Minnesota
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8:47 p.m.
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This the second time in two years that Rolling Stone's assigned a reporter to do a major story on the hate and craziness here in Minnesota. The first time was last year, when reporter Matt Taibbi profiled Michele Bachmann's nuthouse right political career. This time it's a very sad story about the wave of suicides by gay teens in Bachmann's district... One Town's War on Gay Teens In Michele ...
Minnesota Progressive Project - 3:44 p.m. - 9 clicks 
Rep. Tom Rukavina and Duluth Mayor Don Ness endorsed former Duluth Council President Jeff Anderson today. They cited his Iron Range roots, loyalty, energy and passion as their reasons for supporting him. This is a excellent endorsement for Anderson just before the caucuses next Tuesday, February 7th. "He's a fourth generation Iron Ranger from Ely," Rukavina said. "He's done a great job represent...
Minnesota Progressive Project - 3:44 p.m. - 9 clicks
John Kline (R-MN-02) had a bad Wednesday. Chairman Kline’s Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing on entitled “Expanding Opportunities for Job Creation” with invited guests that prompted coverage in the Connecticut Mirror newspaper. It was the tale of two governors. Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, was expected to provide stark contrast to Michigan Follow this link to r...
MN Political Roundtable - 11:03 a.m. - 11 clicks
Watching the excellent PBS series Nature the other night reminded me how much I miss my parents. I would have loved to call them on the phone and tell them to turn on channel 2. The episode that aired locally the day before yesterday was entitled: "Wolverine: Chasing the Phantom". http://video.pbs.org/video/1558511285 The reason I wish my parents had lived to see this documentar...
The Great Roll Call: a journal of American political thought - 6:46 a.m. - 9 clicks
Minnesota Republicans have yet to produce any proof of why we need their Voter ID constitutional amendment. They'll offer up evidence like 0.0076% of votes cast in the 2010 elections were cast by felons . Or they'll offer up proof that vote fraud is at least theoretically possible. They'll bloviate about protecting the vote. But no actual evidence. MN Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed their bill last ses...
Minnesota Progressive Project - Thu 4:02 p.m. - 15 clicks
Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN/NH) flew in from DC or New Hampshire to hold yet another meeting during the day far away from anywhere any Democrats might be. He does this out of fear. His only constituent meeting in Duluth, MN that didn't have an entrance fee was scheduled after he caved to pressure and with little advance notice. It was also during the day. Despite this, hundreds turned up t...
Minnesota Progressive Project - Thu 3:08 p.m. - 11 clicks
From Keith Ellison's office: Yesterday, GOP Senators held their first hearing aimed at stripping away Minnesotans' constitutional right to vote. Opponents came out in force to speak against the photo ID amendment bill. Seniors, students, veterans, and more who opposed the amendment overwhelmingly outnumbered the amendment's supporters. "Yesterday's hearing at the legislature was a clear indicat...
Minnesota Progressive Project - Thu 2:27 p.m. - 12 clicks
by Dave Mindeman You have to somewhat admire the audacity of the power grab. Minnesota's Republican legislature has decided to move their agenda with blitzkreig speed; in the face of declining public opinion, around the DFL governor, and in spite of scandals and leadership division. It's like they have decided to gorge themselves in the face of their last meal....or checking off all the items o...
mnpACT! - Thu 2:27 p.m. - 21 clicks
Here at the Minnesota Progressive Project blog, we were talking about redistricting the other day--in particular the redistricting that applies Michele Bachmann's current congressional fief. It's coming up, this month. The Big E noted that current proposals for redistricting--the district maps proposed by BOTH Republicans AND Democrats--could result in an even MORE conservative district for candi...
Minnesota Progressive Project - Thu 12:24 p.m. - 14 clicks
Even before she was first elected to Congress, Bachmann opponents were talking about the possibility that she'd ultimately be eliminated via congressional redistricting. At the Minnesota Progressive Project blog, we were talking about redistricting the other day. It's coming up, this month. Minnesota blogger "the Big E" noted that current proposals for redistricting--the district maps proposed...
DailyKos (Minnesota) - Thu 12:24 p.m. - 14 clicks
Etiquette states that the two subjects which should never be discussed in public conversation are politics and religion, the Republican Primary has rejected that practice … actually advocating mixing to the two subjects regardless of religion (sorta … as long as it is a longstanding American mainstream religion) with two point men – Newt Gingrich Follow this link to read more of: Did God W...
MN Political Roundtable - Thu 10:00 a.m. - 14 clicks
On the wall of my boys' bedroom is a poster picked up at the county fair a few years ago. It's a picture of a bluegill with the caption: "The Bluegill: A Creature of Fresh Water." Bluegills hold a place of honor in our family. My father-in-law is an avid "pan" fisherman who eschews trophies for food and cooks up the best fried fish I've ever had. We live in Itasca County, which sports more t...
MinnesotaBrown - Thu 9:09 a.m. - 12 clicks
Yesterday, the Duluth News Tribune wrote about the reaction of some local leaders to the news that Iron Range-based Magnetation might locate its proposed taconite plant in Superior instead of near its scram mining operations in Itasca County. Give it a read . Notably, Rep. Tom Rukavina appears to be in open revolt. Yeah, after reading this I'd say there's a good chance Magnetation ends up...
MinnesotaBrown - Thu 9:09 a.m. - 13 clicks
Today I feature an interview with Tarryl Clark, DFL candidate for Congress in MN-8. Tarryl Clark is a former State Senator from the St. Cloud area. She is now co-chair of the Jobs 21 initiative based in Duluth. This interview was conducted Jan. 18 at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm as part of a series that includes Clark's DFL opponents, Rick Nolan and Jeff Anderson . Later ...
MinnesotaBrown - Thu 9:09 a.m. - 10 clicks
Also this week, Polymet has announced another delay in releasing its environmental review , a step in getting the necessary permits to mine copper and other minerals in northern Minnesota. The debate over nonferrous mining, or sulfide mining, continues to consume much of the region's political energy. This news is perhaps welcome in that a more thorough job is being done on Polymet's environm...
MinnesotaBrown - Thu 9:09 a.m. - 10 clicks
It would be great, if corporate media gave this report the attention it deserves. Fat chance. In September 2010, NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota Foundation (NPCMF) started an investigation of "crisis pregnancy centers" (CPCs) operating throughout the state and funded by the State of Minnesota. During the next year, our investigators uncovered a consistent pattern of misinformation, deceptive a...
Minnesota Progressive Project - Thu 7:47 a.m. - 14 clicks
Scrolling through my Facebook wall late yesterday afternoon, I noticed this post by a state representative: During our extended floor session, Rep. Cornish sends photo to all DFL representatives with subject: Crime Bill on My Desk. It contains only a photo of a gallows with two empty nooses. Yet another way to fostering the bipartisanship the public so desires, as well as promoting public confiden...
Bluestem Prairie - Thu 5:02 a.m. - 14 clicks
Can Minnesota Democrats muster a smile and laugh in the face of the situation in our Republican dominated House and Senate? Timid Video Theater and Democratic Visions asks you to be the judge. The segment is featured in the February edition of the DFL public issues cable and internet program. (direct link to YouTube) With Doug Lind and the Young Democrats Club of Eden P...
Minnesota Progressive Project - Thu 4:42 a.m. - 18 clicks
by Dave Mindeman Among the myriad of potential amendments being floated around by the GOP legislature is a "right to work" amendment. A not so veiled attack on unions in Minnesota. The conservative think tank, the Center for the American Experiment released a study that, they say, proves that right to work states do better and that Minnesota would have increased per capita income by...
mnpACT! - Thu 1:02 a.m. - 28 clicks
I have three important bits of news concerning the campaign to stop the cynically named "Sanctity of Marriage" constitutional amendment that Minnesota Republicans put on the 2012 ballot. If we can beat this ballot measure, this may be the last defensive measure we all have to fight. The tide is turning and it might just turn in Minnesota. Two are about fundraising. One is about a petition b...
DailyKos (Minnesota) - Wed 5:23 p.m. - 16 clicks
January 24 marked the launch of the Un-Fair Campaign here in the Twin Ports (Duluth, MN and Superior, WI), an educational campaign intended to draw awareness to and promote discussion of issues related to institutional racism and white privilege. The most visible element of this campaign is a series of four billboards with the tag-line “It's hard to see racism when you're white.” The campaign ha...
DailyKos (Minnesota) - Wed 9:43 a.m. - 14 clicks
Taking my seat, someone nearby describes this evening's topic 'intriguing.' Another neighbor tells her guest--apropos of what, I know not--'...it's never quite so black and white as...' When active MPR listeners want to talk about nothing and feel good about themselves, they hold 'civility' events. Fear not, nothing gets decided. Sometimes people benefit from e...
Gavin Sullivan's blog - Tue 10:23 p.m. - 15 clicks
Loyal fans of Emo Senator, southern Minnesota's most beloved telenovela, will remember that Mike Parry's congressional campaign stops are drawing voters like Limburger cheese attracts the ladies. In Emo Senator: lost episode shocks Mike Parry fans, the Austin Herald reported that two men gathered for coffee with the Belle of Waseca County. It's looks like his campaign checkbook is just as attracti...
Bluestem Prairie - Tue 9:07 p.m. - 14 clicks
John Kline (R-MN-02) held a Public Town Hall meeting at the Shakopee Junior High School yesterday … what a prefect venue — a taxpayer-funded public school … a place where 99% of us know only too well … an appropriate place for taxpayers to hear the accomplishments and goals from their elected Representative while they Follow this link to read more of: MN-02 : Kline Achieves Fundraising Rec...
MN Political Roundtable - Tue 11:27 a.m. - 18 clicks
On the eve of the biggest prize yet in the Republican presidential sweepstakes, the candidate a drunken imbecile fool of a media personality (Glen Beck) once dubbed "a Churchill for our times", was seen emanating from a seedy movie theater in the Southwestern Minnesota town of Luvurne yesterday. Made famous by newspaper columnist Dan Savage in his column Savage Love, this ob...
The Great Roll Call: a journal of American political thought - Tue 5:47 a.m. - 17 clicks
Like Gov. Mark Dayton , I believe primaries often help determine the best candidate, within our party . Some hold we should allow party insiders to select our candidate for the United States House of Representatives. They want our congressional district convention's decision--on April 28, 2012 --to be accepted as final by all participants. To do so is to allow a tiny minority--les...
Gavin Sullivan's blog - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 20 clicks
Earlier today Minnesota's Republican Senate voted 29-37 (strictly along party lines) to reject the nomination of former DFL state Sen. Ellen Anderson to the post of Public Utilities Commission chair. Since Anderson was a recess appointment of DFL Gov. Mark Dayton last spring, the GOP majority essentially fired her today. I generally expect to disagree with the GOP on issues, but this action is...
DailyKos (Minnesota) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 17 clicks
South Dakota and Minnesota are poised to join Wisconsin, Ohio, New Hampshire and Indiana on the list of states in which the 2010 elections led to Republican politicians waging all-out war on unions and working people. In Minnesota , Republicans are gearing up an attempt to put something they're calling the "Employee Freedom Act" on November's ballot as an amendment to the state constituti...
DailyKos (Minnesota) - Mon 2:09 p.m. - 13 clicks
Minnesota State Senator Dave Thompson (R-District 36) of Lakeville has announced via social media that he intends to introduce a bill called the “Employee Freedom Act” which will amend the state’s constitution. Despite its misleadingly positive name, there is nothing positive about the “Employee Freedom Act” which moonlights as a “Right-to-Work” law. With a Republican led House and Senate in M...
DailyKos (Minnesota) - Mon 1:08 p.m. - 2 clicks
Michele Bachmann makes an interesting point on Page 106 : Core of Conviction – My Story “The politicians and bureaucrats in both Washington and St. Paul were using our tax money to make our problems worse. I asked myself: What is wrong with this picture? What terrible thing they are doing with our taxes.” It’s Follow this link to read more of: MN-06 : Bachmann Asks : What...
MN Political Roundtable - Mon 9:22 a.m. - 20 clicks
Today I feature an interview with Jeff Anderson, DFL candidate for Congress in MN-8. Anderson is a recent Duluth city councilor and radio ad executive who grew up in Ely. This interview was conducted Jan. 18 at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm as part of a series that includes Anderson's DFL opponents, Rick Nolan and Tarryl Clark . Later in February I plan to interview the ...
MinnesotaBrown - Mon 6:23 a.m. - 16 clicks
Chairman John Kline (R-MN-02) of the House Education and Workforce Committee issued a statement reacting to President Obama’s State of the Union address with a brief mention of the prime area of his Committee’s responsibility by slamming the President actions by stating “the audacity to circumvent the people’s elected representatives by granting No Child Left Follow this link to read more o...
MN Political Roundtable - Sun 4:02 p.m. - 16 clicks
(crossposted from Buffalo Ridge Blog ) Yup, this is Florida's week in the sun(?), as the four survivors of the seven dwarfs AKA the republican presidential candidates are making the rounds. The other day we were underwhelmed with Newt, today it was Mitt's turn to enable noontime napping...Too bad there wasn't anyplace to lay down at the event. Let's set the scene: Downtown Naples, home to ...
DailyKos (Minnesota) - Sun 1:45 p.m. - 16 clicks
by Dave Mindeman I sat down with 37B DFL candidate Jeff Wilfahrt and his campaign manager, Phil Sterner, last week to get introduced and see how things are starting out. Jeff is an impressive individual. A loose translation of Jeff's German last name is "the Journey" and that is precisely what he is embarking on. More than once he dubbed himself a "reluctant candidate" and ...
mnpACT! - Sat 12:05 p.m. - 32 clicks
The home page shows an image of self-described Iowan Michele Bachmann superimposed on a image of the Stillwater lift bridge, the bridge she has trash-talked to support the megabucks boondoggle replacement. The "About Michele" page is a real hoot - who doesn't know about the real Michele Bachmann by now? True to form, "About Michele" tells a bunch of whoppers and leaves a lot out about the 6...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Sat 8:04 a.m. - 19 clicks
by Dave Mindeman Public Policy Polling released the rest of their Minnesota polling data today and it had a lot of good news for Democrats.... Mark Dayton's numbers have improved since PPP last polled Minnesota in May and he's one of the most popular Governors in the country. A little belated birthday present for Mark. Dayton has an approval rating of 53%, while disapproval is at 34% -- a 19...
mnpACT! - Jan 27 - 37 clicks
I was hoping to run all three MN-8 DFL candidate interviews this week but we have experienced delays. Rendering these massive digital files has taken longer than expected and Richie has been working hard to polish the videos up for broadcast. I still hope to run Jeff Anderson today, but it looks more like we'll have to run Tarryl Clark on Monday. I am running the interviews in the order in whic...
MinnesotaBrown - Jan 27 - 15 clicks
Fans of Emo Senator, southern Minnesota's most beloved telenovela, weren't surprised to learn that Senator Mike Parry's amnesia had returned and the Belle of Waseca had forgotten that he doesn't have a boss who forces him to take vacation time. More shocking? The lost episode of Emo Senator a reader dug up in the Austin Herald. The day before Parry's grandstanding performance in Emo Senator: Amnes...
Bluestem Prairie - Jan 26 - 17 clicks
Business North has an update on the Magnetation pellet plant discussed here yesterday. Their sources place Superior, Wisconsin, as a leading contender for the facility , though it sounds like the deal is not yet done and Itasca County remains a logical candidate as well. It could be that the smokestack chasing and economic development gamesmanship of the past 20 years has finally come to ...
MinnesotaBrown - Jan 26 - 15 clicks
Mary Divine at the PiPress: A case involving Stillwater Township writer and photographer Karl Bremer, who in November sued the New Republic magazine for unfair competition, was settled Thursday just before a scheduled hearing in Washington County Conciliation Court. The case was resolved "to the mutual satisfaction of both parties," Bremer said. He said he could not disclose any details of th...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Jan 26 - 11 clicks
The next couple days will feature the thoughts of DFL candidates seeking to replace Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) in this unique northeastern Minnesota district. I'll be talking to Cravaack in a couple weeks, but for those who seek an immediate counterpoint Cravaack has an op/ed in today's Duluth News Tribune about Iron Range mining projects . I'll be asking him about this during his interview....
MinnesotaBrown - Jan 26 - 9 clicks
Today I feature an interview with Rick Nolan, DFL candidate for Congress in MN-8. Nolan is a former Congressman from the Crosby area. In 1980 Nolan opted not to seek re-election and has since run a sawmill and international trading business. This interview was conducted Jan. 18 at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm as part of a series that includes Nolan's DFL opponents, Jeff And...
MinnesotaBrown - Jan 26 - 7 clicks
Last year, Representative Steve Drazkowski (R-ALEC) ran as a foe of job-killing regulations. He told the Post Bulletin: We must address the pandemic of uncertainty facing Minnesota businesses. Forcing government to live within its means and eliminating business-killing regulations will send positive signals to Minnesota’s job creators. Once confidence is restored, our state’s entrepreneurial spiri...
Bluestem Prairie - Jan 26 - 5 clicks
by Dave Mindeman Sometimes I think that Republicans just want to oppose anything that is proposed by a Democrat....just because. Gov. Dayton's bonding proposal can be argued on its merits or on what's in it. But the House GOP is trying very hard to limit its ability to be jobs effective. I think that the GOP legislature is in agreement with Dayton that jobs should be a priority. And "t...
mnpACT! - Jan 26 - 7 clicks
This has been rumored for a while, but Magnetation is now confirming to WDIO they are considering several sites for a new iron pellet plant in the region. A site near their scram mining operations in Itasca County and a site in Superior, Wisconsin are among those under consideration. I had heard whispers about the Itasca site, which is near their ore reserves. Superior is news to me, though...
MinnesotaBrown - Jan 25 - 5 clicks
(crossposted from Buffalo Ridge Blog ) Greetings from the swamp AKA greater Naples, in Collier County, so named because they actually sold the naming rights to the county to wealthy Barron Collier back in the 1920s. Naples is another republican homeland, and a wealthy one at that- Naples citizens have already showered the republicans with over a million dollars this election cycle, and ...
DailyKos (Minnesota) - Jan 25 - 2 clicks
Inspired by user bjssp, I've decided to do a diary on why Michele Bachmann's district, while winnable against her, is not a district we can hold in the future. First, her district: By my estimation, the blue parts are suburban/exurban, while the green parts are rural (or the St. Cloud area, which is I guess a micropolitan area, but which for these purposes don't count as suburbs). Po...
DailyKos (Minnesota) - Jan 25 - 9 clicks
by Dave Mindeman Well, she's back. Michele Bachmann is going to come slinking back to Minnesota and, in theory, take her seat back....so.... ..is she now a Minnesotan or an Iowan? ..is she ready to cast votes again? Note: (from an Oct. 2011 report) - Since announcing her campaign on June 13, Bachmann has voted 54 percent of the time. Comparably, since announcing his candidacy on May 13, Te...
mnpACT! - Jan 25 - 4 clicks
It’s that time again: Feb. 7 is precinct caucus night – Minnesota’s kickoff of the 2012 political process. read more ...
FairVote Minnesota - Jan 25 - 2 clicks
It's been a while since I've shared much in the way of Iron Range arts and entertainment news. There are always things going on around here, especially in the winter. We're still in the juicy center of winter. By March it is all bones and gristle. I don't mean culturally. I mean spiritually. What I am saying is that we are still in the part of winter in which we of northern Minnesota are capab...
MinnesotaBrown - Jan 25
by Dave Mindeman I realize that there is little stomach from either side of the aisle regarding an ethics complaint toward Amy Koch. The Republicans want to put it in the rear view mirror as quickly as possible and Democrats are trying to juggle a push for a Vikings Stadium and a furthur push for more Constitutional amendments. But something bothers me in all this that really requires an explan...
mnpACT! - Jan 24 - 3 clicks
"Doggone it, people like me." Public Policy Polling (PDF). 1/21-22. Minnesota voters. MoE ±2.8% ( 5/27-30 in parentheses): Amy Klobuchar (D-inc) : 54 (54) Tim Pawlenty (R) : 39 (41) Undecided : 7 (5) Amy Klobuchar (D-inc) : 58 (57) Michele Bachmann (R) : 35 (37) Undecided : 7 (5) Amy Klobuchar (D-inc) : 55 (56) Dan Severson (R) : 32 (28) Undecided : 13 (16) Amy K...
DailyKos (Minnesota) - Jan 24
Public Policy Polling: Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty's Presidential bids appear to have done serious damage to their future political prospects in Minnesota. Bachmann comes home to only a 34% favorability rating, with 57% of voters seeing her negatively. Only 37% of voters statewide think she should run for reelection to her House seat, while 57% believe she should step down. The local ...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Jan 24 - 2 clicks
Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL-Balsam Township) has officially introduced a bill demanding more transparency in the loans given by the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) to private companies. The IRRRB is the unique state agency that governs mining production taxes paid by iron mines in lieu of local property taxes. The agency's economic development efforts over its 70 year history ...
MinnesotaBrown - Jan 24
In a column on reform--not just reform, but the lovely 2005 urban slang Reform 2.0 favored by those hep cats in Kurt Zellers's caucus--Steve Drazkowski notes: America is changing. Minnesota is changing - and it's clear we aren't keeping up. We're in the middle of the pack when it comes to student reading test scores. Our current state education model came about before we put a man on the moon. Yes...
Bluestem Prairie - Jan 24 - 4 clicks
Let's get serious for a minute. I know, I know, it's not easy when a national humor magazine ran a faux headline last week: "Minnesota Braces for Bachmann 's Full Attention". As if on cue, Bachmann, not exactly Minnesota's shrinking violet, made her first public appearance in Minnesota in over a year at the annual Roe vs. Wade protest at the State Capitol proclaiming that at this time next ...
The Great Roll Call: a journal of American political thought - Jan 23 - 2 clicks
The week ahead will be full of a lot of northern Minnesota political discussion here at the blog. I want to take a moment to share one of my non-political projects. I have been one of the lead organizers of Dylan Days in Bob Dylan's hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota for more than 10 years now. We just unveiled a great new website, DylanDays.org , which was put together with the help of Hibbing...
MinnesotaBrown - Jan 23 - 4 clicks
It looks like Bachmann is running again for her no-show job. Short WCCO video clip of Bachmann at a theocrat rally in St. Paul: More interesting are the comments at the WCCO web page - a sample: Why is this a news story? Who cares? She should finish out the rest of her term in Congress and retire from public life and further embarrassment. She had her 15 minute+ of notoriety. Ad Nausea...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Jan 23 - 4 clicks
It's not just smiley faces at the Senate Majority Caucus anymore. Earlier this month, the hiring of Former Minnesota House Speaker, Pawlenty commissioner, and current Regent Steve Sviggum as communications director/ Senjem's executive assistant at $102,000 a year by the Republican Senate Majority Caucus fueled a bonfire of criticism mixed with the tinder of praise and expanding the emoticon univer...
Bluestem Prairie - Jan 23 - 5 clicks
I grew up a mechanic's son of a mechanic's son on the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. My family has long lived around the Range's tamarack swamps, seldom within its cities and often many miles out. Always more focused on the machines, the woods and the work than the machinations of the region's booming, busting ways, the only consistent connection between my family and Range culture is stub...
MinnesotaBrown - Jan 23 - 4 clicks
As we tune in to the latest episode of Emo Senator, Southern Minnesota's most beloved online telenovela, readers will be distressed but not surprised to see a relapse of our hero's amnesia. Earlier last summer, loyal fans will remember, Senator Mike Parry forgot that he owns and operates a Godfather's Pizza in Waseca, and so was forced to accept the maximum in-session per diem, or see his family s...
Bluestem Prairie - Jan 22 - 4 clicks
The 2012 Legislative session is just around the corner, due to start on Tuesday. Both sides seem eager to make it a historically short session so that campaign preparations can begin in earnest once the new district maps are released Feb. 21st. On the docket for consideration and debate are the Vikings Stadium question, a [...]...
MN Representative David Bly, District 25B - Jan 22 - 3 clicks
At 10:30 am on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, I will deliver a brief speech at the Eden Prairie Library 's 'Conference Room.' The public is invited. ...
Gavin Sullivan's blog - Jan 20
Two seemingly disparate news items suggest some shifting ground in the Minnesota political landscape, a place where ordinary geology tends toward erosion and collapse, rather the earthquakes suggested by headlines the day after elections. Witness the victory of Chip Cravaack over Jim Oberstar in a congressional district where political currents pulled away the riverbank from the under the Democrat...
Bluestem Prairie - Jan 20 - 3 clicks
Minnesota Public Radio has a nice summary of the MN-8 Congressional race . It's a good primer before I release the audio and video from my interviews with DFL candidates Jeff Anderson, Tarryl Clark and Rick Nolan, recorded Wednesday at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm. The candidates weighed in on hot-button issues like the federal budget, nonferrous mining, health care reform and...
MinnesotaBrown - Jan 19 - 3 clicks
On Wednesday, Jan. 18, I'll interview each of the DFL candidates for Minnesota's 8th Congressional District at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm. At 1 p.m. I meet with Rick Nolan. At 2, Jeff Anderson. At 3, Tarryl Clark. You might recall the series of interviews I did with DFL gubernatorial candidates in 2010 . This will be dramatically different. Those interviews were packag...
MinnesotaBrown - Jan 17 - 9 clicks
The lack of snow in northern Minnesota this winter has led to the cancellation of the John Beargrease sled dog race (WDIO) for only the second time in its history. Low snow totals make racing more dangerous for people and dogs. The Duluth News Tribune also has a story . ...
MinnesotaBrown - Jan 16
I saw a post about a Virginia Republican legislator, Bob Marshall, that ThinkProgress claimed was "easily one of the worst lawmakers in America." It got me thinking about who would be Minnesota's worst legislator. My immediate reaction was to nominate Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa). Both Marshall and Draz are delusional and have both offered a plethora of mind-bogglingly stupid/crazy bill...
DailyKos (Minnesota) - Jan 13
