Recent content from Patricia Lopez
Playing Politics podcast: New budget, same gridlock
Gov. Tim Walz's proposal was met with Republican reluctance. Hear the "Playing Politics" analysis from WCCO Radio's Chad Hartman and the Star Tribune's Patricia Lopez and John Rash.
Gov. Tim Walz on Minnesota's future: 'The clock is ticking'
Gov. Tim Walz spoke with the Star Tribune's Patricia Lopez on the challenges facing Minnesota.
It's prime time for the versatile egg
Whether it's spring brunch or Easter breakfast, the egg suits the season far beyond scrambled and poached.
Pawlenty's eager to veto DFL taxes
The Senate and House passed a plan that includes a $435 million tax increase, and there's the rub.
Republicans: Huckabee surges to a critical win
Mike Huckabee scored an impressive victory, capping one of the most remarkable come-from-nowhere triumphs in recent history.
Attorney Eric Magnuson is named new chief justice
The prominent appellate lawyer has led the judicial selection commission for Gov. Pawlenty. He will be the first person who is not a justice to take the top job in decades.
Pawlenty exhorts GOP to restore optimism of Reagan era
Speaking at the state party's convention, the governor said people deserve leaders "who are hopeful, optimistic, decent" and called upon Republicans to provide that leadership. Beforehand, he again demurred on talk of his vice presidential prospects.
Recount: Results certified, Franken up, but no senator yet
Al Franken's 225-vote lead was unanimously certified by the state Canvassing Board, but Norm Coleman's planned court challenge will keep Franken from taking his seat when the Senate convenes today.
Carey will step down as GOP chair
The Shoreview businessman, noting a tough political climate for Republicans across the U.S., said, "Sometimes, maybe it's best for the cause to have a fresh face out there."
Bill to raise Minn. income tax just gets by in Senate
The vote follows a bitter, long debate. A similar measure is in the House, but Gov. Pawlenty has vowed he'll veto any tax increase.
Rep. Wagenius is bruised but OK after crash
The Minneapolis DFLer's car was totaled by a suspected drunken driver after a late-night session at the Capitol.
Entenza announces bid for governor in '10
The former DFL House minority leader says he will run on issues of clean energy and job growth.
House tax bill sets up a 3-way battle
The plan from majority Democrats draws ire of Pawlenty aide, Senate DFL.
Time nears for Pawlenty to cast his vote
An election certificate is the key prize in the Minnesota Senate race -- but only if the governor signs it.
One justice gave to Coleman, another to Wellstone
The campaign donations by the two Supreme Court members predated their appointment to the bench.
Senate recount down to 387 ballots that will be opened and counted today
As the three-judge panel nears a decision, both sides are preparing for the next step.
DFL dilemma: Education vs. health care
As the financial pie shrinks, the Legislature's DFL majority is battling itself over what must be reduced.
Sex Offender Program needs $16M
Minnesota's controversial Sex Offender Program will run out of money next month unless a bill to cover a $16 million shortfall gets quick action in the state Senate.
House DFLers propose $1.5 billion in tax increases to close budget gap
With three proposals on the table, legislators and Gov. Pawlenty now can start negotiating.
House DFL offers bold tax proposal
The revenue-neutral plan would limit a variety of deductions and credits used by many Minnesota families and businesses.
Schools face a nearly $1 billion cut in DFL proposal
The Senate plan also includes a 7% budget cut that slices nearly across the board. Reaction made for unusual allies.
Minnesota's budget deficit: $4.57B
With the $1.3 billion in federal help, the state still has a $4.57 billion spending gap for 2010-11.
In St. Paul, capitol crowd braces for wild budget ride
"This is not a roller coaster we're on, it's a corkscrew or one of those crazy upside-down rides where everybody gets sick," said House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis.
Showdown could leave our courts in chaos
As Gov. Pawlenty looks to cut budgets, the chief justice he appointed is playing hardball over the justice system's future.
So, how would you fix Minnesota?
That's what we -- and legislators -- asked Thursday of the people in St. Cloud.
Expand sales tax, panel advises
Pawlenty's reaction is said to be cool, and legislators are baffled by proposal to repeal corporate tax.
Stimulus plan could mean $3B for Minn.
It would put money into the state budget and, according to the White House, retain or create up to 66,000 jobs here.
Minnesota's red ink: $7 billion?
Pawlenty warns that next month's economic forecast could show a deficit of $6 billion, or even $7 billion.
Corporate tax: A stinker that pays
Many share Gov. Tim Pawlenty's dislike of business taxes, but his plan to halve them raises questions: Will jobs be created? How will we make up the lost money?
Shrinking Minnesota budget would be first since '86
Pawlenty says state must do more than erase $4.8 billion deficit, but some will see a heavy cost.
Obama plan might mean big boost for pinched Minnesota
The federal stimulus could provide a key infusion of cash as Minnesota lawmakers try to tackle the $4.8 billion deficit.
Pawlenty's deficit plan: Freeze, cut
Gov. Tim Pawlenty's State of the State address set the stage for a clash of wills with a heavily DFL-controlled Legislature.
Pawlenty expected to call for cuts in every corner
When he gives his State of the State address, he will offer up a fiscally Spartan vision.
Franken tries to sidestep courts
He asks Pawlenty, Ritchie to certify him as winner, but citing state law, they decline.
Cutting costs may have had own price
Local ballot counting in the Senate recount saved the state $2 million, but varying standards is a key argument in the court case.
A fiscal fitness test
How Gov. Tim Pawlenty stands up to the challenge of a $5.2 billion state budget deficit will largely shape his political future.
Pawlenty's first slice: $271 million
The governor's emergency budget cuts hit health care, local governments and higher education hard -- and more is to come.
Pawlenty plans to cut funds for local governments
Gov. Tim Pawlenty will cut money for cities and counties and for human services to make up for a $426 million short-term deficit.
Minnesota is $5.2 billion in the hole
Painful cuts and even a governmental overhaul are in the offing. Friday morning, Gov. Pawlenty and legislators will begin to take on the staggering deficit.
How bad is Minnesota's budget deficit? Mega-bad
Today's two-year projection could be as high as $6 billion; "every spending program, every tax has to be on the table." The news will be delivered at an 11:15 a.m. press conference.
Rejected absentee votes may decide it
Even as the U.S. Senate race recount forged ahead, both sides are massing their troops in the next battle over piles of disputed ballots.
How many ways can voting go wrong?
Some voters whose absentee ballots were rejected are stunned to find out what happened.
Recount: Norm Coleman's lead over Al Franken shrinks
With about 18% of the vote recounted, Coleman still leads Franken -- but by only 174 votes. Franken's gain owed much to a swing of 23 votes in the Democratic stronghold of St. Louis County.
Coleman leads Franken by 206 votes
The Coleman and Franken campaigns traded shots Monday as counties completed the process of certifying their vote tallies and officials prepared to start recounting nearly 3 million ballots in the U.S. Senate race.
Franken seeks names of rejected voters
The DFLer hopes to force counties across the state to turn over the lists of rejected absentee voters who, if later found eligible, could tip the balance in the closest Senate race in the country.
Ready, set...recount
Local officials will be working in the 87 counties under the scrutiny of top lawyers brought in by candidates Norm Coleman and Al Franken.
Recount to stretch into mid-December
The secretary of state appointed four judges to certify Senate election and rule on any disputes; the recount starts Wednesday.
Pawlenty unveils package of tax breaks
Gov. Tim Pawlenty proposed what he called the "mother lode of tax breaks" to companies that create so-called green jobs in the burgeoning field of renewable energy.
Tension escalates as recount fluctuates
As Norm Coleman's lead over Al Franken was cut to 221 votes, charges flew as fast as the tally changed.
Recount: The Coleman-Franken brawl drags on
Sen. Norm Coleman's lead over challenger Al Franken in the U.S. Senate race narrowed even more, guaranteeing a recount that could stretch well into next month.
Minnesotans try to sort out the lessons of '08
Republicans take some solace in blocking a veto-proof state House majority, while the Obama triumph should give Minnesota more influence in the new Congress.
Senate race 100% counted: Coleman on top
With 100 percent of the 4,130 precincts reporting, Sen. Norm Coleman had an unofficial margin of several hundred votes out of nearly 2.9 million cast. Challenger Al Franken said this morning he would exercise his right to a recount.
Final U.S. Senate debate a punishing, verbal slugfest
Franken, Coleman and Barkley blasted one another as audience members cheered, booed, hissed and even catcalled.
Coleman, Franken hip deep in fracas
Norm Coleman accused Al Franken of being connected to a suit involving his wife. Franken denied it.
Split decisions could be key to election
Voters who cross party lines on the same ballot could hold the key to a race's outcome.
Obama, Coleman lead in new state poll
The St. Cloud State survey has the White House race tight and the Senate incumbent moving ahead of Franken.
6 Minnesota politicians' homes defaced
Vandals struck the garages and homes of six Minnesota members of Congress, spray-painting graffiti that called for them to resign and included a biblical reference to "Psalm 2."
Al Franken: On a serious mission
From comedian to candidate. From satire to public policy. It's a difficult leap, but Al Franken is determined to make it.
Coleman withdraws all negative ads
He says that during the financial crisis, instead of adding to the "negativity," politics should "lift people up with hope." His opponents expressed skepticism.
U.S. Senate candidates spar in first of five meetings
Dean Barkley got in some of the hardest shots of the night, Norm Coleman defended his six-year career in the Senate and Al Franken linked Coleman's votes to campaign donations.
Franni Franken gets personal in ad
Al Franken's wife talks about her alcoholism in an ad that seeks to humanize him and counter the GOP image of Franken as too ill-tempered to serve in the Senate.
Franken opposes bailout bill
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken had harsh words for the economic rescue bill that passed the Senate on Wednesday night, calling it a "sacrifice at the altar of financial mismanagement" and a "terrible end to a terrible presidency."
Gore warmly endorses Franken
The former vice president lavished praise on the former entertainer, but Rep. Jim Oberstar urged Franken to "disown" the Playboy satire that has lately dogged him.
Franken apologizes, wins DFL support
Endorsed by acclamation, he vowed to take the election battle to Sen. Norm Coleman, while bracing for more attacks.
Franken amps up campaign tone with latest staff changes
John Edwards' former national spokesman has been added to the ranks. The campaign says it plans to engage Sen. Norm Coleman on the issues daily.
Franken gets blunt about Sen. Coleman
The harsh assessment came during the newly endorsed DFLer's kickoff rally Monday at the State Capitol. Officials with the Republican's campaign were just as brusque in response.
Big play for the female vote
Some women say they wouldn't be willing to overlook policy differences just to break the glass ceiling.
U.S. Senate: Coleman, Franken, Barkley cruise
After trouncing their primary opponents, Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, DFLer Al Franken and Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley are squaring off for a three-way free-for-all.
'Change is coming:' McCain promises no more business as usual
John McCain served notice that he seeks the presidency to afflict the politically comfortable, a mission that has defined much of his political career.
Today, it's McCain's town and his party
John McCain will make his case to the nation that a 72-year-old politician with 26 years in Congress can bring the fresh breath of reform that polls suggest the public wants.
McCain draws praise in offstage curtain call
The convention got up to full speed as President Bush lauded John McCain in brief remarks from D.C., even as the GOP has reasons to keep distance between the two.
A momentous occasion for all GOP women
Sarah Palin has taken the Republican world by storm since John McCain elevated her from near-obscurity. But she remains an unknown quantity to much of the American public, a USA Today/Gallup poll found.
GOP's time to shine
As the Republicans take their turn presenting a four-day, highly choreographed political spectacle, the Twin Cities will put its best foot forward to make sure the delegates have a good time.
Dec. 12, 2007: Is Pawlenty better at providing big ideas than results?
Gov. Tim Pawlenty, everyone agrees, is a man of many ideas. Some say there are too many ideas and not enough to show for them.
Poll: Franken, Coleman tied, with Barkley seen as spoiler
Franken's numbers are up, but Independence Party's Barkley appeals to voters who don't like either major-party candidate.