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Minnesota Court of Appeals to decide if state can prosecute cannabis crimes on tribal lands
Todd Thompson, a White Earth tribal member, sold cannabis from his tobacco store in Mahnomen on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.

Minnesota Court of Appeals to decide if state can prosecute cannabis crimes on tribal lands

By Max Nesterak The Minnesota Court of Appeals will review whether the state may prosecute tribal members for cannabis crimes on most Native reservations in the state, wading into new legal territory after the state legalized recreational cannabis in 2023. The case involves a White Earth citizen, Todd Thompson, who

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Minnesota Senate Democrats propose budget cuts amid bleak financial outlook
Majority Leader Erin Murphy. DFL-St. Paul, and DFL caucus members outline their focus and work ahead for the 2025 session at a press conference February 10, 2025. Photo by A.J. Olmscheid/ Senate Media Services.

Minnesota Senate Democrats propose budget cuts amid bleak financial outlook

By Michelle Griffith and Madison McVan, Minnesota Reformer Minnesota Senate Democrats released two-year budget targets Friday that would enact nearly $2.5 billion in cuts over the next four years as the state faces a multi-billion dollar deficit unless lawmakers take action. The Senate Democratic caucus’ targets say they would

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Cities and developers want state money to convert office buildings to housing, other businesses
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey testifies on March 27, 2025, in support of a bill that would extend a state tax credit to projects that convert underutilized office buildings to residential or other commercial uses. Photo by Madison McVan/Minnesota Reformer.

Cities and developers want state money to convert office buildings to housing, other businesses

The credit — called the “credit for conversion of underutilized buildings,” or the “CUB credit” — would apply to buildings at least 15 years old.

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Prosecutors say Eichorn lied about access to firearms, tried to hide laptop
Sen. Justin Eichorn (R-Grand Rapids), left, consults with Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson), right, during a vote Thursday, May 12. Photo by Catherine J. Davis/Senate Media Services.

Prosecutors say Eichorn lied about access to firearms, tried to hide laptop

When law enforcement agents entered the apartment, they found a red bag containing $1,000 cash, an SD card, a handgun and ammunition, a laptop and a factory-reset iPhone.

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Minnesota: An easy mark

Minnesota: An easy mark

By J. Patrick Coolican, Minnesota Reformer Last week Gov. Tim Walz told Minnesotans that one of the drivers of the state’s emerging “fiscal imbalance” — i.e., over the next couple years, we’ll be spending more than we’re taking in — is the rapid increase in spending on early

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After George Floyd’s killing, policing defined Tim Walz’s tenure
Police in riot gear stand guard outside the Brooklyn Center police station shortly after body camera footage was released of the fatal police shooting of a 20-year-old Black man. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.

After George Floyd’s killing, policing defined Tim Walz’s tenure

By Deena Winter, Minnesota Reformer Public safety has proven to be the most difficult governing and political challenge of Gov. Tim Walz’s tenure.  The pandemic fueled a spike in violent crime, while Minnesotans marched against police brutality after the murder of George Floyd. While most protested peacefully, others looted

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Suicide ticks down, remains more common in Greater Minnesota
Chart by the Minnesota Department of Health

Suicide ticks down, remains more common in Greater Minnesota

Suicide rates are much higher in parts of greater Minnesota than they are in the Twin Cities metro. In northeast Minnesota counties like Lake and Cook, the suicide rate is three or more times higher than it is in metro counties like Hennepin, Scott or Dakota.

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Labor likes Gov. Tim Walz for vice president — and other labor news
Gov. Tim Walz speaks to union leaders at the annual Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council convention in Duluth on July 20, 2023. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.

Labor likes Gov. Tim Walz for vice president — and other labor news

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain told CNN that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear are his two favorites for vice president given their track records of supporting unions.

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Minneapolis City Council considers another $1.4 million in workers’ comp settlements with cops
Minneapolis Police guard the Third Precinct on May 27 during protests following the police killing of George Floyd. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.

Minneapolis City Council considers another $1.4 million in workers’ comp settlements with cops

By Deena Winter, Minnesota Reformer The Minneapolis City Council is poised to approve another $1.4 million in workers’ compensation settlements with 10 former police officers. A council committee voted 5-1 Monday to approve the settlements, with only Chair Robin Wonsley voting “no.” The settlements await an Aug. 1 vote

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Minnesota DFL agrees to legislative hearings on copper-nickel mining — and other labor news
A wild rice area in Flowage Lake, about 10 miles west and northwest of the proposed Talon sulfide mine in Tamarack, Minnesota. The wetlands directly west of the proposed mine are some of the most fertile wild rice fields in the entire state of Minnesota. Photo by Rob Levine for Minnesota Reformer.

Minnesota DFL agrees to legislative hearings on copper-nickel mining — and other labor news

By Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round-up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. This week: DFL party reaches rocky compromise on copper-nickel mining; nursing home workers threaten second strike; Minneapolis police approve union contract; senators chastise Amazon for treatment of delivery

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DFL Party Chair Ken Martin, Walz call for resignation of embroiled Sen. Nicole Mitchell
Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, did not answer questions from members of a Senate ethics committee on May 7, 2024. Her attorney, Bruce Ringstrom Jr., said Mitchell was pleading the Fifth Amendment. Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer.

DFL Party Chair Ken Martin, Walz call for resignation of embroiled Sen. Nicole Mitchell

Mitchell has been embroiled in scandal ever since she was arrested in April for allegedly breaking into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home to steal some sentimental items of her late father, including his ashes.

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Four years after George Floyd, Minnesota’s racial gaps remain stark
Demonstrators held a friendly protest in Downtown Duluth shortly after George Floyd's murder. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Four years after George Floyd, Minnesota’s racial gaps remain stark

By Christopher Ingraham Four years ago this week, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd. The event was captured on video, inspiring protests and riots in Minnesota and beyond.  Floyd’s killing brought newfound attention to Minnesota’s longstanding racial disparities, some of the nation’s worst. In the

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Chaotic end leaves Democratic Legislature with a few wins
House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth and Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson spoke at a press conference shortly after the legislative session ended on May 20, 2024. The GOP leaders denounced the 1,400 page omnibus bill, which they displayed on the podium and was passed by the Democratic majority in the closing moments of the 2024 legislative session. Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota. Reformer.

Chaotic end leaves Democratic Legislature with a few wins

By Michelle Griffith Democratic lawmakers in the final hour of the 2024 legislative session passed a 1,400 page bill that includes a lengthy list of policy items, from minimum pay rates for Uber and Lyft drivers to increased penalties for straw gun purchases and changes to the state’s

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Lawmakers expected to fund infrastructure, economic development projects on Iron Range
Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, watches as Rep. Dave Lislegard, DFL-Aurora, fires up a crowd on Friday, July 21, 2023, at a rally for striking UPM Blandin paper mill workers in Grand Rapids. Photo by Lorie Shaull.

Lawmakers expected to fund infrastructure, economic development projects on Iron Range

By Madison McVan A swing-district Iron Range Democratic lawmaker is driving an effort to create a special pool of financing for Range-only infrastructure projects.  The tax omnibus bill, which House and Senate DFL leaders have been negotiating in conference committee this week, contains provisions to direct mining revenue to projects

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Advocates continue push for public investment in early childhood education
Shawntel Gruba, the owner of Iron Range Tykes, speaks at a rally at the Minnesota Capitol on May 13, 2024. Photo by Madison McVan/Minnesota Reformer.

Advocates continue push for public investment in early childhood education

By Madison McVan, Minnesota Reformer Early education providers and teachers from the Iron Range piled on a bus headed south on Monday morning, shuttering their childcare centers for the day so they could lobby lawmakers at the state Capitol in the final week of the legislative session. Lawmakers have all

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