Publisher’s Perspective

By Tim Douglas, Publisher

Just when we thought the new balance in the Minnesota State Legislature would force our representatives to be less partisan, we are witnessing a swing the other direction.

On election night, House DFL leadership was disappointed that their majority had turned into a 67-67 tie with Republicans. Seats the DFL were expected to lose were lost and a few they were expected to win were lost as well. It was a pair of tight results in which DFL candidates prevailed by handfuls of votes that produced the tie.

The caucus was disappointed but resigned to sharing power. Now a tie would be the House DFL’s fondest hope.

The tie was broken by a DFLer who resigned when the GOP challenged his residency and he resigned.  Add to that a court challenge on another race and the GOP decided last week that it would stop all this talk of a shared leadership.

House Republicans now plan to fully exercise their rights as the majority on the first day of the 2025 legislative session, but House DFLers plan to not be in the Capitol if a power-sharing agreement doesn’t remain in place.

House Republicans will hold a 67-66 edge until a Jan. 28 special election to fill a likely blue Roseville area seat. They want to use their momentary advantage to elect a speaker, take control of committees and likely refuse to seat a DFL legislator whose election victory they contested in court. Republican House Speaker-designate Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) reiterated at a press conference last week that with a 67-66 split in the House, the tie following the general election, no longer exists.

At a later press conference, DFL House Speaker-designate Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) said DFL members aren’t planning to be present at the Capitol on the first day of the legislative session if Republicans don’t honor the power-sharing agreement negotiated after the Nov. 5 election, when the House was expected to be tied 67-67. DFL House members will be working in their districts on the first day of the session instead, she said.

So much for a cooperative, much less a bipartisan attitude in the House. And the 2025 Legislature starts Tuesday and must pass a two-year state budget by late May to avoid a government shutdown.    

* * * *

Well, I didn’t have bragging rights about the Vikings being the number-one seed in the NFC, but our group of anglers who ventured to Lake of the Woods last week, enjoyed some success on the ice.

The first day was a little slow, but the lake’s standards, especially where we were fishing in the Northwest Angle.  But there was enough action to keep us busy most of the day and we put a few nice walleyes in saugers in the bucket.

The second day was fantastic.  We were busy catching walleyes, nice saugers and a few jumbo perch throughout the day.  This trip was to Sunset Lodge on Oak Island in the Northwest Angle very close to the Canadian border.  For most of us, it was the first time there, although one in the group was able to get there and do some fishing before the ice deteriorated last year.  The rest of us stayed home.