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3 weeks ago | 
grandforksherald.com | PETER COX |Elizabeth Shockman
ST. PAUL — Minnesota lawmakers have reached a deal on a $26 billion package to fund K-12 schools for the next two years that will raise per-student funding in line with inflation but slash special education transportation spending, library aid and teacher pipeline programs. Legislators agreed to a modest $4.2 million increase in per-student money from the current two-year cycle.
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3 weeks ago | 
inforum.com | Clay Masters |PETER COX
ST. PAUL — Already behind schedule, Minnesota lawmakers aim to complete a new state budget this week and head off the possibility of a government shutdown a month from now. The final pieces of budget legislation are coming into focus. Once the last details are locked in, Gov. Tim Walz intends to call a special session. He told MPR News last week that he was aiming for Wednesday, but that could easily slip until later in the week.
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2 months ago | 
inforum.com | Clay Masters |PETER COX
ST. PAUL — In the race between Gophers and Badgers for voter turnout, the Badgers won. Voters in Wisconsin narrowly outperformed Minnesota voters in the 2024 election. The University of Florida’s Election Lab reported that 76.35% of the voting-eligible population cast ballots in Minnesota. In Wisconsin, 76.64% of the voting-eligible population cast ballots. Secretary of State Steve Simon regularly touts Minnesota’s long-running first-place voter turnout position.
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2 months ago | 
twincities.com | Dana Ferguson |PETER COX |Clay Masters
Around 500 Minnesota state employees protested Saturday in St. Paul, calling on DFL Gov. Tim Walz to reverse course on a policy to require more in-office work. The governor says having more employees spend at least half their time at their workplaces will improve communication and collaboration. State employee unions oppose the policy, saying it will require many people to reorder their lives after five years of pandemic-imposed remote work habits.
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Jan 18, 2025 | 
thelosthighwayhotel.com | PETER COX
Director: Leigh WhannellStars: Julia Garner, Christopher Abbott, Benedict HardieWhile Leigh Whannell came up as a preeminent screenwriter and actor with fellow co-conspirator James Wan, his achievements as an emerging director ought not be overlooked, with a strikingly solid run through Insidious Chapter 3 (one of the better sequels in that series – watch out for a baby Jenna Ortega!), the darkly comic Upgrade and the super-successful Universal monster update The Invisible Man.
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Jan 13, 2025 | 
southernminn.com | PETER COX
The head of Minnesota’s largest state agency is stepping down. kAms6A2CE>6?E @7 wF>2? $6CG:46D 4@>>:DD:@?6C y@5: w2CADE625 2??@F?465 |@?52J 27E6C?@@? D96’D =62G:?8 96C C@=6 @? u63] b]k^AmkAmw2CADE625 H2D 2AA@:?E65 E@ =625 E96 286?4J :? pF8FDE a_`h 3J su{ v@G] %:> (2=K]k^AmkAmx? 2 DE2E6>6?E[ (2=K AC2:D65 w2CADE625’D H@C< E@ C6@C82?:K6 sw$]k^AmkAm“x 2> AC@F5 @7 96C H@C< CF??:?8 E96 >@DE 4@>A=6I 2?5 H:56\C2?8:?8 286?4J :?
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Jan 13, 2025 | 
inforum.com | PETER COX
ST. PAUL — The head of Minnesota’s largest state agency is stepping down. Department of Human Services commissioner Jodi Harpstead announced Monday afternoon she’s leaving her role on Feb. 3. Harpstead was appointed to lead the agency in August 2019 by DFL Gov. Tim Walz. In a statement, Walz praised Harpstead’s work to reorganize DHS. “I am proud of her work running the most complex and wide-ranging agency in state government,” Walz’s statement said.
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Jan 11, 2025 | 
thelosthighwayhotel.com | PETER COX
Director: Pablo LarraínStars: Pierfrancesco Favino, Angelina Jolie, Haluk BilginerA philistine with no great appreciation for opera I may be, but as someone who was moved to the core by Pablo Larraín’s handling of Jackie at the start of 2017, this closing(?) chapter in his cycle of films in awe of 20th century women had me chomping at the bit for a seat (I was gutted to have missed an earlier opportunity thanks to a bout of the flu).
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Jan 1, 2025 | 
grandforksherald.com | PETER COX |Erica Zurek
The number of induced abortions performed in Minnesota continued to increase in 2023, according to year-end data from the state’s health department released on Tuesday. In a report to the state Legislature, the Minnesota Department of Health said there were 14,124 abortions in Minnesota in 2023, an increase of almost 16 percent over 2022. Most abortions performed by physicians and licensed practitioners were for Minnesota residents.
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Dec 10, 2024 | 
thelosthighwayhotel.com | PETER COX
Director: Luca GuadagninoStars: Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Andra UrsutaMexico City of the 1950s. Homosexual American expats roam in cliques or prowl as discombobulated loaners. All are adrift in an outward exile that can’t help but express an inner one. Their country doesn’t want them, won’t tolerate them, so they’re here, setting up their own haven for the damned. We’re in William S. Burroughs territory. A humid, dangerous place that few cinematic auteurs have dared to cross.
