Jacob Frey, a Minneapolis attorney and organizer of the Big Gay Race against the proposed constitutional marriage ban, declared his candidacy last week.

Then late this weekend, Peter Wagenius, the policy director for Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak and son of Rep. Jean Wagenius, announced his candidacy.

In a statement, Wagenius energetically condemned cuts to jobs, schools and services by the Republican legislature.

“The people of Senate District 59 want to know that state government is on their side, that action is being taken to improve the economy for everyone.  But instead they see cuts to jobs, schools and services that people depend on. They see a tax system that tilts more and more against the middle class,” Wagenius said. “That’s wrong–and we need to stand up and fight.”

District 59 covers the area around the University of Minnesota and Northeast Minneapolis. The special election primary will take place on Dec. 6, with the special election taking place on Jan. 10, 2012, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State.

There’s also an election planned on those days to fill House seat 61B vacated by Jeff Hayden when he was elected to the Senate last month in another special election. There are currently three DFL candidates filed in that race: Susan Allen, Josh Bassais and Nelson Inz.

Former Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller will resign from the legislature to take the head position at the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.

Gov. Mark Dayton announced Pogemiller’s appointment Thursday in a news release. Pogemiller said in the release that he’s honored to be offered the position.

“I’m extremely excited by the opportunity and cognizant of the challenge of making quality post secondary education affordable,” Pogemiller said. “I want to add though, how difficult it is to leave the Minnesota Senate—an institution I love, and a group of people I admire and deeply respect.”

Pogemiller has served in the legislature since 1980, first in the House, then in the Senate. The Minneapolis lawmaker was known at the State Capitol for his willingness to scrap, and presided over budget and policy battles with former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Politics in Minnesota reports that his move will trigger the third Minneapolis special election in recent months. Sen. Linda Berglin also resigned, and Rep. Jeff Hayden won her seat in a special election, meaning his House seat is now also up for grabs.

State Rep. Jeff Hayden won the DFL primary for Sen. Linda Berglin’s former seat in a six-way race Tuesday. In the DFL-leaning area, that almost assures a cakewalk into office.

“I don’t take anything for granted,” Hayden told the Minnesota Independent, describing his Green Party opponent Farheen Hakeem as a smart, well-spoken campaigner. ”What I hope to do is just really run a sharp, clean, lean campaign and get our message out.”

Hayden earned 57 percent of the vote, with Sadik Warfa in second place with 28 percent, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office.

If he wins the general election against Green Party, Independence Party and Republican Party competitors, Hayden, who has served as assistant minority leader, hopes to pitch in with the state DFL effort.

“After it’s over, I’m hoping that I’m in a position where I can continue to help our caucus, help the Senate district, and help motivate really good progressive people in this district to fan out across the state in 2012 and help us bring the legislature back,” Hayden said. “Because right now I think it’s been ransacked by the GOP and especially the new Tea Party freshman.”

He’s looking forward to continuing to serve the area—which is both ethnically and economically diverse—following in the footsteps of Sen. Linda Berglin’s progressive legacy, which includes passage of gender pay equity.

“I have really been able to speak for the most vulnerable,” Hayden said, “work with the most vulnerable and actually get those that are doing well to understand about why it’s important to care and think about everyone in Minnesota—not just themselves.”

Despite state Rep. Jeff Hayden‘s experience as a state legislator and his monopoly on endorsements, he wasn’t without competition in his ultimately victorious run at the DFL nomination for Senate District 61 Tuesday.

Sadik Warfa came in second in the six-person DFL primary, garnering 28 percent of the vote. Warfa is a Somali-American and community activist who previously ran on the Independence Party platform for a House seat in the district.

Warfa picked up more votes than Hayden in six of the 23 precincts.

“I was running because I really care about our state, Minnesota is a great state, it has given me and my family so much,” Warfa told the Minnesota Independent. ”I’m a community activist, I care about the delivery of services of citizens in my district and I was trying to hopefully give new leadership in my district. The people of [Senate District] 61 decided the other way, and I congratulated [Hayden] for his win.”

Warfa said he was frustrated by the state shutdown, and had hoped to work across the aisle in the Republican-dominated legislature to bring economic recovery to South Minneapolis.

His strong showing was also a sign of growing political clout and engagement by Minnesota’s Somali-American community. Only last year, Minneapolis sent Hussein Samatar to the Minneapolis School Board—he was likely the first Somali-American elected to public office in the country.

“My actual candidacy was to tell the people, especially in the immigrant background, that everything is possible here and that they’re a part of society and that we must integrate the system,” Warfa said.

He said people in the community were disappointed with the loss, but that he reassured them that they’d learn from the mistakes.

“It’s all about doing what’s good for all of us, we’re all in this together,” Warfa said of politics in the state. “While I’m a Somali-American, I’m very proud of my heritage, but I’m truly an American like anybody else.”

In the wake of Bradlee Dean‘s controversial prayer before the Minnesota House on Friday, a number of religious and political groups condemned Dean and urged Republican leaders to disavow Dean’s prayer and his association with the House. The Minnesota Catholic Conference, which supports a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, said that Dean should not be associated with their movement. The ACLU, the DFL, the National Organization for Marriage, Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak and several legislators all weighed in on the controversy over the weekend.

Supporters of gay marriage ban respond

The Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy wing of the Roman Catholic Church, condemned Dean’s prayer. “It was wrong to have a person with extremist views, like those attributed to Dean, deliver the prayer in the House,” said Jason Adkins, the group’s executive director. “Dean disrespectfully turned the prayer into a polemic and his words divided the chamber rather than brought people together.”

Adkins added that just because Dean is anti-gay he shouldn’t be lumped in with those who seek a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

“It was also unfortunate that those who are opposed to a marriage amendment to the Minnesota Constitution used Dean’s remarks to portray supporters as ‘hate groups,’ as well as state falsely that Dean was there on their behalf,” he said. “As Speaker Kurt Zellers said in an apology today, which we welcome, the mistake was due to an internal oversight. Bradlee Dean does not speak for those supporting a marriage amendment in Minnesota.”

The National Organization for Marriage echoed that sentiment on its blog:

“The suggestion of violence (if this account is true) is abhorrent, especially from a man of the cloth. But should the people of Minnesota be deprived of the right to vote because somebody in the state legislature did not vet a so-called pastor?”

The group links to a Star Tribune story which refers to a statement by Dean during his May 15, 2010, radio show.

“Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America,” he said. “This just shows you they themselves are upholding the laws that are even in the Bible of the Judeo-Christian God, but they seem to be more moral than even the American Christians do, because these people are livid about enforcing their laws. They know homosexuality is an abomination.”

ACLU letter

The Minnesota ACLU sent a letter on Friday afternoon to leaders in both the House and Senate urging them to refrain from prayers when those chambers are in session.

“The Minnesota Legislature is designed to represent all Minnesota residents, regardless of faith,” said Charles Samuelson of the Minnesota ACLU. “While we applaud Representative Zellers for his apology, we urge you to refrain from opening future sessions with any type of prayer, so as to ensure that religious freedom is protected for all.”

“Any reasonable observer,” the ACLU letter said (PDF), “would have understood that Bradlee Dean’s prayer – featuring multiple references to ‘Jesus’ – promoted Christianity.”

Politicians speak out

And Mayor Rybak weighed in in a video interview with Capitol Conversations: “To actually invite a minister that talked the jailing of [LGBT] people to give the invocation on the floor of the Minnesota Capitol, I don’t understand that.”

Rep. Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis, sent an email to constituents condemning Dean.

“The emotions on this issue ran hot this morning when GOP legislators invited Bradlee Dean to deliver the opening prayer,” he wrote. “In case you are unfamiliar with Bradlee Dean, he is a hateful ‘preacher’ who has proclaimed that gays belong in jail and that he would ‘approve the death penalty for gays.’ His mere presence was insulting, but his ‘prayer’ was offensive as well.”

He continued, “I was very upset this kind of speech would be allowed inside the House chamber – or any place. Whether it is African Americans, women or the LGBT community, Republicans have sought policies that divide us, singling out minority communities for harsh treatment.”

DFL chair Ken Martin sent an email to party activists about Dean.

“Today, the Republican majority in the Minnesota House of Representatives invited Bradlee Dean, a controversial Reverend who has essentially advocated for the execution of homosexuals, to deliver the opening prayer for the chamber,” said Martin. “Governor Dayton said it best in response – there is no place for hate in Minnesota and especially not on the House or Senate floor.”

He added, “The fact that this man, who advocates for violence against gay people, was welcomed by the GOP onto the House floor with open arms is just abominable.”

As the Minnesota Independent has reported, Dean has long-running ties with Minnesota Republicans. Politicians, including U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, have been part of fundraisers for Dean’s You Can Run But You Cannot Hide; Emmer’s former House campaign donated to the group; and prominent Republicans, including Dan Severson (who recently announced he’ll be running against Amy Klobuchar for Senate) and state Sen. Paul Gazelka, have been guests on his weekly radio show.

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.

2C-E is a synthetic drug in the phenethylamine family, a group of psychedelic substances developed in the 1970s. It’s often sold under the name Europa and is legal to purchase in the United States.

A teen brought the drug to a party last month; ten teens who ingested it became ill and one died. Law enforcement charged the teen who brought the drug to the party with third-degree murder. The law under which he would be prosecuted is complicated.

2C-E is potentially legal, but a substance that is close in chemical structure, 2C-B, is illegal. Drugs with a “substantially similar” chemical structure and similar effects are called analogs, and under the Federal Analog Act, those analogs are illegal. Whether 2C-E is substantially similar hasn’t yet been determined in court as no prosecutions have yet been successfully initiated.

The Analog Act has been declared unconstitutional in some jurisdictions and constitutional in others, making the law controversial because the law is vague in what is deemed substantially similar.

The bills put forward by the Minnesota Legislature would make 2C-E and its analogs illegal. Specifically, the bill bans 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylphenethylamine, also known as 2C-E, and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine, also known as 2C-I.

SF1092 was introduced on Monday by Republican Sens. Dan Hall of Burnsville, Warren Limmer of Maple Grove and Carla Nelson of Rochester.

HF1359 was introduced by Republican Reps. Bob Barrett of Shafer, Glenn Gruenhagen of Glencoe, Diane Anderson of Eagan, Roger Crawford of Mora, Kelby Woodard of Belle Plaine, Steve Gottwalt of St. Cloud, Kathy Lohmer of Lake Elmo, John Kriesel of Cottage Grove, Tim Sanders of Blaine and Tim Kelly of Red Wing.

The lone DFLer on the House bill is Jeff Hayden of Minneapolis.

A bill introduced in the Minnesota Legislature on Thursday would make it legal for farmers to grow medical marijuana and sell it to dispensaries in states where marijuana can be legally used for medicinal purposes. The Medical Marijuana Production and Export Act would direct the state government to develop a strict licensing plan for the potential grower and cites a positive economic benefit for the state’s agricultural sector.

Currently, sixteen states have legalized medical marijuana including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

The bill (HF662) would allow Minnesota farmers to grow and export medical marijuana to those states. From the bill:

The legislature finds that the production and export of medical marijuana can contribute to the state’s economy and agricultural vitality and can be regulated so as not to interfere with the strict regulation of controlled substances in this state. The purpose of the Medical Marijuana Production and Export Act is to strengthen the state economy and its agricultural sectors by authorizing the development of a regulated medical marijuana production and export industry while maintaining strict control of marijuana.

And:

(1) the person will produce, process, and possess marijuana only for export and in full compliance with this chapter and any corresponding rules promulgated by the commissioner; and (2) any consumption or unauthorized possession of marijuana will be prosecuted to the fullest extent provided by law.

The bill’s authors are DFL Reps. Phyllis Kahn of Minneapolis, Tom Rukavina of Virginia, Frank Hornstein of Minneapolis, Tom Huntley of Duluth, Karen Clark of Minneapolis, Jeff Hayden of Minneapollis, and Leon Lillie of North St. Paul.

Freshmen Reps. Bobby Joe Champion (pictured) and Jeff Hayden (the only two African-Americans in the Legislature) were on hand, along with veteran state Sen. Linda Higgins. “The reality is that people are really, really frightened,” Hayden said at the start of the discussion.

The details of possible economic upheaval, however, were left to Bill Marx, chief fiscal analyst for the Minnesota House of Representatives. Before he took to the microphone, audience members were given a friendly warning: “Now matter what he says, you can’t hit Mr. Marx.”

There were no physical threats issued against the economist as he explained the ugly details of the current budget situation, but plenty of questions and commentary. While the state’s economic plight was ostensibly the topic of the evening, most of the dialogue gravitated to the seemingly intractable troubles of the North Side. How can the area get its fair share of lottery revenues? What transportation improvements will the North Side see from the increase in the gas tax? How can the neighborhood prepare to reap the benefits from the looming federal stimulus package?

Marx was frequently at a loss to answer these pointed questions. The state bureaucrat could detail exactly how much of Minnesota’s budget is derived from “health impact fees,” but he was at a loss to explain how lottery revenues might improve the lives of poor folks in North Minneapolis.

The local politicians did their best to step in and placate the audience. “Nobody likes the journey that we’re on,” said Champion. “Nobody like the options on the table.”

One economic detail from Marx’s presentation clearly resonated with audience members: the minuscule portion (3.4 percent or $1.9 million) of the state’s budget derived from corporate income taxes. “It’s unconscionable that corporate taxes account for less than 5 percent of our budget,” noted one person, sparking a murmur of assent in the audience.

Marx finally made it through his power-point presentation after roughly two hours. His last point: the projected $4.8 billion deficit for the 2009-10 biennium is only expected to get worse when the latest budget forecast is released next month.

Despite the gloomy economic picture, Higgins implored residents to show up at the Capitol and make sure the area gets its fair share of what tax revenues are available.

“North Minneapolis can show up,” she said. “We will show up. We must show up.”