Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak romped to a third term while openly flirting with a 2010 gubernatorial bid. Today a state agency rebuked him for mingling funds while pursuing the dual political contests. Will the ruling hurt Rybak’s political viability?
DFL’s debate schedule for Minnesota governor candidates announced
11/7/09 3:12 PM
Pioneer Press
Obama makes appeal for health care votes
11/7/09 2:53 PM
Pioneer Press
Vox Pop
11/7/09 2:48 PM
Brainerd Dispatch
Salmonella victims upset no prosecutions yet
11/7/09 2:46 PM
Brainerd Dispatch
Pawlenty heads to Iowa as signs point to 2012 presidency run
11/7/09 1:06 PM
Pioneer Press
Andy Borowitz: Congressmen Admit They No Longer Remember Which Health Care Bill They Are Voting On
11/7/09 12:32 PM
Huffington Post
A letter to my loan shark
11/7/09 10:27 AM
News Cut
Local officers help enforce seat-belt law
11/7/09 7:55 AM
Rochester Post Bulletin
Campaign board punishes Minneapolis mayor
11/7/09 7:45 AM
Rochester Post Bulletin
Metro Gang Strike Force comments sought
11/7/09 12:37 AM
Pioneer Press
Board rules both Twin Cities mayors were running for governor
11/7/09 12:16 AM
Pioneer Press
Pawlenty Mexican trade trip delayed
11/7/09 12:04 AM
Pioneer Press
Campaign finance board rules against Rybak
11/6/09 10:40 PM
Star Tribune
Campaign finance board rules against Rybak
11/6/09 10:40 PM
Star Tribune
Fresh Eye on the Radio: The clues
11/6/09 6:57 PM
News Cut
How effectively will the House health care bill cover children? Turns out, it depends on where they live.
The Minnesota Independent’s sister site, the Washington Independent, was on the scene Thursday for U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s “House Call” protest against health care reform at the U.S. Capitol.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty believes Minnesota has a “binge” spending problem. In order to fix this addiction, he’s proposing a rather radical solution: an amendment to the state’s constitution that would strictly limit future expenditures. Democrats say it’s simply a stunt to bolster Pawlenty’s presidential ambitions.
They went there to ensure that nobody was wrongfully turned away from a Minneapolis polling place infamous for electoral mishaps. They ended up across the street, with police threatening arrest if they set foot inside again.
The introduction of instant-runoff voting (IRV) added uncertainty to city council races in Minneapolis. But when all the votes are (finally) counted, it appears likely that every incumbent who ran for re-election will prevail.
Minneapolis’ first try at instant-runoff voting went well, judging by a low number of spoiled ballots. But the number of ballots cast was also low, spoiling the system’s otherwise successful debut.
St. Paul voters overwhelmingly backed Mayor Chris Coleman for a second term on Tuesday. The Democrat garnered support from 69 percent of voters, easily defeating challenger Eva Ng.
Friday was historic for LGBT Americans as President Obama signed into law a hate crimes bill that includes sexual orientation and gender identity. But some among Minnesota’s religious right didn’t receive the news warmly, saying the law will bring the wrath of God down on America, that Obama is an “anti-Christian radical” and that the bill was a plot by “homosexuals” to silence Christians.
DFL Party sample ballot mailings that were supposed to arrive Friday or Saturday still had not reached some Minneapolis mailboxes as of Monday. Minneapolis DFL chair Dan McConnell says the party has been working with the postal service to locate undelivered sample ballots and get them to their destinations by today, Election Day.
They are called “pre-general” campaign-finance reports, but with the general election in Minneapolis only a day away, many candidates’ reports have yet to be filed, according to a website maintained by Hennepin County. In select races that could be close and have reports posted, the money race gives an indication of what the candidates had to work with in the closing days of their campaigns.
The knives are out in the battle over instant-runoff voting (IRV) in St. Paul. The No Bad Ballots Committee has filed a second complaint, alleging the voting system’s supporters are using “evil” campaign practices worthy of Karl Rove.
The battle over instant-runoff voting in St. Paul is getting heated. The No Bad Ballots Committee, which is advocating against adopting the new voting system, has filed a grievance with the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings alleging that supporters of the ballot measure are knowingly making false claims in their campaign literature.
The religious right has long railed against Halloween, condemning its pagan roots and claiming it promotes witchcraft and the occult. This year some groups are embracing the day as a time to reach kids with a pro-life and Christian message, while others use the day to burn “wicked” books and CDs. And one writer for Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network warns parents that witches curse Halloween candy.
“Mr. Secretary, I’m not a man that fears this administration or you,” Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) told Geithner. “But I do fear the accumulation of power exercised by someone in the future that can be extraordinary.”
Photo: Graham Moomaw, The Washington Independent
There’s word that “Stunning” Steve King, congressman from Iowa, wants a Saturday reprise of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s “Superbowl of Freedom” rally against health care reform. Before a second “House Call” protest blurs memories of the original, here is a sampling of reportage from a pair of eyewitnesses to Bachmann’s achievement on Thursday.
More »
There is a grassroots effort underway to draft Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher to run for governor. The campaign has set up Facebook and Twitter accounts to generate momentum for a gubernatorial bid. There’s also an online petition that Fletcher supporters can sign.
The “Draft Bob Fletcher for MN Governor in 2010″ Facebook page currently has 334 friends. The “DraftFletcher” Twitter feed has attracted 44 followers.
But unlike recent campaigns to entice R.T. Rybak and John Choi into political contests, the sincerity of the effort to woo Ramsey County’s top cop seems a bit questionable.
More »
Surveying voters outside of the city last May meant Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak should have registered a gubernatorial campaign committee, the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board said in a ruling (pdf) announced today. The upshot: One R.T. Rybak campaign committee must pay another $26,500 to cover the cost of the survey. The board also ruled that St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman was a candidate for governor earlier this year, but that he did not improperly mingle campaign funds.
More »
Photo: Chris Steller, MnIndy
U.S. Sen. Al Franken introduced legislation Thursday that would encourage states to examine untested rape kits for DNA evidence. The bill would also provide for more health workers trained to administer rape-kit exams, particularly for Native American women.
More »
Photo: Graham Moomaw, Washington Independent
In headlining Thursday’s “House call” protest against health-care reform, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann was going rogue on her own party’s leaders, who had hoped to focus the day’s attention on their own 12-hour, online health-care “town hall.”
More »
“As one of my good friends and supporters, I want you to know that today we filed the paperwork to create the R.T. Rybak for Governor Committee.” And so Minneapolis’ newly re-elected mayor at long last made his intentions clear — though murky syntax made it sound like he is one of his own good friends and supporters. Today at noon the state campaign finance board makes an announcement of its own: whether Rybak broke rules by waiting until Thursday to make his guv-bid activities official.
Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning …
More »
Gov. Tim Pawlenty unveiled a proposal on Tuesday to amend the state’s constitution in order to keep a lid on government spending. His plan would cap the size of the state’s general fund budget at the amount of revenue received in the previous two year cycle. But according to figures compiled by the Senate Majority Research office, Pawlenty has never submitted a budget proposal that would have met the fiscal strictures of his proposed amendment.
More »
Photo: The Washington Independent
At least 10 individuals attending Rep. Michele Bachmann’s “House Call” event to protest health care reform have been arrested outside an office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The protesters were among the several thousand Tea Party activists that Bachmann invited to storm the Capitol on Thursday.
“They were inside an office and didn’t leave,” Sgt. Kimberly Schneider of the Capitol Police told the Washington Post. They were being charged with disorderly conduct and unlawful entry.
More »
Democrats blasted Rep. Michele Bachmann’s “House Call” rally against health care reform at the nation’s Capitol on Thursday. Dr. Maureen Reed’s campaign attacked Bachmann for sticking up for the health insurance lobby while the Democratic National Committee tried to paint Bachmann as the voice of the Republican Party.
More »
Bradlee Dean. Image: YouTube
The two leaders of evangelical ministry You Can Run But You Cannot Hide (YCR) have chastised President Obama twice in the past two weeks for appearing at public school assemblies in Chicago while he was a U.S. senator. Bradlee Dean and Jake McMillian complain that Obama used high schools to campaign. But they praise their own ministry’s efforts to bring evangelical Christianity to assemblies at schools — many public — in Minnesota and throughout the Midwest.
More »
Subscribe to our RSS feed
Follow us on Twitter
Become a fan on Facebook