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Minneapolis, St. Paul raise property taxes to 'solve' their spending problem

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p> you're looking for a portrait in irresponsible sppending, Minneapolis and St. Paul shine brightly in a sea of red ink. This mismanagement isn't new. This 2009 MPR article highlights the fight between then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty and then-Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak. MPR reported "Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak today felt the need to respond to Governor Pawlenty's criticisms of a plan to install ten drinking fountains designed by artists, costing a total of $500,000." That's $50,000 per "artistic" fountain. At the time, I wrote about those fountains. If I recall correctly, Minneapolis could've purchased 5 standard drinking fountains for a total of $60,000. Minneapolis has been spending taxpayers' money foolishly for 20 years. The point is that these types of foolish spending habits will catch up with people. According to this Alpha News article , "Mayor Jacob Frey proposed raising the city’s property tax levy by 11.3% and cutting 100 city...

Steve Simon's latest large loss

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Steve Simon's latest large loss was reported by GOP influencer Dustin Grage through his Twitter feed. Simon is pictured above. In his tweet, Grage reported "Secretary of State Steve Simon argued that election judges aren’t required during the 18 days of early voting. He just got slapped down. This builds on the precedent set by Ryan Wilson, who won a major case against Hennepin County at the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2024, forcing the county to follow the law and appoint election judges equally from each major political party." Whether it's early in-person voting or in-person voting on Election Day, the application of the law MUST REMAIN THE SAME . Period. Then Grage added another gem to his reporting. He reported "At the time, Hennepin County had appointed ZERO Republican election judges." It's getting difficult trusting Steve Simon. For that matter, it's difficult to trust DFL politicians. Why trust Tim Walz, Peggy Flanagan, Tina Smith or Keith ...

Michele Tafoya's earned media blitz continues

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The outlines of Michele Tafoya's Senatorial general election campaign is taking shape. I titled this article "Michele Tafoya: this year's 'Common Sense Champion'" because she's highlighting the difference between her intended governing approach and DFL Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan's highly ideological governing style. Fox News noticed Michele Tafoya's approach, too. They're reporting "As socialist candidates continue to score victories across the country and take more control of the Democratic Party, Minnesota GOP Senate nominee Michele Tafoya is making her pitch to voters from all parties who still believe in 'common sense.'" Part of Michele Tafoya's pitch is encapsulated in this sentence, where she's quoted as saying "There is absolutely a home for every voter in Minnesota that wants common sense, that wants a return to sanity, that wants to see kids learn in school again, that wants accountability for this fraud, ...

Michele Tafoya: this year's 'Common Sense Champion'

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If you played a word association game with Michele Tafoya's name during her campaign, the term most most likely to top the list is common sense , partly due to Michele Tafoya's frequent use of the term, partly due to the fact that that's Michele's persona. Fox News Digital interviewed Tafoya Tuesday morning. At the time, Tafoya said "We do not want to see a socialist lurch anywhere in this country, and in particular in Minnesota, so I will do whatever I can to stand up against this movement toward Democrat socialism. Socialism does not work." Tafoya then said "There is absolutely a home for every voter in Minnesota that wants common sense, that wants a return to sanity, that wants to see kids learn in school again, that wants accountability for this fraud, who wants the fraud never repeat itself, who wants crime rates to go down again. There is room for you. We are the common sense candidacy and we're gonna represent a lot more than just conservatives...

Lisa Demuth handily defeats Mike Lindell

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Looking back with 20-20 hindsight, it's easy to say that the tipping point in the MNGOP gubernatorial race was when Mike Lindell made a huge unforced mistake by puting out his amnesty plan. At this point with the race declared, Demuth leads Lindell by 45,000+ votes , thereby ending Lindell's political career. This Alpha News article reports "Lisa Demuth, the speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, won the Republican nomination for governor of Minnesota Tuesday night. Demuth bested MyPillow founder Mike Lindell and retired business executive Kendall Qualls for the nomination." After her primary victory, Speaker Demuth issued a statement which said in part "We began this campaign nine months ago. And the thing I’ve heard over and over from Minnesotans from all walks of life is that people are ready for a fresh start." It's OUR JOB to push the DFL into being responsible again. The DFL of Walter Mondale and Paul Wellstone doesn't exist anymo...

Highlighting Peggy Flanagan's victory speech

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Tuesday night was the best night that the MNGOP has had in years. It isn't just that Michele Tafoya defeated her opponents as expected. It's that Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan crushed Angie Craig by 20 points, then gave one of the whiniest-sounding victory speeches in recent Minnesota history: According to Flanagan's victory speech, there isn't a thing that can't be solved by ever-expanding government. Got a problem? Nothing that intruive, unaffordable government programs can't fix. Apparently, Lt. Gov. Flanagan doesn't remember the record spending spree the DFL Trifecta went on, spending the projected $18,000,000,000 surplus, then adding a $10,000,000,000 tax hike. By the time the DFL Trifecta dust settled, we had a projected $6,000,000,000 deficit to show for it. Peggy Flanagan agrees: This race is about a fundamental choice in who our government serves: pic.twitter.com/VDZ2QcZpuZ — Peggy Flanagan (@peggyflanagan) August 11, 2026 Flanagan's video starts by...

High turnout expected in Minnesota; who does that help?

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This KSTP News article reports that "Minnesota primary momentum builds With 206,000 early votes already cast either in person or by mail, Minnesota election officials say that might indicate a strong primary turnout by Minnesota’s modest standards for attracting voters during summer primaries." That isn't surprising with high profile primaries on the DFL side and the GOP side. Now that it's been established that it's likely to be a high-turnout primary, it's time to figure out which candidates the high turnout helps or hurts most. On the MNGOP side, it's likely to work to Lisa Demuth's benefit because she, unlike Mike Lindell, has a GOTV operation. Lindell doesn't seem to have much beyond Trump's endorsement. After Lindell announced his amnesty plan, social media lit up, saying that the plan eliminated him from serious consideration, Trump endorsement or not. Had Lindell proposed a reform of the visa program instead of proposing an amnesty pla...