-
Stewart Mills officially announces MN-8 candidacy
Republican scion of the Mills Fleet Farm business family Stewart Mills III announced his candidacy to challenge U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) in 2014. He had been exploring a candidacy for several months with all signs pointing toward a run for office. Yesterday he made it official at events in Cloquet and Rush City. The…
-
Minnesota blogger featured on Colbert Report
Kudos to my fellow greater Minnesota blogger Sally Jo Sorensen for her shout-out on last night’s Colbert Report on Comedy Central. She was the one who found the weird TV ad Tom Emmer did in Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District, where he endorsed a construction company as a candidate for Congress. This is blatantly illegal, and…
-
Shutdown spawns new nation of ‘Greatlandia’
Speaking of Minneapolis, a guy I know from the western Mesabi Iron Range has declared his house and yard apartment in Minneapolis as the sovereign nation of Greatlandia, citing distrust over the federal government’s inability to function. He and friends are crowd-sourcing funding to pay for the nascent nation. Their primary accomplishment so far seems…
-
Nolan proposes no pay for Congress during shutdown
Northeastern Minnesota U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) finds himself making headlines amid another big story today with his introduction of the “No Government – No Pay Act” of 2013. Under Nolan’s bill, members of Congress would not be paid during any period of federal government shutdown. From Nolan’s statement: In the event of a shutdown,…
-
Shut it down
If their logic weren’t so utterly outrageous and dangerous, I’d almost be impressed with the sheer audacity of House Republican talking points watching last night’s news coverage of the impending U.S. federal government shut down. This site endeavors not to drive into one-sided partisanship, but in this case I’m going to simply suggest that what…
-
Poll shows mixed opinions for northern MN mining
A poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP) commissioned by the Mining Truth campaign shows mixed opinions of new northern MN mining. Projects like PolyMet in Hoyt Lakes enjoy support from locals in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District, but mixed opinions and a lot of uncertainty statewide. Mining Truth also posed follow-up questions that show where support…
-
Nolan rankles environmentalists with pro-mining vote
U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) voted yesterday to support HF 761, a bill streamlining the federal permit process for new mines, such as controversial nonferrous mines proposed in northern Minnesota. Nolan was one of only 15 Democrats to support the bill which passed 246-178, mostly with Republican House majority votes. John Myers of the Duluth…
-
Minneapolis mayor candidate’s weird ad goes viral
So far I’ve entirely avoided talking about the Minneapolis mayor race, despite its crushing weight on my Minnesota Twitter and Facebook feeds. What could get me to break this radio silence? This now nationally viral ad by longshot candidate Jeff Wagner: Nothing beats watching this the first time, wondering — that’s not him, is it?…
-
New web project shares Minnesota election results
For those interested in Minnesota politics, a new offshoot of Left.mn provides clear, visually appealing breakdowns of recent Minnesota election results by Congressional and legislative district. You can find it here: http://elections.left.mn Sure, we can always go to the Secretary of State’s website to find specific Minnesota election results, but if you’ve ever tried to get a…
-
Rick Nolan draws hard line on Syria intervention
U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) ran for Congress in this “mines and pines” northern Minnesota district with an unusually large amount of foreign policy in his platform. From Day 1 of his campaign, Nolan used language like “avoiding wars of choice” to have more funding for the things that matter back home. This week, Nolan…
-
Hibbing special education teacher jumps into MN governor race
Another northern Minnesota Republican has jumped into a statewide race. After yesterday’s announcement that St. Louis Co. Commissioner Chris Dahlberg was jumping into the U.S. Senate race, today Hibbing special education teacher Rob Farnsworth announced his bid for governor on the GOP ticket. Farnsworth joins several Republican candidates seeking to challenge Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN),…
-
Rethinking laws of attraction on the Iron Range
Friend of the blog Aaron Klemz has a commentary recently on the site “Be Pollen” combining the theories of Richard Florida’s Creative Class and the nonferrous mining debate in northern Minnesota. Klemz, who is spokesperson for the Friends of the Boundary Waters organization, pens the following as the thrust of his piece, “A Creative Class,…
-
Dahlberg to seek GOP nod for Senate
St. Louis County Commissioner Chris Dahlberg of Duluth made a surprise announcement yesterday, throwing his hat in the ring for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. He becomes the fourth Republican to announce a challenge to U.S. Sen Al Franken (D-MN) after State Rep. Jim Abler, State Sen. Julianne Ortman and businessman Mike McFadden. Dahlberg…
-
Strike looms for St. Louis County in northern MN
Burgeoning labor troubles in the state’s largest geographic county are coming to light. The St. Louis County unit of AFSCME has authorized a strike as contract negotiations appear stalled after a meeting with a state mediator on Friday. There is a 10-day “cooling off” period before a strike would begin. The hope is that negotiations…
-
Prettner-Solon may not run for Lt. Gov. again, so let’s speculate
Minnesota’s DFL Gov. Mark Dayton is running for re-election next year, and four Republicans are running to challenge him. But this MinnPost story shows that Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner-Solon, a former state senator from Duluth, doesn’t seem very interested in running for her job again. A combination of proximity to retirement age and what seems…