Minnesota Politics & News
The Daily Signal reports on Minnesota politics with coverage of progressive governance, crime policy, education battles, and the political divide between Minneapolis-St. Paul and rural Minnesota.
-
news
Minnesota Foes of Critical Race Theory Accuse BLM, NAACP of ‘Trying to Shut Us Down’
A series of presentations across Minnesota to educate the public about the dangers of critical race theory is encountering disruptions and even facing cancellations due to what its sponsor says are efforts by Black Lives Matter and the NAACP. The presentations, called the “Raise Our Standards” tour, in which attendees are educated about critical race… -
news
Minnesota Law School Students Aim to ‘Cancel’ Alumna Rep. Fischbach
Some students at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, are asking the school’s administration to ban an alumna and newly elected congresswoman because of her stance on voter fraud and support for President Donald Trump. “Rep. Michelle Fischbach (MN-8), an alumna of one of Mitchell Hamline’s predecessor institutions, directly contributed to… -
news
Appeals Court Orders Minnesota to Separate Mail-In Ballots Arriving After Election Day
A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that mail-in ballots from Minnesota that arrive after Nov. 3 must be separated from those that are received on or before Election Day. The ruling, from a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, authorized a Republican challenge against Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon's order extending the ballot… -
news
Minnesota City to Vote on Removing ‘Chief’ From Job Titles, Calling It a Microaggression
A Minnesota city mayor is pushing city council members to delete “chief” from job titles, citing how it promotes the marginalization of American Indians. The City Council is planning to vote Monday on whether the titles of chief administrative officer and chief financial officer should be changed to city administrator and finance director, respectively, according… -
opinion
How Minnesota Catholics and Lutherans Teamed Up to Open Their Churches
Last week, Catholic bishops in Minnesota and Lutherans in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod united to go against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s stringent order that only allowed 10 people at church services. Diana Verm, senior counsel with Becket Law, joins The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss the stand they took that brought Walz, a Democrat, back… -
opinion
Ruling in Minnesota Wedding Videographers’ Case Properly Prioritizes First Amendment Rights
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in a case arising from Minnesota strikes the right balance between First Amendment rights and the statutory right to be free from discrimination. The ruling came in a case involving Telescope Media Group, which produces commercials, short films, and live-event productions. Owners Carl and Angel Larsen… -
opinion
Minnesota Lawmakers Are Trying to Smuggle in Measure to Subvert Electoral College
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again—or just hide your idea in a giant piece of legislation, where you hope it won’t get noticed. The National Popular Vote campaign hopes that Minnesota voters won’t see its sneaky maneuver until it’s too late. Perhaps National Popular Vote supporters feel desperate. They’ve been trying to… -
opinion
Supreme Court to Minnesota: First Amendment Rights Don’t End at the Polling Booth
With just two weeks to go until the end of its term, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky that Minnesota’s ban on so-called “political” apparel at the polls on Election Day violates the First Amendment. With Thursday’s decision, the high court has restored the ability of voters in Minnesota to… -
news
Minnesota Students Launch Petition for University to Reinstate Abortion Fellowship
University of Minnesota students are petitioning the university to reinstate a fellowship for medical students that would have them working at and learning the ins and outs of procedure at a nearby Planned Parenthood clinic. “Our hope is that our voices are heard loud and clear,” petition co-author Trish Palermo said, according to the Associated Press. She explained… -
news
Minnesota School District Removes Student With Pro-Gun Sign During Walkout
A school district in Minnesota is defending a principal who removed a student from public school grounds for holding an unapproved sign that read, “Guns Don’t Kill People, People Kill People” during a nationwide school walkout demonstration against gun rights. The incident was captured on a video that was posted on Facebook by Kenny MacDonald,… -
news
Former Minnesota Viking Supports Right-to-Life Movement at March for Life
Former two-time NFL All-Pro center Matt Birk voiced his support for the pro-life movement with the rest of his family at the March for Life rally in January. The former Minnesota Viking told the crowd of thousands that if you can’t explain an idea or a concept to a third-grader, “either you don’t understand the… -
opinion
Minnesota Is Pushing Gender Identity Debate on Kindergartners
It would seem to be common sense that schoolchildren fresh off of learning the alphabet should not have to learn the alphabet soup of growing gender pronouns sprung from the laboratories of college campuses. But that is exactly what is happening in Minnesota. On Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Education advisory council voted to implement… -
news
Minnesota Students and Parents File Lawsuit Against Obama’s Bathroom Mandate
A group of students and parents from Minnesota filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the federal government and their school district for allowing a transgender student who was born male but identifies as female into the girls’ locker rooms, showers, and restrooms. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of challenges to the Obama administration’s… -
news
Minnesota Kindergarten Students Forced to Confront Gender Identity
It all started with a book: “My Princess Boy.” On Oct. 14, 2015, the elementary school principal of a Minnesota charter school informed parents that in the coming days, the school would be taking steps to “support a student who is gender nonconforming.” Their 5- and 6-year-old children, parents were told in an email, “will… -
news
Should Some High School Teachers Have to Have a Masters? In Minnesota, That’s a Fight
Minnesota educators, legislators, and students took turns at an unusual October legislative hearing, schooling the Higher Learning Commission’s top official on the “crippling effect” of a new HLC requirement for high school faculty teaching college-level classes to get master’s degrees. “The key to the Minnesota model for concurrent enrollment or dual credit programs is that they… -
news
Recess Consultant Hired in Minnesota Schools, Kids Get Coached Through Play Time
What happens when an adult steps onto the recess playground with new rules and a game list in hand that reads “Animal Tag,” “Four Square Volleyball,” and “Basketball Bowling?” Two elementary schools in the Minneapolis area, in the town of Edina, have gone from the usual “on duty” recess supervisor to hiring a recess consultant…. -
news
Even in Liberal Minnesota, Labor Unions Are Losing Members
Prominent media coverage of recent protests by workers targeting Twin Cities fast food outlets, Walmart and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport gave the impression of unions on the rise in Minnesota. Despite a “Week of Action” pickets last month, federal government labor statistics reveal a decade of decline for union membership in Minnesota and nationwide. “The… -
news
Minnesota Businesses Score Obamacare Exemptions
Do you believe in miracles? Ask Greg Hall, whose company supplied technology and know-how that helped rescue 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for more than two months in 2010. Almost as miraculous, Hall’s American Manufacturing Co. just received a permanent federal exemption from provisions of the Affordable Care Act that contradict the Catholic deacon and businessman’s… -
news
Timeout! Minnesota City Passes Moratorium on Solar Power
MONTICELLO, Minn. — Supporters of solar power say the future is bright in Minnesota, thanks to a slew of subsidies toward requiring big utilities to generate 1.5 percent of their power from solar by 2020. Despite a rush by some cities to get on the bandwagon, Monticello was the first municipality in the state to impose at… -
news
Blowback! Minnesota Wind Developer Takes on Opponents’ ‘Vendetta’
CORNISH TOWNSHIP, Minn. — Developers of a proposed 10-turbine wind farm that has come under fire from dozens of residents have denied alleged permit violations and reaffirmed plans to proceed with the controversial project, newly filed documents with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission reveal. Indiana-based WESCO Wind blamed construction delays on the project, which has been…