What would a government shutdown in 2011 look like? No one really knows
As acrimony and posturing continue to dominate relations between DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and GOP legislative leaders, the countdown to a July 1 state government shutdown proceeds. Yet even as the zero...
View ArticleScheid’s departure will be keenly felt at Capitol
In 11 nonconsecutive terms as a DFL legislator going back to 1977, Sen. Linda Scheid has made a name for herself as a highly knowledgeable and instinctually bipartisan legislator with an independent...
View ArticleIn the House, centrist Republicans could play a pivotal role in budget fight
Moderate legislators are hard to come by these days. By most accounts, last fall’s election saw voters oust most of the middle-of-the-road DFLers in the Minnesota House and replace them with a spate of...
View ArticlePick a shutdown, any shutdown
With two weeks left until the end of the biennial budget cycle, the largest question facing the state is increasingly not whether the government will be forced to shut down July 1, but just how much...
View ArticleRedistricting panel wins bipartisan praise
Of the five judges selected by Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea to oversee the state’s redistricting process, one is considered a “rising star” in the judicial world, another has...
View ArticleLawsuit: Shutdown means stop
On Monday, yet another legal petition regarding the terms of a state government shutdown is expected to be filed in Ramsey County District Court, and this one makes a very simple case: In the event of...
View ArticleShutdown threat damaging both sides
Gov. Mark Dayton has held the political upper hand throughout the first six months of his tenure. Polling has consistently shown him with approval ratings above 50 percent and widespread public support...
View ArticleBudget deal leaves many feeling like losers
Baseball Hall-of-Famer George Brett once said that “if a tie is like kissing your sister, losing is like kissing your grandmother with her teeth out.”
View ArticleFour veteran insiders offer a view of past state negotiations
Now that the state shutdown appears to be over, it seemed a good time to wonder what goes on in those conference rooms for hours on end. Are there treats? Is the coffee any good? Do the two sides break...
View ArticleDecade-long LGA erosion recalibrates city budget
In 2002, Minneapolis received $112 million in local government aid from the state. The following year the state’s largest city was slated to receive $118 million but ultimately saw that sum cut to $92...
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