Metro Congressional contest draws national spotlight to incumbent Kline’s record on communities of color

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One of the most closely watched Congressional races of this election season is happening right here in Minnesota, where DFLer Mike Obermueller is seeking to replace Republican incumbent U.S. Representative John Kline. Kline’s Congressional District 2 covers the south Twin Cities metro area, including all of Scott, Dakota, Goodhue and Wabasha counties and such cities as Burnsville and Eagan.

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Q & A with Al Franken: Candidate shares his record on issues affecting East Africans

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What do you do in your office as a United States Senator?

As one of your two United States Senators, I have been working hard to pass laws that help all Minnesotans do better. My office also works with Minnesotans who need help navigating federal programs and services, including helping Minnesotans who are having trouble with issues such as immigration, social security, and Medicare. It has been an honor to serve Minnesota for the past five years. I’ve worked hard and gotten a lot done, but we can’t stop now. That’s why I’m hoping to be reelected to another term this November.

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MNSOS Billboard Edition: Severson campaign gets more flack about curious message in design

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University of Minnesota graphic design associate professor Carol Waldron, who specializes in color theory and typography, isn’t the only one to see a curious message in Dan Severson’s design choices in his campaign for Minnesota Secretary of State (BSP noted Waldron’s take in U of M prof picks up on curious visual message in MNGOP Dan Severson’s SOS campaign logo). Continue Reading

Rep. Rick Nolan uses “turds” to describe past Minnesota water quality

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Yesterday’s 8th Congressional District candidates debate in Duluth between Rep. Rick Nolan (DFL) and challengers Stewart Mills (GOP) and Ray Skip Sandman (Green) touched on several topics, including social security reformation, gun regulation and oil pipeline expansion. But the highlight of the debate was easily when Rep. Nolan used the word “turds” to help prove a point as he described just how bad Minnesota’s water quality used to be.Rick Nolan: “I grew up in a time when the lakes and rivers were so polluted that they were catching on fire. The Mississippi River where we lived, why, you’d go down there in the spring and there’d be toilet paper, condoms and turds hanging on every branch. And that was the good stuff, that wasn’t the toxic stuff. And you had to haul drinking water into Duluth. Continue Reading

Johnson to Red River Valley: Mark Dayton’s administration is “trying to kill the Sandpiper”

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The Star Tribune’s Ricardo Lopez reports in GOP’s Johnson accuses Dayton of slighting outstate Minnesota that the struggling Republican gubernatorial candidate J used the recent decision by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to ask Enbridge to consider alternative routes for the Sandpiper pipeline as an example of Dayton’s supposed nelgect of Greater Minnesota. Continue Reading

VIDEO: 8th Congressional District candidates debate – Rep. Rick Nolan v. Stewart Mills

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It used to be automatic. As sure as it would snow every winter, Minnesota’s Iron Range would elect a Democrat to congress. Rep. Jim Oberstar won 18 elections in a row. But redistricting and a changing political climate has made Minnesota’s eighth congressional district harder to predict than Duluth’s November weather. The district has flipped back and forth between Democrats and Republicans three times in the last three elections. Continue Reading

National coalition works to protect voters’ rights

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On September 23, a coalition of organizations that included the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance Education Fund, Bus Federation Civic Fund, Fair Elections Legal Network, League of Women Voters, Nonprofit VOTE, Rock the Vote, and Voto Latino conducted National Voter Registration Day.Their goal is to encourage people to register to vote and know what their rights are ahead of the November election. The coalition hosted events throughout the United States to further that goal, including several in Minnesota.Chris Melody Fields, manager of Legal Mobilization and Strategic Campaigns at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, explained the group’s reason for being and what it hopes to accomplish. “Every election’s incredibly important. People should get registered and get out and vote. I think midterm elections are incredibly important because there are a lot of local and state elections, and that affects people’s daily lives.This article is reposted from TCDP media partner Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Continue Reading

Vote Republican for more government shutdowns

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The U.S. federal government shutdown of 2013 started a year ago yesterday, and ran through October 16. Believe it or not, those who don’t happen to be wealthy white men were particularly impacted. It was wildly unpopular politically; congressional generic ballots saw huge jumps in Democrats’ favor when it was over, but that unfortunately hasn’t lasted. Americans’ short political memories are indeed the despair of many; if not for that, right-wing conservatism would be long gone as a political force, and practically everyone would be better off as a result. Continue Reading

As Election Day nears, changes take effect to ease voting concerns

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Jacob Frey is helping voters prepare for the unexpected this Election Day.Inevitably, something unforeseen will happen on Nov. 4, said the Ward 3 City Councilman, who represents neighborhoods around the University of Minnesota.To address this issue, Frey successfully pushed for an extension of in- person absentee voting hours in Minneapolis.Beginning Oct. 20, city residents will have the option to vote absentee for their precinct during extended hours at City Hall. Additionally, thanks to a new Minnesota law, registered voters no longer need an excuse to vote absentee.The primary reason for the new city ordinance was to eliminate every possible voting barrier, Frey said, citing class time and employment as two reasons students might not have time to travel to City Hall during regular hours.Because of the ordinance, which the City Council approved earlier this month, absentee voting hours will extend to dinnertime and include weekends.Historically, students vote in lower proportions than other demographics. The ordinance aims to help students, who lead hectic lives and need extra time slots, Frey said.University senior Annie Wood said she appreciates the new state and city measures.“As a student, my schedule’s really busy,” she said. Continue Reading