Conservative think tank agrees with sales tax expansion
mnpACT! Progressive Political Blog The business community is doing a full court press on business service sales taxes. They don't like it. And again, without any proof or fact based arguments, they...
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Wolves’ rare road win offers a temporary balm
The Minnesota Timberwolves won a game in unusual fashion Monday night in Cleveland. Of course any win is unusual for the Wolves lately — his 100-92 triumph over the Cavs was just their third in 18...
View ArticleThe enormity of the 10-year gap between federal spending and revenues
Writing for the New Republic, William Galston provides a helpful but incredibly depressing look at the 10-year projections for taxes, spending and debt. He frames it as an illustration of the problem...
View ArticleMinnesota health care advocate to sit with First Lady during State of the Union
WASHINGTON — Minnesotan Abby Schanfield will sit in the star-studded First Lady’s box at the State of the Union on Tuesday night.Schanfield is a recent University of Minnesota graduate and a member of...
View ArticleMinneapolis considering tighter rules for licensed business ‘scofflaws’
If you operate a business licensed by Minneapolis and violate the rules, the city now has only two options: negotiate an operating agreement or revoke the license.A case in point was the Envy...
View ArticleSchools 200 miles apart join to lobby lawmakers for funds
The Rushford-Peterson and Moose Lake school districts hope to do together what they couldn’t do apart — repair their crumbling schools. Elizabeth Baier of the Rochester Post-Bulletin notes that the...
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Bipartisan support for higher candidate fundraising limits
Do we want them to spend even more time panhandling for money?Tom Scheck of MPR writes: “Some state lawmakers from both parties say they hope to raise the limit on the amount of money a candidate for...
View ArticleDayton appoints Nancy Lange to the Public Utilities Commission
Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed Nancy Lange to the Public Utilities Commission.She'll be one of five appointed commissioners who regulate the state's electricity, natural gas, and telephone industries...
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Chamber’s Kate Johansen Q-A: Business supports health exchange … but plan...
Minnesota’s proposed health insurance exchange is the talk of the Capitol early this session.DFL lawmakers are racing to pass legislation by late March to implement a state-based exchange — a key...
View ArticleMinnPost malware issue resolved
Earlier in the day, you may have received a warning screen when you attempted to visit www.minnpost.com. MinnPost was one of a number of sites targeted in an attack that added a small snippet of...
View ArticleMidwinter diversion: St. Paul gives awards for city's best gardens
St. Paul's annual Blooming St. Paul Awards were recently announced at an event emceed by city Parks Director Mike Hahm and Arts and Gardens Coordinator Mark Granlund. And the top residential garden...
View ArticleSon of slain Accent Signage owner gives Capitol Hill call for more gun control
WASHINGTON — Sami Rahamim became a gun control spokesman in the worst way possible.When Rahamim, a 17-year-old high school student, heard about the shooting at his father’s Accent Signage last fall, he...
View ArticleSenate passes Violence Against Women Act, sponsors pressure House to act
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate passed a domestic violence prevention bill Tuesday after it languished last session, and sponsors of the bill are looking to pressure House Republicans to bring it up and...
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Do presidential campaigns matter?
A recent Mother Jones article listed 67 events from the 2012 presidential campaign that at least some journalist described at the time with the term "game changer." Some were plausible...
View ArticleTEXT: 2013 State of the Union
WASHINGTON — Here, as prepared for delivery, is President Obama's 2013 State of Union:Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, fellow citizens: Fifty-one years ago, John F. Kennedy...
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Minnesota legislators want rules on local police use of drones
We really do need some basic rules for this stuff … The AP says: “A trio of Republican state senators is pushing to bar law enforcers from using remotely piloted drones in Minnesota for evidence...
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'Long-simmering' tension at South High leads to 'all-out brawl'
That “all-out brawl” at South High in Minneapolis got coverage from virtually every local outlet. At WCCO-TV, Esme Murphy reports: “Twelve people complained that they had been sprayed with mace. Police...
View ArticleChina attempts to manufacture 'Shangri-La'
Editor's note: "Manufacturing: Shangri-La" is a three-part series on a Tibetan hamlet turned tourist trap. Read Part 2: Profit quest imperils one of world’s most stunning landscapes; Part 3: China’s...
View ArticleMyanmar: Kachin guerrillas turn down Suu Kyi's offer to broker peace
A full 20 months into a civil war inside her homeland, dissident-turned-parliamentarian Aung San Suu Kyi says she'll help ethnic guerrillas and government officials broker peace.The guerrilla army's...
View ArticleEthiopia airs jihadi film amid sensitive Muslim protest trial
Ethiopia, a US ally in the battle against Al Qaeda-affiliated militants in Somalia, added to mounting worries about religious discord in the diverse east African state by screening a provocative...
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