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.
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- 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,…Kyle Perisic -
- 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…Kyle Perisic -
- 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…Jarrett Stepman -
- 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…Kelsey Bolar -
- 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…Kelsey Bolar -
- 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…Tom Steward -
- 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….Leah Jessen -
- 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…Tom Steward -
- 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…Tom Steward -
- 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…Tom Steward -
- 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…Tom Steward -
- News
Proposed Minnesota Policy Would Allow Student Athletes to Choose Teams Based on ‘Gender Identity’
Minnesota high schools may soon be affected by a proposed policy that would allow students to participate in sports based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex. On Dec. 4, the board of directors of the Minnesota State High School League will vote on the policy. According to the draft of the policy,…Kate Scanlon -
- News
Minnesota School Boards Can–and Often Do–Raise Taxes Without Voter Approval
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesotans faced 39 school operating levy referendums on the ballot this fall, fewer than in any election since 1996. And they nixed one of every four proposals at the polls. Chalk one up for taxpayers? Not exactly. Many school boards already had raised school levies on their own long before Election…Tom Steward -
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Minnesota Wind-Solar Mandate Would Mean Costly Grid Upgrade
A new report released by the Minnesota Commerce Department lays the technical groundwork for ramping up one of the nation’s highest state renewable energy mandates from 30 to 40 percent by 2030. One technicality left out of the $750,000 study underwritten by Minnesota utility ratepayers: Who pays for what in a potentially massive upgrade of…Tom Steward -
- News
From Miami to Minnesota, Protests Call Attention to Border Crisis
Along East 7th Street in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood of St. Paul, Minn., more signs are in Spanish than English, advertising everything from used cars to groceries. That backdrop certainly made Larry Dalin’s sign stand out. Holding a placard that read, “In Mexico, illegals are jailed,” Dalin was a lone sentry outside the Mexican Consulate…Eric Boehm