Minnesota Politics

Reflections on "Pointergate"

Minneapolis_Mayor-Elect_Betsy_Hodges_10710314156_o The Twin Cities have been rocked by more than an arctic blast this November, the now infamous "#Pointergate" scandal has drawn national attention. Questions have risen to the surface: How did KSTP (one of our local news stations) think it would be sensible to run a story indirectly accusing Mayor Betsy Hodges of standing in solidarity with North Minneapolis gangs? How is it acceptable for police officers to directly accuse...

Interview with Minnesota Governor Candidate Jeff Johnson

Jeff Johnson Explains his Views to Erik Bergs

Minnesota Connected was recently given the chance to interview the gubernatorial governor candidate Jeff Johnson (GOP) -- the interview took place hours before his first debate with Mark Dayton (DFL) in Rochester (available to view here). Our conversation focused on a variety of policy issues, but we found a number of non-political tangents to wander down as well. Minnesota Connected: Obviously...

Minnesota Politics 2014: Where are the Debates? Where's the Drama?

Al franken - 2014 Minnesota elections

Some Minnesotans might be surprised to hear that we're at the brink of a major political storm. A slow stream of articles have touched on some of the races sprouting from the August primaries, but a full-scale clash (annoying TV ads, smear campaigns, debates, etc.) between the parties is still on hold. The building pressure will likely result in short but sharply negative contests. One of the major reasons...

Looming Budget Issues for Minnesota?

st. paul capitol - matthew deery For the fourth straight month Minnesota has taken a significantly lower amount of tax revenue than expected. Back in February, budget officials announced a projected $1.23 billion surplus for the fiscal year 2014-2015. This forecast, which helps to inform lawmakers on tax and spending issues, is not quite holding true to form; though officials urge caution in drawing conclusions for how it will surface in the budget. Just four months into the fiscal year and the state is approaching $100 million...

12 Possible Names for the New Stadium's Plaza

[caption id="attachment_227476" align="aligncenter" width="570"]A version of the plaza, with light-rail, facing toward the stadium A version of the plaza, with light-rail, facing toward the stadium[/caption] The design for the new Viking's stadium calls for a large open plaza. It will include a transit station for the light-rail, a wonderfully glassy entrance to the venue itself and a not so glassy view of the (also newly constructed) Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center (which will be directly across from the doors). Yet a large question mark remains: what will this plaza be called? The proposed "Downtown East Plaza" isn't very catchy and will...

Teamsters Lobby Gets DFL Leaders to Quietly Kill Sunday Growler Sales From Liquor Bill

Teamsters Lobby Gets DFL Leaders to Quietly Kill Sunday Growler Sales from Liquor Bill

Most of the time I have to settle for covering stories that involve beer or politics, but once in a blue moon these two cosmic bodies (that I spend way too much time thinking about) align into something distinctly interesting. Yet somehow an under-reported sleeper of a story involving such things almost missed my attention. Unfortunately the scoop isn't good: in short, the influential...