Minnesota Independent

Pressure mounts for Pawlenty to apply for federal Medicare funds

By Andy Birkey | 08.25.10 | 8:09 am

Democratic leaders in the Minnesota Legislature urged Gov. Tim Pawlenty Tuesday to apply for $236 million in federal health care money. In a letter to the governor, Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller and House Majority Leader Tony Sertich wrote that it would be “irresponsible” for the state to not seek the funds when many patients in Minnesota are struggling with the tough economy, adding, “You cannot let political ambition get in the way of doing what’s right for Minnesota.” They join the Minnesota Medical Association and the Mayo Clinic in calling for Pawlenty to secure the funds for Minnesota.

PoliTweeps: Rybak sets an example about tweeting and riding

By Paul Schmelzer | 05.19.10 | 11:30 am

Minnesota politicos have been tweeting about everything from Gov. Pawlenty’s announcement that he won’t be applying for federal Race to the Top (RTTT) funds, the new Humphrey Institute gubernatorial poll and, from Minneapolis’ mayor, tweeting while not bicycling.

Quotes of the year: From slit wrists to www.anybody.com

By Chris Steller | 12.29.09 | 11:16 am

From Michele Bachmann urging fellow healthcare reform opponents to “slit our wrists” to Tony Sertich warning about “www.anybody.com” running wild at the state Capitol, you have the Minnesota Independent to thank — or blame — for foisting these quotations on the world this year.

Online media access to state House falls prey to ‘procedural gimmicks’

By Chris Steller | 02.24.09 | 3:39 pm

A noble debate on the virtues of freedom of the press and open government it was not. A hearing on a proposed rule change to allow online media workers press access to the state House of Representatives, which was scheduled at the last minute, ended just as abruptly today — before it started, in fact.

Online media lobby for equal access to Minnesota House floor

By Paul Schmelzer | 02.24.09 | 11:57 am

The state House of Representatives still excludes online media outlets from getting access to the House floor. But at noon today, that policy was scheduled to get a hearing, as online journalists were to testify before the Minnesota House rules committee to lobby for a change of policy.