Sen. Franken Socks Away $3.9M For 2014 Race
Government dysfunction aside, landing or keeping a job in the Washington power structure can be a pricey endeavor.
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Government dysfunction aside, landing or keeping a job in the Washington power structure can be a pricey endeavor.
It's day 15 of the government shutdown, and the nation is two days away from a government default. But, Senate leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell have set aside their differences to come up with a plan to end the stalemate.
Family, friends and supporters of former U.S. Sen. Rod Grams are gathering to bid farewell to the Republican politician. A funeral service for Grams was scheduled for Tuesday morning at Zion Lutheran Church in St. Francis. A visitation was held Monday night.
A Minnesota senator is one of the key players hammering out a deal that could end the federal government shutdown. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar is helping write a compromised version of a plan drafted by Republican Senator Susan Collins and credited GOP moderates. "We are friends," Klobuchar said. "Senate Republicans really came to the fore, more moderates, saying 'We want to work on a compromise,' and that's exactly what's happening today in the Senate."
Two 20-foot-deep disposal pits opened in western South Dakota on Monday to help ranchers dispose of tens of thousands of livestock carcasses piling up since an early October blizzard decimated herds. Up to 4 feet of snow fell in the Black Hills area during the storm, killing at least 10,000 to 20,000 head of livestock, state officials say. The South Dakota Stockgrowers Association estimates this part of the state lost at least 5 percent of its cattle, which is mostly raised for beef. Normally, the federal government would provide financial assistance to ranchers in a crisis of this magnitude, but the farm bill expired during the government shutdown.
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura is rarely short on opinion, and he weighed in on the federal government shutdown with WCCO's Nina Moini on Sunday. Ventura was at the Mall Of America, signing copies of his latest book.
Lawmakers weighing where to send public construction aid are touring several Minnesota cities with projects in the 2014 mix. Members of the Senate Capital Investment Committee are headed to eight cities this week after spending three days on the road earlier in the month.
In Minnesota, veterans rallied at the Vietnam Memorial in St. Paul to show their support of the national movement. They talked about the closing of the national war memorials and the suspension of death benefits to military families.
Today I got an email from a furloughed federal employee from Lakeville, Minn., who, along with her co-workers, has not been able to collect unemployment because the state of Minnesota is demanding information from her employer, which she obviously can't get because the government is shut down.
A candidate with a well-known Minnesota name has jumped into the race for Congress. Stewart Mills, a third generation vice president of the Midwest retail chain store Mills Fleet Farm, is a Republican running to unseat the incumbent Democratic Congressman Rick Nolan.
The federal government shutdown could actually make you sick. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is closed, for the most part. And the experts who work on preventing and managing flu outbreaks are not doing that.
Minnesota's tax collections have come in $2 million below expectations in the first three months of the newly enacted state budget.
A Minnesota legislator wants a provision stripped from the Vikings new stadium lease that would prevent the building from being used by businesses that sell guns and other weapons.
Minnesota Republican Senate candidate Mike McFadden says he raised $700,000 for his campaign in the last three months, and has $1.2 million in the bank as he seeks to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Al Franken next year.
While the shutdown lingers across the nation, local veterans affairs offices are off-limits to the public. "Veterans obviously are wondering, 'Where do I go?' It's continuous," Tom Hanson said.
