Republican school vouchers proposal may violate Minnesota Constitution

A provision in the House Omnibus Education Finance bill released by Republican leadership on Monday could run afoul of the state constitution: School vouchers. Minnesota’s constitutional ban on taxpayer funding for religious schools, which stems back to anti-Catholic sentiment in the late 1800s, could create legal problems for the bill, as other states have found.

Emmer, Senjem fined for campaign finance violations

Sen. David Senjem and former GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer were fined by the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board on Monday. The board reviewed complaints stemming from the Nov. 2 election: Emmer’s campaign was fined for accepting illegal corporate contributions while Senjem was found to have violated campaign laws when he gave money to former Sen. Paul Koering.

Koering subject of GOP ‘witch hunt,’ according to Republican leaders

The Republican Party of Minnesota is investigating one of its own, and it has GOP leaders a bit uneasy. The party sent a letter to the Morrison County Sheriff asking for records of 911 calls and law enforcement visits…

What did they say? Gang-bang packages and foo foo dust

Politicians make some over-the-top remarks from time to time, and last week a few quotes at the state capitol left observers wondering, “What did they say?”

Pawlenty, legislative leaders “extremely concerned” about Northwest-Delta merger

An un- usually unified group of Minnesota state leaders expressed concern Monday about a proposed merger between Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines.

Speaking at a press conference in the governor’s reception room, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty said he…