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With an insider’s eye, Hot Dish tracks the tastiest bits of Minnesota’s political scene and keep you up-to-date on those elected to serve you.

Contributors in Minnesota: Jennifer Brooks, Baird Helgeson, Mike Kaszuba, Patricia Lopez, Jim Ragsdale, Brad Schrade and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger. Contributors in D.C.: Kevin Diaz and Corey Mitchell.

Posts about 8th District

Nolan hires former opponent

Posted by: Jennifer Brooks Updated: December 31, 2012 - 11:57 AM

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Eighth District Congressman-elect Rick Nolan has hired one of his former primary opponents.

Former Duluth City Council president Jeff Anderson will be joining Nolan's staff as district director, Nolan's transition team announced Monday. Anderson was one of three Democrats running in the Eighth District primary this year. Nolan won the primary and went on to oust incumbent Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack in November.

Nolan's press release describes Anderson as "an Ely native and a fourth generation Iron Ranger," who will oversee the Eighth District offices Nolan plans to open in Duluth and Brainerd.

Other Nolan hires announced today include his former campaign chairman, Jim Swiderski, who will serve as his legislative director in Washington; new deputy chief of staff Jodie Torkelson; chief scheduler Ione Yates; and communication director Steve Johnson.

"They know Minnesota, they know Capitol Hill and they will hit the ground running to provide exemplary service to the people of the Eighth District from Day One,” Nolan said in a statement. “I’m so proud to have them on our team.”

Nolan to hold reins on fed transportation projects

Posted by: Kevin Diaz Updated: December 27, 2012 - 1:59 PM

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Minnesota’s Eighth District Congressman-elect Rick Nolan has been appointed to serve on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, "the body at the epicenter of efforts to spur job growth by revitalizing the nation’s roads, bridges, railroads and waterways," his office announced Thursday.
 
Nolan will follow outgoing freshman Republican Chip Cravaack, who also had a seat on the committee. Nolan defeated Cravaack by 9 percentage points in November, returning the northern Minnesota district to decades-long Democratic control.
 
Cravaack's predecessor, Jim Oberstar, made the committee his home base during 36 years in Congress, serving both as its chairman and the ranking Democrat, depending on which party controlled the House.
 
The Transportation Committee now appears to be something of  birth-right for Minnesota Eight, and Nolan says he requested the assignment during earlier meetings with House Democratic leadership. He received the word from Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and the House Democratic Caucus.
 
“This is a major committee assignment – vital to  generating good jobs and economic development here in the Eighth Congressional District,” Nolan said. “Building a strong surface and water transportation system creates good paying jobs, improves the quality of our lives, and is the economic backbone of a large district like the Eighth. Timber, taconite, tourism and manufacturing spread over a large geographic area all require strong transportation to be successful."
 
Nolan indicated that the assignment will allow him to move forward on "Day One"  with efforts to secure federal support for the Northern Lights Express high speed rail project and Essential Air Service for regional airports, issues on which Cravaack and district DFLers sharply diverged.
 
For Nolan and other newly-elected House members, Day One is January 3.
 
 
 

 

Cravaack's Mille Lacs fish story has a happy ending

Posted by: Kevin Diaz Updated: December 13, 2012 - 2:36 PM

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First-term Minnesota Republican Chip Cravaack, who was defeated for reelection, will get some consolation before leaving the U.S. House next month.
 
A modified version of his Mille Lacs Lake Freedom to Fish Act, which passed the House in August, made it through the Senate Wednesday evening under the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012. 
 
The bill, introduced in May, would restore Minnesota’s authority to permit and inspect commercial fishing guide vessels on Lake Mille Lacs, taking the U.S. Coast Guard out of the picture.
 
In March of 2010, the Coast Guard began requiring fishing guides on Lake Mille Lacs to acquire a federal “six-pack” boating license to continue to do their jobs.  Cravaack said the federal certification is difficult to obtain and can cost individual fishing guides up to $2,000 in fees, training, and travel costs.
 
Cravaack, now working out of a basement cubicle, called the Coast Guard requirements a burdensome administrative overreach by the federal government. His bill was carried in the Senate by Minnesota Democrats Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken.
 
It is now headed for President Obama’s desk for signature.

NRA head to rally with Cravaack in Duluth

Posted by: Kevin Diaz Updated: November 2, 2012 - 5:32 PM

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Both candidates in northern Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District are marking Saturday’s deer opener by heading out in the fields to hunt. It’s all but expected. DFL challenger Rick Nolan is even putting on a family venison stew tonight. But only Republican incumbent Chip Cravaack can boast a visit from National Rifle Association (NRA) President David A. Keene, who will attend a “Second Amendment” rally with him in Duluth. The event is a significant “get” for Cravaack, who got the NRA endorsement in the race, which counts for something in the north woods.

Pick your poll, 8th District

Posted by: Rachel E. Stassen-Berger Updated: October 29, 2012 - 7:34 AM

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Over the weekend, two more polls came out of the embattled Eighth Congressional District.

Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack's campaign shared the results of an internal poll that shows the freshman Republican up over Democrat Rick Nolan by 10 percentage points (50 percent to 40 percent. That poll, which included 400 likely voters, 33 percent of whom were DFL, 34 independent and 31 Republican.

Meanwhile, the Huffington Post released a Public Policy Polling poll that showed Nolan up by 4 percentage points over Cravaack (48 percent to 44 percent). That poll included 38 percent DFL, 29 percent Republican and 33 percent independent voters.

Last week, a poll completed for the Star Tribune found Nolan with a 7-percentage point lead.

The contested Eighth District is Minnesota most expensive House race by far. Already outside groups have spent about $8.6 million to fight it out.

inside the StarTribune