My name is Ella Bettner, I'm 11 years old from Faribault, MN. I am also the owner/founder of No Tummies Left Behind, a local charity I started in 2021 when I realized that kids in my school could not afford lunches and I wanted to make a change to that. So, we raise money by either partnering with businesses or doing booths to sell my homemade, adjustable charm bracelets. All proceeds and donations goes towards paying off negative lunch balances for local schools. So far, I've raised over $8,000 dollars and have been able to help students in the Faribault, Medford [...]

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Governor Tim Walz is at a labor union in the Twin Cities this afternoon (Tues 2pm) to sign a bill that requires 100 percent of Minnesota's electricity come from carbon-free sources by 2040.  Republicans warn prices will skyrocket, but Democratic Senator Nick Frentz from North Mankato says the move is necessary to fight climate change: "We can rise to the challenge like this country and this state did -- two world wars, Great Depression and who knows what challenge in the future -- and we can meet it." But Fosston Republican Steve Green says a constituent on the Leech Lake Reservation [...]

The Minnesota Senate on a vote of 63-to-zero has reconfirmed Thom Petersen as state Agriculture Commissioner, with praise coming from both sides of the aisle.  Saint Cloud Democrat Aric Putnam: "Commissioner Petersen travels the state every year to listen to the farmers' voice and to build relationships  -- and it works, members!   Everybody loves this dude!" Alexandria Republican Torrey Westrom says Petersen is "the example of working with both sides of the aisle" -- his reputation before he became commissioner: "As commissioner he has had that same style that I have appreciated, and I've told him before.   I've told Democrats, I've [...]

Vice President Kamala Harris will be in St. Cloud Thursday. The focus of her visit is expected to be on the push for more electric vehicles.  Political Analyst Blois Olson says her visit to St. Cloud is unusual: "Usually, the Biden Harris team has been in metro areas more and more obviously that's where their political basis but I think this is an effort to kind of spread the word about their plans for a new energy economy which is a major theme for Democrats nationally and locally." Several of President Biden's cabinet members will be touring the country this week [...]

Algene Vossen will not stand trial for the 1974 murder of Mae Herman of Willmar.   The 81-year-old from Sioux Falls has been committed to a memory care facility for the rest of his life.  Willmar Police Chief Jim Felt says he had hoped Vossen would be convicted of Herman's murder: "Certainly is disappointing. We want resolution for the family. There's still grandchildren and other distant relatives that have lived under this shadow for decades. And we hope that this has given them  some closure. I think things have been fairly well proven." D-N-A evidence connected Vossen to the scene of Herman's [...]

After clearing a key committee, next is a vote in the full Minnesota Senate on a bill that would designate a seven-mile stretch of State Highway 5 in Chanhassen as the "Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway."  Most concerns have apparently been addressed, perhaps with one notable exception:  Memorial highway signs are generally brown: "And if you can tell today by my attire, we are hoping that it could purple." ...bill sponsor, Waconia Republican Julia Coleman.  Transportation Committee Chairman, Minneapolis Democrat Scott Dibble said "once in a while, we can be a little bit flexible": "I support proceeding with the sign in [...]

The Minnesota Senate Agriculture Committee is the latest panel to approve a bill that would legalize recreational cannabis in the state.  Andrew Johnmeyer of Green Machine Farm in Goodhue County spoke in support of the measure: "Through its explicit preference for small, craft and microbusiness producers. Through its limits on vertical integration and through its flexibility in marketing and processing for the smallest growers, this bill is our best chance to create a thriving cannabis market." Opponent David Benson-Staebler of SAVE warns that marijuana farming will have a negative impact on the state's aquifers: "Choosing drugs over food is dubious enough. [...]

The Minnesota House has passed and sent to the governor a bill to substantially increase funding so the Attorney General's Office can hire more lawyers to assist county prosecutors with high-priority cases -- particularly in Greater Minnesota.  Republicans wanted the bill to say the money can also be used to investigate and prosecute waste, fraud and abuse in government -- North Branch Representative Ann Neu Brindley saying the A-G fell short on the "Feeding our Future" scandal: "They chose not to exercise that authority." Rosemount Democrat John Huot responds Attorney General Keith Ellison testified in committee... "He started investigating it.  Because [...]

Visitation (830am) and a funeral Mass are this morning (10am) at Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville for the late U-S Senator Dave Durenberger, who died January 31st at the age of 88.  Accolades came from both sides of the aisle as the Minnesota Senate remembered Durenberger Monday.  Saint Paul Democrat Sandy Pappas: "Senator Durenberger worked on women's rights, then voting rights for people with disabilities in 1985, and was asked to co-author the Americans with Disabilities Act by Senator Edward Kennedy." Anoka Republican Jim Abeler says Durenberger was "a fierce advocate for the rights of people with disabilities": "As a chief [...]