This image taken from Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor meeting via Zoom shows Sen. Calvin Bahr shirtless during a vote on Monday, May 1, 2023. In a video streamed on YouTube, Bahr, of East Bethel, can briefly be seen voting — with a School House Rock “I’m Just a Bill” character on the wall behind him — during a…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) – North Dakota’s Legislative sessions begins Tuesday. Republicans have 43 more seats than Democrats in the Senate and 70 in the House, but that doesn’t mean they are all on the same page. “There’s not universal agreement among the majority of Republicans on certain things and they may need some Democratic votes to get over the finish…
BISMARCK, N.D.–North Dakota is moving forward with a plan to livestream legislative committee meetings, despite some concerns about the cost of implementing the service. The Legislative Procedure and Arrangements Committee voted Wednesday to livestream committee meetings in two rooms of the state Capitol for the 2019-2020 interim. Related costs, including closed captioning, top $100,000. The 2021 Legislature could consider a…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota lawmakers are heading back to the Capitol Tuesday with a long list of work but uncertain odds of finishing it. Squaring Minnesota’s tax code with the recently passed federal tax cuts may get top billing. But it won’t be easy for the Republican-controlled Legislature to make sure taxpayers can easily file their taxes next year…
MOORHEAD, Minn. — Nineteen precinct caucuses were open across Clay County. Athena Graycyk can still remember how strange it felt to be in a caucus for the first time ever. “I moved here from California and all we had were primaries. I had never heard of a caucus. The first one I went to, I was like a wide–eyed…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Gov. Mark Dayton is pushing to borrow $1.5 billion for a vast list of public construction projects. The Democratic governor released his so-called bonding bill wish list. It puts a heavy emphasis on upkeep at public colleges and universities, expanding affordable housing options and improving water infrastructure across Minnesota. He says the time is ripe…
FARGO, ND — You may want to reconsider tossing a cigarette out your car window from now on. Highway officials are cracking down on litter by imposing a 400 percent fine increase. Anyone caught tossing trash out on the highway will now have to pay a $500 fine as opposed to the standard $100. The bill was passed during the…
BISMARCK, ND — North Dakota legislative leaders will pursue litigation against some vetoes issued by Govenor Burgum, saying he overstepped his authority. A key committee of the Legislature voted unanimously to pursue the litigation instead of calling lawmakers back into session. They are looking into whether the governor may veto parts of spending bills in ways that change the…
MOORHEAD, Minn. — Minnesota state officials are working with community members to review and reflect on bills passed during the 2017 legislative session. State Representative, Ben Lien, says the most important project is the 20th-21st Street underpass. Lien says this project has been in the works for more than 25 years and has finally been approved. The underpass will help…
BISMARCK, ND — The North Dakota Legislature’s 141 members are already at work on the next legislative session. The Legislative Management committee has assigned the lawmakers to conduct 50 studies on topics such as state retirement funding, health care and the financial condition of the state’s 11 public colleges and universities. Each committee will compile a report and any…
