Republican leaders in the Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate called on Gov. Tim Walz to veto a 1,400-page bill that was passed in the final moments of the legislative session before many lawmakers even had a chance to see what was in the bill.
House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, made their request in a letter to Gov. Walz on Wednesday.
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A pair of DFL lawmakers who fell short last year of gaining enough support in the legislature to turn Minnesota into a ranked-choice voting state aren’t giving up on their goal. They’ve just scaled back their efforts to more incremental steps.
On Wednesday, a committee in the state House approved a bill that would make it easier for cities across the state to implement ranked-choice voting as a method of electing local representation.
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Republicans are calling for an investigation into allegations that Gov. Tim Walz’s Department of Education “engaged in deceptive practices” in order to conceal records in a lawsuit related to the Feeding Our Future case.
Aimee Bock, the founder and executive director of the defunct nonprofit, claimed in a court filing last month that the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) “intentionally deleted and hid documents from discovery” when her organization sued MDE in November 2020.
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The Minnesota Republican Party accused the DFL Party of breaking the law when they allowed felons and non-US citizens to participate in their caucus process.
The party pointed to the state’s voter eligibility requirements as cause for their concern.
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The Minnesota Republican Party elected a new chair on Saturday, to replace the former Chair Jennifer Carnahan. The newly elected chair, David Hann, was a former state senate minority leader.
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State Senator Jeremy Miller (R-Winona) was elected to replace former Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka on Thursday. In a press conference announcing the decision Miller said, “I’m certainly not the only one that could be standing up here today because of the amount of talent we have but I did it because I know I have the opportunity to unite our caucus and at the same time work together with colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate to get things done.”
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Jennifer Carnahan, the Chair of the Minnesota GOP, resigned Thursday night after allegations of harassment, abuse and ties to a child sex trafficker came to light. Carnahan is the wife of Representative Jim Hagedorn (R-MN-01).
Allegations harassment and workplace abuse began being anonymously posted on social media after the indictment of Anton Lazzaro, a long-time GOP donor and political activist, on child sex trafficking charges. Reportedly, Lazzaro had a long time relationship and friendship with former GOP Chair Carnahan, and was even invited to Hagedorn and Carnahan’s wedding.
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The new executive director of the Minnesota Republican Party once called on former President Donald Trump to “get the f— out of the White House.”
Minnesota GOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan appointed Andy Aplikowski as the party’s new executive director, she announced in an email Tuesday.
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While Minnesota is recovering from a 2020 budget deficit and public health hangover, Gov. Tim Walz proposed a $52.4 billion budget – a $4 billion spending increase from the prior biennium budget and the largest proposed spending plan in state history.
“As a result of rising costs and inflation, it is expected that budgets will increase biennium to biennium,” Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) spokesman Chris Kelly told The Center Square in an email.
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The Minnesota Republican Party is calling on DFL congressional candidate Quinn Nystrom to apologize for seemingly mocking U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber’s use of a hearing aid.
Nystrom is the DFL-endorsed candidate challenging Stauber in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District, which Republicans flipped in 2018 after the retirement of former U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan.
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Republican candidate for MN’s 3rd Congressional District Kendall Qualls has outraised incumbent Dean Phillips (DFL-MN-03) once again. According to the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) July pre-primary reports released last Thursday, Qualls accumulated significantly more campaign contributions and cash-on-hand than Phillips.
In total, Qualls raised over $106,000 more than Phillips, and has about $68,000 more cash-on-hand. Representative Phillips’s $250,000 debt from his previous campaign was also listed on the report.
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Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan called on Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to resign for their “failed” leadership during last week’s riots.
“Gov. Walz and Mayor Frey have been largely silent, other than a handful of unhelpful tweets and press conferences blaming everyone but themselves. Minneapolis is decimated. Minneapolis is damaged to a level we never could have imagined. The destruction caused this past week will unfortunately live in our memories forever. It’s a dark stain on our state,” Carnahan said in a statement released over the weekend.
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The Minnesota House passed two controversial gun control bills Thursday night after hours of contentious debate.
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The editor of a Minnesota-based Hmong publication compared Asian Pacific Minnesotans who support President Donald Trump to Jews who worked for the Nazis.
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Minnesota Senate Republicans plan to introduce legislation to require a photo ID for voting, but a DFL state senator thinks the idea is “racist.”
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State party leaders exchanged a number of accusations throughout the week regarding the release of voter data under Minnesota’s presidential primary law.
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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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Several Republican members of the Minnesota House announced a bill Thursday that would repeal the city of St. Paul’s new college savings program.
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A report released Monday “completely exonerates” Minnesota Rep. Jamie Long (DFL-Minneapolis) from allegations of illicit lobbying activity, according to House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park).
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State Sen. Jason Rarick (R-Brook Park) thinks breaking up Minnesota’s Department of Human Services into smaller agencies is the “only reasonable option” and highlighted just how enormous the scandal-plagued agency really is in a new letter.
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State Sen. Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake) said Gov. Tim Walz “doesn’t seem remotely interested” in the ongoing reports of dysfunction at Minnesota’s Department of Human Services.
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The protest group “Stop Line 3” blocked the entrance to Enbridge’s Clearbrook office during a Monday demonstration and asked for “generous donations” to its cause.
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Some Minnesota Republicans are calling on House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) to resign from the Minnesota House after he accepted a position with a lobbying firm while still serving as a legislator.
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A Minnesota Republican lawmaker was called “dangerous” and “reckless” for suggesting that diabetics purchase a cheaper insulin from Walmart instead of rationing the newer and more expensive analog insulin products.
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Republicans are criticizing Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) for her decision to remove Rep. Matt Grossell (R-Clearbrook) from his committee assignments following his drunken arrest in May.
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A Republican Party volunteer was sexually assaulted Friday night at the Minnesota State Fair while others were allegedly harassed and verbally berated.
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Jason Lewis, a former congressman from Minnesota’s Second Congressional District and popular conservative radio host, announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate Thursday.
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State Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) announced Tuesday that he is submitting formal requests to the IRS and the Minnesota Department of Revenue for a full investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN-05) fraudulent 2014 and 2015 tax returns.
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Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Tony Lourey abruptly resigned Monday, making him the third top DHS official to step down in just a few short days. “I believe a new leader is necessary to best execute your vision for human services and continue the critical work of improving…
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A DFL official has resigned after writing a “reprehensible tweet” directed at Rep. Tom Emmer’s (R-MN-06) son, who recently completed basic training to become a U.S. Marine. “Can’t wait to hear about all the Iranian civilians he murdered after you and the GOP finish the garbage kabuki theatre false…
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Education Minnesota, the state’s largest teachers union, urged Minnesotans to “vote in a new Senate” after an education budget agreed to by party leaders was released. “This is a lukewarm outcome to a legislative session that had a lot of potential for Minnesota students,” Education Minnesota President Denise Specht…
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The DFL-controlled Minnesota House blocked an amendment to its omnibus public safety bill that would have expanded the criminal penalties for subjecting children to the practice of female genital mutilation. The amendment was offered by Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria) during a Monday night House session. Franson has been a…
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The Minnesota House approved a 20-cent gas tax increase Monday in a vote along party lines, but the proposal is likely dead-on-arrival in the Republican-controlled Senate. “We’re not going to do a gas tax. I’ve made it very clear that is not a direction we’re going to go,” Senate…
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Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) unveiled his highly anticipated budget proposal for the 2020-2021 biennium at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. When all is said and done, the two-year budget registers at $49.5 billion with no cuts to any existing spending. “I’ve often said that a budget is far more than…
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Minnesota’s Republican-controlled Senate hit the ground running Thursday by introducing 91 pieces of legislation. Many of the items correspond with the top five priorities Republicans outlined at a Tuesday press conference, though there were several noteworthy outliers. Senate File (SF) 80, for instance, would impose “aid reductions” on sanctuary cities…
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Minnesota Senate Republicans unveiled their top five priorities Tuesday as the new legislative session kicked off, promising a platform of “equity, fairness, and common sense.” “It’s a new opportunity. We have a new governor. We have new House leadership, but we’re still the same. You know what we’re going to…
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