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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 Minnesota governor

Forget the forecast scramble

Posted by: Rachel E. Stassen-Berger Updated: November 30, 2012 - 12:06 PM

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Twice a year for more than a decade, Minnesota’s finance gurus set a date to brief the governor, lawmakers and reporters on the biannual budget forecast.

And twice a year for more than a decade, reporters have wheedled the forecast number out of officials hours before they are supposed to know the number.

No more.

Starting with Wednesday’s forecast, state financial officials will release the number to the media as they are briefing lawmakers. They’ll make the number public, with some context, so the initial reports will be more complete and reporters (and their lawmaker sources) won’t have to scramble.

John Pollard, spokesman for Minnesota Management and Budget, said financial officials realized: “The current system just needs to be updated. We’ve been doing the same thing for the last ten or 15 years and things changed…The fact of the matter is news moves faster than it did.”

 

This post first appeared in our Morning Hot Dish political newsletter. If you're not already getting the political newsletter by email, it's easy and free to sign up.  Go toStarTribune.com/membercenter, check the Politics newsletter box and save the change.

Gov. Dayton unhappy with Vikings' stadium plans, threatens to undo deal

Posted by: Baird Helgeson Updated: November 13, 2012 - 4:05 PM

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Gov. Mark Dayton Tuesday wrote a stern letter to the Minnesota Vikings' owners threatening to undo the stadium deal if they pass on the team's share of building costs to fans.

"The project's strong support came from many regular Minnesotans, not just rich Minnesotans, because they believed the Vikings are also their team. If a new stadium were to betray that trust, it would be better that it not be built," he wrote.

The license fees allow fans and corporations to pay a one-time surcharge for the right to select the best season tickets. The fees can mean a windfall for the team owners, but critics say the move will allow high-rollers to jettison longtime season ticket holders to worse seats.

The Vikings firmly defended their right to proceed with seat licenses fees, or so-called builder's licenses.

The stadium agreement "expressly authorize the sale of stadium builder's licenses and include the proceeds of any sale in the project budget," the team said in a statement. "Stadium builder's licenses were vetted by the Legislature, testified to by Vikings and state of Minnesota negotiators, and most importantly, specifically reflected in the stadium legislation that was passed and signed by the governor."
 

Read the rest of the letter below.

 

11.13.2012.Wilf.Zygi.Mark

New ads unveiled in photo ID battle

Posted by: Jim Ragsdale Updated: October 26, 2012 - 5:48 PM

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The air war is heating up in the battle over Minnesota's election system.

Supporters and opponents of a proposed photo ID constitutional amendment unveiled new television ads on Friday. The amendment will appear on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.

An ad from ProtectMyVote.com, which supports the amendment, shows various people -- a construction worker, a farmer, a military veteran -- talking about the importance of "one vote."

The script reads: "When someone cheats, they cheat you out of your right to be heard." The group said the ad will begin running on statewide broadcast television on Saturday.

A television spot from Our Vote Our Future, which opposes the amendment, features current DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson, each opposing the measure. The present and former governor say the amendment is too costly, will prevent many seniors from voting, and "basically ends same-day registration."

Our Vote Our Future said the ad began running statewide on Friday.

See the pro ID ad here:

See the anti ID ad here:

http://youtu.be/8Jg1U1MeIfY

 

Promoted Justice on Twitter

Posted by: Rachel E. Stassen-Berger Updated: October 8, 2012 - 10:27 AM

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Supreme Court Justice G. Barry Anderson may be making history, 140-characters at a time.

The justice, first appointed to the high court by Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2004, is using promoted tweets to advance his campaign to stay on the court. He is among the first prominent Minnesota politicians to use promotion, Twitter's version of online advertising, in his campaign.

For targeted Twitter users, promoted tweets appear in their timelines and are clearly marked as advertising. National campaigns and businesses have, for months, used the advertising system to get their messages to users -- and generate revenue for Twitter.

The promotion, "allows Justice Anderson to quickly and easily update voters about the Minnesota Supreme Court, his background, and campaign for reelection. Recent promoted tweets have included information about e-filing, the fact that four Governors support Barry Anderson for re-election: Carlson, Pawlenty, Quie & Anderson, and that in 2006, he received 1,457,164 votes - more than anyone running for statewide office of any type that year," said Grant Anderson, the justice's son and digital director. He said the campaign plans to continue using Twitter advertising through Election Day.

Grant Anderson said the campaign has also used Facebook for campaign outreach, as do many campaigns. Justice Anderson's Facebook page has more than 1,600 fans and one of his posts on Facebook had more than 130 "likes" by Monday morning.

The incumbent justice this year may face more of a re-election challenge than usual for high court posts. Dean Barkley, a prominent Independence Party member appointed by former Gov. Jesse Ventura to the U.S. Senate, is running against him. In 2008, Barkley got 15 percent of the vote. Barkley has 60 Twitter followers and 84 Facebook fans to Anderson's 334 followers and 1,600 fans.

No incumbent justice has lost a post through election in 66 years.

 

 

Minnesota: Your budget forecast day is...

Posted by: Rachel E. Stassen-Berger Updated: October 4, 2012 - 11:49 AM

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Minnesota budget geeks will have their day of excitement one month after Election Day.

"Minnesota Management and Budget will release the November budget forecast on December, 5th, 2012," the budget agency said.

 

On that date, the state will find out if the just elected class of  2013 lawmakers will have to grapple with a deficit, a surplus or some other fiscal muddle.

 

 

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