All Aboard the Northern Lights Express

Minnesota Report The idea of reviving the train route from the Twin Cities to Duluth is a high dosage of nostalgia for those yearning for a passage back to another era. The sights of the porters loading the bags and the conductors punching the tickets in their long...

Speaker Seeking to Put Brakes on Legislation

Minnesota Report We are hearing House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-37B, Brooklyn Park) is seeking to curtail the volume of legislation being drafted and wants only members not lobbyists putting bills in the Hopper. As of today, prior to the start of the today’s...

New DNC Presidential Primary Plan, Minnesota Holds Fast

National & Minnesota Report On Friday, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) voted to approve the Rules Committee approved Primary Calendar. Which was determined on December 22, 2022, when the DNC’s Rules Committee voted to approve a proposal reorganizing the...

Clean Energy Bill Headed to Governor for Signature

Minnesota Report In the first late night session, the senate passed HF0007, on a party line vote 34-33, compared to the House passage last week of 70-60, which also reflected strong party influence. Now, the bill heads to Governor Tim Walz (DFL-MN) which he has...

2022 End-of-the-Year Campaign Finance Reports

Minnesota Report The End-of-the-Year Campaign Finance Reports are available and these show the total contributions and expenditures for the 2022 election granted it is well after the fact, but does show what is reported and an insight into what actually occurred. We...

Pace and Substance of the Legislative Session

Minnesota Report By all accounts, the amount of early action by the two legislative bodies is setting an aggressive pace and the items being considered are quite substantial. The total number of bills introductions posted on the respective websites this morning, show...

Governor Proposes a Whopping Capital Budget

Minnesota Report Yesterday, at the St Paul Regional Water Services facility in Roseville, backed with strong and visible support from our state’s labor unions, Governor Tim Walz (DFL-MN) presented his $3,274,319 billion Capital Budget, which includes, funding for the...

A Behind the Scene Tour of the St Paul Waterworks

Minnesota Report We have the opportunity to tour the 1900 Rice Street location to the St Paul Regionally Water Services and learned that the process from providing water without, color, taste, or smell is a very involved process, but also fairly rudimentary. They draw...