Minnesota Reformer

Minnesota Reformer The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell. We’re in the halls of government tracking what elected officials are up to — and monitoring the powerful forces trying to influence them. But we’re also on the streets, at the bars and parks, on farms and in warehouses, telling you stories of the people being affected by the actions of government and big business.

African-Americans

Rep. Ilhan Omar makes her Move into the Mainstream

Minnesota Reformer

By Doug Rossinow | – ( Minnesota Reformer) – Only six months ago, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s future looked cloudy, her political base shaken. She had barely fended off a primary challenge. Her political judgments appeared questionable. Her critics appeared to have grown in number. Now House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his Republican allies have […]

Climate Crisis

Minnesota House passes Bill mandating Move to Carbon-Free Electricity by 2040

Minnesota Reformer

By Michelle Griffith | – ( The Minnesota Reformer ) – The Minnesota House passed a bill late Thursday that would force Minnesota utilities to move to entirely carbon-free electricity by 2040, after hours of debate that sometimes strayed far off topic. House Republicans sought to derail the bill and score points with over 30 […]

Employment

Child poverty rates highest in states that haven’t raised minimum wage

Minnesota Reformer

By Casey Quinlan | – ( Minnesota Reformer ) – Of the 20 states that have failed to raise the minimum wage above the federal $7.25 an hour standard, 16 have more than 12% of their children living in poverty, according to a States Newsroom analysis of wage and poverty data. Anti-poverty advocates say that’s […]

unions

The Year Unions Came Roaring Back, while Public Support for Workers is Higher than in 55 Years

Minnesota Reformer

By Max Nesterak ( Minnesota Reformer ) – I visited picket lines in subzero temperatures and the high 90s this year, as I documented the surge in energy that workers are bringing to the labor movement. It was an exciting year to cover labor, especially in Minnesota, with its high union participation rate and low […]

Christianity

A Pastor Comes to Terms with the Church’s Idols of Trump, Money and Power

Minnesota Reformer

By Rev. Angela Denker | – Book excerpt: A pastor comes to terms with the Church’s idols of Trump, money and power Red State Christians: A Journey into White Christian Nationalism and the Wreckage it leaves behind,” available everywhere books are sold. ( Minnesota Reformer ) – On Sunday, January 10, 2021, I woke up […]

Authoritarianism

Politics and pulpits: Christians and Republicans team up to watch the Polls Tuesday

Minnesota Reformer

By Deena Winter | – The Minnesota Reformer BUFFALO — A flag hanging from a telephone pole marked the turnoff to the Land of Promise. It was unseasonably warm for late October, but three dozen Minnesotans chose to spend their Saturday here, at a church on the north side of Beebe Lake. Inside a building, […]

Agriculture

Biden’s USDA more than Triples Funding for ‘Climate Smart’ Agriculture to $3 Billion

Minnesota Reformer

By Jared Strong | – ( Minnesota Reformer) – The Biden administration plans to distribute more than $3 billion to fund projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon in agriculture and forestry — a tripling of its initial commitment in February. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was set to publicly announce […]

Climate Crisis

U.S. House Members raise Objections to Manchin Deal fast-tracking Coal, Oil, Gas Projects

Minnesota Reformer

By Jacob Fischler | – ( Minnesota Reformer ) – More than 50 U.S. House members are objecting to a push to revise federal environmental permitting requirements for energy projects — part of a deal Democratic leaders struck with U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin III to win passage of their climate, health and taxes bill that […]

Authoritarianism

How election-denying GOP Governors could tilt the 2024 presidential Election

Minnesota Reformer

By Kira Lerner | – ( Minnesota Reformer) – WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN – Former President Donald Trump listens as Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels speaks to guests during a rally. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images. Republican candidates who claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump have been nominated for governor in four […]