December 3, 2010
Saint Paul, Minnesota
By Marty Owings

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer held a 10:30 news conference this morning in which he highlighted a number of concerns he says could effect the outcome of the election. Emmer stated that the issue of more votes than people calls into question the integrity of the election system and is "an assault on the very principles of the American voting system". Emmer repeated the one person, one vote statement several times during the press conference. He said that he was disappointed with the Minnesota Supreme Courts decision to deny his petition to have Minnesota counties undergo a reconciliation process. He added that he was not currently planning another court challenge, but that he would not make a decision on that until the court issued it's opinion in the original case and the issue of unreconciled votes was resolved.

Saint Paul, Minnesota
November 17, 2010
By Marty Owings

According to a press released issued today the Minnesota House and Senate GOP its new committee leadership will help promote efficiency. According the GOP this new committee structure is meant to, "streamline" the committees and their functions. This new structure is something DFL Represetative Gene Pelowski says Democrats have been working on since 2006. Pelowski said in a statement that, " I am pleased to learn today that the Republicans are adopting our DFL measures in a bipartisan way."

Saint Paul, Minnesota
October 30, 2010
By Marty Owings

In the attached document obtained by Minnesota Capitol News, the Minnesota Republican Party warns election officials that it is a felony not to train Election Judges to perform status checks, "if there is information on the drivers license that the individual in not eligible to vote... such as... a 'status check' designation". The letter also says that any election judge who fails to perform a status check is guilty of a Gross Misdemeanor.

Saint Paul, Minnesota
October 18, 2010
By Marty Owings

Governor Pawlenty called for a special legislative session on Monday to deal with damages caused by storms this summer and flooding in September. Parts of the state, especially southern Minnesota where 21 counties were affected. The $80.3 million dollar measure passed both the House and Senate unanimously, but not before politics made a reappearance at the Capitol.

Representative Alice Hausman, a DLFer from St.Paul, surprised more than a few of her colleagues when she announced on the House floor that she'd come to the Capitol prepared to vote "no" on the emergency money. She said she was upset with the Governor for refusing Federal health care money and said he and other Republicans were being hypocrites.

July 5, 2010
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Marty Owings

After hearing from someone recently about the difficulty he had getting a response from a Congressman outside his district via email, I became curious. Why not just write them a letter I asked? No one under 35 years old writes letters, was the quick response. Well you could call them right? Yes, I suppose I could call them, but emailing allows you to keep a record and to copy others. Fair enough I thought, let's check it out.

So how easy is it to submit an email question or concern to Minnesota's Representatives. I visited each of their websites and tried to submit an email question. Here are the results of my quick test in alphabetical order:

Michelle Bachmann - After entering my zip code at the zip code screening form: "Sorry, Congresswoman Bachmann does not represent that zip code."

June 1, 2010

In recent years, Minnesota Democrats have gnashed their teeth over the Independence Party (IP). In 2008, Democrat Al Franken beat Republican incumbent Senator Norm Coleman in an historic squeaker; in that race, the IP’s Dean Barkley took 15% of the vote, and seemed to get more of it from Franken-leaning voters than from Coleman-leaners, making what might have been a relatively easy Franken victory an epic nail-biter. In the 6th U.S. Congressional District race, IP joke candidate Bob Anderson drew 10% of the vote, possibly preventing Democrat Elwyn Tinklenberg from deposing the well-known incumbent, Republican Michele Bachmann.

May 27, 2010
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Marty Owings

The rumors swirling around all week were finally confirmed today as Matt Entenza (DFL) candidate for Governor confirmed via Twitter that his running mate would be Robyne Robinson, the former Fox 9 News Anchor. The Twitter feed read, "It’s my distinct pleasure to announce Robyne Robinson @robynempls as my choice for lieutenant governor! Please welcome her aboard".

At a Capitol press conference, Robinson said she hadn't made up her mind until late last night. She said her involvement in the community and in covering politics gave her the experience necessary to be Entenza's running mate.

With Robinson picked as his running mate Entenza is the final DFL candidate for Governor to fill out his ticket. Former Senator Mark Dayton is running with State Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher's running mate is John Gunyou.

May 24, 2010
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Marty Owings

Former Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton (DFL) today selected current State Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon as his running mate in the Governor's race. Prettner Solon is in her third term in the State Senate. She replaced her husband, Senator Sam Solon who died of cancer in 2001. Prettner Solon represents the the Duluth area.