Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who was under internal investigation, is leaving her position. She becomes the third cabinet departure of President Trump's second term.
The Minnesota House approved a pair of bills yesterday brought forward by the son of the late House Speaker Melissa Hortman.
Colin Hortman shared with lawmakers the difficulties he faced getting additional information about chemical irritants police used in his parents’ home in an effort to find the person suspected of fatally shooting his parents. Because police didn’t disclose the products they had used, Hortman experienced irritation to his skin and eyes after coming into contact with the substances as he went in to grab some belongings days after the June 14 shooting. His efforts to remediate his childhood home stalled because it wasn’t clear what irritants were sprayed into the home. He also faced challenges getting insurers to cover the cost of cleaning to fully address the spread of the irritants.
In testifying on the bills, Hortman said he didn’t want others to experience the difficult situation his family did when they were already dealing with trauma. Lawmakers lauded him for working to make change for others. “We apologize to you on behalf of the state, this is a situation that you should not have been subjected to,” said Rep. Paul Novotny (R-Elk River). Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview) sponsored the bill and thanked Hortman for raising the issues. “Paying it forward, taking a horrible experience and seeking change for the benefit of future victims, looking out for others is the Hortman way, and with this bill, other future innocent homeowners will experience a streamlined and
thorough remediation so they can return to or sell their homes without the months of delay,” she said.
A measure to ban municipalities from entering into certain non-disclosure agreements passed through the Senate Monday.
The bipartisan bill was added as an amendment to a state and local government catch all bill. It bans local governments from signing non-disclosure agreements for major projects like data centers. It comes as data centers proposed across the state have used these agreements with cities and counties. The legislation outlaws that practice for municipal employees and local elected officials. Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, led the push. "Many local officials feel pressured to sign non-disclosure agreements or NDAs to help stay competitive for proposed projects,” he said. “On the flip side, many local constituents of mine and many others feel like those NDAs get in the way of
transparency on those proposed projects." The idea had some detractors. Sen. Andrew Mathews, R-Princeton, said the bill will make the state less competitive. “Data centers are going to need to be built. And they will be built somewhere,” he said. “The question will be whether we will build them in certain areas here, where we can get some job and tax revenue like my constituents in one of my cities desperately need to have built, or are we going to just drive them to neighboring states and other places around the country?” The amendment passed 37-30 and the underlying bill also went through. A similar bill failed to clear House committees, but the Senate vote means it will be part of final
session negotiations.
A bill increasing penalties for coercion passed the House yesterday with rare unanimous support. The bill is called Carter's Law, after 16-year-old Carter Bremseth of Olivia, Minnesota. Carter died by suicide after a scammer pressured him to send nude photos
and then extorted him. This type of coercion is called "sextortion." It's on the rise, so advocates say penalties need to rise, too. Republican Representative Scott Van Binsbergen represents Olivia and sponsored the bill. He thanked Carter's parents for coming to the Capitol to witness the vote. “They have made it their mission to stand up and create awareness around this issue,” Van Binsbergen said. Carter’s parents received a standing ovation on the House floor. If you or someone you know is struggling, you can call or text 988 or chat online
.
Legislation honoring the humble toboggan is on a downhill slide (in a good way).
The measure to make the Toboggan the official state sled of Minnesota glided through the Senate floor Monday, as part of a State and Local Government catch all bill. The original bill, which was thought up by high school students in a youth in government program, didn’t have the smoothest ride through the chamber. Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, whose district is home to both Arctic Cat and Polaris, offered up an amendment naming the snowmobile the official state sled. “Minnesota has been the heart and soul of the snowmobile industry. If you want to talk about sleds, I like to talk about snowmobiles,” he said. He soon withdrew the amendment “in deference to
the high school students.” The bill slid through easily, but still has a few more jumps to get over – the House and the governor’s decision -- before it becomes state sled law.
Capitol security officers offered an update on new screening protocols, noting so far there have been minor issues with the checkpoints and dozens of unauthorized weapons have been flagged.
The new weapons screening technology was put in place ahead of the legislative session under an executive order from the governor. It requires a permit to carry for firearm owners and bans other weapons from the premises. Col. Christina Bogojevic, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, told the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security that people were turned away in 52 cases where they had items like knives or skewers that are prohibited. Security officers have tracked 121,598 people through screening stations since they were implemented, that doesn’t include lawmakers and others who are exempt and can go around them. They verified permits to carry on 548 occasions. Overall, the
longest wait time at the stations has been about 15 minutes. Members of the committee lauded the State Patrol for quickly setting up the check points and kept them running efficiently and effectively.
We missed this last week, but the Minnesota budget picture darkened a bit in the latest figures from the Department of Minnesota Management and Budget. The April quarterly update documents a dip in revenue compared to the February forecast
of $182 million. That’s about 4.6 percent off the mark. But the outlook narrative in the report might be more concerning to state officials and lawmakers. Minnesota’s economic consultant now predicts considerably slower economic growth for 2026 – 2.1 percent instead of 2.7 percent. Forecasts for inflation, unemployment and interest rates all moved in a problematic direction, too. The consultant didn’t go so far as to predict a recession, but did say “there is the possibility of an economic contraction in 2026 due to the low forecasted growth rate, and the overall outlook remains sensitive to evolving financial, fiscal and trade policy developments.”
Some Minnesota cannabis businesses are getting stymied by local clearances they need to move ahead.
For example, one pair of growers is suing a township for denying their operation. Nicole Ki reports on how that is playing out. She writes that Josh Kasprzyk has filed a lawsuit against Eureka Township, demanding they issue zoning approval for his cannabis cultivation farm in Farmington. He argues the township is defying state law, which says local governments cannot prohibit cannabis businesses. Kasprzyk is one of many prospective business owners who are running into regulatory issues as Minnesota rolls out its new cannabis market. He was a hemp grower for many years with the plan to transition into adult-use cannabis once it became legal. It took six months of going back and
forth before the township denied his cultivation farm project. The township says it did not issue zoning approval because of traffic concerns, adverse impacts on neighbors and other reasons. Kasprzyk estimates damages from the farm sitting idle could stretch into the millions. In the meantime, he and his business partner have found a new cultivation facility in St. Paul and are working to get it operational in the next few months.
Gov. Tim Walz is launching a new political action committee to recruit Democratic candidates in rural communities.
The second-term DFLer says he's starting the federal campaign effort to get more Democratic candidates to run in rural districts around the country. He pointed to his time serving southern Minnesota in Congress after flipping the 1st Congressional district seat from red to blue. And he says other teachers, nurses, laborers and veterans could pick up the mantle for Democrats if they opted to run where they live. Walz is not seeking a third term as governor and has said he wants to help Democrats around the country. Some of his remaining campaign funds could help in that effort. The governor says Republican policies have had a detrimental impact on small towns and Democrats can help
bring jobs and keep rural hospitals open. Vice President JD Vance’s political team responded to Walz in a dismissive fashion, according to the Star Tribune. A reminder that when Walz ended his bid for another term, he still had a solid $3.1 million in his campaign fund.
A lot was made last week (here included) about the yawning money gap between Democrat Amy Klobuchar and potential Republican rivals in the governor’s race, but there’s more to that story. Outside groups could level the playing field some.Case in point: Restore Sanity is a political fund that registered in Minnesota in February and is upfront that its goal is to support Lisa Demuth’s bid. In its first report
, it showed $1.2 million in fundraising, with about $1.1 million of that coming from one source. That’s the Florida-headquartered Restoration of America PAC, which cropped up as a political entity active in conservative causes such as election integrity and the 2020 dispute. The organization’s most recent 990
shows scant prior involvement in Minnesota – about $50,000 to a group known as Integrity Minnesota. There was also about $1 million in rent for a holding company based in Edina. Through the end of March, Restore Sanity had spent about $85,000 on digital and mail ads on behalf of Demuth but it has a big stockpile left to use. Another political group, Minnesota Strong PAC
, registered last week with out-of-state strategists in the leadership roles. The group’s website doesn’t align with a specific candidate but says conservative leadership is needed to “fix the damage caused by Governor Walz and his corrupt cabal of Democrat allies.”
Support trusted news and information from our team of experienced journalists with your donation today. MPR News relies on your support to deliver free and accessible news to our whole community.
