In the shadow of El Comandante
HAVANA, Cuba — When Hugo Chavez was first elected president of Venezuela in 1998, Latin American leftism was in a rut.The fall of the Berlin Wall had given rise to the so-called “Washington Consensus”...
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Composer Heitzeg's 'Wild Mercy' setting to be performed at Terry Tempest...
steveheitzeg.comSteve HeitzegLong before humans came on the scene, there was music everywhere. St. Paul composer Steve Heitzeg listens to nature to bring the sweep and sound of oceans, prairies, skies...
View ArticleUN approves sanctions after North Korea threatens nuclear strike against US
SEOUL, South Korea — The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to approve new, tighter sanctions against North Korea on Thursday.The vote on whether to increase sanctions against Pyongyang...
View ArticleDo gun laws reduce gun deaths? New study says 'yes,' but data are thin
Do more gun laws lead to fewer gun deaths?The simple answer is “yes,” according to study released Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. But critics say the study falls short of...
View ArticleRand Paul's drone filibuster shakes up Republicans
Sen. Rand Paul’s 12-plus hour filibuster was never going to block Senate confirmation of John Brennan to be CIA director, and indeed the full Senate voted, 63 to 34, Thursday afternoon to approve Mr....
View ArticleLife after 'sequester': Does federal budget have $1 trillion in fat to cut?
The newly launched "sequester" federal spending cuts are large – large enough to total more than $1 trillion if they were to stay in place for 10 years.That won’t happen, because no one likes the...
View ArticleMinnesota Senate passes health insurance exchange bill after 12-hour debate
After 12 hours of debate and 150 amendments to consider, the Minnesota Senate passed a health insurance exchange bill Thursday night.The legislation passed nearly on a party line vote, with one DFLer,...
View ArticleGov. Dayton takes business-to-business tax out of his budget
Gov. Mark Dayton said in a speech Friday morning that he's taking the controversial business-to-business tax — which had been much villified by many executives — off the table.Speaking to the TwinWest...
View ArticleRESET effort focuses on achievement gap, and shows ways to close it
A PSA from the Minneapolis Foundation will kick off a broader campaign to raise awareness of the achievement gap in Minnesota and strategies to shrink it.Finally, coming to a silver screen near you, an...
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Political boomerang: GOP’s defeated amendment put same-sex marriage on fast...
The issue of same-sex marriage has become a story of boomerang politics in Minnesota this year.It was, ironically, Republicans who made same-sex marriage a headline issue in this session. It was their...
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Turning a modernist classic green in Highland Park
On a private spur off Edgecumbe Road in Highland Park is a wooded pocket of St. Paul cultural and architectural history. It’s the former grounds of the Pierce Butler Jr. estate. Here Butler, the lawyer...
View ArticleForum scheduled for GOP party chair candidates
The election of the new chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota has taken on some aspects of a broader campaign, one designed to communicate to voters and not just party activists. The latest...
View ArticleIf you think you've got a rhyme, it's St. Paul Sidewalk Poetry time
Entries for St. Paul's annual Sidewalk Poetry competition are due March 15, and city officials are looking for more short, original poems.Five winners will see their work cast in stone, so to speak....
View ArticleEducation Commissioner Cassellius discusses special ed funding in Duluth
Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius met with educators in Duluth Thursday to talk about the high costs of special education.A Legislative Auditor's report this week highlighted the...
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Dayton bails on biz-to-biz tax plan, and business is happy
That sound you hear? Champagne corks in the Strib’s editorial suite. Brian Bakst of the AP says, “Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton tells the Associated Press he's "99.8 percent certain" he'll abandon a bid...
View ArticleWolves silver linings: 5 reasons for genuine optimism from the 2012-13 season
Yes folks, it has by almost any measure been a brutal season for the Minnesota Timberwolves, one inexorably dominated by a bizarre, unrelenting barrage of injuries. Goals have been whittled down from a...
View ArticleCould any concentration of wealth at the top be too much?
Turns out a rising tide doesn’t lift all boatsFrom Robert Reich’s blog:“Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 14,270 – completely erasing its 54 percent loss between 2007 and 2009. The...
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Lawmakers pleased with Dayton's changes to budget plan
Minnesota’s top lawmakers from both sides of the aisle praised Gov. Mark Dayton’s announcement on Friday that he plans to drop a heavily criticized tax on business services from his revised budget...
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GOP legislators hope to change health-exchange bill in conference
Republican lawmakers continued pressuring Democrats on Friday to compromise with the GOP on the implementation of Minnesota’s health insurance exchange.The chambers of the DFL-controlled Legislature...
View ArticleMN Blog Cabin Roundup, 3/8
Time to act bigfrom NextMinnesota by Amanda HornerToo many plans cling to the past instead of charting a path to the future. Governor Rudy Perpich used to talk about making Minnesota the Brainpower...
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