October 27, 2015 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports on the disparity of people of color in state legislature. When Peggy Flanagan, executive director of the Children's Defense Fund-Minnesota wins election to the Minnesota House, she'll join an exclusive club. A member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Flanagan will become one of only a handful of legislators of color at the Capitol.
May 13, 2013 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports on the Minnesota Senate passage of bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the state by a vote of 37-30, after more than four hours of debate. Only one Republican joined Democrats on the prevailing side, and three DFLers opposed the bill.
May 9, 2013 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports that six months after Minnesotans rejected a constitutional amendment that would have banned gay marriage, the Minnesota House made an historic turn, voting to legalize same-sex marriage in Minnesota.
November 5, 2012 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports on the Minnesota Voter Identification Amendment that is on 2012 ballot. Report includes commentary from both proponents and opponents of amendment.
August 23, 2011 - Governor Mark Dayton announced Joyce Sutphen, a college professor who lives in Chaska, will serve as the state's next poet laureate.
January 3, 2008 - Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura is raising a few eyebrows with claims in a new book about his dealings the Central Intelligence Agency. The St. Paul Pioneer Press offered a sneak peak today (Thursday) of the forthcoming book, titled "Don't Start the Revolution Without Me." In one excerpt, Ventura describes a post-inaugural meeting with CIA agents. He also claims a CIA operative was on the state payroll. Even a Ventura confidant is questioning the account. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports, the surprising revelations are at least partially true.
January 3, 2008 - A spokesman for the Central Intelligence Agency confirms that agents met with then-Governor Jesse Ventura in 1999. But former Minnesota Senator Dave Durenberger, who spent eight years on the Senate Intelligence Committee, says Ventura's account is hard to believe.
October 25, 2007 - A key state lawmaker says he's troubled by the testimony a Minnesota bridge inspector provided to a Congressional subcommittee in Washington earlier this week. DFL House Majority Leader Tony Sertich of Chisholm says the inspector's testimony doesn't match the positive spin coming from Minnesota Department of Transportation leadership. Bart Andersen told members of a House Transportation subcommittee that driving over bridges in Minnesota is dangerous because there isn't enough money for proper inspections. Sertich says all Minnesotans needs to hear what Anderson had to say.
October 24, 2007 - A key state lawmaker says he's troubled by the testimony a Minnesota bridge inspector provided to a Congressional subcommittee in Washington earlier this week. DFL House Majority Leader Tony Sertich of Chisholm says the inspector's testimony doesn't match the positive spin coming from Minnesota Department of Transportation leadership. Bart Andersen told members of a House Transportation subcommittee that driving over bridges in Minnesota is dangerous because there isn't enough money for proper inspections. Sertich says all Minnesotans needs to hear what Anderson had to say.
October 3, 2007 - The legislature's top-ranking Democrat has joined the call for Lieutenant Governor Carol Molnau to resign her other job as state transportation commissioner. House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher of Minneapolis said today she's concerned about Molnau's ability to run the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Legislators also launched another investigation of the state agency in connection with the 35W bridge collapse. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.