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A Journal of the Free People of Minnesota

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Here are five key takeaways from the Minnesota legislative leaders’ budget agreement

Published: May 15, 2025 21:29

Legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday, at a press conference in the Capitol’s golden-fixtured reception room, proudly announced a long-sought, bipartisan deal that would finally bring the Legislature one step closer to passing a two-year budget…

U.S. Supreme Court divided over Trump birthright citizenship ban, lower courts’ powers

Published: May 15, 2025 18:15

WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared split Thursday hearing a major case in which the Trump administration defended not only the president’s order to end the constitutional right to birthright citizenship but also its efforts to limit…

Suicide rate levels off in 2024

Published: May 15, 2025 18:13

Minnesota’s suicide rate held steady between 2023 and 2024, according to preliminary data from the state Department of Health.  The 813 estimated suicides in the state last year work out to an age-adjusted rate of 13.9 per 100,000. Death statistics are…

With narrowed eyes, optometrists and ophthalmologists view each other warily at the Capitol

Published: May 15, 2025 13:39

A small, little-known provision is among the most contentious issues at the Capitol this session. It doesn’t have to do with health care for undocumented immigrants or cutting services for people with disabilities. It’s about your eye doctor. Minnesota…

States on the hook for billions under U.S. House GOP bill making them help pay for SNAP

Published: May 15, 2025 04:30

The U.S. House Agriculture Committee approved, 29-25, Wednesday evening its portion of Republicans’ major legislative package that includes a provision that would shift to states some of the responsibility to pay for a major nutrition assistance program.…

U.S. House panel passes GOP plan that cuts Medicaid by $625B, adds work requirement

Published: May 14, 2025 21:17

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House panel in charge of overhauling Medicaid by cutting hundreds of billions in federal spending wrapped up debate on its bill Wednesday, following a 25-hour session. The Energy and Commerce Committee voted 30-24 along party lines to…

No tax on tips, child tax credit and business tax cuts survive in big House GOP bill

Published: May 14, 2025 19:54

WASHINGTON — House Republicans advanced the tax portion of the “one big, beautiful” reconciliation package early Wednesday, a step forward in permanently extending, and in some cases expanding, the 2017 tax law and temporarily handing President Donald…

Dozens of members of Congress from both parties plead with Trump to unfreeze FEMA grants

Published: May 14, 2025 17:11

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress from both political parties are calling on the Trump administration to unfreeze funding for a grant program that helps local communities better prepare for natural disasters. The letter from more than 80 lawmakers urges the…

Medicaid payments barely keep hospital mental health units afloat. Federal cuts could sink them.

Published: May 14, 2025 13:04

SPENCER, Iowa — This town’s hospital is a holdout on behalf of people going through mental health crises. The facility’s leaders have pledged not to shutter their inpatient psychiatric unit, as dozens of other U.S. hospitals have. Keeping that promise…

California v Colorado: How two states leading AI legislation are approaching it differently

Published: May 14, 2025 11:01

Colorado was first in the nation to pass comprehensive AI regulation, in 2024, but less than a year before the law goes into effect, lawmakers find themselves trying to clean up the landmark legislation, with the hopes of refining some of the terms that…

‘Extreme and toxic’: Democrats in Congress mount opposition to GOP tax cut package

Published: May 13, 2025 22:20

WASHINGTON — Democrats Tuesday criticized House Republicans for their efforts to pass “one big, beautiful” bill to extend Trump-era tax cuts that would require potential cuts to food assistance and Medicaid. “The American people do not support this extreme…

U.S. House Republican plan would force states to pay for a portion of SNAP benefits

Published: May 13, 2025 22:17

The U.S. House Agriculture Committee’s portion of Republicans’ massive taxes and spending bill would partially shift to states the costs of the country’s largest food assistance program, which some experts and Democrats predicted will lead to major cuts in…

Amid protests and Democratic pushback, U.S. House GOP launches work on Medicaid cuts

Published: May 13, 2025 22:15

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House committee tasked with overhauling energy policy and Medicaid to achieve $880 billion in spending cuts on Tuesday began what was expected to be a long, grueling session with debate on dozens of amendments. Republicans on the…

Learning on the job: Trump’s U.S. Attorney pick for Minnesota has never been a prosecutor

Published: May 13, 2025 16:02

After the Trump Administration announced the nomination of Daniel Rosen as Minnesota’s next U.S. Attorney, one detail stood out: the state’s very likely, soon-to-be top federal prosecutor has scant experience in the field of criminal law. Rosen, 59, has…

Auxiliary bishop, Minnesota Catholics urge lawmakers to uphold MinnesotaCare for undocumented people

Published: May 12, 2025 22:13

Kevin Kinney, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, joined Minnesota Catholics Monday at the Capitol, urging state lawmakers to keep a program that allows undocumented people to receive free or discounted health insurance. “I’m here…

U.S. House GOP mandates Medicaid work requirements in giant bill slashing spending

Published: May 12, 2025 21:35

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans plan to debate and approve the three final pieces of their “big, beautiful bill” in committee this week, including the tax measure, major spending cuts to Medicaid that will change how states run the program and an…

An Early Learning Scholarship has been crucial for my daughter and me — don’t cut them

Published: May 12, 2025 14:49

Over the past decade, a Minnesota program called Early Learning Scholarships has awarded over 100,000 child care scholarships to families in desperate need. State leaders who made that possible don’t often get to hear how that impacts those children and…

Labor fights to preserve recent gains at Minnesota Legislature — and other labor news

Published: May 9, 2025 16:17

Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round-up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. This week: Labor fights to preserve gains at the Capitol; U.S. Rep. Angie Craig racks up labor endorsements; truckers brace for tariff slowdown; Macalester staff file…

As Trump slashes AmeriCorps, states lose a federal partner in community service

Published: May 9, 2025 05:18

WASHINGTON — Hillary Kane learned on a Saturday morning in April that within days, she would lose AmeriCorps funding for two programs that match mentors with West Philadelphia high schoolers and first-generation college students — both vulnerable groups at…

‘Out of control’: Kristi Noem on defense over Homeland Security spending overrun

Published: May 9, 2025 05:15

WASHINGTON  — The top Democrat on a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee panel Thursday slammed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for her handling of her agency’s funding and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Sen. Chris…

Trump asks U.S. Supreme Court to end humanitarian protections for migrants from 4 nations

Published: May 9, 2025 05:13

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration Thursday made an emergency request to the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the deportation of more than half a million immigrants granted humanitarian protections under the Biden administration. A federal judge in…

St. Paul walks back rent control

Published: May 8, 2025 15:54

New — and new-ish — rental properties in St. Paul will no longer be subject to the city’s 3% cap on yearly rent increases.  The St. Paul City Council, at the behest of Mayor Melvin Carter, voted 4-3 Wednesday to permanently exempt new construction and…

An uncertain time for solar, thanks to politics: Q&A with All Energy Solar CEO Michael Allen

Published: May 8, 2025 11:59

If you live in Minnesota, you may have already had an inkling, but a quick glance at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s U.S. solar resource map confirms: Minnesota is among the least sunny states in the Lower 48. Yet Minnesota gets a surprising…

Kennedy Center slated for huge funding increase while local arts slashed under Trump plans

Published: May 8, 2025 04:13

WASHINGTON — A Democratic lawmaker is asking why House Republicans approved nearly six times the requested funding for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as President Donald Trump cancels federal grants for arts organizations across the…

Immigration lawyers rush to prevent imminent deportations to Libya, Saudi Arabia

Published: May 8, 2025 04:11

WASHINGTON — Immigration attorneys are asking a Massachusetts federal judge for an emergency temporary restraining order to stop the Trump administration from removing their clients to Libya and Saudi Arabia as soon as Wednesday, in a major new development…

Minnesota Senate passes human services budget with nearly $300 million in cuts

Published: May 7, 2025 23:20

The Democratic-Farmer-Labor-controlled Minnesota Senate passed a two-year human services budget Wednesday, featuring extensive cuts as the state grapples with looming deficits.  The House, which is tied 67-67, passed its Department of Human Services budget…

Congressional budget agency projects sweeping Medicaid cutbacks in states under GOP plans

Published: May 7, 2025 19:45

WASHINGTON — The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that potential major cuts and changes to Medicaid under consideration by Republicans could mean states would have to spend more of their own money on the program, reduce payments to health care…

‘Blue Dog’ Democrats vote to roll back paid sick leave for workers at small farms and businesses

Published: May 7, 2025 02:57

Six self-described “Blue Dog” Senate Democrats voted with Republicans on Tuesday to weaken the paid sick leave law they supported just two years ago and repeal the benefit for tens of thousands of workers at small farms and micro-businesses. The bill would…

‘We call it betrayal’: Veterans join Dems in D.C. to protest Trump’s sweeping VA job cuts

Published: May 6, 2025 22:35

WASHINGTON — Veterans and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday protested the Trump administration’s planned cuts for the Department of Veterans Affairs that include slashing some 80,000 jobs, which many worry will affect the massive agency’s…

U.S. Senate Dems launch forums to spotlight ‘bulldozing’ of Department of Education

Published: May 6, 2025 22:15

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats on Tuesday blasted the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, underscoring the impact of the dizzying array of cuts, overhauls and proposed changes to the agency on students,…

Court battle escalates over yet another wrongly deported man sent to El Salvador prison

Published: May 6, 2025 19:05

BALTIMORE — A federal judge in Maryland Tuesday will for 48 hours pause her own order to require the federal government to facilitate the return of an asylum seeker mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, while the court waits for the…

Here’s how the House plans to cut $300 million from the disability services agency

Published: May 6, 2025 14:33

The Minnesota House passed a bill Monday with significant cuts to the Department of Human Services through 2027.  DHS programs account for nearly one-third of state spending, and are expected to get more expensive in the coming years due to the aging…

The “facility fee”: Another way hospital companies are squeezing every last nickel out of us

Published: May 6, 2025 11:00

Have you ever heard of a “facility fee”?   Even if you haven’t, I’ll bet that you’ve been charged one without even realizing it.   Facility fees are becoming more and more common as a way for large hospital systems to charge extra for basic appointments at…

Dumping costs on to local property taxpayers is a shifty way to balance the state budget

Published: May 5, 2025 18:28

As we near the end of the legislative session, Minnesota legislators and Gov. Tim Walz are deliberating on a two-year budget to address the long-term deficit facing the state — and current proposals are not good news for property taxpayers. As county…

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to strip legal protections for Venezuelans

Published: May 2, 2025 13:38

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department made an emergency request to the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, asking the justices to lift a lower court’s freeze on the Trump administration’s plans to terminate work authorization and deportation protection for…

Is Trump good for business? Not ours.

Published: May 2, 2025 11:00

I’m the general manager at Northstar Canoes, a small manufacturing company in Minnesota, and so far, there’s nothing about President Trump’s policies that are good for either our international or domestic business.  Our 17 employees make performance canoes…

Technologists welcome executive order on AI in schools but say more detail is needed

Published: May 1, 2025 20:07

Education software experts say they’re cautiously optimistic about a Trump administration drive to incorporate AI into classrooms, but such a program needs clear goals, specific rules — and enough money to fund the costly systems. “AI is, inherently,…

Federal Medicaid cuts would wreak havoc on the state budget — and the lives of 230,000 Minnesotans

Published: May 1, 2025 11:00

Gov. Tim Walz and the Legislature are busy working on the state’s budget for the next two years.  Their efforts to reduce state spending, however, are focused on two other realities: the state budget deficit forecast in 2028-29, and what is happening in…