Minnesota State Chancellor Devinder Malhotra invited the Independent to a video conference session last week to state his case for a $60 million slice of the $7.7 billion state budget surplus pie. “While it sounds like a lot, $60 million represents less than 1% of the state’s total ...

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring sometime this year, according to numerous sources, giving President Joe Biden his first chance to nominate a replacement with a majority, however slim, in the Senate to confirm his choice. A year from now, he might have a tougher time as the ...

Gov. Tim Walz revealed another part of his spending plans for the coming budget season. He knows one thing is true — if you are going to propose billions of dollars in spending, it’s best to propose spending it on schools, education and our kids’ future. Walz’s spending proposal, which ...

The James Webb Space Telescope, launched a month ago, has reached its destination, a million miles away from earth. That is a marvel of engineering and planning, even before it has taken its first look into the farthest reaches of the universe. Just think of what NASA’s engineers have done ...

Opening statements are scheduled today in the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers who were involved in the killing of George Floyd. The interest in this trial is just as ramped up as it was for Derek Chauvin, the former officer convicted of killing Floyd by kneeling on ...

The Minnesota DFL is trying something new this caucus season. Due to fears of spreading COVID-19, the DFL is holding what it calls contactless caucuses on Feb. 1. Instead of DFLers gathering with their neighbors at some neighborhood church hall or school cafeteria to discuss issues, debate ...