Braemar Arena in Edina. The Legislature gave Edina permission to ask voters for a half-cent sales tax to fund nearly $40 million in improvements at Fr

After a bumper crop of new sales taxes approved in 2023, legislators eye limits

Legislators could rein in what kinds of projects can be paid for with sales taxes in the future.

Conservative lawmakers lead objections to Vista's deal to sell Federal ammunition to Czech firm

April 18
Anoka-based Federal is among Vista Outdoor's ammunition brands that may be sold to a Prague-based company.
Pressure being put on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and federal panel that must approve foreign investments in U.S. businesses.

Minnesota plan to close state addiction treatment facilities faces pushback

April 18
The Community Addiction Recovery Enterprise (CARE) facility, Minnesota’s only all-woman substance use disorder residential facility, is one of sever
DHS wants to divert resources to address mental health crisis. Some fear Minnesota is "robbing Peter to pay Paul" and women with addiction will suffer.
Politics
17 minutes ago
Andover High School teacher Amna Kiran led the push to change Minnesota law so that driver’s permit tests will be written in clear, direct English.

Andover High School teacher leads effort for more understandable driver's tests

Amna Kiran took notice and pushed to change Minnesota law after a student failed multiple times in 2019.
Business
4:03am

Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska's petroleum reserve

The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm.
Nation
4:01am

Biden's new Title IX rules protect LGBTQ+ students, but transgender sports rule still on hold

The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be protected by federal law and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday by the Biden administration.
Business
April 18

Finding an apartment may be easier for California pet owners under new legislation

California pet owners struggling to find a rental that accepts their furry, four-legged family members could have an easier time leasing new housing under proposed state legislation that would ban blanket no-pets policies and prohibit landlords from charging additional fees for common companions like cats and dogs.
Nation
April 18

Jury selection could be nearing a close in Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York

A third panel of potential jurors will be questioned Friday in Donald Trump's hush money case, drawing jury selection a step closer to completion in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.
Nation
April 18
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and the House Republican leadership meet with reporters following a closed-door Republican strategy session

House leaders toil to advance Ukraine and Israel aid. But threats to oust speaker grow

House congressional leaders were toiling Thursday on a delicate, bipartisan push toward weekend votes to approve a $95 billion package of foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as several other national security policies at a critical moment at home and abroad.
Politics
April 18

Arizona Republican drops reelection effort after accusation he forged signatures

A leader of the conservative group Turning Point Action resigned from the organization Thursday and dropped his bid for reelection to the Arizona House of Representatives after he was accused of forging signatures on his nominating petitions.
Nation
April 18

Pennsylvania House Dems propose new expulsion rules after remote voting by lawmaker facing a warrant

Pennsylvania House Democrats on Thursday proposed a process to determine if state representatives are ''incapacitated'' and to sanction or expel them, moving in the wake of intense criticism after one of their members voted remotely this week while being sought on charges he violated a restraining order.
Business
April 18

Nevada Supreme Court rulings hand setbacks to gun-right defenders and anti-abortion activists

Nevada's Supreme Court upheld a state ban on ghost guns Thursday, overturning a lower court's ruling that sided with a gun manufacturer's argument that the 2021 law regulating firearm components with no serial numbers was too broad and unconstitutionally vague.
Nation
April 18

Iraq's prime minister heads to Michigan to meet Arab Americans at a tense time for the Middle East

The leader of Iraq traveled to Michigan on Thursday following a sit-down with President Joe Biden to meet with the state's large Iraqi community and update them on escalating tensions in the Middle East following Iran's weekend aerial assault on Israel.
Business
April 18

Biden administration moves to make conservation an equal to industry on US lands

The Biden administration on Thursday finalized a new rule for public land management that's meant to put conservation on more equal footing with oil drilling, grazing and other extractive industries on vast government-owned properties.
Variety
April 18

Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai producing. An election coming. 'Suffs' has timing on its side

Shaina Taub was in the audience at ''Suffs,'' her buzzy and timely new musical about women's suffrage, when she spied something that delighted her.
Nation
April 18

Coalition to submit 900,000 signatures to put tough-on-crime initiative on California ballot

A coalition backed by retailers like Walmart and Target announced Thursday it has collected enough signatures to put a ballot measure before California voters this November to enhance criminal penalties for shoplifting and drug dealing.
Nation
April 18

Judge in Trump case orders media not to report where potential jurors work

The judge in Donald Trump's hush money trial ordered the media on Thursday not to report on where potential jurors have worked and to be careful about revealing information about those who will sit in judgment of the former president.
Nation
April 18

Suspect in fire outside of US Sen. Bernie Sanders' Vermont office to remain detained, judge says

The man accused of starting a fire outside independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' Vermont office earlier this month will remain detained pending further legal proceedings, a federal judge ordered Thursday.
Politics
April 18
Isra Hirsi, 16, of Minneapolis, co-director and co-founder of U.S. Youth Climate Strike, spoke during the rally at the Capitol.

Rep. Omar's daughter arrested, suspended from college for pro-Palestinian protests

Rep. Omar had questioned Columbia University's president about campus protests a day earlier.
Business
April 18

First major attempts to regulate AI face headwinds from all sides

Artificial intelligence is helping decide which Americans get the job interview, the apartment, even medical care, but the first major proposals to reign in bias in AI decision making are facing headwinds from every direction.
Business
April 18
FILE - This Feb. 25, 2020, file photo, shows the icon for TikTok in New York. TikTok says it's working to remove videos of a man apparently taking his

Legislation that could force a TikTok ban revived as part of House foreign aid package

Legislation that could ban TikTok in the U.S. if its China-based owner doesn't sell its stake won a major boost late Wednesday when House Republican leaders included it in a package of bills that would send aid to Ukraine and Israel. The bill could be law as soon as next week if Congress moves quickly.
Nation
April 18

Social media searches play central role at jury selection for Trump's first criminal trial

When the first batch of potential jurors was brought in for Donald Trump's criminal trial this week, all the lawyers had to go on to size them up at first were their names and the answers they gave in court to a set of screening questions.
Nation
April 18

California governor pledges state oversight for cities, counties lagging on solving homelessness

Nearly $200 million in grant money will go to California cities and counties to move homeless people from encampments into housing, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday while also pledging increased oversight of efforts by local governments to reduce homelessness.

Minnesota Politics

Latest politics news from the Twin Cities, Minnesota and Washington, D.C., including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Minnesota Legislature, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.