MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst and his guests talk about the Minnesota Legislature and how the state will govern in 2025 with both chambers split virtually down the middle.Av Minnesota Public Radio

MPR News senior politics reporter Clay Masters looks back on the 2024 election campaign for the Iowa Caucus to election events leading up to this week when President-elect Trump stepped back into the White House.Av Minnesota Public Radio

It’s now November and Election Day is almost here. MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst talks with Minnesota’s Secretary of State about what’s being done to make sure the balloting and the counting goes smoothly, and when might we know who won races up and down the ballot. Later, Minnesota DFL and Republican Party chairs share their closing takes o…

Presidential election years can make for unpredictable outcomes down the ballot. For Minnesota, the party that turns out its base — and connects with independents best — has the inside track to gain the gavels at the state’s Capitol. The Senate majority will be decided by a single, winner-take-all race in the western suburbs. As for the House, key …

With fewer than three weeks left until Election Day, campaign ads for the presidency down to the Legislature have flooded the airwaves from your TV to your phone. But judges are on the election ballot, too. Judicial candidates are running for judgeships in local District Courts, the Court of Appeals and even the Minnesota Supreme Court. There are 1…

Earlier this week marked one year since Hamas attacked Israel. Hamas militants invaded Israel, killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped another 250 people, making it the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. About 100 hostages have not been returned. Israel’s retaliation in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 people and wounded more than 96,000, accord…

Minnesota’s most competitive race for Congress is expected to be in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes suburban, exurban and rural areas south of the Twin Cities. It’s one of the few districts in America where voters favored Republican Donald Trump in 2016 and then Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. Three-term Democratic Rep. Angie Craig is tr…

With new candidates on the Democratic ticket and former president Donald Trump atop the Republican ticket for a third time, a new Minnesota poll shows Kamala Harris with an edge. Coming up Friday at noon, MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst talks with Minnesota journalists about the poll results.Av Minnesota Public Radio

There are 46 days until Election Day, and that means the start of early voting in Minnesota – one of the first states where votes can get cast. MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst talks with Secretary of State Steve Simon about the early voting process and the safeguards being taken to make sure the 2024 election runs smoothly and fairly across th…

The newest member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation, Republican Rep. Brad Finstad, is asking voters for a second term in district one. Democrat Rachel Bohman is asking those same southern Minnesota voters to give her the job instead. Bohman, a lawyer and former local board official who has a background in election administration, is looking t…

The Minnesota State Fair has ended. The 12-day event brought out long lines for fried food, a butter sculpting competition and U.S. Senate candidates looking to represent the state in the nation’s Capital. There have been 44 people in Minnesota who have held the title of U.S. senator since statehood, but only seven have been elected to three or mor…

We break down the primary results and what they mean for November. Three U.S. House races were closely watched. We hear from Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Michelle Fischbach who both fended off primary challenges. The match up is set in Minnesota’s most competitive U.S. House district. We talk to Republican Joe Teirab who will be facing Democratic C…

Tim Walz, the second-term Minnesota governor with a folksy demeanor and a swath of experience both in and out of government, gained a spot on the Democratic ticket as Kamala Harris’ vice presidential choice. Supporters of Gov. Walz say the ex-Army National Guard leader, former teacher and past congressman could help Harris in the Midwest. But he al…

It has been an extraordinary month in our nation’s politics. There’s been development after riveting development, with each eclipsing the last. And yet, with still 100 days to go till Election Day, this could be just a taste of what’s ahead. MPR News host Brian Bakst talks with MPR political reporters Mark Zdechlik and Clay Masters about the last f…

Democrat Joe Biden, the current president, and Republican Donald Trump, the former president, meet Thursday, June 27, for the first debate either candidate has been in since 2020. The presumed presidential rematch has been set for months — with both candidates earning the necessary primary wins to gain their party nominations, which they’ll formall…

This week MPR News and other media partners released the first Minnesota Poll results of the year. The poll, in partnership with MPR News, KARE 11 and the Star Tribune, revealed a close race for president. The Minnesota Poll also offered a glimpse at top issues for voters and showed the unease many have about Biden and Trump. In this Politics Frida…

The 2024 DFL State Convention will be held at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center in Duluth beginning Friday afternoon. Coming up Friday at noon, a special edition of Politics Friday with a preview of the DFL convention. MPR News host Brian Bakst will talk with DFL Chairman Ken Martin and state Sen. Kelly Morrison, the endorsed candidate…

The DFL is in its second year of control of the House, Senate and governor’s office. Over the last four months, the DFL passed a rideshare ordinance, a bill on gun restrictions with a tougher penalty for “straw purchasers” and various cannabis resolutions. But there’s also a list of bills that didn’t pass from an equal rights amendment to sports be…

The Minnesota Republican Party convention gets underway at the St. Paul RiverCentre, with the selection of national delegates and endorsement of a U.S. Senate candidate on the to-do list. Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the party’s annual Lincoln-Reagan fundraising dinner which will be held in association with the convention.…

Minnesota lawmakers have only one more full week to finish up the legislative session’s work. MPR News host Brian Bakst spoke with two leaders of the Minnesota House about the authorization of construction projects, a touch-up of the state budget, updates to Minnesota’s new cannabis law and a possible plan to set minimum pay and protections for rid…

The two weeks that remain in the Minnesota Legislature’s 2024 session will result in a flurry of votes, negotiations and certainly twists. One key piece of unfinished business is the bonding bill — the slate of publicly financed construction projects that need state signoff to move ahead. MPR News host Brian Bakst talks with the chair of the House …

After nearly 20 years on Minnesota’s Supreme Court, Justice G. Barry Anderson is retiring. Anderson is the longest-tenured current justice and the last to have gained his seat through the appointment of a Republican governor. MPR News host Brian Bakst talks with Anderson about his time in the Minnesota Supreme Court, his career in the courtroom and…

By this time next year, Minnesota might have quite a few new stores where people can buy marijuana in various forms. The goal is for an early 2025 rollout of licensed retail locations. But will there be enough supply to meet demand — and keep prices from rising too high? And what’s going on with the effort to clear records of people who had past ma…

State lawmakers have budgeted to provide more than $23 billion to schools in the current budget — a 10 percent bump over the prior budget. But many districts say they’re still feeling a strain. How come? What is being done to improve literacy, student nutrition, school safety and cultural competency? MPR News host Brian Bakst talked with two leadin…

U.S. Representative Angie Craig won Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District seat in 2018, but she’s won two reelection races by single-digit percentage margins. She’s in for another costly and competitive race. MPR News host Brian Bakst talks with Rep. Craig about her work in Congress and her upcoming campaign. Later, rural EMS providers are banking…

Updated: 2:40 p.m. Anti-trust cases, consumer protection actions, defense of newly passed state laws and ramped-up criminal prosecutions — it’s all on the plate of Minnesota’s attorney general. MPR News host Brian Bakst talks with Attorney General Keith Ellison about proposed changes to Minnesota’s gun laws, an upcoming hearing on voting rights, on…

A space shuttle could be touching down — metaphorically — in St. Cloud. Gov. Tim Walz last week said a donor had inquired about placing a space shuttle in central Minnesota. Walz told MPR News’ Politics Friday about the offer but gave few details about the project. “Someone wants to give us a space shuttle — the space shuttle, a real space shuttle …

There are two months to go in the Minnesota Legislature’s 2024 session, meaning high-level negotiations aren’t that far off. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz released a package of budget revisions this week and continues to make the case for other items on his agenda. MPR News host Brian Bakst sits down with Walz to talk about how he’s juggling priorities f…

This week, MPR News host Brian Bakst sits down with DFL Rep. Zack Stephenson and DFL Sen. Erin Maye Quade to talk about a sports betting bill that’s garnered a lot of buzz at the Capitol. The bill would establish regulations for on-site and mobile betting venues and who can operate them. Minnesota is in the minority of states where sports betting i…

MPR News host Brian Bakst is joined by Senate Capital Investment Committee Chair Sandra Pappas and Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, the top Republican on the House Capital investment Committee. They’ll have big roles in shaping this year’s construction projects package known as the bonding bill. Minnesota lawmakers are sorting through billions of do…

In Episode 3 of the Voices Driving Change podcast, we speak with JT Haines, MCEA's Northern Minnesota Advocate about the PolyMet sulfide mine proposal, international human rights activism against mining pollution, and the links between our work and these global movements. Thanks to Tara Scurr, Bridget Holcombe, Joel Sipress, Doug Watt, Jennifer Gre…

In Episode 2 of the Voices Driving Change podcast, we speak with Ellen Anderson, MCEA's Climate Program Director about the impacts of climate change on Minnesota, our state goals to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, and what work we need to do to tackle climate justice in 2020 and beyond.Voices Driving Change is a 10-day celebration - learn more abo…

In Episode 1 of the Voices Driving Change podcast, we speak with Tom Kalahar of Olivia, Minnesota about the fight to protect Limbo Creek, the last free-flowing stream in Renville County. Learn more about the importance of Limbo Creek, the impact of agricultural drainage on the Minnesota River, and what you can do to help. Voices Driving Change is a…

New podcast episodes are coming next week! Go to voicesdrivingchange.org to learn more and see other online events you can join from September 15-24.Av MN Center for Environmental Advocacy

This episode of MCEA's Power Lunch, livestreamed on June 24, 2019 features an interview with Kara Josephson, MCEA's Legislative Director. We look into the legislative session that just ended, and look forward to the climate, energy, water and mining issues that will return in 2020.Av MN Center for Environmental Advocacy

In Episode 3 of MCEA Power Lunch, we interviewed Betsy Lawton, MCEA's Water Program Director, about MCEA's work on a number of agricultural water pollution issues. We discussed the Catalpa LLC hog feedlot proposal in Minnesota's karst country, and the Daley Farms mega-dairy in Winona County. This episode was recorded and livestreamed on December 4,…

In Episode 2 of MCEA's Power Lunch, we talk with Kevin Lee, MCEA's Mining Program Director. Kevin is an attorney who has been working on the PolyMet copper-nickel mine proposal for years, and his depth of knowledge shows in this deep dig into the proposal. This is a great primer to understand what Minnesota is facing when considering proposals to m…

In Episode 1 of MCEA's Power Lunch we interview Leigh Currie, MCEA Climate and Energy Program Director, about MCEA's work to retire the last coal power plants in Minnesota and what 2019 will bring for our work to defend Minnesota's climate. This episode was originally recorded in July 2019, and is updated to reflect events in November 2019.…