Groups urge vetoes over environmental trust fund ‘raid’

Environmental and conservation groups urged Gov. Mark Dayton on Thursday to cancel $98 million in projects funded by what they consider an improper raid on a trust fund that depends on state lottery proceeds. The wastewater infrastructure projects for smaller communities, and some other projects, are part of a $1.5 billion public works borrowing bill.

Lawmakers wrap up session in a blur of bills, questions

The Minnesota Legislature wrapped up its work at midnight Sunday with the familiar last-minute flurry of votes and political machinations but surrounded by question marks, as Gov. Mark Dayton threatened to veto major tax and spending bills. The ramifications of the latest round of gridlock at the Capitol could be huge, as the failure to enact a bill syncing Minnesota's tax code with sweeping federal changes would create a massively complex tax filing season next year and hit hundreds of thousands of Minnesota families and some businesses with tax increases.

Minnesota lawmakers’ work on long to-do list with time short

Minnesota lawmakers settled in for a long weekend Saturday as Republican party leaders and Gov. Mark Dayton continued searching for a compromise on a long list of priorities they set out to meet this year. Efforts to curb opioid abuse, regulation changes to senior care facilities amid reports of rampant abuse, conformity to the federal tax overhaul, funding public schools and securing schools are at the forefront of negations.

Minnesota lawmakers’ to-do list is long but time is short

Minnesota lawmakers are in the homestretch, facing a lengthy to-do list and less than two days to finish their work. Republican leaders who control the House and Senate say they may move fast to pass a $28 million bill for school security upgrades as negations continue with Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton on a host of priorities.

Pipeline advocates visit Baxter amid statewide debate over Line 35 min ago

Tuesday's Line 3 pipeline replacement discussion was spearheaded by Minnesotans for Line 3 and United Piping Inc. CEO Bob Shoneberger ; Cub Foods owner Chris Quisberg representing the Brainerd Lakes Chamber of Commerce; and Grand Rapids resident DeeDee Tollefson.

Minnesota Legislature tests governor’s resolve with tax bill

Republicans who control the Minnesota Legislature are testing Gov. Mark Dayton's resolve with a bill that syncs Minnesota taxes with the federal overhaul. The House passed the bill Tuesday on a 78-50 vote despite the Democratic governor's promise that he would block that legislation until lawmakers provide emergency funding for public schools.

Compromises on tax bill, education top priorities

The Legislature's end-of-session deadline of May 21 is fast approaching and it appears the governor and Republicans are still far apart on some issues. On Monday, Gov. Mark Dayton announced he won't sign a bill squaring the state's tax code to sweeping federal changes if Republican lawmakers don't include emergency funding for schools.

Dayton makes case for K-12 funding

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton shows a photo of his dog to students in Denise Ducharme's first-grade class while visiting Ben Franklin Elementary School Wednesday, May 9, 2018, in Rochester. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton responds to questions from first-graders from Denise Ducharme's first-grade class while visiting Ben Franklin Elementary School Wednesday, May 9, 2018, in Rochester.

With tax pieces in play, it’s Capitol deal-making season

In this Nov. 10, 2016 file photo, Minnesota State Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, center, is joined by Senate Republicans at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. Republican lawmakers who control the Legislature and Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton have put forward markedly different plans to square Minnesota's tax code with the federal government.