Minnesota Legislature’s bonding bill agreement totals $1.2 billion for local infrastructure projects. Now we wait on what projects or programs are getting funded.

Some form of a bonding bill appears to be part of a bipartisan agreement announced late Wednesday by Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders. Still many details to work out, but this is earlier progress than I and everyone I talked to lately at the Minnesota Legislature expected.

Crunch time at the Capitol. Will Minnesota lawmakers pass a bonding bill this session? They have until Sunday to answer that question. www.minnpost.com/state-govern...

Time is running short for the Minnesota Legislature to put another down payment into statewide lead pipe replacement, but committee leaders are pushing for it. www.minnpost.com/state-govern...

Latest Wolves: My second-round playoff preview. (The headline is a tease of sorts. I'm not calling the upset. Then again I was wrong in round one.) www.minnpost.com/sports/timbe...

Stick a fork in 'em. Wolves outgrit Nuggets to take the first round in six games. No Ant, no Ragu, no Ayo, no SloMo. Doesn't matter.

TWO playoff series clinching wins by Minnesota sports teams in one night? My brain is struggling to process what the Wolves and Wild just did and I’m loving it.

Flying Minnesota's outdated state flag could cost cities dearly, if a new bill passed at the Legislature. My look at local government aid (LGA) and which cities reverting to the old design do and don't rely on it. www.minnpost.com/state-govern...

“The failure and disrepair is unacceptable,” said Matt Peabody, director of information technology for Olmsted County.

On Earth Day, Minnesotans against data centers are holding an informal public hearing in the Capitol rotunda. They’re calling on lawmakers to pass moratoriums and NDA bans.

The bill is in response to several Minnesota municipalities using NDAs to keep data center developments a secret. Residents of several cities have organized in support of NDA bans, saying that secrecy allowed local officials to give unpopular projects a head start before opposition could form.

U.S. Senators just removed key federal protections against mining near the Boundary Waters, over objections from Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar. The move clears a hurdle for a Twin Metals mine project in northern Minnesota, but more hurdles remain at state level. www.minnpost.com/national/was...

Big news! MinnPost is thrilled to share that we’re partnering with @citybureau.bsky.social to reimagine its award-winning Documenters program for the Twin Cities. @twincitiesdocs.bsky.social www.minnpost.com/inside-minnp...

Congrats to all the amazing journalists at @sahanjournal.bsky.social for this recognition. Well deserved! share.google/PVSoruwhFMvQ...

MANKATO: Join MNSPJ for a vibrant panel discussion on April 16 about the Data Practices Act and how the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, assembly and the press. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP here: www.eventbrite.com/e/the-public...

“The old narrative of rural Minnesota dying is simply not true, and we’ve been seeing that for at least six years now." www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...

Round-up of Greater Minnesota news on @minnpost.bsky.social this week: A coalition mostly from Greater Minnesota is lobbying state lawmakers to curb data center developments after feeling stonewalled by local officials. www.minnpost.com/state-govern...

Last year: Minnesota Rep. Elliot Engen, R-White Bear Township, accused the DFL of being "drunk at the wheel." Last night: Engen was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

Quirkiest bill proposed at the Minnesota Legislature this session? I nominate SF 3806, designating the toboggan as the official sled of the state. Sorry, saucer fans. www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/94/202...

Myron Medcalf talks about his start in journalism as a college student at the MSU Reporter. The college paper at Minnesota State University, Mankato marks its 100th anniversary this year.

Went on WTIP (North Shore Community Radio) earlier this week to talk about the state's vast water infrastructure needs. Check out their story on Grand Marais' needs, featuring my full interview with them linked at bottom. wtip.org/city-and-cou...

Appleton, MN is in lockdown right now as law enforcement agencies respond to an "ongoing threat" involving gunshots. The Swift County Sheriff's Office confirmed that ICE is not involved in the situation.

Part 2 of my water coverage this week looks at why so many Minnesota cities need a bonding bill to fund their infrastructure projects. The alternative is raising user rates, and a flood of angry residents. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...

What is the most dominant theme in the Minnesota Legislature's bonding bill discussions this session? I'd argue it's water, and I wrote about why after a visit to Big Lake's treatment plant. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...

As a Chisholm guy, heartbreaking to see Hibbing/Chisholm get that close and lose. But what a game. Gritty win for Warroad in an all Greater Minnesota championship game.

Minnesota's ambitious plan to replace all lead water lines by 2033 could stall if the Legislature doesn't refill a funding pool this session. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...

Somali leaders in St. Cloud say it’ll take hard work to overcome damage done by ICE. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...

Initially unsure of how to curb ICE activity, Duluth and Mankato's city councils are now willing to answer public calls for action with policy. Mankato may ban mask wearing by law enforcement agents. Duluth wants to limit use of city resources by immigration agents. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...

The Minnesota man who tried to bust Luigi Mangioni out of jail is from Mankato, according to NY Times.

Gov. Tim Walz pushed back against border czar Tom Homan’s suggestion that Minnesota is obstructing ICE detainers in jails. “We will honor every single detainer that is in our prisons to turn people over, just like we have for 30 years.”

A man wearing a black jacket has been tackled to the ground after spraying an unknown substance on U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.

As a journalist, I have concerns about how using words could result in "actions and consequences."

Guardian does an excellent job detailing the brutality of the murder on Eat Street. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

While I also encourage you to follow (& financially support) local news orgs, I also highly recommend @dailyyonder.bsky.social for their coverage of rural areas that are often bypassed (though shoutout to @brianarola.bsky.social at @minnpost.bsky.social for his wonderful work in greater #Minnesota)

Can confirm that ICE took two sub-contractors (at least one reportedly a citizen born in the U.S.) from a construction site in Mankato today. The workers were outside VINE, an adult community center, when federal agents detained them in the parking lot and drove away.

ICE agents are especially active in Mankato, St. James and St. Peter today. Southern Minnesota still seems like the main focus of Operation Metro Surge's expansion into Greater Minnesota.

Mankato City Council members adjourned their meeting tonight as a crowd of 300+ called on them to do more against ICE.

David Mesta, a COPAL organizer, said construction workers were stuck on a roof over the weekend in Mankato as ICE waited to try detain them. At least one other person got stopped leaving Walmart.

More than 300 people are at Mankato’s City Council meeting tonight, where residents are calling on city leaders to protect residents from ICE.

Late last week and over the weekend I saw more and more reports of spikes in ICE activity in Greater Minnesota. Operation Metro Surge, it turns out, isn't limited to the Twin Cities metro. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...

I'm up in rural Stearns County taking care of some traveling family's animals. ICE is out in small towns, farms, ag. businesses too. Unfortunately not much opposition has been able to organize out in these parts of the state. There's no doubt in my mind "metro surge" has gone statewide.

Groups in Mankato and Rochester demanded ICE agents to stay away from schools. The Mankato group, including educators and students, rallied Friday outside Mankato East High School.

Our Greater Minnesota reporter @brianarola.bsky.social attended a vigil in Mankato attended by ~100 people, and spoke with people involved in similar events in Duluth and Rochester. “Her name was Renee Nicole Good, and we should remember it so close to our hearts."

Purely hypothetically, could Gov. Tim Walz appoint himself to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat? To answer that question, I looked back on a fascinating period in Minnesota history. www.minnpost.com/fact-briefs/...

Department of Homeland Security agents are in Mankato, according to the city. Mankato has sizable Somali and Hispanic communities. A Somali leader recently told me locals were fearful of ICE coming to town, even though they’re legal residents.

Red Lake is one of only two closed reservations in the U.S., meaning the land is held in common by its tribal members. My Q&A with a man working to connect more tribal youth to the land: www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...

More licensed cannabis transporters need to come down the pipe to get products from cultivation sites to dispensaries. As is, a scarcity of transporters is contributing to supply bottlenecks. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...

Support MinnPost this Give to the Max Day and help us reach our $25,000 goal! We’ve raised over $14,000 so far - any amount you give will help us get one step closer to our goal AND you'll be supporting our local, independent news coverage. Donate now: buff.ly/6UglJEC

Appleton, a western Minnesota prairie city, lost half its population when a private prison closed in 2010. ICE's interest in the vacant facility for an immigrant detention center has locals weighing economic promise against moral compromise. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...

Another excellent piece from MinnPost! The end of SNAP benefits would likely lead to the loss of a massive number of rural grocery stores. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...