The St. Paul City Council is expected to commission several new murals to temporarily replace the current artwork hanging in its chambers that some believe is “very white and very male.” The Star Tribune reported Wednesday that the City Council will likely hold a vote in the coming weeks to…
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An ex-Muslim turned Christian pastor was arrested at the Mall of America in August for holding a private conversation about his faith with two consenting passersby, and now faces a formal trial if the charges against him aren’t dropped. Ramin Parsa, a Muslim from Iran who fled his home country…
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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) was one of the first Democrats to publicly call for Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) resignation after he was accused of sexual misconduct by at least eight different women. But now the New York senator, who was once considered presidential material, is being blackballed by the Democratic…
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A proposal to offer illegal immigrants municipal IDs cleared committee Monday in a unanimous vote, and will now head to the full Minneapolis City Council for consideration. According to Fox 9, more than 50 people in support of the program attended Monday’s meeting, but nobody in attendance testified against the…
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Minnesota’s newly-elected Democrats almost instantly promulgated the mainstream media’s wall-to-wall coverage of Monday’s border fiasco, but said nothing of the fact that tear-gas agents are frequently used at the border, and have been for years. Tweeting at 6:30 Monday morning, Rep.-elect Dean Phillips (D-MN-03) said he was waking up to…
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) finally addressed rumors that she may seek the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 2020 presidential election after garnering national attention during Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination process. Analysts have been eyeing Klobuchar as a potential candidate ever since her October grilling of Kavanaugh, whom she asked in…
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Disgraced Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) released a lengthy statement over the holiday weekend in which he claims that he’s spent “this past year thinking about the broader conversation we’ve been having about the experience of women in this country.” This time last year Franken was facing pressure to resign after…
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St. Cloud elected two new conservative members to its city council who support efforts to slow down the influx of refugees settling in the community. The issue became a hot topic in Minnesota after Council Member Jeff Johnson (not related to the Republican gubernatorial candidate) introduced a measure to temporarily…
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After his four-point victory in a contentious race for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, Keith Ellison has been making the rounds on local media outlets to rebuild trust with voters. Just days after his win, The Star Tribune ran a “thank-you” letter written by Ellison to the voters in which…
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Minnesota businessman and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is trying his hand at Hollywood after investing $1 million in a new movie that offers a critical look at Planned Parenthood. The movie, titled Unplanned, had to be filmed in secret due to the sensitive nature of its subject, The Hollywood Reporter…
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Minneapolis’ Theater of Public Policy had to end a performance early for the first time in its seven-year run after a group of protesters repeatedly disrupted the show. The hecklers were angered by a Monday morning decision to clear the way for construction of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline, which…
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Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) is backing Democratic colleague Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY-14) “Green New Deal” proposal that would force “100 percent of national power generation” on to “renewable sources.” “The science is clear—we need urgent action on climate change now. Actually, we needed it 15 years ago. Now we’re running…
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Keith Ellison accuser Karen Monahan claims to have evidence that the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party tried “to cover up facts” during its investigation into the former congressman. Monahan first accused Ellison of domestic abuse just days before his August primary, but after Ellison defeated Republican Doug Wardlow in a tight race…
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A Saint Paul Chipotle manager was fired after a now-viral video with more than seven million views on Twitter appeared to show her asking a group of black men for payment before making their food. But information about the men in the video, particularly Masud Ali, immediately began to surface…
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A group of Democratic House members issued a letter to their colleagues Monday vowing to vote against Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-11) in her bid for the speakership. The letter calls for “new leadership” in Congress, but some of Minnesota’s newly-elected members who made similar claims on the campaign trail…
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Lt. Gov.-elect Peggy Flanagan plans to “cover” a number of controversial paintings located in the Minnesota Capitol’s transition offices, which allegedly contain “insensitive” and “historically inaccurate” depictions of Native Americans. Flanagan, who will become the first indigenous woman in the nation to hold executive office, said during a recent interview…
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The Saint Paul City Council unanimously approved a $15 minimum-wage ordinance Thursday, which was quickly signed into law by Mayor Melvin Carter. “Today’s vote is the culmination of years of incredible leadership from Council Members, workers, business leaders and advocates, all working together to provide a much-needed raise to over…
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Democrat Dan Feehan conceded in the race for Minnesota’s First Congressional District on Friday, nearly 10 days after his loss to Republican Jim Hagedorn. For the second time in a row, Minnesota’s First District was the closest race in the state, and one of the closest in the country, but…
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The Twin Cities Met Council announced Wednesday that it has received approval from the federal government to begin construction on its controversial $2 billion Light Rail extension. In a Wednesday press release, the Met Council announced that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has granted it a Letter of No Prejudice,…
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Congresswoman-elect Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) now claims that she “believes in and supports” the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel despite making claims to the contrary on the campaign trail. During an Aug. 6 primary debate, Omar called the BDS movement “counteractive” because it wouldn’t be “helpful in getting…
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Campaign finance reports indicate that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) was the third-leading beneficiary of Planned Parenthood donations during the 2018 election cycle. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Klobuchar raked in $17,650 in donations from the country’s foremost abortion provider. She trailed in donations to Sen. Clair McCaskill (D-MO),…
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Minnesota’s newly elected members of Congress are in Washington for their new-member orientation, but some reports indicate that the freshmen members are already violating House rules. The Daily Caller News Foundation reported Wednesday that a group of New Jersey’s new members tweeted a picture of themselves from the House floor,…
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Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura met with Gov.-elect Tim Walz Tuesday to discuss managing the transition into the governor’s mansion and pitched Minnesota’s new leader on legalizing marijuana in the state. While Minnesota currently has a medical marijuana program, Ventura told reporters after his meeting that “we’re just plain missing…
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The Star Tribune Editorial Board is attacking President Donald Trump for undermining “yet another democratic institution” in response to the election scandal in Florida, but makes no mention of the serious concerns raised by politicians such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Jeb Bush. “President Donald Trump’s fact-free attacks on…
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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minneapolis), who easily won her election for Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District Tuesday, now faces a second investigation into her purported misuse of campaign dollars for personal benefit. As The Minnesota Sun previously reported, the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (CFB) found “probable cause” against Omar and…
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Republican Rep. Jason Lewis (R-MN-02), who lost his bid for reelection Tuesday, attributes the Republican Party’s loss of the House to Sen. John McCain’s opposition to repealing ObamaCare. In a Monday op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Lewis writes that McCain’s vote against a repeal prompted a “green wave” of…
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Two political parties pushing for the legalization of marijuana across Minnesota are likely to be granted major-party status after a successful midterm election. Both the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis (GLC) Party and the Legal Marijuana Now (LMN) Party earned more than five percent of the vote in at least one statewide race,…
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The Minnesota Republican Party continued its 10-year statewide losing streak Tuesday, but party leaders are hesitant to accept any blame for the disastrous performance. State Republicans lost up and down the ballot in both local and federal elections, losing races for the governorship, attorney general, secretary of state, state auditor,…
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A Minnesota man was recently charged with assaulting a Republican candidate for state office while the two engaged in a political conversation at a bar in October. As The Minnesota Sun previously reported, Republican Shane Mekeland, campaigning for office in Minnesota District 15B, reported to the police that he had…
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Minnesota Gov.-elect Tim Walz said Friday that while he is open to discussion on the topic, his administration plans to account for two years of free public college for families making under $125,000 a year in his first budget. During a Friday appearance on TPT Almanac, Walz was asked about…
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Keith Ellison has resigned as deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee after defeating Republican Doug Wardlow in the race for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. Throughout the campaign, Wardlow used Ellison’s high-ranking position with the DNC as evidence that the Democrat would conduct himself in a partisan manner while…
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With the help of a new Democratic majority in the Minnesota House, Gov.-elect Tim Walz is expected to renew efforts to pass gun-control legislation in the state. In response to Wednesday night’s mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, California, Walz and Rep. Melissa Hortman (D-Fridley), who was elected this week to…
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Newly-elected Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) made no mention of her Republican opponent Karin Housley during her victory speech Tuesday night nor in her posts made on social media after the election. Smith, who took over for Al Franken less than a year ago after his resignation, defeated Housley 53 percent…
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During one of his first public appearances as governor-elect, Democrat Tim Walz said Minnesotans can expect to see a gas-tax increase in his first budget proposal due at the beginning of the year. Speaking to reporters during a visit to his transition office in the Minnesota State Capitol Thursday, Walz…
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The Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party won five of Minnesota’s eight congressional districts, adding to an already decisive night of Democratic victories across the state. There were, however, some key Republican upsets throughout Minnesota, particularly in Minnesota’s First Congressional District where Republican Jim Hagedorn was called the winner early Wednesday morning. Republican…
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Millionaire businessman and heir to the Phillips Distilling Company Dean Phillips has unseated Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN-03) in Minnesota’s Third Congressional District. Phillips ran his campaign on fighting the corrupt influence of money in politics, while attacking Paulsen for not making himself available to his constituents, at one point garnering…
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The Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party gathered for its “Midnight Madness” event Monday night in an election-eve tradition where the entire slate of Democratic candidates cheered on Keith Ellison is his bid for attorney general. DFL Chairman Ken Martin delivered an impassioned speech when introducing Ellison to the stage, saying the Democratic…
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An emotional Keith Ellison took the stage at St. Paul’s Crowne Plaza hotel late Tuesday night to deliver his victory speech after defeating Republican Doug Wardlow in the race for Minnesota’s Attorney General Office. The race has been a constant source of controversy on both sides of the aisle, though…
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Both Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) hung on to their Senate seats Tuesday in a what turned out to be a big night for Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party. While there was little doubt that Klobuchar would win her bid for a third term in the Senate,…
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Democrat Tim Walz defeated Republican Jeff Johnson to become the next governor of Minnesota and extend the Democratic-Farmor-Labor (DFL) Party’s control of the governor’s mansion. Walz will succeed Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN), who has been governor of the state since 2011 but chose not to seek reelection after struggling with…
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Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) was recently listed as one of the top 10 most vulnerable senators seeking reelection in the nation, joining fellow Democrats like Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND). Unlike like her Democratic colleagues, however, Smith is campaigning in her first race for the U.S.…
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Minnesota voters are pushing back against a final ad released by Democrat Angie Craig, who claims in her commercial that Minnesotans are known for saying “there’s nothing that can’t be solved over a beer.” “We’ve got a saying in Minnesota: there’s nothing that can’t be solved over a beer,” Craig…
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Minnesota’ candidates running in the special election to replace Al Franken in the U.S. Senate met for their final debate Sunday night in front of a raucous crowd at St. Paul’s Fitzgerald Theater. One of the topics discussed was the rise of incivility and “extremism” in politics, which was on…
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by Lara Trump Minnesota has the opportunity to send a loud, strong message to the Washington, D.C. political class, more than probably any other state in the union. Minnesotans are the quintessential “deplorables.” After favoring Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, the state’s two most competitive congressional districts voted…
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Minnesota’s gubernatorial candidates made their final appeal to voters Friday night, and Republican Jeff Johnson pulled no punches during the hour-long debate. Right off the bat, Johnson went after Democrat Tim Walz for “never” answering questions, criticizing Walz for refusing to clarify his support for making Minnesota a “sanctuary state.”…
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The midterm elections are now just two days away, and the results from a final round of polling in Minnesota are in. The polls, however, have a substantial margin of error of +/- 5.3 percent, making the KSTP and Survey USA polling of the Minnesota attorney general race essentially inconclusive.…
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The Minneapolis police union called a press conference Friday to speak out against Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-MN-05) bid for Minnesota attorney general. Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, was joined by two fellow officers in declaring their opposition to Ellison’s “anti law-enforcement views.” “Minnesota, the…
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Republican Karin Housley campaigned through the night Friday in her final push against Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) in their race for the U.S. Senate. The Housley campaign kicked off its 18-stop, 44-hour get-out-the-vote bus tour immediately following Thursday night’s debate at Hamline University, arriving in Duluth at 11:30 p.m. to…
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Minnesota is already home to several competitive congressional races, but its Seventh District just got added to the list. Minnesota’s Seventh Congressional District has been represented by Blue-Dog Democrat Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN-07) for nearly thirty years, but some in the rural district are looking for a fresh voice as…
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After much anticipation, The Star Tribune ultimately withheld an endorsement in the race for Minnesota’s attorney general after finding both candidates “too partisan” to occupy the office. “It’s deeply frustrating to withhold an endorsement in a statewide race that’s this critical,” The Star Tribune Editorial Board wrote in an article…
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