minnesota

Gov.

Minnesota's three top budget negotiators walked from the governor's office Thursday evening to announce a state budget deal frowning like their best friend just died. In a way, each had lost a political friend: Democratic Gov.

ST. PAUL -- Gov. Mark Dayton wants to preserve state aid to local communities while raising taxes on the richest Minnesotans and increasing education spending in a budget proposal he released this morning. The Democrat's total budget plan for the next two years would be $37 billion,...

Chris Gerlach expects a different kind of session this year at the capitol. Gerlach, the Republican Senator who represents Rosemount in the Minnesota Legislature, expects change now that Republicans control both the House and the Senate. "It's going to be hugely different from a...

Lori Swanson's record as Minnesota's attorney general might not be without blemish, but her performance has been good enough to justify her re-election. She has distinguished herself as a people's AG by using resources to ensure Minnesota residents are not abused by scam artists and...

Patricia Anderson, who was Minnesota's state auditor from 2002 to 2006, is seeking to return to the office. She was an activist auditor, and that energy is part of what recommends her for election to the job Nov. 2. Her opponent, incumbent Rebecca Otto, has seemed more of a caretaker...

If ever a secretary of state was tested, it was in 2008 during the recount of Minnesota's U.S. Senate race between Al Franken in Norm Coleman. Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie not only passed the test, but also set standards for other states to emulate. As a bitter political...

Last month, I nearly went berserk reading the endless paeans to the Minnesota State Fair in both Twin Cities' newspapers. Day after day, as the world was collapsing around us, the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press both trotted out stories about such goodies as batter-fried lutefisk...

Love to learn about local horticulture and share this knowledge with the community? Apply to become a Master Gardener in 2011 and learn to identify heirloom flowers, grow new and heirloom vegetables. Trial new flower varieties not yet on the market. Research plants native to the...

Law enforcement officials offered few new details Thursday about an officer-involved shooting late Wednesday in Cottage Grove that left one man dead and another wounded after a traffic stop on the city's west side. A spokesperson revealed little during a midday press conference about...

NEW LONDON - A little boy out for an afternoon adventure with his puppy got lost in a wooded area northeast of New London on Monday, triggering a frantic search. After the nearly 2 1/2-hour search Monday, Elijah Jacobson, 4, was found waist-deep in a pond about a quarter of a mile...