Politics

Publicly Gov. Tim Pawlenty always demurs when asked about whether he is seeking the VP slot on the Republican ticket. But the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza points out that Pawlenty has quietly been making all the right moves to build buzz for his prospects.

Last week T-Paw was in North Carolina to raise money for U.S. [...]

Just when the furor over Al Franken’s 2000 Playboy article seemed to have dissipated, another Democrat has resuscitated the controversy. This time it’s Rep. Jim Oberstar, the powerful Iron Range DFLer who chairs the House transportation committee, criticizing the U.S. Senate candidate.

In a statement released yesterday, Oberstar labeled the sex fantasy column “amateur and silly,” [...]

At the end of Barack Obama’s speech last night, roughly 20 audience members were whisked away to the bowels of the Xcel Energy Center to meet with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. The group, assembled by St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman during the previous 24 hours, were supporters of Hillary Clinton. They included former Secretary [...]

As presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party, Barack Obama will need to heal the rift between his supporters and the faction that voted for Sen. Hillary Clinton. But one person he won’t need to immediately reach out to is Minnesota DFL Feminist Caucus Chair Mari Urness Pokornowski. “Surprised” by a Star Tribune article that ran [...]

Five out of six options the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is considering for expanding Highway 41 in the southwestern Twin Cities metro area would wipe out a handful of manufactured home parks. And the sixth isn’t much better: It would disturb the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge near Bloomington.

Though it won’t be built for [...]

Congressional challenger Steve Sarvi’s campaign is touting new polling data that suggest Rep. John Kline is more vulnerable than generally perceived. Most notably, in a generic ballot, the Republican and Democratic parties each received support from 40 percent of respondents. What’s more, only 39 percent of those surveyed cited Kline’s job performance as good or [...]

Sen. Barack Obama came to St. Paul last night and claimed the Democratic presidential nomination. In the very building where John McCain will be crowned the GOP candidate in September, Obama spoke to more than 17,000 raucous supporters. “America, this is our moment,” he proclaimed. “This is our time. The time to turn the page [...]

I just spoke with St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, who’s been making the rounds of the massive media encampment at the Xcel Center. Coleman has been a Hillary Clinton supporter, but is ready to switch allegiances to Barack Obama. “The primary season is over,” he says. “Sen. Obama is the nominee.”

Coleman spoke with many other [...]

The Office of the Legislative Auditor has determined that there are no grounds to further investigate the conduct of Attorney General Lori Swanson. In a report released today, the office stated that any possible wrongdoing fell outside the purview of the auditor’s investigative powers.

Swanson has been dogged by allegations that she pressured staff to pursue [...]