The Minnesota House and Senate passed a school finance bill Tuesday night over the objections of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who had wanted an end-of-session budget agreement in place before the vote. DFL legislative leaders decided to press ahead after closed-door negotiations with the Republican governor broke down. (05/14/2008)

Gov. Pawlenty opposes expansion of coverage to 44,000 low income Minnesotans. (05/13/2008)

Gov. Pawlenty and legislative leaders are scheduled to resume budget negotiations later this morning at the Capitol. (05/13/2008)

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and other Democrats in Washington are pushing the Consumer-First Energy Act, a bill that would limit oil price speculation and cut back tax breaks for oil companies. (05/13/2008)

The U.S. House and Senate will vote this week on a $300 billion farm bill. Congressional negotiators reached an agreement on a deal last week. (05/12/2008)

DFLers who control the House and Senate plan to send Governor Pawlenty several budget related items that he is threatening to veto, even as they continue budget talks with him. (05/12/2008)

The Minnesota House has rejected a measure that would allow police to pull over and ticket unbelted motorists. The seat belt provision would have made violations a primary offense. (05/09/2008)

Federal health officials issued new guidelines today for how medical practitioners should treat tobacco use and dependence. The guidelines were last updated in 1997. (05/07/2008)

The Minnesota House Monday night passed a tax bill that would provide property tax relief for some homeowners and prohibit new businesses from getting tax breaks from the JOBZ program. After eight and a half hours of debate, the House passed the bill 80 to 52. (05/06/2008)

Browns Valley has reached a deal with a local farm family to buy land along the Little Minnesota River. The 110 acres are needed for a project to control flooding. (05/06/2008)

Some efforts to make Minneapolis a more livable city are working well; others not so well. That's the gist of a report delivered to the city council's Committee on Health, Energy and the Environment.. (05/06/2008)

The Minnesota Legislature approved a $38 million compensation package for the victims today and sent it to a supportive Gov. Tim Pawlenty. (05/05/2008)

Delta Airlines' President and CFO Ed Bastian is scheduled to appear at the State Capitol this morning to field questions about his company's planned acquisition of Northwest. Minnesota lawmakers complained that Delta was ignoring requests to send an executive. (05/05/2008)

The Minnesota Department of Transportation's new commissioner, Tom Sorel, talks about where he thinks the new gas tax revenue should be spent, and about the progress of replacing some critical bridges in Minneapolis and around the state. (Midmorning, 05/05/2008)

Gov. Pawlenty's latest budget offer calls for funding the Central Corridor light rail line, but only if lawmakers meet several conditions. (04/30/2008)