Author: MinnPost

DFL Gov. Tim Walz was sworn in for a second term on Monday, and the Minnesota Legislature will hold swearing-in ceremonies and gavel into session on Tuesday afternoon. Here are seven things to keep an eye on as the 2023 session of the Minnesota Legislature convenes. A surprising DFL trifecta will take power for the first time in a decade. But that has both positives and negatives for Walz and legislative leaders. Will anything pass early? It is one of the great clichés of the Minnesota Legislature that certain issues can pass in the opening weeks and provide “early wins.”…

The state agency that is the closest thing to a regulator of newly legal hemp-based edibles wants out of the business. The state Board of Pharmacy, a small agency not often in the news, repeated Monday that it lacks the people, the budget and the expertise to regulate the manufacturing and sale of hemp edibles – gummies, vapes and seltzers included. Without licensing or taxation, the small board with just five inspectors doesn’t even know the size or scope of the business it is charged with overseeing. “We’re limited in what we can do,” board executive director Jill Phillips. “These are…

The Minnesota revenue surplus is now $17.6 billion. That’s a lot for a state that spends about $2.16 billion a month and sets up Gov. Tim Walz and the DFL-controlled Legislature to increase spending and reduce taxes. “Strong collections and lower-than-projected spending add to the fiscal year 22-23 surplus,” Minnesota Management and Budget reported Tuesday morning. “Economic headwinds lower expected growth but (a) large leftover surplus and healthy net revenues in fiscal years 24-25 create estimated $17.6 billion available for (the) budget.” Prior to this update, the state was officially sitting on a $12 billion surplus for the final six…

In Gov. Tim Walz’s first term, DFLers in Minnesota produced lots of official reports on climate change and had plenty of grand plans meant to address the issue. But nearly all of those proposals stalled in the Republican-held Senate, or failed to even pass the DFL-led House. With the Legislature now fully in Democratic hands after the November election, leaders are promising an ambitious climate agenda aimed at shrinking carbon emissions. “Because of the rising awareness of climate change I think there’s more momentum than ever,” said Sen. Nick Frentz, a DFLer from North Mankato who will chair the Senate’s Energy, Utilities…

WASHINGTON — Gov. Tim Walz has made a last-minute pitch for Minnesota to become an early primary state as a key panel of the Democratic National Committee is set to make recommendations on a new presidential primary calendar later this week. In a letter sent Monday to the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee, Walz, Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Majority Leader-elect Kari Dziedzic said the DFL’s electoral victories in this month’s elections guarantee the state can move up the date of its presidential primary. “We are now writing to inform the Committee that if Minnesota is chosen as an…

Minnesota Republicans were confident that their campaign message would reverse recent trends toward the DFL in the vote-rich but swingy suburbs. Gas prices and a fear of crime flowing out of the cities would be enough to overcome concerns that the June overturning of Roe v. Wade in a case known as Dobbs put abortion rights at risk. “When you can’t afford to buy your kids soccer shoes, that becomes a top priority,” said Stillwater Sen. Karin Housley, who co-chaired the Senate GOP campaign committee. “The public is much more concerned about public safety and affording their lives.” Of abortion, Housley said…

Voters in Hennepin County chose Mary Moriarty as their next county attorney by a wide margin Tuesday night, handing her a nearly 16 percentage point victory over opponent Martha Holton Dimick. The race was an early call in a night of slow results around the state. Moriarty declared victory in a speech around 9:40 p.m., entering her election night watch party at a downtown Minneapolis restaurant to dozens of supporters chanting her name. In her victory speech, Moriarty said that in the aftermath of Floyd’s murder, the focus needs to be on examining how the legal system has failed many.…

All of MinnPost’s coverage of the 2022 election can be found in one, convenient location, our 2022 Election Central page. That’s where in-depth coverage of the state and federal campaigns, campaign finance, polling and top issues such as abortion and public safety can be found. On Tuesday, Minnesota voters will complete the work of the 2022 election in polling places around the state. In a return to pre-pandemic voting patterns, more of the vote — likely about 75 percent — will be in person on Election Day, rather than by mail or at early voting sites. As of Thursday, local elections offices…

Every politician has an origin story, the tale of why they got into the game in the first place. Rarely tied to personal ambition, the story is usually about how some person, some event, some turning point in their lives called them to serve. They didn’t volunteer as much as they were drafted. For DFLer Tim Walz, it was a campaign rally for then-President George W. Bush that he attended with some of his Mankato high school students. Once there, Walz said the students were questioned about their political views after security found a sticker for Democrat John Kerry on…

The Minnesota campaign drawing the most national attention – and the most national money – isn’t the race for governor or the 2nd Congressional District. Instead, it is the race to determine whether DFLer Steve Simon wins a third term as secretary of state. Simon was among a handful of elections officials on the cover of Time magazine who were depicted as “The Defenders: Inside the Fight to Save America’s Elections.” He faces GOP nominee Kim Crockett, who wants to curtail early voting and limit absentee ballots. This usually sleepy, down-ballot contest is this year one of a handful of secretary of…