Minnesota Independent

Republicans aim to bring ‘Choose Life’ license plates to Minnesota

By Andy Birkey | 01.14.11 | 9:00 am

More than a dozen Republicans introduced a bill in the Minnesota House Thursday aimed at authorizing the sale of “Choose Life” license plates in Minnesota, with sales revenue going to groups that oppose abortion. The bill is nearly identical to one passed in 2003 in Florida, one of 23 states that produces the plates. But as the Florida Independent found, tracking where funds raised through the license plate sales wasn’t an easy task.

Minnesotans can’t smoke medical marijuana, but could they grow it?

By Andy Birkey | 02.18.10 | 9:00 am

A bipartisan bill introduced in the Minnesota House on Monday could give the state’s agricultural sector a boost in the form of a new cash crop: medical marijuana. Gov. Tim Pawlenty last year vetoed an effort to legalize medical cannibis,…

AM.MN: He might micromanage, but Prez T-Paw’d give a hilarious malaise speech

By Chris Steller | 09.11.09 | 8:30 am

Were he elected president, Gov. Pawlenty would micromanage just like Jimmy Carter did, says Republican state Rep. Jim Abeler. That prediction is based on Abeler’s observation of Pawlenty laboriously tweaking inconsequential text in legislation. The question voters…

Pawlenty’s budget hardball: how will it play politically?

By Paul Demko | 05.20.09 | 1:00 pm

Gov. Tim Pawlenty intends to fix the state’s nearly $3 billion budget hole unilaterally. Democrats accuse him of pandering to fiscal conservatives in order to further his national political ambitions. How the budgetary endgame plays out will have consequences for politicians on both sides of the aisle.

$1 billion tax bill passes House along party lines

By Paul Demko | 05.08.09 | 8:24 pm

The Minnesota House passed a $1 billion tax bill this evening by a 86-45 margin. All Democrats backed the measure, while every Republican opposed it. The bill would increase revenues in three ways: a new top income tax bracket for Minnesota’s wealthiest citizens, an increase in taxes on alcohol and a surcharge applied to credit card companies that levy interest rates higher than 15 percent. The $1 billion package was hashed out by legislators in a conference committee late last night.

Tea party: Where were Minnesota’s elected officials?

By Andy Birkey | 04.16.09 | 2:49 pm

Across the country, Republican politicians glommed onto yesterday’s Tax Day Tea Party movement — much to the consternation of grassroots organizers. But in Minnesota, only one elected official put her name on the events: Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Rep. Abeler tells N. Minneapolis youth to ‘plug bullet holes’ with wooden nickels

By Paul Schmelzer | 02.25.09 | 8:23 am

A politician handing out wooden nickels in the midst of a historic economic recession is odd enough, but what State Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, suggests the worthless coin be used for — plugging gunshot wounds — is even stranger.

A final look at the electoral fate of the ‘override six’

By Paul Demko | 11.07.08 | 8:55 am

What happened to the “override six” on election day? The half-dozen Republican legislators who crossed party lines to overturn Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s veto of the transportation bill last February were immediately vilified within their own caucus. The Republican apostates were stripped of leadership positions and warned of vengeance at the ballot box.

Primary results: Franken, Barkley easily advance

By Paul Demko | 09.09.08 | 10:04 pm

Al Franken will comfortably advance from today’s primary election to take on Norm Coleman in the U. S. Senate race. With more than 80 percent of the results in, Franken is carrying 67 percent of the vote in the seven-candidate field. His most credible challenger, attorney Priscilla Lord Faris, is currently garnering support from 29 percent of voters.