Good morning. It sure looks like trouble for the Wolves after dropping two pivotal playoff games at home.
There’s no such thing as an early finish for the Legislature. Seven working days — five voting days are left — for Minnesota lawmakers. And as Clay Masters reports , they’re primed to extract every last minute of their allowed time at the Capitol as they strive to end the election-year session with deals on construction projects, cannabis market implementation, rideshare standards and more. They have until next Monday to formally adjourn, with the campaign trail beckoning. But the practical time for bill drafting, debates and votes is shorter. No action can be taken after midnight Sunday. “There’s so many balls in the air,” House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, observed late last week. Republicans, who are in the minority in both chambers, know that they’ll get a say in what is part of the concluding package and how the final week goes. “We haven’t been heard much at all up to this point, but now we’re getting a little more traction,” Deputy House Minority Leader Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, said.
Today, the House will vote on a proposed ballot measure for the 2026 ballot. The equal rights amendment, which also encompasses reproductive rights in the House version, is likely to result in many hours of debate today. Many Republican amendments to the proposed amendment (to Senate File 37 ) will be discussed. And that’s after hours of expected debate over a ranked-choice voting bill, if the legislation is taken in order. Even if the bill passes the House, it has to be reconciled with a version that was approved in the Senate last year, unless the House plan is brought up for an up-or-down vote.
The Minnesota Supreme Court handed down some rulings of note Friday, which isn’t the usual day for issuing opinions. It was the final day when Justice G. Barry Anderson was on the court, so there was some clear-the-decks energy. One knocked the Legal Marijuana Now Party ERA down a peg, stripping it of major party status. The other validated the emergency powers that Gov. Tim Walz used during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you drive by the Capitol, you’ll see something different: A new state flag. The revised banner went up over the weekend. Dana Ferguson was on hand for the ceremony. But the reality is that we’re likely to see competing flags for the time being. Republican members of Congress — and some Minnesotans — are insisting they’ll resist the transition to a new flag. Another sign of the division of our times.
Two DFL incumbents secured party endorsement over the weekend. Rep. Angie Craig’s party validation was not in question in the competitive 2nd Congressional District. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s nod in the 5th District came on the first ballot over challenger Don Samuels, a former city council member. Samuels is pressing ahead to a primary in the solidly DFL district, but as our Clay Masters reports, Omar will have party resources at her disposal.
The state is still collecting more than it thought it would in revenue. It’s not a significant excess. April’s count came in $16 million more than anticipated. That’s a 0.5 percent difference over predictions. But some key tax categories were down. | 