Author: MinnPost

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said President Joe Biden is not too old for a reelection campaign and cast doubt on the merits of bumping former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot in Minnesota. “I would say we all get older so be careful what you’re asking,” Walz said of Biden. “A little bit of wisdom is not a bad thing.” The second-term DFL governor answered questions on Saturday about the presidential race, a controversy over school resource officers, the brief tenure of his first cannabis director, and more in an interview with reporter Peter Callaghan at the MinnPost Festival…

The first taxes collected from Minnesota’s new cannabis tax that took effect July 1 show that the hemp-derived market is smaller than estimated, or a lot of people selling edibles and beverages have not yet reported their taxes. In the first month, the 10% sales tax brought in $594,461 from 571 businesses. That means total sales were $5.94 million. Of the total, $119,000 will be distributed to local governments and $475,000 to the state. The Department of Revenue (DOR) notes that those numbers reflect what had been received by Aug. 21, and additional filings are likely. The first month collections…

House Republicans have renewed a call for a special session to fix issues with the legislation that made Minnesota the 23rd state to legalize recreational marijuana. They’re not likely to be successful, partly because majority DFLers don’t often agree to requests made by minority Republicans but mostly because what Republicans see as bugs, DFLers see as features. While there might be fine-tuning needed on the sweeping legalization law, they can wait until the regular session next February, DFL leaders have said. House Republicans have now sent two formal letters to Gov. Tim Walz and the DFL leaders of the House…

Tuesday is MJ Day for recreational cannabis in Minnesota, the day when perhaps the most significant sections of the law take effect. Use and simple possession of the drug is no longer a crime for people 21 and over. Retail sales are still well over a year away, but as of Aug. 1, those over 21 can use cannabis and possess 2 ounces or less in public, 2 pounds or less at home and grow up to eight plants in their homes or yards. But that doesn’t mean that criminal sanctions have been removed from state law regarding marijuana. As…

The federal government spent trillions of dollars providing stimulus checks, increased unemployment and food stamp benefits, provided forgivable business loans, rent and student loan moratoriums and funding for dozens of other programs.

Starting Aug. 1, people age 21 and over can possess and use marijuana in Minnesota. But there are limits on where they can possess it and where they can use it, especially by smoking or vaping. Still, smoking and vaping will be legal in a lot more places than are specifically listed in the new law or were publicly discussed during the 2023 legislative session, and Minnesota is poised to become one of just a few states that allow smoking and vaping of marijuana in public. As passed, the law seemed to restrict smoking and vaping to single-family homes, yards and private property not…

It’s the kind of “oops” that can happen in the drafting of legislation that is hundreds of pages long being written with legislative deadlines approaching. But when it happens in the bill that controls Minnesota state taxes, small errors can cost a lot of money. An error in this past session’s omnibus taxes bill discovered a month after it was signed by the governor will cost state taxpayers $352 million a year extra if not corrected. It will be corrected, pledged state Department of Revenue Commissioner Paul Marquart and the chairs of the two legislative taxes committees. “It’s an oversight and it…

It wasn’t a formal part of the latest audit of the Southwest Light Rail Transit project, but it summarized in frank language the sentiments of many who have followed the project, both in government and in the public. After being asked during a hearing of the Legislative Audit Commission what advice she had for how light rail projects should be managed in the future. Legislative Auditor Judy Randall was direct: “The council and the state have other light rail transit projects coming up, that are being discussed, that are being vetted,” she said Wednesday. “Now is the time to think…

Minneapolis officials expect more than 500,000 people will descend on downtown this weekend for two Taylor Swift concerts and Twin Cities Pride Festival events. In some ways, the busy weekend isn’t all that different from the Super Bowls and the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four three times since 1992. Still, Mayor Jacob Frey and other leaders told reporters at a press conference Wednesday they saw this weekend as a crucial inflection point in a post-pandemic, post-civil-unrest turnaround for downtown Minneapolis. “I do see this as an opportunity to change the narrative,” said Frey, “but more importantly I see this as an opportunity to show…

The Met Council has done something at the Minnesota Legislature that isn’t easy to accomplish: build bipartisanship. Lawmakers from both parties and all parts of the state support changing how the regional government with control or influence over transit, wastewater treatment, land-use planning and regional parks works. Thank — or blame — the troubled Southwest Light Rail Transit project for that. Republicans have long expressed concerns over the way the 17-member appointed council runs rail projects as well as its say over suburban growth. The over-budget and under-managed extension of the Green Line to Eden Prairie has helped bring DFLers…