Teresa Nelson

Members of peace groups and labor unions expressed fear this morning over a proposed bill, sponsored by Rep. John Lesch (DFL-St. Paul), that would make it easier for law enforcement to secretly keep and and share information about citizens.

The courts’ lag in keeping up with technological advances in American society could slow efforts to open government meetings to broader media access. That’s the word from Teresa Nelson, attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, who is watching the current battle over limits on media access at the state House of Representatives with an eye to take possible action.

In the 1990s, Bloomington successfully waded into the murky constitutional waters that swirl around questions of free speech in privately owned places that receive public funds. In the 1999 landmark ruling  State v. Wicklund, the Minnesota Supreme Court said the state constitution’s freedom of expression clause did not apply inside the walls of the Mall [...]

The St. Paul Police Department issued a detailed permit today laying out the parade route that protesters will be allowed to utilize on the opening day of the Republican National Convention. Marchers will be permitted to walk from the Capitol down Cedar St., proceed across 7th St. toward the Xcel Energy Center, and then circle [...]

On Sept. 1, thousands of protesters are expected to converge on St. Paul to mark the opening of the Republican National Convention. The ad-hoc plan is for demonstrators to gather at the State Capitol grounds around 11 a.m. and eventually march to the Xcel Energy Center, where 2,500 Republican delegates will presumably name John McCain [...]