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Timberjay reports stunning legal fees at St. Louis Co. schools
Marshall Helmberger and Tom Klein at the Timberjay newspapers report this week that more than $450,000 in legal fees have been paid by the rural St. Louis County School District #2142 in Northeastern Minnesota over the past two years. That’s a number that dwarfs what similar sized districts paid in the same period. In essence,…
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Duluth, Range airports vie for Oberstar name
When longtime northern Minnesota congressman and transportation titan James Oberstar passed away in May, everyone knew that an airport would deservedly be named in honor of his tireless work to expand aviation in northern Minnesota. The question, as the Duluth News Tribune now reports, is which one? Oberstar, a Chisholm native, was instrumental in the…
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Talking MN-8, mining on AM950
On Wednesday, June 25, I did a fairly extensive interview on AM950’s Morning Grind in the Twin Cities with guest hosts Wilhelm Davis and CityPages’ Aaron Rupar. The topic: Northern Minnesota mining and Eighth District politics. You can listen or download the podcast; I’m in the second half hour. It’s a pretty good primer on issues like Essar,…
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Oberstar memorials held today, Friday
Today and tomorrow, June 26-27, memorials for the late Rep. Jim Oberstar will be held in Minneapolis, Duluth and Chisholm. I posted my thoughts on Jim last month. The press release information is here for those planning to cover or attend the events: Memorials for Congressman Jim Oberstar to be Held This Week Governor Dayton,…
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The Good & Bad of MN jobs data
This week the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) released new employment numbers. The news was good: The agency said the state has added 45,617 jobs in the past year, a growth rate of 1.6 percent, compared with a U.S. growth rate of 1.8 percent during that period. Since January 2011, the state has…
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Starting a new conversation about MN-8 and mining politics
I filed a post at my Up North blog at the Star Tribune this morning that you may wish to check out. The theme is contrasting the widely-circulated “narrative” about northern Minnesota mining politics (that mining will dictate the outcome of the Nolan/Mills race, or shape the outcome of statewide races) with what I see…
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Entenza springs primary challenge on Otto: Is this about mining?
As the final minutes ticked away on Minnesota’s election filing period, former State Representative and 2010 gubernatorial candidate Matt Entenza strolled to the counter and became a candidate for State Auditor. He’ll challenge incumbent and fellow DFLer Rebecca Otto, who was already girding for a tough race in November amid pockets of resistance in the…
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Northern MN House races set for 2014
The filing period for state and federal offices, along with many local offices, closed Tuesday afternoon. The State Senate isn’t up for election this year, so here is a look at the State House of Representatives races that have formed in northern Minnesota: 1A (Roseau): Dan Fabian (R) – inc. Bruce Patterson (DFL) Rematch of…
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The DFL mining battle that wasn’t
Last week the question was how badly a pro-mining resolution would damage the electoral prospects of DFLers after this weekend’s state convention in Duluth. What we’ve learned is that Democratic-Farmer-Laborites have at least figured out that the more they bicker in public on this issue, the worse things get for them — especially among a…
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Chris Dahlberg’s dark horse bid falls short
Republicans endorsed investment banker Mike McFadden for U.S. Senate at their state convention early Saturday afternoon. With a well-financed campaign and the blessing of national Republicans, McFadden was the candidate many Democrats expected to see running against U.S. Sen. Al Franken this November. But the headline obscures a compelling story that unfolded late last night…
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Weekend political storm, clarity to follow
This weekend, delegates for Minnesota’s Democratic Farmer-Labor party meet in Duluth while Republicans gather in Rochester for their respective state conventions. The Uptake has live coverage of both events, which I recommend if you enjoy momentary political intrigue and long stretches of suffering. Most of the drama will be on the Republican side, where delegates…
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‘Timberjay law’ makes gov’t contracts public
Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law a bill that would make public all government contracts, applying the Minnesota Data Practices Act to private businesses. They’re calling it the “Timberjay Law.” Here’s why: Recently, the Timberjay newspaper in Cook, Tower and Ely had sued to make public an $80 million public school contract agreement between the…
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Rukavina will run for St. Louis Co. Board
It’s official. The rumor we discussed a few weeks ago is true. Former Rep. Tom Rukavina is running for St. Louis County Board, District 4. The announcement marks the end of a political retirement that lasted about 20 months. In retrospect, it was amazing that it lasted that long. UPDATE: The Duluth News Tribune offered some more…
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Range lawmaker, family key to medical marijuana win
This piece is cross-posted with my Up North Report blog at the Star Tribune. Yesterday, House and Senate leaders announced they had a deal to allow medical marijuana in Minnesota. Gov. Mark Dayton announced he would sign the bill, which allows for two major medical marijuana producers to be created in Minnesota, and eight locations…
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Northern MN projects thrive in bonding bill deal
House and Senate DFL leaders announced yesterday they had agreed on a $846 million state bonding bill package, though there remain questions about whether they have the Republican votes needed to pass the bill. Gov. Mark Dayton has yet to weigh in on the deal as well. Blois Olson posted an informative spreadsheet showing the projects included…