President Obama is making a two day trip to Minneapolis and Bloomington at the end of this week. The trip's plan previously comprised of only a fundraiser but it has ballooned out into a Minnehaha Park town hall-style event on Thursday and a public speech at the Lake Harriet Bandshell on Friday morning.
One of the major reasons for the trip's expansion has been a letter written by a Minneapolitan woman named 'Rebekah.' She outlined her struggles to the president (who has a habit of reading ten letters from citizens a day)...
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...
Winston Smith is plagued with a need. A need for freedom. Individuality, however, is illegal. Everyone must conform to the government or perish. All around him he is aware that "Big Brother is watching." Cameras are everywhere recording everything, making sure he shows no sign of desiring freedom or individuality. In a moment of defiance Smith decides to begin journaling his thoughts against the government, which is also illegal. Thought Police will arrest and execute anyone who thinks for themselves -- especially thoughts against the government. The Thought Police's job was simple: monitor everyone and deal with...
On Monday the Teamsters Union nabbed an important win in their
push-back against a popular provision to allow for Sunday growler sales in the Minnesota State Senate's liquor bill. All hope (for beer-lovers) seemed lost as the provision was
officially stripped in the Senate Tax Committee. It appeared destined to become yet another...
The surface of politics in Minneapolis appears rather placid and predictable. This week will likely see Linea Palmisano's
moratorium recede into a simple regulation change and a rather powerless Betsy Hodges inch closer and closer to finalizing the proposed (and stupid)
...
Choo Choo Bob might have his foundations on the St. Paul side of things, but he certainly knows how to explain a Minneapolis problem. I couldn't fully understand all the proposals regarding the Southwest Light-Rail project until I reviewed a stack of maps, charts, graphs and local complaints; but for anyone looking to learn about the issue at this late juncture, it's extremely easy thanks to our
train-fanatic friend across the river!
Here is the informative...
To grow or not to grow, that is the question — whether 'tis profitable in the purse to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous construction, or to withhold permits from a sea of business.
Something is rotten in southwest Minneapolis as a moratorium (created by Council Member Linea Palmisano and approved by the rest of the City Council) regarding the tearing down of houses goes into its second week. The ordinance dropped suddenly on March 7th causing agitation for homeowners caught midstream, builders looking forward to summer...
English, arguably, contains more words than any other language; it can craft fresh words as readily as it steals foreign words. Yet we often discard this quality for the sake of vague simplicity. In the realm of political ideas, which offers up a rich jargon for our use, we have chosen to stifle accuracy and undermine complexity in order to lump and label groups. Now, with so many shifts and turns in the narrative of national governance, our terms have grown as outdated and counterintuitive as our spelling (in which George Bernard Shaw...
Barack Obama will be
in town on Wednesday, February 26th looking to boost a Minnesota approval rating that is at its lowest point since 2009. What do
you think of our President? As a Minnesotan, how do you feel about Barack Obama and the job he is doing in the Oval Office? According to data from a recent Star Tribune
poll, Minnesotans indicated...
How often have you heard a friend or family member gripe about a politician or political party only to hear them follow up their complaint by saying, “I’m just one person, I can’t make a difference”?
Well, thanks to Minnesota’s caucus process that myth can be put to rest. The precinct caucuses on Tuesday, February 4 mark the start of a statewide process in which party platforms are established, candidates for state and federal offices are endorsed, and...
