Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) was on CNN anchor Chris Cuomo’s show Tuesday night where she was asked why the Democratic candidates “don’t pack stadiums the way this president does.” “One simple question: why don’t the Democrats pack stadiums the way this president does?” Cuomo asked Klobuchar just moments after…
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Luis Alfredo Cortez Mendoza, a 23-year-old member of the Sureños 13 gang suspected of being in the country illegally, was charged Monday in Washington County District Court with attempted murder and kidnapping. His victim, a woman, was found in a pool of blood at 2:30 in the morning on…
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Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson said he has ended his predecessor’s practice of cooperating with federal immigration authorities. Hutchinson said in a recent interview with The Star Tribune that his office no longer alerts Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about inmates who are in the country illegally. According to…
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Gov. Tim Walz, who served in the military, told reporters Tuesday that he was “totally appalled” by a DFL staffer’s recent tweet calling the new USS Minneapolis-St. Paul a “murder boat.” As The Minnesota Sun reported Monday, DFL Deputy Communications Director William Davis wrote on Twitter that he thought…
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A DFL staffer who once called for sending Republicans “to the guillotines” faced backlash over the weekend for calling the new USS Minneapolis-St. Paul a “murder boat.” William Davis, a research director and deputy communications director for the DFL, made the comments in response to the christening of the…
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It was a rare point of agreement in the Minnesota Legislature – something needed to be done to address the skyrocketing costs of insulin. The Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act, named for a 26-year-old Minnesotan who died trying to ration his last vial of insulin, was going to be…
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A new poll shows Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) leading the field in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary in Minnesota. According to the recent Change Research poll, Warren attracted the support of 21 percent of respondents, while former Vice President Joe Biden came in second with 20 percent of the…
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar told CNN Friday morning that she’s open to starting impeachment proceedings “beginning now.” “First of all, I think it’s illegal. You can’t take things of value from a foreign country and use them in your campaign,” Klobuchar said. The comments were made in response to President…
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Internal emails released this week show members of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN-05) 2016 Minnesota House campaign committee attempting to “shut down” a story “as we do with the Strib.” “Strib” refers to the nickname used for The Star Tribune, Minnesota’s largest newspaper. The shocking emails were obtained by Powerline…
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Former Rep. Jason Lewis confirmed this week that he’s considering another run for office, this time possibly against Sen. Tina Smith. Lewis told The Star Tribune that he won’t officially make a decision until early fall, but said “that’s plenty of time to run a vigorous campaign against a…
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St. Paul Public Library is scheduled to host three “Drag Story Hours” throughout the summer that will “bring together a traditional library storytime with the performance art of drag.” “Participants can expect to sing children’s songs, listen to stories about kindness and inclusion, make crafts, and join in a…
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wants more space in Minnesota to house immigrant detainees, according to a recent article in The St. Cloud Times. Sherburne County Jail has offered to grant ICE 500 beds, up from the 300 beds it currently provides, in response to a request from…
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Every Democratic member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation voted in favor of the American Dream and Promise Act, which the GOP describes as “prioritizing mass amnesty over public safety.” The bill, H.R. 6, passed the House Tuesday in a vote of 237 to 187. It would “provide green cards to…
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Drug overdoses have been happening so frequently in Minneapolis, the city’s police wanted to make the public aware of the situation. From May 28 to June 5, Minnesota’s biggest city had a reported 65 drug overdoses and one suspected fatality. The worst day was June 2 when police responded…
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The Star Tribune promoted a months-old story on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN-05) “strong” fundraising numbers on the front page of its website Friday. The article was linked directly below a story on the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board’s investigation into Omar. The Board, which released its report…
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An investigation by Minnesota’s Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board into Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) found she violated campaign finance laws dating back to when she served a single term in the State House of Representatives from 2016-2018. But conservative Twitter quickly uncovered a more shocking detail in the…
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Sam Rockwell, president of the Minneapolis Planning Commission, suggested in a recent op-ed for The Star Tribune that in order “to save the planet, we have to get over cars.” “The way we live our lives is how we got into this climate catastrophe in the first place. Of…
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by Neetu Chandak The man who threw a 5-year-old boy over the Mall of America’s third-floor balcony in April was given a 19-year prison sentence Monday. Emmanuel Aranda, 24, pleaded guilty in May for attempted murder. The 40-foot fall left the boy, known publicly as Landen, with head trauma and broken bones.…
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The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday overturned a portion of the environmental impact study of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project. The court’s ruling is available here. The ruling says: Although we reject most of realtors’ assertions of error, we agree that the FEIS is inadequate…
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he expects businesses and Republican legislators to suggest a gas tax to him next year. The governor, a member of the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, made the remarks Friday during an interview with Mary Lahammer on Twin Cities Public TV. The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus…
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by Noell Evans The number of people on probation in Minnesota has increased by 5,000 over the past five years. In 2018, more than 46,000 residents in the state were under some level of community supervision. But the state’s probation system has not grown at the same rate. It’s…
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President Donald Trump’s Administration is expected to speed up the procedural steps necessary for a Congressional vote on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), media outlets report. Trump should issue a “statement of administrative action” soon, Reuters reported. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that was “not a…
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Minnesota teens are working less, while older Minnesotans are working more. That’s an alarming trend, according to Center of the American Experiment economist John Phelan. Phelan notes in a recent article that the labor force participation rate for Minnesotans aged 16 to 19 fell 19.1 percentage points between 1999…
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As the nation sees many states make laws restricting abortion, a lawsuit in Minnesota tries to do the exact opposite. Gender Justice and the Lawyering Project filed a lawsuit on behalf of abortion rights advocates in the Ramsey County District Court where the plaintiffs are targeting laws which they…
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Gov. Tim Walz called a special session for the Minnesota Legislature so it could finish passing some of the state’s major budget bills, but some Republicans think a special session could have been avoided. The Legislature officially adjourned on Monday, May 20 at midnight after Walz and party leaders…
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During an appearance on CNN last week, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN-03) said President Trump’s impromptu Rose Garden speech showed a “woeful lack of leadership.” Trump apparently left a meeting with Democratic leadership after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said he was engaging in a “cover-up,” and instead went to the…
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar jumped from one percent to three percent between April and May in Monmouth University’s monthly polling, which her campaign called “huge news.” “There’s huge news in a new Monmouth poll. As more people learn more about Amy, her bold plans for our country, and how she’ll…
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An omnibus transportation budget bill is on its way to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk without any gas tax increase. After clearing the DFL-controlled House Friday evening, the bill passed out of the Senate later Friday night in a 54-13 vote. It’s official…no gas tax increase in Minnesota. Senate just…
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke Friday night at the DFL’s annual Humphrey-Mondale Dinner in Minneapolis, continuing her swing through key Midwest states. “The House Democratic Majority in Washington has been hard at work tackling the toughest issues facing our country, just as the DFL has been doing in Minnesota,”…
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Former Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor is now being sued by a man who claims Noor pulled a gun on him during a routine traffic stop just months before the murder of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. The lawsuit, which was obtained by KSTP, was filed by Minneapolis resident Brian Oman,…
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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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House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) had some harsh words for his Democratic colleagues in the Minnesota House after the 2019 legislative session came to an official close Monday at midnight. Party leaders and Gov. Tim Walz agreed on a $48.3 billion biennial budget on Sunday, giving lawmakers hardly…
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Minnesota Crime Watch and Information reported for Alpha News Monday that an alleged mob of Somali teens were chasing Light Rail patrons with hammers at the East Bank station Friday night. Alpha News notes that a post from the Minneapolis Scanner Facebook page reported Friday night at 9:49 p.m.…
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Minneapolis wants to ban all new drive-thru windows citywide in order to cut down on carbon emissions produced by idling cars. The City Planning Commission has been considering a drive-thru ban since 2017, but the idea didn’t really start to come to fruition until the 2018 conversations surrounding the…
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Minnesota high school graduates who are in the country illegally but meet “certain criteria” are eligible for in-state tuition rates, financial aid, and scholarships at the University of Minnesota. Campus Reform recently exposed the story, though the policy has actually been in place since 2013, when the Minnesota Legislature…
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by Bethany Blankley Minnesota ranks among the top places to live in the country according to the most recent U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best States Rankings. Some political leaders are attributing Minnesota’s third-place ranking to its high taxes, but critics argue that couldn’t be further from the…
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by Bethany Blankey Joint conference committees continue to hash out differences with the hope of reaching the May 20 deadline and closing a $2 billion gap between conflicting budget priorities. Still up for discussion in the Minnesota legislature are proposed fees on drug distributors and manufacturers to pay for…
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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday that he has joined a “coalition of attorneys general” in defending the “rights of gender non-binary individuals.” According to a press release from Ellison’s office, he is joined in the amicus brief by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, New…
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Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, the 24-year-old man who was “looking for someone to kill” when he threw a five-year-old boy from a balcony at the Mall of America, entered a guilty plea Tuesday that will send him to prison for 19 years. Aranda’s mother, Becky Aranda, however, told reporters outside…
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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) has repeatedly defended her colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) against criticisms related to comments she made about the Holocaust on a podcast over the weekend. “There’s always kind of a calming feeling I tell folks when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of…
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Attorneys General from 44 different states announced their participation Monday in a lawsuit against 20 of the nation’s leading generic drug manufactures. Both Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison have joined the lawsuit, highlighting the bipartisan nature of the issue. “Ohioans who need medicine…
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Budget negotiations broke down Monday night as a visibly frustrated Gov. Tim Walz emerged from a third round of meetings and blasted Republicans in the Senate. “I don’t have fair partners to work with right now,” Walz said during a 15-minute conversation with reporters. “They cannot stand in front…
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Vice President Mike Pence said during his visit to Minnesota last week that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) has “no place” on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In early April, the GOP pushed for Omar’s removal from the Foreign Affairs Committee in response to her description of the 9/11 terror…
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A self-described “stealth newspaper campaign” is seeking to expose “Jew hatred” on campuses with a history of anti-Semitic activity, including the University of Minnesota. “Stop University Support for Terrorists,” a project of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, distributed 1,000 copies of its new report on the University of Minnesota…
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With the May 20 end of session looming, Minnesota lawmakers remain far apart on reaching a deal on the next state budget. The House and Senate each passed their own spending plans, and a conference committee began meeting late last week to hash out differences over a 1,043 page…
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Vice President Mike Pence called on Congress to pass the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) during his visit to Minnesota Thursday. Pence made two stops during his Minnesota visit, first talking with farmers at R & J Johnson Farms in Glyndon before making his way down to St. Paul to…
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar joined Fox News Wednesday night for a town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a state Hillary Clinton famously skipped during the 2016 election. According to Fox News, the network allows candidates to select the location for their town halls and Klobuchar picked Milwaukee, which will also host…
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Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to visit Minnesota Thursday to promote the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and discuss its impact on farmers and steel workers. Pence will stop at R & J Johnson Farms in Glyndon before heading to Gerdau Ameristeel, a steel mill in St. Paul. A…
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by Bethany Blankey Minnesota Personal Care Attendants (PCAs) are speaking out about the Trump administration’s decision to prevent unions from taking hundreds of millions of dollars from their paychecks. The Obama-era rule allowed Medicaid payments to be diverted to government unions, which the Trump administration found violates the Social…
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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) is scheduled to headline another fundraiser for the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR’s Washington state chapter announced last week that Omar would be speaking at its May 25 fundraiser along with Motiva Johnson-Harrell, a state representative from Pennsylvania and the first Muslim woman…
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