Political

Senate GOP Proposes Large Cuts to Social Services

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Senate Republicans want big cuts for many of Minnesota’s social services program, and state officials and Democrats say that could harm some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. The $15.4 billion bill released Monday shows a $671 million gap between Governor Mark Dayton’s and the Senate GOP’s budget proposals for all health and human services…

Wisconsin Lawmakers Target Adults Who Host Underage Drinkers

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Adults who allow teenagers to drink in their homes would be breaking the law under a new bill two Republican lawmakers are circulating. Current law prohibits adults from allowing underage drinkers to consume alcohol in premises owned by the adults or under their control. But a state appeals court ruling last year narrowly interpreted “premises” to…

Wisconsin’s Budget Could be $1 Billion Short by 2021

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin’s state budget could be more than $1 billion in the red by 2021, based on the proposal submitted by Governor Scott Walker that the Legislature is considering. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau released an updated analysis of the state budget for the two years after the period covered by Walker’s current budget proposal. It finds…

Budget Fights Brew as Legislature Starts Assembling Bills

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota lawmakers’ budget-setting spree is in full swing. Cuts to state agencies and big tax breaks began to materialize this week as House and Senate Republicans started releasing detailed budget plans with a $1.65 billion surplus in hand. Both chambers are plotting a roughly $45 billion budget for the next two years that puts a…

Former Sen. Feingold Launches New Advocacy Campaign

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Former Democratic Senator Russ Feingold is starting a new nonprofit political advocacy group focused on voters’ rights, campaign finance reform, protecting the independence of the U.S. Supreme Court and abolishing the Electoral College. Feingold announced the new group, called LegitAction, on Wednesday. It comes four months after he lost a rematch for the U.S. Senate against…

House GOP Envisions Big Tax Cuts, Some Government Cuts

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota House Republicans are cuing up cuts to some health care programs and state government agencies while drumming up nearly $1.4 billion in tax relief. House legislative leaders offered up few details on their budgetary plans Monday, while outlining a broad framework of a proposed two-year budget. They’re envisioning a roughly $45 billion budget. That…

Ban on Irish Butter Sparks Fight in Butter-Loving Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – In butter-loving Wisconsin, a ban on Irish butter has sparked a fight. A handful of Wisconsin residents have filed a lawsuit challenging a 1953 state law that bans the sale of Kerrygold Irish butter, or any other butter that hasn’t been graded for quality. Tired of trekking across state lines to stock up, the plaintiffs say…

Trump Administration Fights Syrian’s Travel Ban Lawsuit

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Justice Department attorneys say a judge shouldn’t block President Donald Trump’s travel ban in the case of a Syrian family trying to relocate to Wisconsin. A Syrian man who settled in Wisconsin filed a lawsuit last month saying his family remains in Aleppo and the ban could jeopardize their visa chances. U.S. District Judge William Conley…

In Minnesota GOP’s Opening Bid, Senate Eyes Income Tax Cut

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Senate Republicans are proposing to cut the state’s lowest income tax rate as part of a $900 million tax cut bill. It’s Republicans’ opening bid in the brewing fight over tax cuts with Democratic Governor Mark Dayton. Tax talk will loom large as the Republican-controlled Legislature and governor start assembling a new two-year budget with…

Daudt Searches for an Out on $14,000 Raise for Lawmakers

Salary increase is slated to take effect in July

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt says he’s exploring whether the Legislature can reject a recently approved $14,000 raise. An independent council created by Minnesota voters set lawmakers’ first raise in nearly two decades in motion last week. The salary increase from $31,000 to $45,000 is slated to take effect in July. Voters overwhelmingly created a…

Recent College Graduate Running for Wisconsin Governor

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Recent Stanford University graduate Bob Harlow has returned to his native Wisconsin to mount a run for governor as a Democrat. The 25-year-old tells The Associated Press on Tuesday that he’s been traveling the state and raising money to spread the word about his candidacy. Harlow is the only declared candidate for governor, although many other…

Federal Prosecutor in Wisconsin Resigns

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin has submitted his resignation days after Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered dozens of the country’s federal prosecutors to resign. Spokeswoman Myra Longfield confirmed U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil resigned Monday. While it is customary for new presidential administrations to clear out U.S. attorneys and replace them with their…

Dozens of Law Changes on the Move at Minnesota’s Legislature

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The rush is on at the Minnesota Legislature to get policy changes big and small in place. Friday brings the first of several deadlines for the thousands of bills introduced at the Capitol this year to have a path to becoming law. And while some of the Republican-controlled Legislature’s bills could take effect, others may…