Author: MinnPost

Starting Aug. 1, people age 21 and over can possess and use marijuana in Minnesota. But there are limits on where they can possess it and where they can use it, especially by smoking or vaping. Still, smoking and vaping will be legal in a lot more places than are specifically listed in the new law or were publicly discussed during the 2023 legislative session, and Minnesota is poised to become one of just a few states that allow smoking and vaping of marijuana in public. As passed, the law seemed to restrict smoking and vaping to single-family homes, yards and private property not…

It’s the kind of “oops” that can happen in the drafting of legislation that is hundreds of pages long being written with legislative deadlines approaching. But when it happens in the bill that controls Minnesota state taxes, small errors can cost a lot of money. An error in this past session’s omnibus taxes bill discovered a month after it was signed by the governor will cost state taxpayers $352 million a year extra if not corrected. It will be corrected, pledged state Department of Revenue Commissioner Paul Marquart and the chairs of the two legislative taxes committees. “It’s an oversight and it…

It wasn’t a formal part of the latest audit of the Southwest Light Rail Transit project, but it summarized in frank language the sentiments of many who have followed the project, both in government and in the public. After being asked during a hearing of the Legislative Audit Commission what advice she had for how light rail projects should be managed in the future. Legislative Auditor Judy Randall was direct: “The council and the state have other light rail transit projects coming up, that are being discussed, that are being vetted,” she said Wednesday. “Now is the time to think…

Minneapolis officials expect more than 500,000 people will descend on downtown this weekend for two Taylor Swift concerts and Twin Cities Pride Festival events. In some ways, the busy weekend isn’t all that different from the Super Bowls and the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four three times since 1992. Still, Mayor Jacob Frey and other leaders told reporters at a press conference Wednesday they saw this weekend as a crucial inflection point in a post-pandemic, post-civil-unrest turnaround for downtown Minneapolis. “I do see this as an opportunity to change the narrative,” said Frey, “but more importantly I see this as an opportunity to show…

The Met Council has done something at the Minnesota Legislature that isn’t easy to accomplish: build bipartisanship. Lawmakers from both parties and all parts of the state support changing how the regional government with control or influence over transit, wastewater treatment, land-use planning and regional parks works. Thank — or blame — the troubled Southwest Light Rail Transit project for that. Republicans have long expressed concerns over the way the 17-member appointed council runs rail projects as well as its say over suburban growth. The over-budget and under-managed extension of the Green Line to Eden Prairie has helped bring DFLers…

If someone built a word cloud of all the DFL floor speeches of all their bills during this year’s legislative session, the dominant words would be “transformational,” “generational” and “historic.” “Transformational is definitely on the bingo card,” House Speaker Melissa Hortman said when asked for a one-word descriptor. “Transformational and historic.” DFL Gov. Tim Walz called it “the most successful legislative session, certainly in many of our lifetimes and maybe in Minnesota history. “A lot of folks at the beginning were very skeptical that we could get the big, bold vision of transforming Minnesota,” Walz added. With a DFL trifecta…

A House-Senate conference committee has finally reached a deal on increasing funding for transportation and transit that includes inflationary increases in the gas tax, a 50-cent delivery fee, and hikes in the motor vehicle sales tax and annual car tab fees. In addition, the deal brokered by the two DFL transportation committee chairs — Rep. Frank Hornstein and Sen. Scott Dibble — has a 0.75% metro-area sales tax mostly for transit but also for county-decided roads projects. “I think we have before us a historic and transformative transportation bill that covers all modes of transportation in all regions of the…

DFL lawmakers who control the Minnesota Legislature have cleared their toughest obstacle for approving two major gun regulations, paving the way for new limits on firearms to reach the desk of Gov. Tim Walz and become law. On a 34-33 vote shortly before midnight Friday, the state Senate passed a “red flag” proposal that will allow courts to order firearms taken from someone who is a danger to themselves or others. And the Senate also approved a measure to extend background checks to certain private gun transfers. Both were part of a larger package of spending and policy linked to the criminal…

For months, it has been unclear if Democrats, who control Minnesota’s narrowly-divided Legislature, had enough votes to pass major regulations on guns. But on Wednesday, DFL lawmakers signaled they are more confident than ever. Key Democrats announced a compromise “red flag” policy that would allow a judge to order firearms taken from someone who is a risk to themselves or others. And they also struck a deal on a measure that would extend background check requirements to private transfers. A public safety conference committee, which is negotiating a larger policy and spending package for House and Senate lawmakers, adopted both measures as…

Rep. Heather Edelson remembers her reaction when a reading specialist told her that her twin sons showed evidence of dyslexia. Because the learning disorder can be hereditary, the specialist asked, did she know of anyone in her family who lived with dyslexia or struggled with reading?  “I remember feeling like I didn’t want to answer the question,” the DFLer from Edina said. Edelson was held back in third grade at a north Minneapolis elementary school because she wasn’t reading at grade level. Her mother, too, had struggled to read. It wasn’t diagnosed at the time, but Edelson was dyslexic. “There…