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Workers seek answers after Minneapolis’ Rainbow Health abruptly shuts down
Rainbow Health, a Minneapolis nonprofit that serves LGBTQ and HIV-affected Minnesotans, abruptly closed its doors Thursday — stunning dozens of unionized workers who were told they no longer had a job. SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, the union that represents Rainbow Health workers, said in a release that employees received an email Thursday about an […]
Samuels undeterred by Omar’s massive cash advantage in Minnesota congressional race
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar received the fright of her political career two years ago, when she largely ignored Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary challenger Don Samuels and beat him by just two points. The scare seems to have motivated Omar, who raised over $1.6 million in the past three months alone. Omar says she has $1.8 million cash […]
Minnesota Supreme Court to take up discrimination lawsuit brought by trans powerlifter
The Minnesota Supreme Court last week announced it would hear the case of a transgender powerlifter who was allegedly denied entry into USA Powerlifting competitions because of her gender identity. JayCee Cooper, a trans woman, sued USA Powerlifting in 2021 after she was barred from participating in the women’s division of powerlifting competitions. Cooper alleged […]
Government lobbying government: Locals spent $12 million lobbying the MN Legislature last year
The Office of the State Auditor on Thursday retracted its 2023 Local Government Lobbying Services Report after discovering incorrect data. A previous version of this article included errors supplied by the state auditor, but the story has been corrected throughout. Local governments spent about $12 million lobbying the Minnesota Legislature in 2023 — a 14% […]
Minnesota House GOP makes case for divided government by citing state’s ‘systemic fraud’
Minnesota House Republicans on Monday said that the state’s Democratic trifecta has failed to take responsibility for burgeoning fraud occurring in programs overseen by state agencies, and they argued that electing more GOP lawmakers in November will mitigate future fraud. In recent years, numerous investigations by the state’s nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor have […]
Here’s how to vote early in Minnesota’s primary election
Minnesotans can now vote early in Minnesota’s 2024 primary election, which is on Aug. 13. To be eligible to vote, a person must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old on election day, a resident of Minnesota for 20 days, not under a court order prohibiting them from voting and not currently incarcerated […]
The key 2024 races that will determine control of the Minnesota Legislature
Minnesota Democrats showed the nation last year just how powerful a trifecta can be — even when their majorities in both chambers are as small as the eye of a needle. They passed paid family leave, universal free school meals, a steeply progressive child tax credit, increased sales taxes for housing and gas taxes for […]
Walz, Democratic governors say abortion will be on the November ballot
Gov. Tim Walz used the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs decision to highlight what he said would be the “major role” abortion will play in the November presidential election, and he argued that limiting access to reproductive health care is still a priority for many Republicans. Walz, who serves as chair of […]
House DFL piling up cash advantage over House Republicans
The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor House caucus has a large cash advantage over the GOP House caucus as of May 31, according to recent campaign finance reports. All 134 seats in the closely divided House will be on the ballot in November, and fundraising will be critical as Democrats and Republicans vie for control of the chamber. […]
Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman reflects on DFL trifecta
Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, was first elected to the Legislature in 2004 and became speaker in 2018. Her influence expanded significantly after voters delivered Democrats a trifecta over state government two years ago, and she played a central role in deciding which bills Democrats would prioritize. In 2023, she helped pass the […]
Former Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart running in special election for Minnesota Senate seat
Former Democratic state Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart is now campaigning in earnest for a seat in the Minnesota Senate after Sen. Kelly Morrison, DFL-Deep Haven, resigned Thursday to focus on her bid for U.S. Congress. Prior to Morrison’s resignation, only the Minnesota House’s 134 seats were supposed to be on the ballot in November; senators […]
Minnesota optometrists get thumb in the eye from big donors, House speaker
Dozens of lawmakers from both parties, eye doctors and the Minnesota Board of Optometry wanted Minnesotans to be able to receive expanded services from their eye doctors this past legislative session. Minnesota optometrists currently can’t prescribe oral antiviral medications to treat shingles in the eyes, for example, for longer than 10 days, or glaucoma medication […]