By Lisa Kaczke House Public Information Service A disagreement over whether an agreement had been reached on a provision in a 12-bill package led to the defeat of the omnibus cannabis policy bill Wednesday. Different bills within the package are moving through committees this week as negotiations between Rep. Jessica Hanson (DFL-Burnsville) and Rep. Nolan West (R-Blaine) continue, with…

By Graham Johnson House Public Information Service School was incredibly difficult for Kimberly Zitek. “My dyslexia was never identified, and like many dyslexic students, I learned ways to hide my struggles and fell through the cracks of the school system,” she told the House Education Policy Committee Wednesday. But when her daughter showed signs of…

By Graham Johnson House Public Information Service Thirty-two states send out some form of voting guide to residents that detail how to vote, where to vote, and who will be on the ballot. The House Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee laid over a bill Wednesday that would make Minnesota the 33rd. Rep. Mike Freiberg (DFL-Golden…

By Winter Keefer House Public Information Service What costs more money: Medical Assistance coverage of weight loss drugs or future coverage for comorbidities that stem from obesity? As names like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro have gained popularity in recent years, Minnesota’s cost per Medical Assistance patient using these drugs surged, now costing $12,000 per person per…

By Rob Hubbard House Public Information Service Once upon a time, the main place you’d find advertising was in a newspaper. But then billboards became ubiquitous, followed by commercials on radio, then television. Today, it’s an inescapable element of your online experience. But did you know that no taxes are collected when digital ads are…

By Margaret Stevens House Public Information Service Megan Horsager farms with her father in western Minnesota. Her mother is an employee and could take off any time for any reason. But implementing Minnesota’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave program has been far less flexible. Serving as the farm’s de facto human resources department, Horsager has spent…

By Margaret Stevens House Public Information Services Rep. Nathan Coulter (DFL–Bloomington) paused Tuesday as he recalled being 12 years old when the Columbine High School shooting occurred. This year’s first-year college students, he noted, were born a decade later and have never known a life when school shootings were not an everyday possibility. Many people, he…

By Winter Keefer House Public Information Services It turns out a lot of candy contains wheat. Legislators learned this as testifiers poked holes in a bill that attempts to prohibit the purchase of candy, chips and pop with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. “We’re hoping to ensure that people have a safety net, not a…

By Graham Johnson House Public Information Services When Erik Trost started his manufacturing class in 2017, his goal was to be able to pay students for the work they did in class. In Trost’s industrial technology class at St. Francis High School, students are assigned to roles like production manager and foreman, putting them in…

By Rob Hubbard House Public Information Services Last year, thermal energy was a hot topic at the Capitol. The House Energy Finance and Policy Committee discussed several bills related to tapping into the earth to heat and cool houses and buildings. The next step in implementation of the technology is seeing if utilities want to…