Episodes
Published 03/25/24
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 — to move to Minnesota,” he said. State Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud, on social media, said the shuttle could be showcased next to a new...
Published 03/25/24
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 for the legislative session with demands from outside of the Capitol. Later, Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks,...
Published 03/21/24
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 isn’t a sanctioned business enterprise. Stephenson is a leading voice in the push to change that, but Maye Quade is among those with concerns...
Published 03/15/24
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 dollars in requests this year for publicly financed construction projects, but only a small fraction will make the cut. The package requires...
Published 03/08/24
Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden are closing in on their nominations. Coming up Friday at noon, MPR News host Brian Bakst talks to DFL Party Chair Ken Martin and Republican Party Chair David Hann about their party’s likely presidential nominees, and what that matchup may mean in Minnesota. Later, MPR News correspondent Catharine Richert reflects on the first Talking Sense live event in Woodbury. Talking Sense is an initiative, in collaboration with Braver Angels, that aims to...
Published 03/01/24
It’s the second year for the DFL trifecta at the State Capitol — but the party only has a one seat majority in the Senate and is led by a new face this year. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy stepped into the role right as this year’s session began. Her predecessor, Kari Dziedzic gave up the position down after learning her cancer had returned. MPR News host Brian Bakst sat down with Murphy to discuss how she plans to keep the DFL caucus on the same page and what style she brings to the...
Published 02/22/24
The Legislature has gaveled in, and the Capitol is quiet no more.   Minnesota Democrats had their way in passing an expansive agenda, from abortion protections to recreational cannabis to restored voting rights for people with felony pasts. DFLers also increased spending across state government, from universal school meals to modest tax rebates. This year, lawmakers will find it more difficult to power substantial legislation through.  Leaders and lawmakers have stressed there’s less money...
Published 02/14/24
The 2024 election kicks off when the first votes of the presidential campaign are cast Monday night in Iowa, where Republicans are jockeying for support in that state’s caucuses. Will former President Donald Trump score the victory that eluded him in his first White House run? Could rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley pull off an upset or at least keep it from being a Trump runaway?  MPR News host Brian Bakst gets the lay of the Iowa land from MPR News senior politics reporter Clay Masters,...
Published 01/15/24
George Latimer is an iconic voice in Minnesota politics, and for some he is best known as a popular former mayor of Minnesota's capital city. Latimer was St. Paul’s mayor from 1976 to 1990 and still holds the record for the longest- serving mayor in the city’s history. During his years in office, St. Paul underwent dramatic changes, including a downtown building boom. But those accomplishments, while popular in St. Paul, weren't enough to propel Latimer to victory when he sought the DFL...
Published 06/02/23
For the first time in a decade the DFL had control of the House, Senate and governor's office — and they ran the table at the Capitol.   In the last five months, the DFL passed legal marijuana, paid family and medical leave, renewable energy standards, election changes, and boosted education and transportation funding. It was virtually every major initiative the Democrats proposed.   MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talks to Gov Tim Walz about his take on the session and gets his response to...
Published 05/26/23
Minnesota voters made history in Nov. 2022 when they elected three Black woman to the state senate — a first in the 165 years of Minnesota statehood.   MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talks with Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, DFL-Minneapolis, and Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten, DFL-St. Paul, about their first legislative session and the perspective they brought to the chamber. Later in the hour, two Republicans from the cannabis conference committee explain their approach to a final version of the bill to...
Published 05/19/23
There's a lot of work going on at the Minnesota Capitol heading into what might be the final weekend of the 2023 legislative session.   Several large bills are still being worked on by conference committees as lawmakers try to reach agreements on the final pieces of a new two-year state budget. Taxes, health care, education, transportation and a host of other issues are all in the mix. And the final negotiations on a paid family leave program and legal marijuana are also underway.   MPR...
Published 05/12/23
Sen. Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic has held the slim DFL majority together on all the major issues, all while recovering from a recent cancer surgery.     MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talks to Sen. Dziedzic and Sen. Minority Leader Mark Johnson about the 2023 session and what Minnesotans can expect in the final weeks of the session.   Later in the hour, MPR’s political reporters recap some of the biggest news stories of the week. Guests:   Sen. Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic,...
Published 05/05/23
Winter has taken its toll on Minnesota roads, leaving drivers to maneuver between dips and cracks in the street that seem to grow by the day. But making sure those potholes get filled is just one of the many issues involved with transportation.   MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talks to Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, chair of the Transportation Finance and Policy committee in the House; and Rep. John Petersburg, R-Waseca, Minn., the committee’s lead Republican, about transportation...
Published 04/27/23
The Legislature has spent much of this week passing elements of a new two-year state budget.  They're working off a base of the current $52 billion budget and looking to add the $17.5 billion surplus to it. The House and Senate plans do not line up perfectly, and conference committees will have to work out the differences.  MPR News guest host Brian Bakst talks about the state budget under construction at the Capitol with two leading DFL lawmakers who have their eyes on the big picture and...
Published 04/21/23
Washington has been in recess for the past couple weeks, allowing members like U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar to travel back to Minnesota.   In that time, she has met with President Biden to champion the bipartisan Infrastructure Act and visited the town of Winona as residents prepare for spring flooding.     MPR News guest host Brian Bakst talks to Sen. Klobuchar about bipartisan efforts to pass the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, judicial ethics concerns at the Supreme Court and the looming...
Published 04/14/23
Attorney General Keith Ellison and Secretary of State Steve Simon are three months into their new four-year terms and they're already busy.   Just yesterday, Ellison asked Gov. Walz to allow him to take over the prosecution of a Hennepin County criminal case and the governor agreed. It's a decision the Hennepin County attorney called deeply troubling. MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talks to Ellison about the Hennepin County criminal case, a proposed Sanford-Fairview health care merger, the...
Published 04/07/23
Minnesota lawmakers are moving forward with a public safety bill that funds big parts of the state’s criminal justice system.   MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talks to Rep. Kelly Moller, DFL-Shoreview, and Rep. Paul Novotny, R-Elk River, about the public safety budget bill released earlier this week. The bill, HF2890, also includes a host of policy provisions, including a “red flag” measure designed to reduce gun violence.   Later in the hour, Sen. Sandra Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, explains the...
Published 03/31/23
Two Democrats from northern Minnesota are key members of the DFL's slim majority and they’re facing tough votes on controversial issues including gun control, taxes and abortion.  MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talks to Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, and Sen. Robert Kupec, DFL-Moorhead about how they're weighing what their constituents are telling them and the agenda DFL leaders are promoting at the Capitol. Later in the hour, we get the GOP reaction to a new two-year budget outline...
Published 03/24/23
For years, Minnesota lawmakers have been working to legalize marijuana. The latest bill is still up for debate, but can a small DFL majority make it happen or will this bill go up in smoke?  MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talks to Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, about the movement to legalize marijuana and we’ll also hear from Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, on why she’s one of the lawmakers speaking out against legalizing adult-use cannabis.  Later in the hour, Sen. Heather...
Published 03/16/23
House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, have used their slim DFL majorities to break a logjam over progressive legislation. MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talks to three of the most powerful women in state government about what's happened at the Capitol so far this year and what's next on their agenda. Speaker Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Dziedzic talk about Minnesota's massive budget surplus and their plans for the...
Published 03/09/23
The Minnesota State Legislature gaveled into its 93rd session two months ago, and lawmakers have quickly gotten to business.  MPR News political editor Mike Mulcahy gets the latest news from the Capitol with political reporters Dana Ferguson and Peter Callaghan. And Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, talks about the GOP agenda for the remainder of the session. Later in the program, a conversation with Gov. Tim Walz about the state’s budget surplus and his...
Published 03/01/23
With the DFL poised to take control of the Minnesota Senate and keep control of the House and governor’s office, some Democratic priorities may become law in 2023. Mike Mulcahy talks abortion, marijuana, paid family leave, sports betting and more with newly selected Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic (DFL-Minneapolis) and Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park). Mike also talks with newly reelected DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon and political analysts Todd Rapp and...
Published 11/11/22
In a 3rd Congressional District debate, incumbent Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) debates his Republican challenger, Tom Weiler. Mike Mulcahy moderates a debate about what Congress can do about abortion, inflation, public safety, social security and more. Later in the hour, Mike talks to Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller (R-Winona) and Sen. Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul) about next week’s election.
Published 11/04/22