Latest news with #DFL-Minneapolis
Axios
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Minneapolis progressives swoon over Zohran Mamdani's NYC win
Left-wing challengers to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are giddy over the stunning results of this week's New York City Democratic mayoral primary. Why it matters: In state lawmaker and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's upset victory over a towering establishment figure — former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — they see a roadmap for unseating Frey in Minneapolis' upcoming election. The big picture: Progressive critics have had mixed success in checking Frey, a Democrat whom they see as too cozy with police and big business. The mayor's critics secured a City Council majority in 2023, but they failed to unseat him in 2021 despite unease in the city after George Floyd's murder and the violence that ensued. What happened: Mamdani's viral charisma and populist platform — which included a plank calling for opening city-owned grocery stores to lower food prices — resonated with young New Yorkers in the ranked-choice primary. Cuomo conceded the race for the Democratic nomination earlier this week, though CNN reported Thursday that he may still run as an independent in the general election. What they're saying: "People discounted Zohran because he was young, Muslim, progressive, 'unelectable,' and a socialist," Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez, a Frey critic, wrote on X. "He proved the world wrong." Like Mamdani, a leading Frey challenger is a 30-something Muslim democratic socialist: state Sen. Omar Fateh (DFL-Minneapolis). The parallels extend to policy, too. Fateh has supported rent control since before "freeze the rent" became a Mamdani campaign slogan. "Minneapolis next!" Fateh wrote in a congratulatory Bluesky post following Mamdani's win. Reality check: The flaw in the comparison is Cuomo — a deeply vulnerable, "uniquely weak" candidate, Frey campaign manager Sam Schulenberg said in a statement to Axios. Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 amid allegations of sexual assault and swirling questions about whether New York undercounted COVID deaths in nursing homes. Mamdani also won a primary in which only registered Democrats can vote. Minneapolis mayoral races are decided in a single general election. Plus: Cuomo and Frey both run in a center-left lane, but Frey leans further left than Cuomo on issues like housing development.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Democrats protect ban on noncompete agreements from carve-outs sought by big businesses
The Minnesota State Capitol, April 24, 2025. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer) Democrats successfully beat back an attack on the state's ban on noncompete agreements, one of their signature pro-worker victories in the 2023 session, with Republicans dropping demands for carve-outs for highly paid workers hours before a marathon special session began on Monday. Under noncompete agreements, employees are barred from working for a competing company — or starting one — for a period of time and within a certain geographic area. Rolling back the ban on noncompete agreements for highly paid workers and those with access to confidential and proprietary information was a top priority for Minnesota's largest companies, whose lobbyists argued the ban jeopardized their right to protect valuable scientific discoveries and trade secrets. Democrats rejected that argument, saying the push to revive noncompete agreements was more about stifling competition and suppressing wages than protecting trade secrets. 'There's no evidence that noncompetes actually foster an innovator's economy,' said Rep. Emma Greenman, DFL-Minneapolis, an author of the ban. 'It actually does the opposite.' About one in five American workers — in jobs ranging from medicine to child care — are bound by a noncompete agreement, and they cost workers more than $250 billion per year by decreasing competition, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Under the Biden administration, the Federal Trade Commission moved to ban noncompete agreements nationwide last year, estimating it would increase new business development and raise workers' wages by an additional $524 per year on average. A federal court later blocked the ban, and the Trump administration signaled it's likely to reverse course. Despite the pressure from large technology companies to repeal the ban, retired 3M chemical engineer and patent agent Jim Klein told lawmakers that Minnesota is on the right track. Klein, who managed 3M's intellectual property portfolio for 23 years, encouraged the House and Senate labor working group to maintain the blanket ban on noncompete agreements. He said the United States has sufficient protections for trade secrets — like the Uniform Trade Secrets Act — beyond restricting employees' careers. 'It does not make proprietary information any more secure,' Klein said. Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, the author of the carve out, argued the ban would put the state at a competitive disadvantage, noting Minnesota is one of just four states with such broad non-compete bans. The other states with noncompete bans are North Dakota, Oklahoma and California, where the lack of enforceable non-compete agreements has been credited with fueling the immense, wealth-creating innovation of Silicon Valley. The issue tied up the labor committee in the House for weeks until they reached a compromise that passed the House, which would have carved out workers making more than $200,000 and whose primary duties included 'the creation, analysis, or modification of trade secret information.' The bill also carved out workers making more than $500,000 a year regardless of their duties. The Democratic-controlled Senate never passed that provision and the legislative session ended without a deal, which sent the issue to a labor working group, where Rep. Dave Baker, R-Willmar, tried to revive House Republicans' original proposal. That would have carved out workers making more than $120,000 a year and whose primary duties include 'research and development or the creation, analysis, or modification of confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information.' Greenman called the proposal a 'trojan horse' with language so broad that it would effectively allow employers to use noncompetes with any employee simply by calling their work 'confidential.' The labor working group couldn't reach a compromise, but Baker said on the House floor on Monday night that lawmakers must revisit the issue or else large companies like Medtronic will shift operations elsewhere. 'If we don't fix this, these other companies are going to slip away,' Baker said. Democrats were largely able to protect their progressive agenda from 2023 even while passing a smaller budget ahead of a forecasted deficit, with the notable exception of repealing MinnesotaCare for undocumented adults at the end of the year.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ag budget includes funding to replace canceled federal grants, but food banks say it cuts assistance
Soybean production in Worthington. Photo by. When the Trump administration cut funding for a program that gave food banks money to buy and distribute food from local farmers, Minnesota lawmakers decided to continue the program at the state level. The two-year, $115 million state agriculture budget has been approved by the House and Senate and is awaiting the signature of Gov. Tim Walz, and sets up a modest state program to replace the one cut by the federal government. But Second Harvest Heartland, the biggest hunger relief organization in the state, says the budget still partially defunds the Farm to Food Shelf program, which allowed Second Harvest to purchase excess produce from Minnesota farmers at a steep discount. (The budget boosts funding for a related program for dairy.) Rep. Fue Lee, DFL-Minneapolis, carried a bill to create a state program that mirrors the endangered federal Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. Schools, food banks, governments and businesses can apply for grants to purchase food from Minnesota farmers and distribute it for free. Grant recipients must purchase 70% of the food from small farms — those that bring in less than $100,000 per year — or from farmers who rent their land. Lee's bill ended up in the budget, with $1.4 million over two years directed to the Local Food Purchasing Assistance grant program — around half as much as the federal government gave to Minnesota last year for the program. Minnesota Farmers Union, Land Stewardship Project and Minnesota Farmers Market Association were among the bill's supporters. Zach Rodvold, a lobbyist for Second Harvest Heartland, said the net effect of the budget is a cut in overall food assistance — on top of other federal cuts to food aid, as well as proposed cuts to SNAP, which helps low-income people buy groceries. 'What they voted for was a cut that will cost almost 4 million pounds of produce every year indefinitely,' Rodvold said. That's partly because the dollars that went to the Farm to Food Shelf program stretched farther — the food banks were paying pennies on the dollar for produce that farmers didn't intend to sell in traditional markets. The new state program, called the Local Food Purchasing Assistance grant program, pays farmers the market price for their produce. The Local Food Purchasing Assistance grant program will also allow recipients to contract with farmers for future production, creating a secure market for small Minnesota farmers.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ethics panel deadlocks on complaint against Minnesota Senate President
An ethics complaint Republicans filed against Minnesota Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, stalled Monday after a legislative ethics panel failed to reach consensus on how to proceed. The two Democratic-Farmer-Labor and two Republican members of the Senate Subcommittee on Ethics deadlocked on whether there was probable cause that Champion broke ethics rules when he helped obtain millions in state funding for a nonprofit whose founder he had done free legal work for. They also tied in a 2-2 vote on a DFL-backed motion to dismiss the complaint. The lack of action comes after the subcommittee asked Champion to disclose any potential conflicts of interest at an April 24 meeting but made no other rulings. Champion initially asked for an advisory opinion from the Senate Subcommittee on Ethics after his pro bono work for a Minneapolis violence prevention organization had come to light earlier in April. He temporarily stepped down as chair of the Ethics Subcommittee and Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, took over the position as the panel handled the matter. Champion faced allegations about potential conflicts because he carried a 2023 bill that helped the Minneapolis violence prevention nonprofit 21 Days of Peace obtain $3 million in funding. In 2025, he sponsored another bill to help provide another $1 million. Republicans in their complaint argued Champion's pro bono work for the nonprofit's founder, Rev. Jerry McAfee and his parent group, Salem, Inc., harmed public perception of the Senate by giving the impression of a conflict of interest. 'Due to the relationship Salem Inc. had with Sen. Champion, it is difficult for the public to have faith that the projects selected by the Legislature for public funds are being chosen based on merit,' said Sen. Michael Kreun, R-Blaine, who brought the complaint against Champion. Champion has maintained that his pro bono work for McAfee ended in 2022 and did not coincide with his sponsorship of the bills. He and his lawyer also argued that his ties to the nonprofit do not violate Minnesota Senate ethics rules because there was no financial interest. 'I thank the members of the ethics subcommittee for their work. As I have maintained since the beginning of this discussion, I have followed the rules of the Senate,' Champion said in a statement. 'I did not introduce or advocate for legislation on which I had a conflict of interest and I'm grateful that the subcommittee did not find probable cause.' Minnesota's ethics rules for legislators are not particularly expansive. Current law bans members from voting on matters that result in a direct financial gain for themselves or their business disproportionate to others in the same field. Political observers and lawmakers of both parties have noted that Minnesota's part-time 'citizen legislature' naturally lends itself to members voting on issues directly related to their work and communities. Teachers, nurses and business owners often back or carry bills directly related to their lines of work. Champion's backers have argued that his work with nonprofits and religious leaders in his district is the mark of an effective state representative. In response to DFLers' unwillingness to join GOP members in backing the ethics complaint Monday, Kreun said it was 'disappointing that partisanship won out.' Letters: 'Let's not make it harder to learn,' Walz wrote. A private school principal responds. Debate on unemployment benefits for school workers derails key MN budget piece St. Paul, MN Wild trim Xcel Center's state request from $400M to $50M Minnesota loosens distance exemption on state employee return to office order Minnesota Senate OKs liquor bill with 'social districts' provision
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ethics panel deadlocks on complaint against Minnesota Senate President
An ethics complaint Republicans filed against Minnesota Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, stalled Monday after a legislative ethics panel failed to reach consensus on how to proceed. The two Democratic-Farmer-Labor and two Republican members of the Senate Subcommittee on Ethics deadlocked on whether there was probable cause that Champion broke ethics rules when he helped obtain millions in state funding for a nonprofit whose founder he had done free legal work for. They also tied in a 2-2 vote on a DFL-backed motion to dismiss the complaint. The lack of action comes after the subcommittee asked Champion to disclose any potential conflicts of interest at an April 24 meeting but made no other rulings. Champion initially asked for an advisory opinion from the Senate Subcommittee on Ethics after his pro bono work for a Minneapolis violence prevention organization had come to light earlier in April. He temporarily stepped down as chair of the Ethics Subcommittee and Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, took over the position as the panel handled the matter. Champion faced allegations about potential conflicts because he carried a 2023 bill that helped the Minneapolis violence prevention nonprofit 21 Days of Peace obtain $3 million in funding. In 2025, he sponsored another bill to help provide another $1 million. Republicans in their complaint argued Champion's pro bono work for the nonprofit's founder, Rev. Jerry McAfee and his parent group, Salem, Inc., harmed public perception of the Senate by giving the impression of a conflict of interest. 'Due to the relationship Salem Inc. had with Sen. Champion, it is difficult for the public to have faith that the projects selected by the Legislature for public funds are being chosen based on merit,' said Sen. Michael Kreun, R-Blaine, who brought the complaint against Champion. Champion has maintained that his pro bono work for McAfee ended in 2022 and did not coincide with his sponsorship of the bills. He and his lawyer also argued that his ties to the nonprofit do not violate Minnesota Senate ethics rules because there was no financial interest. 'I thank the members of the ethics subcommittee for their work. As I have maintained since the beginning of this discussion, I have followed the rules of the Senate,' Champion said in a statement. 'I did not introduce or advocate for legislation on which I had a conflict of interest and I'm grateful that the subcommittee did not find probable cause.' Minnesota's ethics rules for legislators are not particularly expansive. Current law bans members from voting on matters that result in a direct financial gain for themselves or their business disproportionate to others in the same field. Political observers and lawmakers of both parties have noted that Minnesota's part-time 'citizen legislature' naturally lends itself to members voting on issues directly related to their work and communities. Teachers, nurses and business owners often back or carry bills directly related to their lines of work. Champion's backers have argued that his work with nonprofits and religious leaders in his district is the mark of an effective state representative. In response to DFLers' unwillingness to join GOP members in backing the ethics complaint Monday, Kreun said it was 'disappointing that partisanship won out.' Letters: 'Let's not make it harder to learn,' Walz wrote. A private school principal responds. Debate on unemployment benefits for school workers derails key MN budget piece St. Paul, MN Wild trim Xcel Center's state request from $400M to $50M Minnesota loosens distance exemption on state employee return to office order Minnesota Senate OKs liquor bill with 'social districts' provision
