Minnesota Independent

Watered down stem cell ban added to higher ed omnibus bill

By Andy Birkey | 03.25.11 | 1:58 pm

The Senate Higher Education Committee on Wednesday adopted an amendment by Sen. Michelle Fischbach, R-Paynesville, that would prohibit state or federal money from going to somatic cell nuclear transfer, a type of embryonic stem cell research, in Minnesota. A broader bill, which would criminalize that type of stem cell research, awaits a vote on the Senate floor. The full omnibus bill passed out of key committees on Thursday and has moved to the Senate floor for a full vote.

Pastor Dennis Campbell says Jews shouldn’t be offended by his Senate prayer

By Andy Birkey | 03.21.11 | 7:36 am

Pastor Dennis Campbell of St. Cloud’s Granite City Baptist Church appeared on Bradlee Dean’s radio program on Saturday to talk about a controversial prayer he gave on the Minnesota Senate floor last week that offended many of the non-Christians of that body. Campbell said that the Founding Fathers would have supported his prayer and that Jewish members of the Senate shouldn’t be offended because, after all, Jesus Christ was a Jew.

Corporate-funded MN Forward endorses more candidates

By Patrick Caldwell | 08.05.10 | 4:05 pm

Independent expenditure committee MN Forward issued a slew of new endorsements earlier today. MN Forward has previously only supported GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, but their new docket of local endorsements

…

Bachmann continues to haunt neighboring district’s Dems

By Chris Steller | 01.05.10 | 4:23 pm

Democrats running for Congress in the Minnesota’s Third District keep finding ways to mention Michele Bachmann, who represents the neighboring Sixth District. Last week Maureen Hackett dropped Bachmann’s name in a fundraising appeal. Now Jim Meffert boasts…

Pawlenty PAC funds homies as Paulsen rival unveils radio ad

By Chris Steller | 01.04.10 | 12:52 pm

Gov. Pawlenty’s national ambitions haven’t led his political action committee, Freedom First, to forget his fellow Republicans on the home front in Minnesota. In an email to supporters, the PAC says it has donated to U.S. Reps.…

Meffert signs on for ‘culture’ war to unseat Paulsen

By Chris Steller | 12.01.09 | 1:32 pm

Updated: Something worth fighting for: “a culture that says helping our neighbors in difficult times is a good thing.” That’s the credo of DFLer Jim Meffert, who officially announced Tuesday he will make a run at unseating first-term U.S. Rep.…

AM.MN: GOP shuns the hyphenated-name vote

By Chris Steller | 10.20.09 | 8:30 am

“Is the door closed? No it’s not,” State Sen. Terri Bonoff said to Minnesota Public Radio’s Polinaut yesterday, clarifying what the DFLer told the Minnesota Independent last week about another run for Congress in the Third District: “The…

Bonoff still weighing challenge to Rep. Paulsen

By Paul Demko | 08.19.09 | 4:58 pm

Terri Bonoff is not running for Congress — yet. But the Democratic state senator, who lost a tough endorsement battle to Ashwin Madia in 2008, is seriously considering a challenge to freshman Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen. “I’m certainly not being lighthearted about it,” Bonoff says. “I love public service and I have a lot of work to do, whether it be for this state or at the national level.”

Paulsen vulnerable in 2010, but no Dems challenging yet

By Paul Demko | 05.29.09 | 12:05 pm

Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District is one of two 2010 House races that analysts view as competitive in the state. But whether the district attracts significant attention — and money — from Democrats will probably hinge on how strong a challenger emerges.

The Schultz Report: What if Petraeus said the surge wasn’t working and no one noticed?

By Steve Perry | 04.11.08 | 10:58 am

In this Friday’s edition of our weekly Schultz Report, political analyst David Schultz expresses surprise over the way media has covered Gen. David Petraeus’ testimony this week before Congress. “If you listen to what…