(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) LAS VEGAS (AP) — Pimp Dennis Hof, the owner of half a dozen legal brothels in Nevada and star of the HBO adult reality series “Cathouse,” won a Republican primary for the state Legislature on Tuesday, ousting a three-term lawmaker. Hof defeated hospital executive James Oscarson. He’ll face Democrat Lesia Romanov in November, and will be…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) SINGAPORE (AP) — President Donald Trump rocked the region with the stunning announcement Tuesday that he was halting annual U.S.-South Korean military drills — and wants to remove the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in the South as a deterrent against North Korea. Trump’s surprise, almost offhand comments, made during a news conference after his summit with North…
DULUTH, Minn. – The Duluth City Council planned to vote on changes to the city’s Comprehensive Land Use plan but, over the weekend, residents and members of the golf community voiced their concerns about part of the city’s “Imagine 2035” plan that would have recommended city golf courses be re-zoned in the future. Recommendations that could have led to city…
DULUTH, Minn.-A DFL candidate for governor made a stop at Monaco Air in Duluth earlier today. Current Attorney General Lori Swanson and her running mate Eighth District Rep. Rick Nolan stopped by to share their vision for Minnesota. Swanson said one of her main goals is to end some of the divisiveness in Minnesota’s politics. “Before we take office, we…
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)DULUTH, Minn. – President Donald Trump will be rallying in Duluth next week. According to his official website, the President will be hosting his MN Rally at the DECC Arena on Wednesday June 20. The doors will open for ticket holders at 3:30 p.m. and the event will begin at 6:30 p.m. Trump’s re-election campaign announced the rally…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)MILWAUKEE (AP) – President Donald Trump plans to attend the Foxconn Technology Group groundbreaking ceremony later this month and attend a luncheon fundraiser. The Milwaukee Business Journal reports that prominent Milwaukee business executive Ted Kellner is hosting the June 29 fundraiser. It comes before Trump is to attend the Foxconn event in Mount Pleasant with Gov. Scott Walker…
DULUTH, Minn. – St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin has been reelected for another four years. 63-year-old Rubin is right now in his 8th year as the county’s chief prosecutor of crimes. Rubin says he thought about retiring for the past eight or nine months, but in the end, he felt he and his team still have unfinished work to…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Two candidates with familiar names are running for Rep. Keith Ellison’s seat in Congress. There was a rush to file for Ellison’s Minneapolis-area district Tuesday as the six-term congressman launched a late bid for Minnesota attorney general. Eight Democratic candidates registered to run Tuesday ahead of a 5 p.m. deadline. Julie Sabo and Kim Ellison…
DULUTH, Minn. – Harry Welty, a former Duluth school board member, has announced he is running for the 8th Congressional District seat as a Republican. This is Welty’s third time running for the seat. The previous two times he ran he was listed as an Independent candidate. Welty is anti-Trump and running as a Republican to give 8th District voters a…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is getting into the state’s crowded race for governor. The announcement Monday marks a shift for the Democrat, who in January said she intended to seek a fourth term as attorney general rather than run for governor. But she changed her mind after party activists at the state convention this…
photo: loriswanson.comST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Two people familiar with the discussions say Minnesota Democratic Attorney General Lori Swanson has asked retiring U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan to be her running mate in a possible last-minute entry into the governor’s race. Two Democratic political operatives tell The Associated Press that Swanson approached Nolan about joining a campaign and he’s seriously considering….
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota State Auditor Rebecca Otto is ending her campaign for governor. Otto, a Democrat, says in a Facebook post Monday that she came to the decision after dropping out of the endorsement race at this weekend’s Democratic state convention. Party activists ultimately endorsed state Rep. Erin Murphy for governor. Murphy will have at least one…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Republican Gov. Scott Walker is calling Democratic challenger Tony Evers “pathetic” for using a curse word in his Democratic Party convention speech over the weekend. Walker reacted on Twitter Monday to Evers’ comments. Evers told about 1,300 convention attendees in a speech Friday night that he was “goddamn sick and tired of Scott Walker gutting our…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – State Rep. Erin Murphy has named Rep. Erin Maye Quade as her running mate as she heads toward a primary in her bid for governor. Murphy was endorsed by Democratic activists in Rochester Saturday. She defeated U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, who has indicated he’ll run for the party nomination in an August primary. Murphy’s campaign…
MINNESOTA – The Minnesota Republican Party endorsed Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson for Governor on the third ballot after rivals Philip Parrish and Mary Giuliani Stevens dropped out of the race. “Are we a party of the political class, the wealthiest donors, the lobbyists, or are we a party of grass roots republicans?” said Jeff Johnson after securing the GOP…
**UPDATE** Representative Jim Newberger, Becker, was endorsed for the United States Senate seat with nearly 80% of the vote on the first ballot for the senate seat currently held by Amy Klobuchar. State Senator Karin Housley, Stillwater, was endorsed for the United States Senate seat on the first ballot for the senate seat resigned by Al Franken. The…
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is back on for June 12. Trump says after an Oval Office meeting Friday with North Korea’s Kim Yong Chol that he’d be making a mistake not to go forward with the on-again, off-again nuclear summit in Singapore. Trump says his meeting…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Democratic and Republican activists are preparing to gather to answer one major question: Who will the two major parties endorse in the wide-open race for governor? Endorsing conventions were set to begin Friday afternoon, with Republicans meeting in Duluth and Democrats set to gather in Rochester. The parties will also endorse candidates for a pair…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty has chosen the state’s newly sworn-in lieutenant governor as his running mate. Pawlenty announced Thursday that Republican Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach would join the campaign. Fischbach resigned her Senate seat last week and was sworn in as Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton’s lieutenant governor after resisting the job for months. Fischbach confirmed…
(AP Photo/Francois Mori)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is announcing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico. The move is sure to raise worries of a trade war with American allies. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says there will be a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum….
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Mark Dayton has vetoed a bill that he says would have unlawfully undermined Minnesota’s water quality standard for protecting wild rice. Dayton, who vetoed a similar bill earlier, says the revised version represented “some progress,” but not enough to overcome its shortcomings. He says the bill would have given a work group authority to…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Mark Dayton has signed most of a bill authorizing almost $1.5 billion in public construction across Minnesota. Dayton signed the so-called bonding bill Wednesday but used his line-item veto pen on just one project. Dayton said $1 million for additional reviews of state water regulations would have added needless bureaucracy. His signature on the…
DULUTH, Minn. – There’s going to be a changeup at the Duluth City Council as the current President, Elissa Hansen, announced she’ll be stepping down next month. Hansen became emotional when breaking the news at the end of the council meeting Tuesday night. She said she was offered and accepted the position of President and CEO of The Northspan Group….
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – One of the most powerful state lawmakers in Minnesota is leaving the Legislature. Republican House Majority Leader Joyce Peppin announced Wednesday she would retire to take a private sector job. Peppin is a seven-term lawmaker from Rogers who had served as House Majority Leader since 2015. Peppin says she never considered the Legislature a full-time…
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. is announcing that it will impose a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods containing “industrially significant technology.” The White House said Tuesday that the tariff will cover goods related to the “Made in China 2025” program. The full list of imports that will be covered will be…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Republican state Rep. Jeff Howe of Rockville is the first candidate to enter the race for the Minnesota Senate seat being vacated by Michelle Fischbach of Paynesville. Howe entered a race Tuesday that will determine control of the state Senate. Republicans lost their one-seat majority last week when Fischbach stepped down. As Senate president, she…
(AP PHOTO)WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Donald Trump “continues to actively prepare” for the president’s “expected summit” with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House on June 7. She says Kim Yong Chol, North Korea’s…
NISSWA, Minn. (AP) – Lawmakers left St. Paul without resolving a long-running dispute over the stocking of Minnesota lakes with muskies. Opponents of introducing the big predator fish to more lakes weren’t able to pass legislation this session to limit the practice. Minnesota Public Radio reports that anti-stocking legislation is expected to return next year. Muskies – properly known as…
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)WASHINGTON (AP) – Newly released emails show senior Environmental Protection Agency officials collaborating with a conservative group that dismisses climate change to rally like-minded people for public hearings on science and global warming, counter negative news coverage and tout Administrator Scott Pruitt’s stewardship of the agency. The emails were obtained by the Environmental Defense Fund and the…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The U.S. Senate has confirmed a Minnesota judge as the state’s next U.S. Attorney. Erica MacDonald was confirmed as the state’s top federal prosecutor on Thursday. MacDonald has been a judge in Dakota County since 2010, and was a federal prosecutor before that – focusing on cases dealing with violent crimes, drugs, human trafficking and child pornography….
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Sen. Michelle Fischbach is set to take an oath of office as lieutenant governor after months of resisting the role. Gov. Mark Dayton’s office says Fischbach will be sworn in Friday morning to serve as the Democratic governor’s No. 2. It’s an apparent change of heart for Fischbach, a Republican who was automatically elevated to…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Environmental and conservation groups urge Gov. Mark Dayton to use his line-item veto power to cancel $98 million in projects funded by what they consider an improper raid on a trust fund that depends on state lottery proceeds. The wastewater infrastructure and other projects are part of a $1.5 billion public works borrowing bill, but the money…
VIRGINIA, Minn. – Duluth Mayor Emily Larson has announced her support for Jason Metsa’s congressional campaign this afternoon. Larson has joined a growing list of elected officials throughout the state that have shown their support for Metsa’s campaign. In a statement released today, Larson says: “Northeast Minnesota needs a champion in Washington D.C. who will fight every day for our…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump praised an NFL policy banning kneeling during the “The Star-Spangled Banner,” saying that “maybe you shouldn’t be in the country” if you don’t stand for the anthem. Trump spoke to “Fox & Friends” in an interview that aired Thursday. The policy forbids players from sitting or taking a knee on the field…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is canceling the planned June 12 summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, citing the “tremendous anger and open hostility” in a recent statement from North Korea. Trump says in a letter to Kim released Thursday by the White House that based on the statement, he felt it was “inappropriate, at this time, to…
(Satellite Image ©2018 DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company via A, File) PUNGGYE-RI, North Korea (AP) — Just weeks ahead of a planned summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un made good on his promise to demolish North Korea’s nuclear test site, which was formally closed in a series of huge explosions Thursday as a group of foreign journalists looked…
(AP Photo/J. David Ake, File)NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump violates the First Amendment when he blocks critics on Twitter for political speech, a judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan stopped short in her written decision of ordering Trump or a subordinate to stop the practice of blocking critics from viewing his Twitter account,…
(AP) WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he’s working on a plan to deduct aid from countries that don’t cooperate with U.S. immigration authorities and refuse to accept deportees. Trump says during an immigration roundtable on Long Island that every time someone tries to come into the U.S. illegally from one of the countries that receives aid, “We’re going…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Mark Dayton has vetoed the tax conformity and budget bills that state lawmakers passed in the waning days of the session. The Democratic governor’s veto knocks down the two biggest pieces of legislation that the Republican-controlled Legislature pushed through just as time was running out. Dayton has said that the so-called tax conformity bill…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate negotiators have released a bipartisan bill to overhaul the system for handling sexual harassment complaints on Capitol Hill. The bill eliminates mandatory counseling, mediation and the 30-day “cooling off” period victims are currently required to wait before filing a complaint or requesting a hearing. It also requires members of Congress to repay the Treasury for harassment…
DULUTH, Minn. – St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin says he’d like to stay elected in his position for another four years. Rubin is now in his eight year as the county’s chief prosecutor of crimes. In a Facebook post Tuesday evening, Rubin said: “One way to address unfinished work… and with gratitude for an incredibly dedicated staff… is to…
DULUTH, Minn. – State Representative Jen Schultz has filed for re-election for her third term as the Representative for State House District 7A. “I’m asking for people of East Duluth to continue to support me and stand alongside me as we develop legislation to benefit our community and state. In return, I promise to continue to be a leader to…
AP Photo/Evan Vucci/newsfileWASHINGTON (AP) -President Donald Trump says he doesn’t like the change in attitude he’s picked up from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump said Tuesday that he detected a shift after Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for a second time in China. Trump says he hopes China isn’t influencing Kim. Trump and Kim are scheduled…
(Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) WASHINGTON (AP) – South Korean President Moon Jae-in has opened talks with President Donald Trump on the U.S.-North Korea summit, saying the “fate and the future” of the Korean Peninsula hinges on it. Trump welcomed Moon to the White House on Tuesday as they seek to coordinate strategy for Trump’s upcoming summit…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Mark Dayton has vetoed a GOP-backed bill that would increase penalties for protesters who block freeways or transit lines. The debate started last year in response to protests over officer-involved shootings of two black men that shut down interstates and blocked the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The Legislature’s bill would have hit protesters in…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Legislature has finished its year of work in the usual flurry of last-minute votes, but it’s surrounded by question marks. Lawmakers were required to stop passing bills at midnight Sunday. But Gov. Mark Dayton has threatened to veto major tax and government spending packages on his desk. The Democratic governor and Republican-controlled Legislature…
AP File Photo, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, May 2017. WASHINGTON (AP) – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is offering a series of dramatic potential U.S. concessions to Iran if it agrees to make “major changes.” Pompeo on Monday called for a stronger nuclear agreement with Iran following the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 deal. He says if a deal was…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) – Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie is President Donald Trump’s pick to permanently lead the beleaguered department. Wilkie is a former Pentagon undersecretary for personnel and readiness. He’s led the agency for two months, ever since Trump fired David Shulkin amid an internal revolt and questions about his compliance with ethics rules. Wilkie appeared…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- 25th District Senate candidate James Bolen running for the Wisconsin Senate spoke–out Thursday highlighting his goals if elected, Husky Refinery is top on the list. Bolen is asking the Husky Refinery to rebuild the facility and consider expanding. This would come after the post-explosion inspection. Bolen says the expansion would also add more high tech safety measures.”I think…
(Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP File)ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A bill that would let Enbridge Energy bypass the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and proceed with replacing its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota is on its way to Gov. Mark Dayton, who has promised a veto. The Minnesota House voted 74-53 on Thursday to accept the…
