Minnesota Independent

Pawlenty’s health care cuts come amid hellish week for hospitals

By Chris Steller | 05.19.09 | 1:32 pm

Ominous news about job losses and financial woes at Minnesota hospitals over the last week coincide with Gov. Pawlenty’s line-item veto of $381 million in General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) grants and his vow to make more cuts by unallotment. But as bad as the doomsday scenarios are, they shouldn’t include St. Paul’s Regions Hospital closing — a prospect that a DFL press release warned of over the weekend.

Recycling law may stem ‘tsunami’ of discarded TV sets

By Paul Schmelzer | 01.28.09 | 4:06 pm

With just three weeks to go until the deadline for digital TV conversion, government officials, thrift store owners and landfill operators are bracing themselves for a wave of outdated sets.

The race for the state House: Democrats who face re-election battles in red districts

By Paul Demko | 10.29.08 | 3:27 pm

In 2006 Democrats picked up 19 state House seats, many of them in tight races in suburban districts that skew Republican. While this electoral success has set the table for the DFL to possibly gain a veto-proof majority in the House by picking up five more seats, it also means that many first-term legislators are facing tough re-election contests. Here’s a look at nine races that could be ripe for Republican pick-ups.