As Syria's rebels close in, Assad has three options
The magnificent views across Damascus from the presidential palace on Mount Qassioun are unlikely to provide much comfort these days for Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s beleaguered head of state.For several...
View ArticleSame-sex marriage: Waiting now for the Supreme Court to act
The US Supreme Court’s announcement last week that it will take up two key same-sex marriage cases sets the scene now for several months of legal speculation and deeply-felt advocacy.The speculation...
View ArticleEgypt's Morsi annuls decree, but controversial vote stands
After threatening to impose martial law, Egypt's besieged President Mohamed Morsi appeased opponents at a press conference late Saturday night, annulling part of the decree that temporarily expanded...
View ArticleNostalgia can help you feel warmer, studies find
It's going to be cold today, with temperatures hovering in the bone-chilling teens.If you start feeling nostalgic, don’t be surprised. According to a study published last week in the journal Emotion,...
View ArticleHouse Minority Leader Kurt Daudt says he's ready to work with DFL
A self-described congenial pit bull, incoming GOP House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt will have to strike a delicate tone to get his caucus agenda taken seriously in the fast-approaching legislative...
View ArticleNew York Times highlights Nolan, incoming House members
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep.-elect Rick Nolan provided the New York Times with the folksy anecdote it needed for today's piece on the make-up of the 2013 class of freshman House lawmakers.Nolan is one of...
View ArticleThe Supremes take up gay marriage
Mr. Dilettante's Neighborhood I suppose it was inevitable:The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would enter the national debate over same-sex marriage, agreeing to hear a pair of cases...
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From student aid to research, fiscal cliff's effects on the U would be huge
Imagine that you are standing on the ground looking up at the fiscal cliff. You, the layperson, will probably see impending doom, the nation’s slow economic recovery teetering on the precipice and...
View ArticleWith Adrian Peterson, who needs a passing game?
In the old days of outdoor football the first snowstorm was usually the Viking ticket to salvation. The snow piled four feet high in midfield and the visiting teams were totally demoralized.On Sunday,...
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Minnesota House Republicans react to state budget forecast
Reacting to the release of the state budget forecast last week, incoming House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (who was interviewed recently by MinnPost's James Nord) and Deputy Minority Leader Jenifer Loon...
View ArticleGov. Dayton posts list of ways he's helped the state economy
Now that he's completed nearly two years in office, halfway through the term that ends in 2014, Gov. Mark Dayton is assessing his progress.Today, his administration released a list of accomplishments...
View ArticleSpare Key nonprofit expands mortgage help program to three more states
Spare Key, a nonprofit that gives financial help to families with ailing children, will expand from its Minnesota base into three more states: Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota.The agency is now...
View ArticleDisability lobbying coalition hires Rebecca Covington as executive director
The Minnesota Consortium for Citizens With Disabilities, a lobbying coalition of disability advocacy groups, has hired Rebecca Covington to be executive director.She has experience with advocacy and...
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Rep. Gottwalt goes from 'health reformer' to insurance broker
GOP Rep. Steve Gottwalt of St. Cloud is all about “market-based solutions” to health care. In an MPR investigation, Tom Scheck reports: “State Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud, led the GOP effort to...
View ArticleMinneapolis committee rejects demolition request for 1903 Gluek saloon
The developer who wants to tear down a saloon built in 1903 by Gluek Brewing Co. in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood was told Monday to move the building instead.Developer Bianca Fine told...
View ArticleSenate Democrats: Delay the medical device tax
WASHINGTON — Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken have signed a letter asking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to consider delaying the implementation of a forthcoming health care reform tax on medical...
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Minnesota leaders off to a rocky start at legislative ‘preview’
Typically, when legislative leaders and the governor meet with the media prior to the start of a session, there’s a can-do feeling of good will in the air.Not so this time around.David Hann, the Senate...
View ArticleMinneapolis' first day of snow emergency nabs 380 vehicles
We don’t have records going back to the invention of the automobile, or the tow truck, but the 380 vehicles towed on the first day of Minneapolis' snow emergency — nearly four times the number that...
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Despite casinos, reservations still plagued by high unemployment
Second of five installments. You can read the whole series here.It is easy to understand why so many workers at the Mystic Lake Casino and Hotel complex are non-Indian. If you were a multi-millionaire...
View ArticleNew UN plan to get girls in school boosted by Malala's father
The Pakistani government and the United Nations' education agency unveiled a plan today to motivate girls around the world to enroll in schools by the end of 2015. Organizers dubbed it the "Malala...
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