On Monday, Oct. 27 I was on The Daily Report on AM 950 in the Twin Cities to talk about the current state of politics in Northern Minnesota, with special focus on the Eighth Congressional District. I go into some theories I have on turnout and what factors I think will determine the outcome of the…

As we covered on the Almanac political panel last Friday, one of the biggest variables heading into next Tuesday’s midterm election here in Minnesota is turnout. While Gov. Mark Dayton and Sen. Al Franken, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party incumbents, both show significant leads in their races, control of the State House of Representatives and at least two…

For those of you who missed the show, here is the video of the political panel: If you want to watch the whole show, including the super cool bald eagle segment, watch this: I’ll be making my first appearance on Twin Cities Public Television’s Almanac political panel tonight. The show starts at 7 on TPT in…

The political class of Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District is abuzz this morning following the KSTP/Survey USA poll showing Republican Stewart Mills 8 points ahead of incumbent Democrat Rep. Rick Nolan just 18 days before the Nov. 4, 2014 election. I’m not typically a fan of horse race reporting, especially because polling the 8th District accurately is a bit like…

UPDATE (Oct. 19, 2014) — Details have been announced. Find out more in my new post. UPDATE (Oct. 13, 2014) — Two sources have confirmed that Vice President Joe Biden will appear at Hibbing Community College on Thursday, Oct. 23, in support of U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan. Further details are pending. Since I work at HCC, I can…

There’s a strange phenomenon happening amid the high-churn noise of the Information Age. Events of just a few years ago are quickly forgotten or, as a former president might have said, “misremembered.” Such is the case as, today, stories of gas prices falling below $3 across much of Northern Minnesota hit the front pages and newscasts…

The 2014 election is now less than a month away, and while several Minnesota polls show statistically significant leads for DFLers Gov. Mark Dayton and Sen. Al Franken, other state races are very much coming down to the wire. Control of the State House of Representatives could come down to a few hundred votes in a dozen…

This morning, U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) will debate GOP challenger and investment broker Mike McFadden for their first formal debate of Election 2014, which takes place just over a month from now. Tonight, Gov. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) will debate GOP challenger and Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson in their first debate. The Uptake will…

Today I’m sharing my latest piece for The Daily Yonder, a Kentucky-based online magazine exploring rural issues and development in the United States. This time I’m talking about Mitchell, South Dakota, an I-90 stop-off we visited on the way to and from the Black Hills of South Dakota. Probably best known for its iconic Corn Palace, Mitchell has…

It’s been a long time since a candidate for office sent me a press release that was both substantive and informative. Jennifer Schultz is a health care economics professor at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She’s also the DFL candidate for the open seat in State House District 7A in eastern Duluth. Tonight she sent out…

This piece was cross-posted with my Up North Report blog at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Today, the latest in a battery of polling data from Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race was released, this time the Star Tribune’s Minnesota Poll. The results of the poll are not my reason for this post, though if you’re interested Sen. Al Franken, the incumbent…

It’s already been a busy election season for me, and for the first time it’s been dominated by doing commentary on Northern Minnesota politics for other media outlets around the state. A couple items dropped today that I’ll refer you to, and then leave you alone for a while. I was on early this morning…