Tag Archives: Minnesota

Minneapolis’ CBS affiliate reports: Rep. Ilhan Omar has rallied LGBTQ youth in support of a Minnesota bill to ban gay conversion therapy for minors or vulnerable adults. Omar spoke Thursday on the state Capitol steps to a crowd that marched from OutFront Minnesota’s seventh annual Youth Summit at Saint Paul College. The Minnesota Democrat called gay conversion therapy “torture” and …

NBC News reports: In 1971, gay couple Michael McConnell and Jack Baker applied for a marriage license from Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The clerk, not realizing one of the individuals listed on the application was male, issued the license — though stopped short of officially recording it. Nearly five decades later — after a prolonged legal battle to get their …

The Twin Cities Pioneer-Press reports: The two major gun control proposals lawmakers plan to debate this session haven’t even had a hearing yet at the state Capitol and already accusations and condemnations are flying. Gov. Tim Walz released a statement Sunday condemning comments made by Rep. Cal Bahr, R-East Bethel, during a Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus rally at the Capitol …

PBS reports: Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is set to join the 2020 presidential race Sunday, becoming the most prominent Midwestern candidate as the party tries to win back voters in a region that helped put Donald Trump in the White House. She is citing the need to “heal the heart of our democracy and renew our commitment to …

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: A lesbian candidate running for a U.S. House seat in Minnesota has unseated an anti-LGBT lawmaker from the U.S. House, making her poised to become the first openly gay mother in Congress. At a around 8:15 local time, major media outlets declared Angie Craig, a business executive who’s also mother, the winner in …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: DFLer Keith Ellison was elected Minnesota attorney general, defeating Republican Doug Wardlow in a bitterly contested race that attracted national attention from both political parties. In a campaign marked by allegations of domestic abuse and an intense spotlight on their pasts, the candidates presented voters with starkly different visions for how they would lead the office …

Minnesota’s Bring Me The News reports: Republican Attorney General candidate Doug Wardlow is coming under scrutiny for comments made during a private fundraiser this week. Audio recorded by a DFL staffer obtained by Bring Me The News, which had earlier been sent to MPR, reveals Wardlow promising a mass firing of Democratic attorneys currently working at the AG’s Office under …

Buzzfeed News reports: A reporter for an NBC affiliate in Minnesota was fired Friday, one day after he was spotted wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat while covering a Trump rally for the local TV station. Jim Bunner, a multimedia journalist with KTTC, was covering the political rally Thursday in Rochester, Minnesota, where he was spotted outside the Mayo …

The Twin Cities Pioneer-Press reports: For the first time, Minnesotans have the option to choose a gender other than male or female on their driver’s license. Along with “M” for male and “F” for female, there will be “X” for non-binary when choosing a gender on a license application. The new option to identify as non-binary, a term used by …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump has questioned why his opponents are often referred to as “the elite,” saying he is richer than they are and has a nicer apartment. Speaking at a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, the president took a break from espousing his “tough” immigration policies to outline his power and wealth in comparison to “the elite.” “Do you …

The Associated Press reports: The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has agreed to a $210 million settlement with 450 victims of clergy sexual abuse as part of its plan for bankruptcy reorganization, an attorney said Thursday, making it the second-largest U.S. payout in the priest abuse scandal. Victims’ attorney Jeff Anderson said the settlement was reached with the survivors …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: A former Republican White House lawyer and prominent critic of President Donald Trump is running for former Sen. Al Franken’s seat. And he’s running as a Democrat. Richard Painter filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission late last week to run for the seat after exploring a bid for more than a month. Painter served as …

The Minnesota Star-Tribune reports: Carver County Attorney Mark Metz announced Thursday that he was closing the investigation into the death of musician Prince Rogers Nelson without issuing any criminal charges. Metz said county, state and federal investigators undertook an “extensive, painstaking and thorough” investigation but were unable to determine who provided Prince the fentanyl painkillers, disguised as counterfeit Percocet tablets, …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor and prolific TV and Twitter critic of President Donald Trump, said Wednesday that he is forming an exploratory committee that could lead to a campaign for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Al Franken and now occupied by Democrat Tina Smith. Painter said at a State Capitol news …

Politico reports: Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) said Friday he won’t seek reelection this year, a blow to Democrats’ chances at holding his battleground seat in November. Nolan, 74, was first elected to Congress in the Watergate midterm election of 1974. After serving three terms in the House, he retired ahead of the 1980 elections. Nolan surprised many when he announced …

Cyd Zeigler reports at Outsports: In cities around the world, bars bearing the name “Eagle” are gay — and usually gay leather — bars. New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Dallas, and many other cities have local dives bearing the name “Eagle.” One city that doesn’t have one? Philadelphia. There, The Bike Stop has been the big gay leather bar …

Minnesota Public Radio reports: Former Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has ruled out a run for U.S. Senate seat next fall, MPR News has confirmed. Bachmann’s reasoning: She didn’t have any “sense from the lord” that she should try for the seat, which was left vacant after Al Franken resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct. “It became very clear to …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., plans to resign from Congress on Jan. 2, a spokesman said Wednesday. Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, who Gov. Mark Dayton appointed to replace Franken, will be sworn in the next day. Franken announced his resignation earlier in December after several women made allegations of unwanted sexual advances or touching and …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: State Sen. Karin Housley announced in an e-mail to supporters and YouTube video that she is running in the 2018 special election to replace the departing U.S. Sen. Al Franken. “I’ll work, hard, play fair, do the right thing and get things done,” said the St. Marys Point Republican, who was first elected to the state …

The Minnesota Star-Tribune reports: Gov. Mark Dayton will appoint Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to replace Sen. Al Franken as Minnesota’s next U.S. senator, according to two high-level Democratic sources with knowledge of the decision. Dayton will name Smith as his choice at a Wednesday morning news conference, and she plans to run for the seat in a 2018 special election, …