Statewide Smoking Ban Brings Relief to Mankato Area Conflict

The passage of the statewide smoking ban has brought a collective sigh of relief to both sides of the Minnesota River where it bends to the northeast in southern Minnesota. On the north side of the river is North Mankato,…

With Mothers in Charge, There Could Be Much Less to Write About

It is a rare occurrence when I recommend a Frank Rich op/ed in the New York Times on Minnesota Monitor. Yet I am doing so today because it is Mother’s Day.

“Oh, so Frank Rich…

Mothers and Politics: Strangers No More

Mothers Day and politics seem strangely at odds.

Politics is down and dirty. Mothers are hardly that. Or rather shouldn’t be.

Yet mothers are having a greater presence in political life. There are three mothers in Congress representing Minnesotans: Rep.…

The Governor’s Climate Change Advisory Group

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has named a 51-member Climate Change Advisory Group to look at “the profound implications that global warming and climate variation could have on the economy, environment and quality of life…

Former Mexican Foreign Minister Critical of U.S. Immigration Policy

The United States is on the wrong track in its attempts to deal with immigration, says Dr. Jorge Castañeda, and proposed solutions could make the problem worse. Casteñeda served as Mexico’s foreign minister in the…

Asking the Fox to Guard the Hen House

In another example of choosing industry insiders to head federal agencies that are supposed to oversee those industries, the Bush administration has put forward Michael Baroody to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Baroody is currently…

Movement Building Won’t Work Against an Obstinate Executive

It’s Time for ‘Governor Veto’ to Put Away His Supertogs
On these pages Joe Bodell suggested recently that “Progressive Organizations Need Some Work.” He laments that “movement building [is taking] a back…

Is Minnesota’s Mainstream Media Missing Important Stories?

Look on the web for a story about Veterans Affairs administrators getting bonuses of up to $33,000 while the Veterans Affairs Administration faces budget shortfalls and lengthy service backlogs, and…

Populism Is Alive and Well in Southern Minnesota

“Southwestern Minnesota politics is based on populism,” said the dinner guest at the 11th annual Dan and Ronnie Burton dinner held in the ballroom of the student union at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Saturday night. The folks in St. Paul…

Barbara Ehrenreich: ‘Nickel and Dimed’ or ‘Bait and Switched’?

The famous author and social justice observer Barbara Ehrenreich came to Gustavus Adolphus College on April 24 to delight and challenge a mostly middle-class crowd of 300 optimistic undergrads and well-educated, aging liberals.

Though I…