by Charley Shaw
Published: May 11, 2012
Tags: Amy Koch, Bill Hilty, Bobby Joe Champion, Branden Petersen, Bruce Anderson, Connie Doepke, Dean Urdahl, Denise Dittrich, Denny McNamara, Frank Hornstein, Geoff Michel, Greg Davids, Ian Marsh, John Kriesel, Kate Knuth, Keith Downey, Kurt Bills, Larry Hosch, Marion Greene, Mark Murdock, Mary Kiffmeyer, Mary Liz Holberg, Mike LeMieur, Mindy Greiling, Nora Slawik, Pat Mazorol, retirement speeches, Ron Shimanski, Torrey Westrom
After adjourning in the wee hours of Thursday morning, the Minnesota House of Representatives plunged ahead with the bittersweet biennial ritual of retirement speeches from departing members.
It's been nearly a month since the committee last met to discuss complaint, opting to meet again after talks stalled. This time senators acknowledged their unbreakable stalemate, and voted 3-1 to adjourn to the call of the chair with no final decision.
by Briana Bierschbach
Published: April 13, 2012
Tags: Amy Klobuchar, Amy Koch, Ann Lenczewski, Barb Goodwin, Brita Sailer, Carol McFarlane, Claire Robling, Connie Bernardy, Frank Hornstein, Jen DeJournett, John Marty, Julianne Ortman, Kate Knuth, Ken Kelash, Kevin Masrud, Kim Norton, Linda Slocum, Marion Greene, Mary Jo McGuire, Matt Dean, Meagan Bachmayer, Melisa Franzen, Melissa Halvorson Wiklund, Michelle Benson, Mike Jungabuer, Mindy Greiling, Minnesota Nurses Association, Pam Wolf, Patricia Torres Ray, Phyllis Kahn, Sandy Pappas, Scott Dibble, Shannon Savick, Stonewall DFL, Terra Cole, Terri Bonoff, Tom Tillberry
It was one of those votes no one wanted to take. The state’s new maps dropped DFL senators and allies John Marty and Mary Jo McGuire into Senate District 66, forcing activists in the area to pick between them at a recent endorsing convention.
After the state's new redistricting maps dropped in February, Robling said she planned to seek reelection to her Senate seat, which covers much of Scott County. But she says her interest in the job is "waning."
by Briana Bierschbach
Published: April 4, 2012
Tags: 2012 legislative session, Amy Koch, ballot initiatives, Bill Ingebrigtsen, Bob Vanasek, Gregg Peppin, Larry Jacobs, Mark Dayton, Michael Brodkorb, Tim Pawlenty, Tina Smith, Vikings Stadium
Nearing the end of Session 2012, Dayton has mostly kept out of the headlines, the spotlight directed instead at scandals and internal battles within the Republican caucuses.
by Briana Bierschbach
Published: March 23, 2012
Tags: Amy Koch, beau berentson, bonding, Cal Ludeman, Dave Senjem, Geoff Michel, Jodi Boyne, John Howe, John Knapp, Kurt Zellers, Mark Dayton, Mary Kiffmeyer, Micahel Brodkorb, redistricting, Roger Moe, Scott Newman, Steve Sviggum, Tom Hanson
The conventional wisdom from the start was that Session 2012 would be a short one. A healthy budget surplus plus newly redrawn legislative districts meant less work to be done at the Capitol and more to be done back home, where some lawmakers will face intra-party endorsement challenges and others have to get to know a daunting amount of new territory.
Flanked by almost the entire GOP caucus, Sen. Geoff Michel vigorously defended his handling of the Amy Koch-Michael Brodkorb scandal at a hearing before the Senate ethics panel on Friday afternoon.
DLFers say Michel failed to act quickly enough to restore a “safe working environment” for senators, “betrayed the public’s trust” by reporting an inaccurate timeline to the media and brought the Senate into “dishonor and disrepute.”
Three months have passed since the resignation of Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch and the firing of key Senate staffer Michael Brodkorb. But the episode has once again gripped the Capitol during the past week as Brodkorb’s attorneys and Senate officials traded public accusations.
Attorneys for Michael Brodkorb are threatening to expose other extra-marital affairs between senators and staff members in an effort to prove that Brodkorb was discriminated against when he was fired in December for having an intimate relationship with former Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch.
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