>>Minnesota House Bill Requires Doctors to Save Infants Born Alive During Abortions
(St. Paul, MN) — A bill in the Minnesota House would require doctors and nurses attempt to medically save infants born alive during an abortion. Republican Krista Knudsen of Lake Shore says it reinstates protections for babies that survive abortion ensuring that they receive medically necessary care to preserve the life and health of that baby. This is a rare occurrence but does happen in Minnesota. The bill narrowly passed the House Health Finance and Policy Committee on a party line 11-10 vote. It will now head to the Minnesota House floor for further debate.
>>Minnesota Senate Public Hearing on 2 Sports Betting Bills
(St. Paul, MN) — There’s a public hearing in the Minnesota Senate this afternoon (Thurs 12:30pm) on two sports betting bills. The Senate Committee on State and Local Government will hear the proposals authored by Democrats Matt Klein of Mendota Heights and John Marty of Roseville. Klein’s bill looks at putting consumer protections in place while Marty’s plan has more limits and more money used to protect against gambling addiction and advertising aimed at teenagers.
>>Minnesota Gun Owners File Lawsuit Against Omnibus Funding Bill
(Minneapolis, MN) — The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus is suing the state over passage of an omnibus bill that includes a provision making possession of a binary trigger a felony crime. Vice president Rob Doar says the 15-hundred page bill violates the single-subject clause of the state constitution. He says, “in this case it’s a taxing and spending omnibus bill. But this particular provision – the binary triggers – has no taxing and has no spending. And it’s just a pure policy provision. ” Doar says the massive bill passed in the final hours of the legislative session and was not available for the public review. A binary trigger allows a semi-automatic gun to fire one round when the trigger is pulled and another when it is released.
>>Minnesota Close to Finalizing Cannabis Compact with Tribal Nations
(St. Paul, MN) — Governor Tim Walz says Minnesota is nearing the finalization of agreements allowing tribal nations to sell cannabis outside their reservations. Contracts are currently pending with ten of the eleven tribes in the state. The tribes will be exempt from regulations that apply to non-tribal cannabis businesses. The discussions between the governor and the tribes were authorized by the 2023 bill that legalized recreational cannabis in Minnesota. Republican State Representative Nolan West of Blaine said, “the Walz-Flanagan administration is giving the tribes a pseudo-monopoly on Minnesota’s cannabis market, jeopardizing hundreds of millions of dollars of investment into our state.”
>>Trump Administration Investigates MSHSL Gender Identity Policy
(Brooklyn Center, MN) — The Trump administration is investigating the Minnesota State High School League’s transgender athlete policy. The M-S-H-S-L said last week it will continue to allow students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity in compliance with state anti-discrimination laws. The announcement came after President Trump signed an executive order to ban transgender athletes from playing girl’s and women’s sports. The U-S Department of Education warns that it could “rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities.” League officials are asking Attorney General Keith Ellison for a formal opinion on the issue.
>>Texas Republican Circulates Petition to Deport Congresswoman Omar
(Washington, DC) — A Republican in the U-S House is trying to get people to sign a petition to deport Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. The Minnesota Democrat came to the U-S in 1995 became a citizen in 2000 after feeling Somalia’s civil war. G-O-P Congressman Brandon Gill of Texas is circulating the petition, claiming Omar is biased toward illegal immigrants. Gill wrote that “we should have never let Ilhan Omar into our country.” Omar responded in a statement, “Representative Gill’s attempt to clout chase by threatening to deport a legal U-S citizen because you disagree with them is directly out of Donald Trump’s fascist playbook.”
>>Minnesota Energy Assistance Program Has Helped 90K Families
(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota’s Energy Assistance Program continues to help families pay their heating bills. Michael Schmitz with Department of Commerce says there’s high demand with multiple cold snaps this winter. He says they’ve approved nearly 90 thousand applications for assistance which means 59 million dollars in energy bills have been paid. The average payment is 665 dollars per household. Schmitz says half of the homes that receive heating aid have seniors and one-in-six has a young child. There is also assistance for furnace replacement and repairs and propane and heating oil delivery.
>>Former State Trooper Roper Appears in Court for Hearing
(Rochester, MN) — Lawyers for a former Minnesota state trooper are requesting that an Olmsted County judge dismiss the charges against him. Ex-Trooper Shane Roper appeared in court Wednesday in Rochester, where he faces manslaughter and other charges related to a crash that resulted in the death of 18-year-old Olivia Flores of Owatonna last year. Prosecutors presented evidence intended for use at trial, including footage from Roper’s squad car and body cameras. The defense attorneys asked the judge to consider motions to dismiss the charges and to change the trial venue. They are also seeking to have Roper’s State Patrol disciplinary record excluded from the trial.
