Dayton weighs in on budget plans, minimum wage, legislative pay raises, the...
This was what you call your wide-ranging news conference.Gov. Mark Dayton in a Wednesday noon session covered everything from the departure of Vikings punter Chris Kluwe to the fishing opener — not to...
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Michele Bachmann in hush-hush talks to settle Iowa case
I know a wall I’d like to be a fly on …Kevin Diaz of the Strib says:“U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann is engaged in settlement negotiations in a lawsuit alleging that senior members of her presidential...
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Twins prospects: Revisiting the best of the 2000s
ToppsComing into the season, the Twins were universally regarded as having one of the truly elite farm systems in baseball, boasting plenty of star-level talent and impressive depth. I called it the...
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Klobuchar, Franken pitch amendments to immigration bill
Sens. Klobuchar and FrankenWASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee begins the lengthy and likely contentious process of amending a massive immigration reform package on Thursday. In total,...
View ArticleMeet the floating plant that has Lake Victoria's economy in a chokehold
Vast swaths of an invasive weed are creeping their way along the Kenyan and Ugandan shores of Lake Victoria, severely disrupting the local fishing economy and sending scientists and policymakers...
View ArticleVenezuela's Maduro globe trots: building regional ties or a domestic...
After a stop in Uruguay, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro was received in Buenos Airestoday by Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in the Argentine presidential palace, La Casa...
View ArticleNorth Korea sees surge of drug-resistant tuberculosis
North Korea is facing a surge of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, or MDRTB, an aid group has warned.At least 5,000 cases of TB that can't be treated with conventional antibiotics are reported in North...
View ArticleBangladesh's factory woes force a rethink in Britain fashion retailers
A new tragedy at a Bangladesh plant producing garments for a range of Western companies heaped new pressure on brands already reeling from last month's fatal collapse of a factory complex in the south...
View ArticleChina questions Japan's right to Okinawa
HONG KONG — The ongoing diplomatic mind-games between China and Japan took a curious turn this week as Chinese state-run media published a lengthy article questioning Japan's right to Okinawa, a chain...
View ArticleNigerian militant attack highlights Army's weaknesses
A highly organized, coordinated attack on a remote town in northeastern Nigeria on Tuesday by suspected members of the Islamist terror group Boko Haram highlights the limited impact of the military's...
View ArticleNew Benghazi testimony in Congress sharply critical of Obama administration
The Benghazi terrorist attack returned to Congress Wednesday in hours of testimony – and sharply partisan questioning – that included the first public retelling from a US diplomat in Libya at the time...
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‘St. Paul Union Depot’ brings back a world of travel as relaxation
When John W. Diers was a youngster in the 1940s and '50s, he loved streetcars, and convinced his family to take him out to the trollies most every weekend. He is pretty certain he managed to travel on...
View ArticleOpposing same-sex marriage has made Pastor Jerry McAfee a lightning rod
Pastor Jerry McAfee long has been a leading Twin Cities civil-rights activist.So it stunned many when McAfee, pastor at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church in north Minneapolis, stood last September...
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Q&A on children's mental health: More awareness, resources needed
Today is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day, although setting aside one day a year to focus on the issue seems hardly sufficient. Across the country — and here in Minnesota — it’s...
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Letter From Skunk Hollow: A sunny morning and coyote strolls into view
CC/Flickr/Josh MoreHoly bananas! Coyote!Last Saturday morning: Sallie's at the breakfast table, watching a pileated woodpecker finish off the season's last suet log. I'm pouring my morning coffee, then...
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House election-change bill passes with prospects of GOP support
House Democrats passed a series of procedural election changes Wednesday that just might earn the signature of Gov. Mark Dayton, who has called for broad, bipartisan support before he would allow them...
View ArticleObama approval up, but Republicans preferred on some key issues
A new Pew poll serves up a mixed bag of results, but more of them are good news for President Obama than for congressional Republicans. To be taken with a dose of salt as always, a few key...
View ArticleDai Thao and Noel Nix to run for St. Paul's Ward 1 council seat
Dai Thao, an IT manager who has worked on progressive causes, says he'll run for the St. Paul City Council Ward 1 seat that will be vacant when Melvin Carter III steps down in July.Carter's aide, Noel...
View ArticleWith 'Gatsby' movie opening, Historical Society video outlines Fitzgerald's...
With the latest "The Great Gatsby" movie opening Friday, the Minnesota Historical Society has prepared a short video primer on author F. Scott Fitzgerald's Minnesota ties.The under-3 minute video...
View ArticleNational Democrats, Republicans target Minnesota seats
WASHINGTON — Two quick Minnesota-related 2014 notes from the Democratic and Republican congressional campaign committees on Thursday:First, from Politico:The National Republican Congressional Committee...
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