May 16, 2000
The endorsement fight for the DFL 4th Congressional District may have been the smoothest ever seen in a multi-candidate field, but that doesn’t mean it is time to rest on one’s laurels. By all indications, that is far from endorsee Rep Betty McCollum’s (DFL-55B,...
May 16, 2000
Rep Marty Siefert (R-21A, Marshall) may be finding himself in competition with his former boss in the fall election. Southwest State University President Doug Sweetland is mulling over the idea of his own candidacy for the state legislature after his retirement from...
May 16, 2000
It was fairly surprising when Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe (DFL-02, Erskine) proposed the 1/3-1/3-1/3 spending idea. Credit or blame for the unique approach may have been the inadvertent result of a line of questioning proposed by WCCO reporter Eric Eskola. Prior...
May 16, 2000
On May 22nd, Brian Rice, Jim Michels, Sen Dave Johnson (DFL-40, Richfield), Ann Walther, and William Morris Jr will be leaving Best & Flannigan LLP to start their own firm called Rice, Michels & Johnson LLP. The new firm will focus on pension and labor law,...
May 16, 2000
In 1998, the end of session party was marred by the actions of a single Senate page and her inability to combine psychotropic drugs and alcohol. The result was her being forcibly removed from the Capitol building and WCCO Television running a sweeps week story on the...
May 16, 2000
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. People who self-identify as “fiscal conservatives” are not very pleased with the results of this legislative session. The “wronged” ones range from Rep Phil Krinkie (R–53A, Shoreview) to...
May 16, 2000
House Speaker Steve Sviggum (R-27B, Kenyon) met with members of the Capitol Press Corps on Thursday to answer a field of questions about the legislative session and his expectations for the close of the session. Swiggum discussed the late night session and the final...
May 16, 2000
Checks & Balances was present at the speech given by President Bill Clinton on Friday at the Hauer Farm in Shakopee. The event featured remarks by Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and Congressman David Minge (D-MN02). After Clinton’s remarks we asked the...
May 16, 2000
Governor Jesse Ventura (IP-MN) is showing that he has learned well on the job, he is becoming a true politician. Yesterday, at 12:00 midnight was the deadline for him to act upon legislation passed during last Tuesday’s session from hell. He wisely decided not to...
May 11, 2000
The DFL State Convention officially starts today, Friday, but many activities are already underway. The Nominations Committee has been screening for the various party offices and people are descending on Rochester to prepare for the weekend event. Checks &...
