Don Davis
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Don Davis has been the Forum Communications Minnesota Capitol Bureau chief since 2001, covering state government and politics for two dozen newspapers in the state. Don also blogs at Capital Chatter on Areavoices.
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- 5 years 4 months
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ST. PAUL -- Minnesota's legislative leaders often say that House-Senate conference committees should work out major legislation in public. That way, the logic goes, not only can the public watch the public's business, but more eyes on bills would mean fewer mistakes. But pretty much every year, those public negotiations never happen.
ST. PAUL -- Minnesota farmers driving 86,000 tractors do not have adequate safety equipment, some state lawmakers say, so legislation is being considered to provide them financial help to update their machines. "These would be the smaller, older tractors," Rep. Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck, said. A state House agriculture committee Wednesday approved an Anderson bill to launch a $250,000 program to offer a combination of public and private aid to farmers to install roll bars and seat belts on tractors.
ST. PAUL -- More than 3,000 Minnesota child care providers have stopped providing the service in the past decade, and a bipartisan legislative panel says part of the fix to the problem is to make the system friendlier to providers. House Republicans say there were 14,481 child care providers in Minnesota in 2005, but 11,384 in 2014, a 21 percent decline.
ST. PAUL -- Minnesota is almost to the point where key state officials can begin talking about complying with federal identification card standards.
ST. PAUL -- There is no doubt Marco Rubio and Bernie Sanders won the presidential nods Tuesday from those who attended Minnesota Republican and Democratic precinct caucuses, but the victories may not have been as big as they appear at first glance. Headlines like "Rubio and Sanders win" do not tell the full story of what for Republicans was a record-setting caucus and nearly so for Democrats.
Minnesota joins Super Tuesday this year, but the question is whether the day will be super for any of the presidential candidates. It has not always been. Super Tuesday, March 1 this year, is the day when several states hold primaries or caucuses, in part to pick delegates to the two major parties’ national conventions. It is dubbed “super” because generally more states are picking delegates that day than any other.
ST. PAUL -- Presidential candidates have given Minnesota a bit more love than usual this year as the state holds its precinct caucuses on a day when more presidential nomination delegates will be picked than any other. It is a day that could make or break a campaign. As part of Super Tuesday with a dozen other states on March 1, Minnesota will play a larger role than most years.
ST. PAUL -- Minnesota joins Super Tuesday this year, but the question is whether the day will be super for any of the presidential candidates. It has not always been. Super Tuesday, March 1 this year, is the day when several states hold primaries or caucuses, in part to pick delegates to the two major parties' national conventions. It is dubbed "super" because generally more states are picking delegates that day than any other. This year, Minnesota joins a dozen states.
ST. PAUL -- Minnesotans who live part of the year in another state could find themselves paying income taxes as if they were full-year residents. Four Minnesota Supreme Court justices this week ruled that a couple who moved to Minnesota on Aug. 1, 2007, owed taxes to the state as full-time residents since they also had spent time at their Minnesota home before moving. In all, they spent more than half of the year in Minnesota.
ST. PAUL -- Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton this morning ended his hopes for a special legislative session to extend unemployment benefits to Iron Rangers, begin the process of matching state identification cards with federal requirements and launch efforts to reduce a financial disparity between black and white Minnesotans. "It is with great regret I am announcing today that I will not be able to call for a special session of the Minnesota Legislature," Dayton told reporters.