Government and Politics

The real R.T. Rybak

Up close and personal with the Minneapolis mayor

Susan Allen is first Native American woman elected to Minnesota legislature

Allen is the first Native woman and the second open lesbian to serve in the legislature.​Yesterday, Susan Allen won a special election for the House District 61B seat, making her the first Native American woman elected to serve in the Minnesota legislature. Allen prevailed over Nate Blumenshine, a ... More >>

Vikes stadium: Dayton asks city, Ramsey County to play hurry-up

Minneapolis leaders are mounting a last-minute drive to keep the Vikings in town. ​Governor Dayton wants Minneapolis and Ramsey County to deploy hurry-up offenses in hopes of bringing closure to the Vikings' stadium drive.Today, he sent the Ramsey County board and Mayor R.T. Rybak letters setting ... More >>

Bachmann not pulling punches as Iowa Caucus nears

​With the Iowa Caucuses less than a week away, the 2012 Presidential campaign's preseason is not for long, and Michele Bachmann is far behind Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Ron Paul in the polls. Republican candidates will begin to drop like punch-drunk boxers as the primary process moves from Iowa ... More >>

Chipotle wants immigration reform after losing half its Minnesota employees

Chipotle boss says immigration system "is really messed up."​Chipotle boss Monty Moran wants comprehensive immigration reform after immigration raids cost the company hundreds of jobs in Minnesota. Chipotle began a mass-firing of Minnesota employees last December after immigration authorities ... More >>

Occupy protesters take over K Street [PHOTOS]

Minnesotans took over K Street today​Protesters from around the country occupied K Street this afternoon, including dozens of Minnesotans. The demonstration was the combined effort of numerous groups joining up with OccupyDC to send a message against corporate money in politics. K Street is h ... More >>

Gov. Scott Walker: Recall election is likely

It's been little more than two weeks since foes of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker began petitioning for a recall, and they've already surpassed 300,000 signatures -- more than half of the 540,000 needed by the January 17 deadline. If they keep progressing at this pace, a recall election will be inevit ... More >>

FBI wants DNA proof of third Minnesota Somali suicide bomber

This is the first message which has encouraged Somali-Americans to declare war at home.​Abdisalan Ali is thought to be the young man from Minneapolis who killed himself and at least 10 others in a Mogadishu suicide attack. But some who've listened to the recording which is supposedly Ali's last vi ... More >>

Everyone in Wisconsin wants to walk around with a gun

Wisconsin is preparing to star in a big-budget Western. ​This morning, Wisconsin began taking applications for the state's brand new concealed carry gun law. By this afternoon, every single person in Wisconsin will be armed to the teeth. Shoulder holster, one at the hip, little one down by the ank ... More >>

Somali suicide bomber from Minneapolis: "Do Jihad in America"

Somali's civil war claims another Minnesotan.​A suicide bomber who blew himself up in Mogadishu yesterday in an attack that killed 10 had traveled to Somalia from Minneapolis in 2008.Abdisalan Ali had emigrated to Minnesota with his family when he was 2 years old, but was among 20 local youths who ... More >>

Amina Ali, Hawo Hassan found guilty on terrorism charges

amina Ali was convicted on 13 felony counts.​Amina Ali and Hawo Hassan, the two Rochester women accused of providing material support to Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab, have been found guilty on all counts by a Minneapolis jury.Hassan was convicted on three counts, while the jury found Ali ... More >>

Michele Bachmann, congresswoman, spotted at U.S. Capitol

Michele Bachmann: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can someone help me find my office?"​Michele Bachmann used to be a United States Congresslady, at least that's what her official presidential biography claims. In fact, if you invoke the ancient rules of the House of Representatives, Bachmann is technical ... More >>

Occupy MN protesters march to the Fed [VIDEO]

​As their numbers increased in the Hennepin County Government Center Plaza this afternoon, more and more chatter rose among the Occupy MN crowd about marching to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. The Fed was the originally planned occupation destination, but organizers worried that arrests ... More >>

Amina Ali, accused supporter of Somali terrorists, complains of bad treatment in jail

​Amina Ali knew she was supporting al-Shabaab; that much is certain. What her trial will determine is what she knew about al-Shabaab.These revelations came during yesterday's opening statements in the case of Ali and Hawo Hassan, two Rochester women on trial in U.S. District Court in St. ... More >>

Ronald Melius arrested after comparing Fergus Falls city officials to Moammar Gadhafi

Ronald Melius has some peculiar ideas of what a dictatorship looks like.​Moammar Qaddafi is the recently deposed Libyan autocrat accused of causing the deaths of thousands of his own citizens during the civil uprising against him. Hal Leland is the mayor of Fergus Falls and the manager of the West ... More >>

Minnesota GOP fined $170,000 for FEC violations

The state GOP failed to report nearly $1 million in debt.​The worst time to owe someone money is when you're in debt. That's the case with the  Republican Party of Minnesota, which is already in debt, but now owes the Federal Election Commission $170,000 for campaign finance violations. Funny ... More >>

Michele Bachmann's congressional record

C-SPANMichele Bachmann: Representation without legislation.​With so much written about the wild things Michele Bachmann says, City Pages thought we'd take a look at what she has actually accomplished in Congress. Despite Bachmann's early success in the presidential polls, her congressional record ... More >>

Betty McCollum wins military band spending battle

McCollum says the Pentagon doesn't need anymore band aid.​Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum looks at the $324 million requested by the Pentagon to fund its 5,000 professional musicians in 154 military bands, and she sees the possibility of saving the taxpayers some money. And the Republicans in ... More >>

Leroy Schaffer resigns from St. Francis city council

Leroy's off the council, but at least he's still got that green jacket.​St. Francis's long local nightmare is over.This afternoon, councilman Leroy Schaffer signed papers to resign from the city council, effective immediately. Schaffer, who has a long history of sexual harassment allegations, was ... More >>

MnDOT worker bares chest to protest shut down: Photo Of The Day

One man is standing up against the shutdown.​There's been a lot of frustration in Minnesota today over the government shutdown. The whole thing is kind of ironic. Lawmakers who campaigned on the mantra of job creation have now put tens of thousands of state employees at risk for losing the jo ... More >>

Sen. Gretchen Hoffman apologizes for Twitter snafu, deletes entire account

Gretchen Hoffman throws the baby out with the bathwater.​After using Twitter to twist the words of DFL state Sen. Barb Goodwin beyond their meaning, and getting spanked by the Senate Ethics Committee as a result, GOP Sen. Gretchen Hoffman has now apologized. "I am certainly sorry for my own m ... More >>

Countdown to government shutdown: Who's to blame?

Minnesota lawmakers have until July 1 to get it together.​As of today, the Minnesota Legislature is two-and-a-half weeks tardy in solving the state's $5 billion budget deficit. Unfortunately for everyone, there doesn't appear to be a budget deal in sight. If no agreement is made by July 1st, ... More >>

Sen. Ann Rest files ethics complaint against Sen. Gretchen Hoffman for false Tweet

Gretchen Hoffman is now the target of an official ethics complaint.​When state GOP Sen. Gretchen Hoffman hacked up and tweeted a speech by her DFL colleague Barb Goodwin to make it look as though Goodwin was calling mentally ill people "idiots and imbeciles," Goodwin threatened an ethics compl ... More >>

Cory Merrifield, SaveTheVikes.org leader, boosts new stadium plans

Courtesy Savethevikes.org.Vikings superfan Cory Merrifiled, right, has been lobbying for a new stadium since 2009. ​On Tuesday, a lot of Vikings fans celebrated a victory when team owners struck a deal with Ramsey County to build a new stadium in Arden Hills. But even with a location suppose ... More >>

Is Michele Bachmann smarter than a high school sophomore?

Let Amy debate! Let Amy debate!​Michele Bachmann is famously reluctant to put herself in positions where she might have to talk to someone who disagrees with her. But Jesus God do we hope she makes an exception in this instance. Amy Myers, a high school sophomore from Cherry Valley, New Jers ... More >>

"Please ID Me" lawsuit tossed out "with prejudice"

A judge dismisses a "Please ID Me" lawsuit "With Prejudice"​You can't go to the polls in Minnesota on Election Day festooned in political messages, whether they're on shirts, hats, buttons or whatever. It's against the law. But the "Please ID Me" people, who urged vigilantes to run after gran ... More >>

Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ellison, celebrate Osama Bin Laden's death

​Heading off what we assume will be the inevitable attacks from right field about American Muslims not rejoicing in a sufficiently patriotic manner over the death of Osama bin Laden, the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a formal statement today from the gro ... More >>

Steve Drazkowski, City Pages' "Best Villain," calls the award an honor

Gracious in victory.​Rep. Steve Drazkowski, the GOP legislator from Mazeppa, is showing the class of a champion. This week City Pages bestowed upon Drazkowski our annual "Best Villain" award, citing the impressive raft of retrograde legislation he has launched in the past year. Kind of a ba ... More >>

Minnesota Census: Hispanic population grows 74 percent [GRAPHIC]

​Our mythical land of Norwegian bachelor farmers continues to change: The number of Hispanics in Minnesota shot up up 74.5 percent in the past decade. That may sound like some sort of a cultural sea change, but it's really not. The state, home to 5.3 million people now compared to 4.9 millio ... More >>

Michele Bachmann fails again on campaign finance reports

Who's watching the books?​For a budget hawk and a former tax pro, Rep. Michele Bachmann sure seems to have an issue with math. Maybe it's because she's got more money than she knows what to do with. The Federal Election Commission has informed her--again--that her year-end campaign finance repo ... More >>

Gov. Mark Dayton's budget: The documents

Dayton offers a plan that calls for new taxes.​After nixing the Legislature's proposed $900 million in budget cuts last week with his veto pen, Gov. Mark Dayton submitted his own proposal today for balancing the state's budget, complete with a promised tax hike on the wealthiest among us.

Michele Bachmann retreats from cutting war veterans' benefits

Bachmann took a beating from veterans' groups.​Maybe it was while she was jetting between Oahu and Maui for "district work" that Michele Bachmann realized cutting war veterans' benefits was a tone-deaf response to the nation's budget deficit. But she got the message, and today she announced she wo ... More >>

Michele Bachmann's debt limit dream is a nightmare, Boehner says

Another Bachmann confrontation with House leaders.​Queen of the tea party Rep. Michele Bachmann, with an assist from former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, is ramping up her battle urging Congress to block an increase in the federal debt ceiling. Forget it, says House Speaker John Boehner. That's a recipe ... More >>

Al Franken rips into FCC approval of Comcast-NBC merger

Al Franken loses the Comcast-NBC merger fight.​The Comcast-NBC Universal merger got an official green light today from the Federal Communications Commission, paving the way on a 4-1 vote for another major consolidation in the telecom industry. It's a merger that Al Franken has battled from th ... More >>

Tim Pawlenty would reinstate Don't Ask Don't Tell if he could [VIDEO]

Pawlenty wants military gays back in the closet.​If he's elected president, Tim Pawlenty says he would put military gay folk back in the closet by reinstating Don't Ask Don't Tell, putting himself at odds with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Pentagon brass and members of Congress who suppor ... More >>

Return to Sender

What Would Comprehensive Immigration Reform Look Like If the Feds Got Off Their Duffs?

Michele Bachmann: "Porking has gotten way out of control"

Like her Muslim friends, Bachmann has no pork on her fork.​Michele Bachmann has a message for America this afternoon: "Recently, porking has gotten way out of control."It's a provocative statement, and one that certainly lends itself to interpretation. But based on context, our best guess is t ... More >>

Fair-y Tales

Tom Emmer's team now waits on Minnesota Supremes

And now we wait on the Supremes.​Tom Emmer's legal team got its shot before the Minnesota Supreme Court today to argue that election judges didn't follow the law when they counted up voters and votes on Election Day.

U of M Law students sue over too-high property taxes

Image by nicksieger on FlickrIs your property tax too high?​The legal eagles at the U of M law clinic say Minneapolis is making people--especially those who live in Phillips or North Minneapolis--pay too much property tax. Students compared home sale prices to property tax assessments and found ... More >>

Emmer petitions MN Supreme Court over ballots. [UPDATES]

Every vote should count, right?​Tom Emmer's legal eagles are taking another shot at helping their candidate beat Mark Dayton in court. They have petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court to order every election judge across the state to prove that the number of voters and the number of votes ca ... More >>

Michele Bachmann caught spreading tax lies on "Good Morning America"

Bachmann vs. Stephanopoulos: No contest.​Never letting the facts get in the way of a good soundbite, Michele Bachmann's been caught with her pants on fire by PolitiFact again. George Stephanopoulos, on "Good Morning America," asked her why it was okay for the wealthy to get tax breaks, but no ... More >>

USDA report says nearly 15% of U.S. homes worry about food

Global X / FlickrMinnesota's food insecurity is better than average but getting worse​Nearly 15% of American households are "food insecure"--meaning they had to worry about having enough food to eat last year, used government or community food programs, or sometimes went hungry, according to a ... More >>

Michele Bachmann likes earmarks. Just call them something else

This woman wants a bridge.​Tim Pawlenty got away with not raising taxes by redefining a "tax" as a "user fee." Now Michele Bachmann supports a redefinition of earmarks she likes, because those earmarks aren't really earmarks. They're, well, something else.

Abdi Mahdi Hussein charged with terrorism for aiding Al-Shabaab

Somalis are waging war on themselves with money sent from here​Three more Somalis have been charged with funneling money to the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab. One of the men was arrested Monday in Minneapolis. Abdi Mahdi Hussein, who works for a remittance company, is accused of conspiring wi ... More >>

Michele Bachmann was for the stimulus while she was against it

Bachmann: Saddling our kids with the fedeal debt is OK when she does it.​Remember the Fox News gabfests, the D.C. rallies and the campaign ads where Michele Bachmann brags about voting against President Barack Obama's stimulus bill? Too much federal spending, she says. Turns out she had her h ... More >>

Mark Dayton leads Tom Emmer but Tom Horner surges in new poll

Mark Dayton leads the governor's race, but not by much.​Democrat Mark Dayton has the edge over Republican Tom Emmer in the latest statewide poll conducted ahead of the November election for governor. But his margin is narrow. And Independence Party candidate Tom Horner gained a lot of ground ... More >>

Seized: Inside the brutal world of America's kidnapping capital

Part of the Amongst Us series

Keith Ellison says, yep, there's "extreme racists" in the tea party

Photo: cometstarmoonKeven LawWhat about racism at tea parties?​The Republicans, led by Michele Bachmann, are trying to figure out how to co-opt tea partiers, and the Democrats said yesterday they're happy to let the Republicans do it. You want to stand with folks determined to end Medicare, pr ... More >>