Stillwater's Denis McDonough reportedly Obama's next chief of staff
WASHINGTON — According to multiple reports, President Obama is likely to choose Stillwater native Denis McDonough as his next chief of staff, making a Minnesotan the top presidential aide in the West...
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Minnesota’s delegation mostly mum on Obama gun plan
WASHINGTON — With just a few exceptions, Minnesota’s congressional delegation had little to say about the set of gun control proposals President Obama pitched to a likely skeptical Congress on...
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Photo ops and the real gun culture
Mr. Dilettante's Neighborhood I need a photo-opportunityI want a shot at redemptionIf you're the President of the United States, you can get a photo opportunity pretty much any time you want, and...
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Legislative wish list crafted to better help schools' most challenging students
This is the second in a series of articles addressing a largely hidden crisis: A decade of social-service cuts and rising poverty have left Minnesota schools — which turn no child away — struggling to...
View ArticleSweeping assessment paints a grim picture of Midwest's changing climate
Normally I try in this space to focus on environmental subjects or perspectives that are getting scant attention – if they get any at all – from other major media in this part of the world.Today I want...
View ArticleRochester retailers also fear extending Minnesota sales tax to clothing
Extending the Minnesota sales tax to clothing continues to be a possible tool in the DFL-led Legislature's plan to erase a state budget deficit. And that worries some retailers around the state.Most...
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Was the Second Amendment adopted for slaveholders?
“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”I don’t claim to know all the reasons that the United...
View ArticleMinnesota unemployment rate down to 5.5%; 9,100 jobs added
Minnesota officials said today that the state unemployment rate in December was 5.5 percent, far below the national rate of 7.8 percent.Minnesota added 9,100 jobs in December, the Minnesota Department...
View ArticleMinnesota health-exchange bill clears first of many committee stops
The Minnesota health insurance exchange’s sprint through the Legislature got off to a good start Wednesday, clearing its first Senate committee.The exchange legislation, with a late-March deadline,...
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Saint Paul's Winter Carnival: 'The coolest celebration on earth'
It's almost time again for Saint Paul's Winter Carnvial, 'the coolest celebration on earth.' The event kicks off on January 24 this year. Here to fill you in on the carnival's history and details of...
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Skin problems top Mayo's list of reasons people visit doctors
If you’ve sought care from a doctor recently, the odds are you did so because of a skin problem, a joint disorder or back pain.For according to a Mayo Clinic study published Wednesday, those are the...
View ArticleMinnesota gets $39 million federal grant for health insurance exchange...
Minnesota officials said today that they've received a $39 million federal grant that will help pay for design and development of a state health insurance exchange.Minnesota Management and Budget...
View ArticleFranken says he supports an assault weapons ban
WASHINGTON — The Minnesota delegation, as a whole, didn't have a lot to say on President Obama's gun control proposals Wednesday.But Sen. Al Franken, speaking in Rochester, announced his support for...
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Minnesota measure would snuff out onstage smoking
So will there be a “constitutional outcry” over this? The AP says:“A state senator wants to outlaw actors from puffing away as part of plays. Democratic Sen. Barb Goodwin of Columbia Heights introduced...
View ArticleIn jab at iTunes, Amazon releases iOS-optimized MP3 store
Beginning this week, iPhone and iPod users will be able to access an iOS-optimized version of the popular Amazon MP3 store – not as an App Store app (a move that Apple likely would have sought to...
View ArticleIn rural America, some sheriffs vow to defy Obama on gun control
A vocal contingent of rural lawmen and red-state lawmakers say they won't go along with any new federal crackdowns on the ability of law-abiding Americans' to own guns, and that they'll even side with...
View ArticleGot sugar? Venezuela faces shortages of staple foods
While President Hugo Chávez convalesces in Cuba following his fourth cancer operation, Venezuelans face a struggle of a different kind in the midst of shortages of basic food products.Consumers are...
View ArticleFree calling comes to Facebook Messenger (with a couple catches)
Facebook is one step closer to replacing your old-fashioned cellular voice and texting plans altogether.As we reported back in December, Facebook recently unveiled a new Messenger app, which allowed...
View ArticleThe Battle of the Bachmanniacs: Mercenaries versus missionaries
Wry Wing Politics The Star Tribune’s Kevin Diaz is covering an interesting story about an ugly battle happening inside Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s 2012 presidential campaign circles. The...
View ArticleCould Britain move away from EU and toward the Commonwealth?
Even as Britain's prime minister puts the final touches on a speech due Friday on his government's plans to renegotiate the UK’s relationship with the European Union, his government's foreign secretary...
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