Minnesota Independent

Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen. Photo: GlennforStateRep.com

Gruenhagen recommends questionable story on tax hike refugees to constituents

By Sally Jo Sorensen | 06.30.11 | 9:26 am

Minnesota Representative Glenn Gruenhagen sent his constituents his weekly email newsletter Tuesday, cautioning them to purchase fishing licenses now in advance of the looming likelihood of a state government shutdown. However, the Sibley County legislator was not content to leave it at that practical level, and concluded with a recommendation for a little summer reading.

Minnesota Capitol. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

GOP pushes tenther amendment to ban ‘Obamacare,’ DFLers call it the Southern Strategy

By Andy Birkey | 04.08.11 | 8:35 am

Republicans in the Minnesota House have included an amendment to the health and human services omnibus bill that would ban the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in the state of Minnesota because legislators believe it to be in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. On Wednesday night, Republicans argued that “Obamacare” would “eviscerate” state sovereignty, while DFLers made comparisons to the Confederacy and the arguments used by secessionists during the Civil War. One legislator even proposed changing the state song to “Dixie.”

GOP introduces ban on drug that killed Blaine teen

By Andy Birkey | 04.05.11 | 11:13 am

Four bills have been introduced in the Minnesota Legislature to ban a substance known as 2C-E, a “designer drug” that is being blamed for the death of a Blaine teen and the hospitalization of 10 more. Republicans in the House and Senate introduced a bill on Monday that would make possession and sales of the drug a crime. The move follows a similar pair of DFL bills introduced two weeks ago.

Minnesota Capitol. Photo: Paul Weimer, Flickr

Republican tenther bill would ban ‘Obamacare’ in Minnesota

By Andy Birkey | 04.05.11 | 7:45 am

Republicans in the Minnesota House are pushing legislation that would ban the Affordable Care Act from being implemented in the state under the grounds that it violates the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The bill calls the ACA “unconstitutional,” declares it “void” in Minnesota and directs all state agencies to halt implementation of any aspect of health care reform.

Anti-abortion rights bills advance in Minnesota Legislature

By Andy Birkey | 03.17.11 | 1:46 pm

After two days of testimony, a pair of anti-abortion rights bills passed key committees in the Minnesota House this week, one to ban abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy and another to ban taxpayer funding for abortions. Religious leaders came down on both sides of the issue, while legal and medical experts said the bills were poor policy. In the Senate, yet another bill to ban abortion at 20 weeks was introduced on Thursday bringing the total bills in the legislature to curtail abortion rights to nine so far this session.

GOP’s Gruenhagen calls for destruction of ‘filthy’ Kinsey research

By Sally Jo Sorensen | 03.10.11 | 9:27 am

While Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen’s bill to halt implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act in Minnesota grabbed the attention of the capitol press corps, the freshman legislator’s homage to natural law wasn’t the only striking statement he made in committee Wednesday. In a separate hearing, the conservative Republican from Sibley County condemned sexologist Alfred Kinsey as a “filthy, perverted unscientific liar” whose research needs to be “destroyed.”

After heated hearing, bill to block ‘Obamacare’ in Minnesota passes House committee

By Andy Birkey | 03.09.11 | 1:15 pm

After a heated discussion Tuesday evening, the House Health Reform Committee passed a bill along party lines that would halt implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act in Minnesota until the constitutionality of the law is considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. The committee meeting grew contentious as Republicans’ repeated use of the term “Obamacare” led Democrats to consider dubbing the eight-year Iraqi war the “Bush wars,” and DFLers trying to preserve key aspects of the act including a ban on rejecting patients — especially children — who have preexisting health conditions for coverage. Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, the bill’s author, said that voting against his bill amounted to rejecting the “Creator.”

GOP bill seeks to condemn UN children’s rights treaty

By Andy Birkey | 03.08.11 | 3:10 pm

A bill offered by Minnesota Republicans would have the state condemn the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The bill’s language comes directly from ParentalRights.org, a subsidiary of the Home School Legal Defense Association, which is also responsible for Generation Joshua, a program that enlists Christian children to campaign for Republican candidates.

Republican bill seeks to ban immigration ‘sanctuary cities’

By Andy Birkey | 02.08.11 | 1:25 pm

Minnesota House Republicans introduced a bill Monday that would prevent cities, counties and other local governments from making laws related to immigration enforcement. St. Paul, Minneapolis and Worthington have ordinances on the books that direct city employees to check the immigration status of their residents only in certain instances and instead leave immigration enforcement to federal officials. These “sanctuary cities” are the target of HF348, which would invalidate those local ordinances.

Rep. Gruenhagen brings controversial views to Health and Human Services Committee

By Andy Birkey | 01.05.11 | 8:30 am

With the new Legislature sworn into session on Tuesday, one new official is coming under scrutiny for opinions he’s shared in the letters pages of local newspapers. Republican Glenn Gruenhagen, elected to the Minnesota House in November to represent Glencoe after Rep. Laura Brod retired, has been assigned to the Health and Human Services Committee. His controversial public statements about welfare, anal sex, abortion and alcoholism — areas the committee oversees — could make for interesting political theater in the months ahead.