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Government

• MnSCU Trustees approve budget, reject tuition freeze
  The Board of Trustees for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system voted Wednesday to support a $1.3 billion legislative budget request that includes $67 million in new spending. The budget plan assumes a 4 percent tuition increase for each of the next two years. But students say they've had enough of tuition increases, and they asked for a freeze.October 20, 2004
• Pawlenty renews call for teacher reforms
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he wants to increase K-12 education funding next year, as long as the money is linked to several key reforms. The governor plans to push the recommendations of a national panel that wants to overhaul the current systems for training and paying teachers. Pawlenty outlined his priorities for schools Wednesday during a meeting with business, education and government leaders.October 13, 2004
• Sewer problems threaten growth in small towns
  Many rural Minnesota communities are stuck with an expensive problem; their sewer systems are worn out. It will cost millions of dollars to replace the systems -- money most towns don't have. If the sewers aren't fixed the communities' economic future is in jeopardy.October 6, 2004
• Higher education prepares for the next budget battle
  Minnesota's public colleges and universities are preparing to do battle on their next budget requests. Both the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities systems say they're going to ask for less money than in years past. But there's still no guarntee they'll get everything they want.October 5, 2004
• Slicing the spin: health care
  President Bush and Democratic presidential candidate Kerry have varying proposals on how the uninsured should be covered by health insurance and how much the government should spend. Midmorning's guests take a look at the proposals and what they might mean.September 29, 2004
• Funding for schools becoming a campaign issue
  Education funding is heating up as a campaign issue across Minnesota. Nearly one-fifth of the state's school districts will ask local voters this fall to provide additional tax support. And educators are pressuring state lawmakers, many of whom are up for re-election, to increase funding for public schools in the 2005 legislative session. Suburban business leaders and education officials met Wednesday at a Bloomington hotel to try to add some clarity to a complicated debate.September 22, 2004
• Smoking ban proposals spreading across the region
  Since St. Paul began considering banning smoking in public places last May, the smoking ban movement has spread throughout the Twin Cities and beyond. Next, the debate takes center stage in Ramsey and Hennepin counties. Ramsey County commissioners may vote Tuesday on an ordinance that would ban smoking in restaurants. And in Hennepin County, commissioners are holding a hearing on a smoking ban in restaurants and bars.September 13, 2004
• House leaders face off in first debate
  Republican and DFL legislative leaders held the first in a series of statewide debates Wednesday in an effort to influence the make-up of the state House next year. Currently, the GOP holds a comfortable 81-53 seat majority in the House. But Democrats say they're eager to trim that lead or even recapture the majority. The election outcome will be a key factor in how the state addresses a potential budget shortfall of up to $1 billion.September 1, 2004
• Pawlenty asks Twin Cities to rethink immigration ordinances
  Officials in Minneapolis and St. Paul are resistant to a request by Gov. Tim Pawlenty to repeal or change laws in those cities, which prohibit police officers from asking about a person's immigration status. Pawlenty sent a letter urging the cities to change the laws because he says they compromise security.September 1, 2004
• John Kerry in Anoka County
  Vice presidential candidate John Kerry's speech at Anoka Technical College, carried live on Minnesota Public Radio, pre-empted Midday. Kerry spoke about health care and challenged his opponent, President George W. Bush, to a series of debates on various policy questions.August 26, 2004
• Metro area seeing population boom
  The Twin Cities area has grown more rapidly in the last three years than during the boom years of the 1990s, with the fastest growth shifting away from the eastern suburbs. And neither Minneapolis nor St. Paul is losing population, as the Census Bureau has said, according to new estimates by the Metropolitan Council.August 26, 2004
• Six months into JOBZ, there's mixed news
  JOBZ, the state's new rural economic initiative, is surprising the experts. It's drawing great interest from businesses in some parts of the state. Still, most of the state's JOBZ zones are still waiting for their first business application.August 19, 2004
• Worries over police cuts greet Minneapolis budget
  Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak proposes boosting city spending by $19 million in next year's $1.24 billion budget. That translates to an extra $100 for residents with homes worth a little over $200,000. But the increase is not enough to avoid losing positions in the police department.August 13, 2004
• The little engine that could be
  Things are looking up for the much contested Northstar rail line. Gov. Pawlenty has found funding for the initiative. And the success of the Minneapolis light rail line is brightening Northstar's prospects.August 12, 2004
• Pawlenty finds money to jumpstart North Star rail line
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty Tuesday announced a plan to kick-start the Northstar commuter rail line, a project that hasn't received legislative approval. Pawlenty plans to use several sources of money to begin the first phase of the project. Northstar supporters are thrilled, but legislators who oppose the project say Pawlenty is doing an end-run around the Legislature.August 3, 2004

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