Hank Long

2 weeks ago | alphanews.org | Hank Long

A Minnesota senator has announced he will step down—at least temporarily—from his chairmanship of a Senate ethics committee following revelations that he’s helped steer millions in state funding to an organization tied to a former legal client. Sen.

2 weeks ago | alphanews.org | Hank Long

Should state law recognize that certain plants have “inherent rights” to exist? That became an intensely debated topic among legislators and testifiers during a hearing in the Minnesota Senate last week. A bill making the rounds at the Capitol that would increase environmental protections for uncultivated wild rice across the state also includes a provision that would make it the “policy of the state to recognize the inherent right of uncultivated wild rice to exist and thrive in Minnesota.”Sen.

3 weeks ago | alphanews.org | Hank Long

More than two dozen Republicans in the Minnesota House of Representatives have signed onto a bill that would make it a crime for people to protest outside of someone’s home. There was a spate of such incidents across the Twin Cities in 2020 and 2021 following the George Floyd riots in Minneapolis and St. Paul. In those incidents, left-wing activists targeted protests at the homes of police officers, a county prosecutor and legislators.

3 weeks ago | alphanews.org | Hank Long

Legislators from both parties sitting on a newly-formed fraud oversight committee in the state House are calling on their colleagues to stop sending taxpayer dollars directly to nonprofits. The practice of sending money to nonprofits through “legislatively named grants” has faced increased scrutiny in recent years as the state grapples with multiple fraud scandals.

4 weeks ago | alphanews.org | Hank Long

A special election for a now-vacant state Senate seat in northern Minnesota will feature a crowded field of Republican candidates. Seven Republicans, as of Wednesday, had declared their intention to run in the primary for the Senate District 6 special election. That primary date is set for April 15 after Gov. Tim Walz issued a writ for the special election on Tuesday. Walz called the special election following the resignation last week of Sen.