symbolized their support for police officers. The Democrats made the request under the Senate rule that prohibits advocacy. The Thin Blue Line symbol has been criticized in other public venues as well. In Maryland, a judge banned court employees from wearing Thin Blue Line face masks, citing “bias.”
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The Minnesota Senate voted 45-21 to pass a public safety bill that included police reform. The reforms are part of a bigger public safety budgeting bill. The omnibus bill had Republican support in both the House and the Senate, but some Democrats who said it didn’t go far enough voted against it.
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State Sen. Scott Jensen (R-Chaska), a practicing physician, revealed Sunday that anonymous complaints were filed against him with the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice for his public comments on the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is one of the most important videos I’ve made and one of the hardest,” Jensen said in a video posted to Facebook. “Less than a week ago, I was notified by the Board of Medical Practice in Minnesota that I was being investigated because of public statements I had made.”
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Nine more Republican lawmakers have joined a lawsuit against Gov. Tim Walz regarding his use of emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Yet another resolution to end Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency declaration was rejected Friday, but this time the proposal received bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
The resolution passed the Republican-controlled Senate in a vote of 38-29, with three Democratic senators joining Republicans in voting to end the governor’s emergency powers, which first took effect March 13 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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A state senator warned of a “major crisis” in Minnesota’s long-term care facilities in a letter sent last week to Gov. Tim Walz.
State Sen. Karin Housley (R-St. Mary’s Point), chair of the Senate Family Care and Aging Committee, applauded the governor for releasing a “five-point plan” earlier this month on addressing the crisis, but said she has seen “few indicators the trend is reversing.”
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The Senate Republican Caucus expressed concern over the governor’s “alarming” interpretation of executive authority in a letter sent this week to Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison.
“Your interpretation of the scope of the Governor’s authority under Minnesota Statutes, section 12.45, is incorrect and inconsistent with legislative intent and with a more measured reading of the law. Most importantly, it is an infringement on the Legislature’s fundamental and exclusive authority to define and prescribe the punishment for a crime,” states the letter.
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The Minnesota Senate passed a bill last week that would require the governor to obtain legislative approval before extending any future peacetime emergencies.
The bill, authored by Sen. David Osmek (R-Mound), passed Friday in a vote of 36-31, but failed to advance in the DFL-controlled House before the legislative session expired Sunday night.
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Several small business owners called for reopening the economy during a Monday press conference at the Minnesota Capitol.
“We desire to honor our God, and our government and governor. We think we can do both. But we have no idea how to get a plan approved, to whom to submit it, or if anyone needs to or will consider it. The church needs to gather, we are more the church when we gather than at any other time. Please, Gov. Walz, help us by providing clear ways for plans to be approved and for us to meet,” said Rory Martin, pastor of the Liberty Baptist Church in Eden Prairie.
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A legal organization said members of the Minnesota Legislature are holding committee meetings in small groups in order to avoid triggering the state’s “Open Meeting Law.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota said legislators have been deliberately meeting in small groups so they can bypass the law, which generally requires that all meetings be open to the public.
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An executive order from Gov. Tim Walz bans evictions, foreclosures, and lease terminations for the duration of the state’s peacetime emergency, but one Democratic lawmaker wants to take things a step further. State Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis) recently called for a “rent and mortgage moratorium” in Minnesota, an idea…
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Minnesota’s Senate Republican Caucus said it received more than 1,600 responses in just two days from small business owners across the state on their ideas for how to safely reopen the economy.
The Republican Caucus created a new online portal Wednesday for “businesses and workers to share feedback on reopening Minnesota’s economy.”
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called a press conference Friday afternoon to discuss the modeling the state is using in its coronavirus response, but faced harsh criticism for closing the briefing to the public.
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Some Republican lawmakers were disappointed in Gov. Tim Walz after he announced Wednesday that his stay-at-home order will be extended until May 4.
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Minnesota House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) apologized Tuesday after a video showed him flipping off his Republican colleagues.
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State Senator Karin Housley (R-St. Mary’s Point) said the Minnesota Department of Health’s decision to withhold information about the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on nursing homes “only brings unnecessary grief and frustration to many Minnesota families.”
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The Minnesota Legislature passed a $330 million omnibus bill this week to address the coronavirus pandemic, but some Republican lawmakers were frustrated with the unprecedented lack of transparency in the process.
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A doctor in the Minnesota Senate warned leaders Monday that the reaction to the coronavirus pandemic could be more harmful than the virus itself.
Sen. Scott Jensen (R-Chaska), a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School and founder of Catalyst Medical Clinic, said that the disruption to everyday routines could have devastating consequences for people with underlying medical conditions.
“Scaring people to death isn’t helping us. We are going to in short order, if not already now, have supply chains get interrupted and some of these are critical supply chains. We need to be careful,” Jensen said in a video posted to Facebook.
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Republican lawmakers said they appreciate Gov. Tim Walz’s leadership in responding to the coronavirus outbreak, but think his executive order closing most private businesses is “an overreach that will be devastating.”
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Minnesota Democrats have proposed an amendment to the state constitution guaranteeing the right to “free, fair, and equal” elections in response to Republican efforts to pass a voter ID law.
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Minnesota Management and Budget’s annual February economic forecast projected a budget surplus of $1.513 billion for the 2020-21 budget cycle.
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A Democrat-backed bill making its way through the Minnesota Legislature seeks to repeal the state’s informed consent laws for abortion.
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House DFLers announced a package of one-time appropriations last week totaling more than $190 million for “solutions that address the climate crisis.”
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Minnesota Senate Republicans unveiled their “Get Your Billion Back” plan Thursday, a package of tax cuts worth more than $1 billion.
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The Minnesota Legislature kicked off its 2020 legislative session Tuesday, but the House began with an unexpected debate about whether or not it should even be meeting.
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A Minnesota Republican thinks his Democratic colleagues are sending “mixed messages” to Minnesotans on the impact of substance use.
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Sen. Susan Kent (DFL-Woodbury) defeated Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) for the role of Senate DFL minority leader during a Saturday meeting, a move Republicans think signals the party’s shift to the left. Kent (pictured above) emerged victorious Saturday evening after the 32-member caucus met at the Carpenters Union Hall…
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Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday that he raised more than $1 million in 2019 for his reelection, but he won’t face voters again until 2022.
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Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday that he raised more than $1 million in 2019 for his reelection, but he won’t face voters again until 2022.
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A state senator is intervening after the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) told a Waseca high school hockey team that it couldn’t wear jerseys honoring a wounded police officer.
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Minnesota Senate Republicans unveiled their “2020 Vision” agenda during a Monday press conference, highlighting their priorities for the upcoming legislative session.
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A Minnesota lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would reverse the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission’s recent decision to cap probation for most felonies at five years.
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A Minnesota senator said he is “deeply disturbed” by House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler’s (DFL-Golden Valley) threat to cut state aid from Beltrami County after it voted to opt out of refugee resettlement.
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Minnesota Senate Republicans said they plan to introduce a “Clean Energy First” bill during the upcoming legislative session that will “prioritize clean energy” and “modernize Minnesota’s energy resources.” According to the Associated Press, several different versions of the “Clean Energy First” legislation were introduced during the last session, but…
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Minnesota’s largest teachers union has named “defeating Trumpism” and getting out 100 percent of the educator vote as some of its goals for the 2020 election cycle.
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A Republican state senator recently suggested using Minnesota’s estimated budget surplus of $1.3 billion to give a rebate “directly to taxpayers.”
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A recent Minnesota Senate hearing reignited the debate surrounding the state’s firearm laws and prompted DFL lawmakers to renew their calls for red flag legislation and universal background checks.
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DFL members of the Minnesota Senate announced the formation of a new “Senate DFL Clean Energy and Climate Caucus” last week.
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State Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson) published an open letter Saturday calling on Gov. Tim Walz to take action to address mismanagement in Minnesota’s Department of Human Services.
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State Sen. Julie Rosen (R-Vernon Center) said she was “very upset” with a pair of commissioners for skipping a Wednesday Senate Finance Committee hearing on contract violations in the Minnesota Department of Human Services and other state agencies.
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State Sen. Karin Housley (R-St. Mary’s Point) urged her colleagues to support a bill that would exempt freelance artists from being required to obtain a full cosmetology license for basic hair and makeup services.
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