Tim Pugmire
MPR News
Minnesota, United States
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Past articles by Tim:
Walz pitches bigger one-time checks
Gov. Tim Walz proposed using a large chunk of Minnesota’s projected $9.25 billion budget surplus on one-time checks he said would help Minnesotans cope with higher gas prices and other expenses. But Senate Republicans renewed their call for permanent tax cuts. → Read More
MN House passes drought relief bill for farmers
The Minnesota House has passed legislation to provide financial relief to farmers who were hurt by last year’s drought. → Read More
New political district maps shake up Minnesota politics
New congressional and legislative district maps released by a judicial panel Tuesday set the field for candidates to run on for the next 10 years. Some of the biggest changes in the new map come to Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District. → Read More
Big surplus, big stakes as Legislature reconvenes
Minnesota’s divided Legislature returns to action Monday with lawmakers proposing competing ideas about how to spend a record projected $7.7 billion budget surplus. → Read More
Walz says he has COVID-19 symptoms
Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday he had developed symptoms like a “tough cold” after initially not feeling the effects of COVID-19. → Read More
Panel aims to stop violence against African American women
Minnesota officials launched the state’s new Task Force on Missing and Murdered African American Women on Monday. The group will spend the next year looking at the systemic causes of violence against Black women and then recommend policy changes. → Read More
New push coming to legalize sports betting in Minnesota
Key lawmakers in the Minnesota House and Senate said Thursday they will back legislation next year to legalize sports betting in the state. → Read More
DFL senators pick Franzen as new leader
Sen. Melisa López Franzen, DFL-Edina, is the new leader of the DFL caucus in the Minnesota Senate. Franzen grew up in Puerto Rico. She is a member of the Legislature’s People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) caucus. → Read More
Gwen Nell Westerman is the new Minnesota poet laureate
Minnesota State University, Mankato, English professor Gwen Nell Westerman will be Minnesota’s new poet laureate. She is an author, poet and quilt art maker who is the first Native person to hold the position. → Read More
Long, strange trip: Legislature passes new budget
Hours before a deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown, the Minnesota Legislature passed the final elements of a $52 billion two-year state budget. It capped a year of remote meetings and special sessions related to the COVID-19 pandemic that pushed the limits of divided state government. → Read More
As shutdown looms, Capitol action drags
For a second straight day, Republicans in the Minnesota House talked at length about a variety of subjects and prevented votes on budget bills as time grew shorter to prevent a state government shutdown. → Read More
Major change to Minnesota medical cannabis law approved
On the last day of the legislative session the House and Senate passed a bill to allow people in Minnesota’s medical cannabis program to smoke marijuana. Supporters say the move will significantly cut the cost of medical marijuana. → Read More
Expectations of overtime set in at MN Legislature
Without a budget framework or agreement on police accountability, electric vehicle standards and more, lawmakers are growing resigned to needing a special session to finish their work. → Read More
House, Senate remain at odds over public safety
Competing public safety bills are advancing at the Capitol. The push for greater police accountability is a big fault line. → Read More
House roads plan includes higher gas tax
Democrats in the Minnesota House rolled out a transportation funding proposal this week that includes a gas tax increase that is strongly opposed by Republicans. The proposed legislation also includes other increases in taxes and fees. → Read More
Walz eases COVID-19 restrictions: Larger social gatherings, Twins fans at ballpark OK'd
The governor’s latest pullback will allow people to gather in larger groups indoors and outdoors, while bars and restaurants will be able to serve at 75 percent capacity. He’s expected to speak at 11 a.m. → Read More
Cannabis bill clears first committee in Minn. House
A Minnesota House panel approved legislation Wednesday to legalize marijuana, but Senate opposition will likely prevent it from becoming law this year. → Read More
North metro mayor announces bid for governor
Lexington Mayor Mike Murphy has announced that he is a Republican candidate for governor in 2022. → Read More
Legal cannabis bill returns with prospects still hazy
Minnesota House Democrats have again introduced legislation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, but it is unlikely to move in the Republican Senate. → Read More
State begins issuing payments to unemployed teens
Minnesota has begun making payments to unemployed high school student workers who lost jobs due to COVID-19 after a court sided with the teens. → Read More