ST. PAUL, Minn. — A move to require Minnesota drivers to use only hands-free cell phones looks like it’s finished for the current legislative session. The bill’s sponsor, Champlin Republican Rep. Mark Uglem, says leaders told him his bill won’t get a vote as the session heads toward a finish this weekend. Uglem says he’s disappointed and concerned for people…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Gov. Mark Dayton says he won’t sign a bill squaring Minnesota’s tax code to sweeping federal changes if Republican lawmakers don’t include emergency funding for schools. Passing a so-called tax conformity bill to avoid confusion and some tax increases for people has been a major focus this year. But Dayton says schools need additional money as…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Just like they started the session, Minnesota’s Legislature is entering the homestretch with a long to-do list. But now they have just over a week to finish it. Republicans who control the Legislature and Gov. Mark Dayton are at odds on how to restructure Minnesota’s tax code, how to change health care programs and whether to…
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis is dropping its refugee resettlement programs. The move comes as the state sees a significant slowdown in refugees arriving under President Donald Trump’s administration. The influential charity will shift its focus to programs aimed at homelessness and helping at-risk children. Fewer than 950 refugees arrived in Minnesota last year, compared…
Rep. Sarah Anderson & Rep. Jenifer LoonST. PAUL, Minn. — Two Republican lawmakers from Minneapolis suburbs are trying to get gun legislation passed before the session ends later this month. One bill would give private sellers an incentive to verify a buyer has a legal right to own a gun before making a sale. The other involves several changes to…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota House has passed a bill matching the state’s tax code with new federal tax cuts. The GOP-backed proposal that cleared the House Monday includes modest income tax rate cuts for more than two million Minnesotans and a slight increase to the standard deduction. But it would also cause slight tax increases for some…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Democratic lawmaker has finished a 24-hour sit-in on the Minnesota House floor to protest inaction on gun control legislation. Colleagues showed up to show their support for State Rep. Erin Maye Quade during the sit-in. The first-term lawmaker from Apple Valley said her overnight protest underscores the growing frustration and urgency for lawmakers to act…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Democratic lawmaker is holding a 24-hour sit-in on the Minnesota House floor to protest the lack of action on gun legislation. Rep. Erin Maye Quade began the protest this morning. Several Democratic colleagues and one suburban Republican joined at the start to share stories of Minnesotans who were fatally shot. Maye Quade is a first-term…
MOORHEAD, Minn. — The U.S. District Court of Minnesota naturalized more than 100 new citizens from 24 different countries at MSUM. Everyone at the ceremony has been waiting three years or more for this day. They all needed to apply for a green card, take a citizenship test and take the oath of allegiance at the ceremony. Immigration services…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Touting Minnesota’s ranking as “Best Run State”, Governor Mark Dayton delivered his final “State of the State”. He began his address by introducing his 5-year-old grandson, Hugo, and with a joke about walking out by himself after the speech. Last year, he collapsed in the middle of the address as he battled prostate cancer. Dayton talked…
