Gov. Pawlenty is proposing stricter work requirements for welfare recipients. Pawlenty's proposal would require welfare recipients to look for a job before they're eligible for cash assistance. He says that would force recipients to become more self-sufficient. Critics say the plan would get people off of welfare rolls, but not out of poverty. ( 01/31/2003)

The Guthrie Theater has released what it says are the final designs for a new theater complex on the riverfront in downtown Minneapolis. The size and shape of the planned building remain almost entirely the same. The most startling change is the building's color. (01/30/2003)

Gov. Pawlenty is proposing stricter work requirements for welfare recipients. Pawlenty's proposal would require welfare recipients to look for a job before they're eligible for cash assistance. He says that would force recipients to become more self-sufficient. Critics say the plan would get people off of welfare rolls, but not out of poverty. (01/30/2003)

Governor Pawlenty had tough words for Senate Democrats when he called legislative leaders to his office to talk about patching the hole in the state budget. Before the meeting Pawlenty said the bill passed by the Senate is "not acceptable." A conference committee is working out differences between the House and Senate bills. ( 01/30/2003)

The Minnesota Health Department says it will start vaccinating health care workers for smallpox in mid-February. Health officials say 2,700 people have volunteered to receive the vaccine. The federal government is recommending the vaccine for front-line health care workers in case of a bioterrorist attack. The state says it's prepared to move forward with phase one of the program but caution they may have to take money from other programs to complete the task. (01/29/2003)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty told a group of downtown Minneapolis business and government leaders the state is hemorraging jobs to surrounding states. He says Minnesota needs to focus on developing more manufacturing and light industrial jobs. Pawlenty said that Minnesota is split between knowledge-sector jobs and service jobs. He says the state needs to do more to encourage growth of jobs in between. (01/28/2003)

The future of nuclear waste storage at Xcel's Prairie Island nuclear power plant is under debate. The plant, near the Prairie Island Indian reservation, says it needs more space for nuclear waste. But a 1994 state law allowed Xcel to store waste in casks at the plant, but limited the number of casks. Xcel says it needs additional casks to keep the plant running. ( 01/28/2003)

The Minnesota House on Monday evening passed its version of a short-term budget fix. The Republican-sponsored bill would erase a projected $356 million deficit in the current fiscal year, and leave a financial cushion in case the state's economy worsens. The plan must now be reconciled with a DFL-sponsored Senate plan. DFL leaders say House Republicans moved too quickly to cut programs without considering the impact of the cuts. (01/28/2003)

The House is set to take up a budget-balancing plan Monday that preserves most of the state's ethanol payments. Gov. Tim Pawlenty's suggestion that the subsidies should be eliminated to balance the current budget deficit met with cries of protest from farmers and producers of the corn-based fuel. Critics of the program say ethanol producers would survive without state assistance, but supporters say profits vary from year to year and plant to plant. (01/26/2003)

House Speaker Steve Sviggum is trying to quell talk that he has a conflict of interest by voting on bills containing ethanol subsidies. Sviggum farms with his brothers near Kenyon in southeastern Minnesota. The brothers are partners in an ethanol plant, which receives state money and helps boost the price of the family's corn. (01/25/2003)

Like many state agencies, Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources faces a host of problems, including a shrinking budget. Gov. Pawlenty's choice for DNR commissioner says one of the top priorities over the next four years will be improving the DNR's relationship with the people it affects. ( 01/24/2003)

The House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday night approved a budget-balancing plan that tracks closely with the priorities outlined by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The $468 million deficit-reduction package now heads to the House floor where the Republican majority anticipates easy passage. But provisions of the plan have upset state employees unions and advocates for the state's steel industry. (01/24/2003)

Gov. Pawlenty has appointed a Republican House member and inspector for the Minneapolis Police Department as his public safety commissioner. Pawlenty says Rep. Rich Stanek, R-Maple Grove, has the credentials to handle the job. Stanek has been instrumental in passing tougher crime sentences and getting money for equipment for local police and firefighters. However, Stanek's critics say he has an abrasive personality and they worry about his track record on civil rights. (01/23/2003)

The Minnesota Senate has passed a short-term budget fix. The bill eliminates a projected $356 million deficit in the current fiscal year, and leaves a small financial cushion in case the state's revenues decline further. The bill relies more heavily on accounting shifts and makes fewer cuts than Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposal. (01/23/2003)

Several thousand abortion opponents marked the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision by listening to speeches on the Capitol steps in subzero temperatures. Despite the cold, speakers and activists described themselves as warm with the glow of anticipated victory. (01/22/2003)