Minnesota was rocked over the weekend by the politically targeted shootings of two state lawmakers. State Rep. Melissa Hortman, a former DFL House Speaker, was fatally shot along with her husband, Mark. DFL State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, are still recovering after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. Political leaders and many Minnesotans are still trying to make sense of it all. In the hours after the suspect in those shootings was arrested, MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst, M...
Jun 17, 2025•30 min
Minnesota lawmakers are breathing a bit easier now that they’ve finally adopted a new budget — roughly $66 billion over the next two years. The Legislature met earlier this week for a special session to get the work done. There were protests, long debates, stories of immigration, but lawmakers managed to pass 15 bills in less than one day. On this special podcast edition of Politics Friday, MPR politics editor Brian Bakst and reporter Ellie Roth take us through the action. Use the audio player a...
Jun 13, 2025•20 min
It’s been about three weeks since the the Legislature adjourned from the 2025 session without completing a state budget. Since then, teams of negotiators have met, mostly in private, to try to chart a path to the end and craft remaining budget bills. Lawmakers will have to complete this task to avoid a partial government shutdown that would interrupt services in state parks, key health programs, driver’s licensing exams and more. A one-day special session has been called for 10 a.m. Monday. Will...
Jun 05, 2025•50 min
The Minnesota Legislature is hanging around a bit longer. The yearly work was supposed to end Monday, May 19 but lawmakers adjourned with unfinished business. Now, they’re gearing up for a special session. Most of the budget is unresolved and the final points of agreement are still not in hand. So when might this be done and is a government shutdown a possibility? MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst speaks with Gov. Tim Walz about the legislative session and his role in settling the budget disp...
May 22, 2025•1 hr
The end of the Minnesota Legislature’s session was supposed to be right around the corner — Monday, May 19 — but just like the choppy start of this year’s session, the ending is proving to be difficult. Back in January, a politically tied House got off to a delayed start. Now, the possibility of a special session looms over the Capitol. MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst speaks with legislative leaders about the state budget and the final push to the end of this session. Guests: GOP Floor Lead...
May 15, 2025•39 min
Almost 40 percent of the state budget goes to preschool through high school education – around $25 billion over two years. For school districts, state dollars make up most of what gets spent on classroom costs, from teacher salaries to specialists to materials. So it’s no surprise that the education budget bill is always one of the last to come together. MPR News politics editor discusses what’s happening in schools and the direction state lawmakers might go when setting a new education budget. ...
May 08, 2025•50 min
This month marks two years since Minnesota lawmakers passed the bill to legalize marijuana use and possession for adults 21 and older. Commercial sales have taken a bit of time to get going. Outside of Minnesota tribal communities and the medical cannabis program, the retail space is still taking shape. The initial licenses around cultivation, transportation, distribution and sales could be issued soon. Even then, it will take time for everything to shake out. What might it look like and how wil...
May 01, 2025•55 min
Gov. Tim Walz had his chance this week to assess the condition of Minnesota in a speech where he spent a lot of time focused on what the president is up to. Had November’s election ended differently, Peggy Flanagan would have been the one delivering the State of the State address at the Minnesota Capitol. Instead, the DFL lieutenant governor was seated beside Walz at this week’s speech. She’s running for the U.S. Senate in 2026. Flanagan has competition for the DFL nomination. So how is she intr...
Apr 24, 2025•58 min
The Minnesota House and Senate chambers and all the committee rooms have been quiet this week while the Legislature is on recess. The Capitol will be a busy place though as the dash-to-the-finish begins next week. That phase can be filled with strategy, hijinks and downright trickery. In one respect, it’s how the Capitol wound up in St. Paul in the first place. MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst and associate digital producer Anika Besst will revisit that caper — and how one spurned city might...
Apr 17, 2025•52 min
The Legislature’s spring recess is approaching and with about six weeks left in the session, many issues still unresolved. Housing is top of mind for many Minnesotans and lawmakers at the Capitol — whether to rewrite zoning standards statewide to encourage construction of more low-to-moderate cost housing. The issue has created some cross-party alliances, but the bills in front of lawmakers haven’t satisfied all who have a stake in the decisions. MPR politics editor Brian Bakst talks with Sen. L...
Apr 11, 2025•50 min
MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst gets the lowdown on the negotiations that have begun over the new state budget. Erin Campbell, commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget, discusses why Gov. Tim Walz shaped his proposal as he did. And we’ll talk about the high-level negotiations that have commenced to reach a deal prior to the May 19 adjournment. Later, the DFL Party has its first new chair in more than a decade. The new leader, Richard Carlbom, is in studio to introduce himself and his...
Apr 04, 2025•50 min
After an unusual start, the 2025 legislative session has passed the halfway mark and the budget grind is quickly closing in. The Senate is narrowly in DFL control by one seat and the House is at a 67-67 tie. How will leaders navigate the tightest party divide in recent history? MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst talks with Speaker of the Minnesota House Lisa Demuth and House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman in front of a studio audience at the UBS Forum in St. Paul. Later in the program, two politic...
Mar 28, 2025•50 min
Two of the biggest political stories of this week played out beyond Minnesota’s Capitol. The arrest of then-Sen. Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, in a teen prostitution sting led his resignation and the federal jury’s conviction of major players in the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal. MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst speaks with two lawmakers about fraud and what the laws the Legislature might strengthen to stop or crack down on those behind schemes to swindle money from government programs....
Mar 21, 2025•50 min
MPR News senior politics editor Brian Bakst talks with two Minnesota lawmakers about the state’s new paid leave program — scheduled to start in January of next year — and the legislation that could possibly delay or change eligibility.
Mar 13, 2025•50 min
Amid upheaval at the federal level, Minnesota officials released the state’s latest economic forecast . It’ll set the parameters for the new budget that lawmakers will craft before they gavel out of this year’s session. The state’s fiscal cushion continues to shrink, and actions from federal government will have a bearing on Minnesota government operations. Now, state finance officials warn there could be disruptions to the state’s economy. MPR News senior politics editor Brian Bakst discussed h...
Mar 06, 2025•50 min
State lawmakers have less than three months to adopt a state budget for this legislative session — it’s a must-do item this year. Many Capitol veterans know to expect a late-session pileup of decisions, but what do the newcomers think about the inevitable rush to the finish line? MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst talked with two freshmen representatives about their first legislative session, its delayed start and the time crunch to pass bills in the coming months. The program also featured th...
Feb 28, 2025•50 min
It’s back to business at the Capitol, and several public safety-related bills have been introduced this session. But which bills have enough bipartisan support to pass in a divided Legislature? MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst talks with two key lawmakers about public safety and the proposals seeking to reshape laws from traffic offenses to felony crime sentencing. Later in the hour, two political analysts break down the last month in state and national politics. President Donald Trump has b...
Feb 21, 2025•51 min
President Donald Trump’s makeover of the federal government is going full steam. But he’s doing it in a way that has gone around Congress — with one executive action after another. But soon, Trump will need congressional votes to pay for his immigration crackdown and to extend a series of tax breaks. MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst will speak with Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, from a northern Minnesota district, about the part he’ll play in Washington. Later, a check-in with the top ta...
Feb 14, 2025•53 min
MPR News host Brian Bakst talks about the blistering change in Washington with U.S. Sen. Tina Smith. And the scuffle in the Minnesota House is over. We discuss how lawmakers struck a deal to gavel in the session.
Feb 06, 2025•50 min
The Democratic National Committee will elect a new party chair this weekend. Minnesota’s Ken Martin, the current state DFL Party leader, is vying for the job. MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst and his guests talk about Martin’s run for the national party’s top post at a time where Democrats are regrouping. And Republicans in the state have a new leader, too. Minnesota Republican Party Chair Alex Plechash was elected to lead Minnesota’s conservative party in December. He joins the conversation...
Jan 31, 2025•51 min
The Legislature opened its session on Jan. 14. But the House hasn’t been able to operate at full capacity. Democrats are boycotting and Republicans have declined to cut a deal to share power or commit to leaving a DFL win in a contested House election intact. Now the Minnesota Supreme Court is involved. Will a ruling by justices settle things or could the standoff linger deeper into the session? MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst talked to the two Minnesota lawmakers with a role in the power s...
Jan 23, 2025•51 min
The tied Minnesota Senate got under way in amicable fashion with senators notching a power-sharing deal to avoid problems. The House is another story. Democrats boycotted and republicans went full steam ahead — despite legal questions about their ability to do so. It’s a bit messy. MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst and his guests talk about the first week of the 2025 legislative session from a panel discussion he recorded with a pair of lawmakers at the Minnesota’s Chamber of Commerce annual ...
Jan 17, 2025•1 hr 11 min
The Minnesota Legislature will gavel-in a new session on Jan. 14 at noon, and MPR’s politics team is at the Capitol to cover it all. MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst and his guests talk about the 2025 legislative session.
Jan 10, 2025•50 min
MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst speaks with senior politics reporter Dana Ferguson about her interview with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for a special episode of Politics Friday. After a whirlwind bid for vice president, Walz returns to Minnesota and reflects on what went wrong for Democrats in November. Walz also talks about his approach to working across the political aisle and passing a two-year state budget amid a changed political dynamic in St. Paul. Republicans were able to break up the D...
Dec 13, 2024•28 min
MPR News senior politics reporter Clay Masters looks back on the 2024 election campaign for the Iowa Caucus to election events leading up to this week when President-elect Trump stepped back into the White House.
Nov 15, 2024•49 min
MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst and his guests talk about the Minnesota Legislature and how the state will govern in 2025 with both chambers split virtually down the middle.
Nov 08, 2024•50 min
It’s now November and Election Day is almost here. MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst talks with Minnesota’s Secretary of State about what’s being done to make sure the balloting and the counting goes smoothly, and when might we know who won races up and down the ballot. Later, Minnesota DFL and Republican Party chairs share their closing takes on an unconventional campaign year, and seasoned political pros stop in for an election night preview. We’ll learn what they’re watching for and how th...
Nov 01, 2024•49 min
Presidential election years can make for unpredictable outcomes down the ballot. For Minnesota, the party that turns out its base — and connects with independents best — has the inside track to gain the gavels at the state’s Capitol. The Senate majority will be decided by a single, winner-take-all race in the western suburbs. As for the House, key races in northern Minnesota and some in the south could determine if the DFL trifecta will live on into 2025. MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst tal...
Oct 25, 2024•51 min
With fewer than three weeks left until Election Day, campaign ads for the presidency down to the Legislature have flooded the airwaves from your TV to your phone. But judges are on the election ballot, too. Judicial candidates are running for judgeships in local District Courts, the Court of Appeals and even the Minnesota Supreme Court. There are 100 races, although fewer than a tenth of them have multiple candidates to choose from. Most judges in Minnesota tend to be appointed by the governor, ...
Oct 18, 2024•50 min
Earlier this week marked one year since Hamas attacked Israel. Hamas militants invaded Israel, killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped another 250 people, making it the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. About 100 hostages have not been returned. Israel’s retaliation in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 people and wounded more than 96,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and resulted in mass displacement and a humanitarian crisis. As the war in the Middle East continues with no immediat...
Oct 11, 2024•45 min
