There's a new name at the pinnacle of political donors from Minnesota: Minneapolis attorney and entrepreneur Michael Snow.
Snow edges out Rockefeller heiress Alida Messinger at the top of the big Minnesota money names in the 2011-2012 federal election cycle, according to data released Monday by the Sunlight Foundation, a Washington watchdog group.
Also among the top 10 is Garrison Keillor of "A Prairie Home Companion" fame. Keillor, with $146,850 in donations to Democrats and their causes, ranks sixth among Minnesota donors.
Snow is of counsel with the law firm of Maslon, Edelman, Borman & Brand in Minneapolis and a trustee to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1972 and the University of Michigan Law School in 1976.
He has worked with a number of public and private corporations including Osmonics, ValueVision International, Lloyd's Food Products and Upsher-Smith Laboratories. He was one of the earliest franchisees of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar. He was a co-founder in 1985 of Miller Milling Co., which was sold in March 2012 to Nisshin, the largest milling company in Japan.
Snow's $1,166,462 in federal donations edged out Messinger's $1,114,397, a difference of only $52,065. Both gave exclusively to Democrats, records show. About $1.1 million of Snow's money went to Priorities USA Action, the super PAC spawned by President Obama supporters.
During the same period, however, Messinger gave more than $2.5 million to Democratic and liberal causes in Minnesota elections. Snow's Minnesota contributions were much smaller, largely consisting of $10,000 donations to each to the two successful campaigns to defeat proposed constitutional amendments on same-sex marriage and photo ID.
After Snow and Messinger, who is Gov. Mark Dayton's ex-wife, the givers drop into the six-figure range.