By Eric Harris Bernstein, Minnesota Reformer For the second edition of Tax and Spend, I was planning to respond to yet another Star Tribune op-ed declaring that high taxes are ruining Minnesota. The author — former GOP attorney general candidate Jim Schultz — stopped short of describing Minnesota as “a barren hellscape”
By Deena Winter, Minnesota Reformer Recently released city documents, first reported by the Star Tribune, show at least a dozen Minneapolis police officers were disciplined for misconduct in the days of demonstrations and rioting following George Floyd’s May 2020 police killing. Many more left the department before investigations into
By Madison McVan, Minnesota Reformer The Minnesota Senate passed a tenants’ rights bill Monday, including measures that would give tenants the right to organize; codify renters’ right to call emergency services without retaliation; outline remedies for tenants who can’t move into their apartments on time due to construction; and
By Madison McVan, Minnesota Reformer A proposed child care subsidy program that would help Minnesota’s middle class is unlikely to get significant funding this legislative session. The Great Start Child Care Affordability Program, which has been a priority for child care advocates and some DFL lawmakers this session, would
By Christopher Ingraham, Minnesota Reformer Minnesota traffic fatalities fell by about 7% in 2023, according to preliminary data from the Department of Public Safety. The data show that after spiking in 2021 in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, by last year roadway deaths had mostly returned to levels
By Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly roundup of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. This week: Minnesota’s labor policy package; AG gets temporary injunction for dairy farm workers; Nonprofit hospitals get more than they give; law enforcement’s recruitment crisis; Amazon
By Deena Winter, Minnesota Reformer MyPillow is getting evicted from one of two Shakopee warehouses it leases, but CEO Mike Lindell told the Reformer that the building has been sitting empty since last fall. The company’s main manufacturing warehouse — about a mile away — is where all of the Minnesota
“Tonight, I’m proud to report that the state of our state is strong, and one of the main reasons is because the kids of our state are better equipped to thrive,” Walz said.
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: governor throws cold water on public option; Minneapolis roiled by Uber and Lyft threats; lawmakers look to raise state minimum wage; U of M students could
By Deena Winter, Minnesota Reformer Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara has had a relatively successful tenure since arriving in December 2022, at least by the standards of the Minneapolis Police Department. Crime is down, none of his officers has been convicted of murder, and he still has the job,
Walz said his proposal for this year’s supplemental budget is intentionally small and will keep Minnesota on “solid fiscal footing.”
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: Employers rarely penalized for misclassifying workers; Minneapolis sends Uber and Lyft packing; Workers sue manure company for wage theft; Striking workers would get unemployment benefits under
However, the state still faces a looming deficit — or “structural imbalance” — in future years, as spending will outpace revenue.
By Madison McVan, Minnesota Reformer Most Minnesota families with young children could qualify for child care assistance under a subsidy program proposed by DFL state lawmakers. If passed by the Legislature, the Great Start Affordability Scholarship program would assist families making up to 150% of the state median household income
By Deena Winter, Minnesota Reformer Republican and Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers appear to have struck a compromise on rules to govern cops’ use of force in Minnesota schools. DFL lawmakers have been working on legislation that would scale back a law passed last session that limits how school police can physically restrain
Sen. John Marty says DFL colleagues are “scared” to consider aggressive gun control measures