Minnesota
Several bills left unfinished after 2024 MN legislative session ends
ST. PAUL, Minn. (GRAY) – On Sunday night, the 93rd Minnesota Legislature adjourned for the final time. The legislature ended in chaotic fashion, as DFLers brought the gavel down to pass bills before adjourning Sunday.
Several bills did not make it across the desk before the midnight deadline, including a bonding bill, a sports betting bill, and a bill to put an Equal Rights Amendment on the State Constitution.
Bonding discussions fell apart due to partisan tension on the final day of the session. While a fully funded infrastructure package was unlikely to pass, a smaller cash bill had the votes needed to get through both the house and senate. The bill did not pass the senate in time for the midnight deadline, missing it by a matter of seconds. Republicans pinned the lack of a deal on poor time management from the DFL.
“There was a provision in the cash bonding bill that failed by 30 seconds in the Democrat majority senate,” said House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring).
DFLers, however, said the deal fell apart due to Republican filibustering.
“If you follow the rules, that can’t pass midnight, there was one member who was loud and interruptive. And so, we lost a bonding bill for the people of Minnesota as a result,” said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul).
Reportedly, a sports betting deal was in the works just hours before midnight, but House author Zach Stephenson said in a post online that they ran out of time.
An Equal Rights Amendment was also just a few hours of debate away from potential passage in the Senate. For months, the House and Senate had been working to come to an agreement on language in the bill, and by the final weekend, there was optimism the two caucuses were on the same page.
“I believe that the Senate did have the votes. That was my condition for taking up on the [House] floor and spending the 15 hours that we did, was I had to have a pretty good sense that the senate would be able to take it up and pass it,” said Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park).
Hortman believes that the bill simply ran out of time, again blaming the Republican filibuster.
“Part of what happened this week, it deprived the senate of the opportunity, the time to have that conversation,” she said.
Republicans said too much time was lost in the final weekend negotiating a rideshare deal, one which was sent off to the governor’s desk in time for the end of the session.
Governor Walz said on Monday that he’s happy with the work that came out of the 2024 session and does not plan on calling a special session this year.
Copyright 2024 KTTC. All rights reserved.
Minnesota
INTERVIEW: Minnesota Monthly's Fine Spirits Classic
INTERVIEW: Minnesota Monthly Fine Spirits Classic
Minnesota Monthly’s Fine Spirits Classic will take place on Friday at Omni Viking Lakes Hotel from 6-9 p.m.
General admission tickets are $60 and include unlimited spirits and food samples. Guests must be 21+ with a valid ID.
You’ll be able to sample spirits, vote in a cocktail contest, and more.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS anchor Brett Hoffland sat down with Meghan Gess, director of events and marketing for Greenspring Media, to learn more about the event.
More information is available here.
Minnesota
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Minnesota
PWHL Minnesota draft pick Britta Curl apologizes for social media behavior
Britta Curl, whose second-round selection in Monday’s PWHL draft by Minnesota ignited controversy because of views she has supported on social media, issued an apology to fans in a video released Friday.
Curl, 24, was a two-year team captain for 2023 NCAA women’s hockey champion Wisconsin before Minnesota made her the No. 9 overall pick in Monday’s draft at Roy Wilkins Auditorium. Before the draft, there had been scrutiny over some of the likes she had posted on the X social media platform. These included posts attacking inclusive language toward transgender women, along with COVID-19 conspiracy theories.
“I recognize that recent events have caused many of you to form an opinion about me, about who I am and how I live my life, and I think I owe it to you guys to come on here and directly respond to these concerns,” Curl said in her video, also released on X. “I specifically recognize that my social media activity has resulted in hurt being felt across communities, including LGBTQ+ and BIPOC individuals, and I just want to apologize and take ownership of that.
“I have family members and extremely close friends who are part of these communities, and I love them very much. I’ve always tried to support them in their pursuits. I wish them the greatest success. I want them to be included, and I’m going to continue to do that.”
Minnesota coach Ken Klee faced questions at the draft about Curl’s selection. Only days after the PWHL removed Natalie Darwitz from her general manager position, Klee took over the draft for Minnesota at Roy Wilkins and heard boos when he selected Curl.
“We did our homework on her,” Klee said. “… We talked to coaches who said that she’s a great kid, a great competitor, great in the locker room. I talked to her teammates on USA and some other areas. They said, ‘She’s a great teammate, coach, you’d love to have her.’ “
Curl, a North Dakota native, said in her video that she is honored and grateful to have been drafted by PWHL Minnesota, which won the league’s first championship this month. She said she’s had teammates with different personalities, religious beliefs and political views, “and we’ve always been able to maintain mutual respect and love.
“However,” she added, “I hope to better demonstrate this to PWHL fans and just to the general public. I do not, and I’ve never held, hate or judgment towards any groups or individuals.
“I’ve learned so much through this and I’m seeing it as an opportunity to grow in humility and grow in love. …
To those of you who may still have reservations, I hope you can extend me the grace to prove to you who I really am.”
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