Hodgepodge: Sen. Rob Kupec talks constituent meetings, affordable housing and surplus versus tax cuts

Like Minneapolis, St. Paul and other cities around the country, Duluth hopes to revitalize its downtown through new housing, to bring new residents to an urban core that was abandoned by thousands of workers who didn’t come back to the office after COVID.

The Minnesota Farmers Union will hold town hall meetings around the state in coming weeks to gather reaction to tariffs, health care concerns and other issues.

After Minnesota schools shut their doors at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 10,000 families decided to educate their children at home. Five years later, the number of homeschoolers statewide is even higher.

Gov. Tim Walz mingled with Democrats in Iowa and Nebraska for what were billed as town halls focused on Trump administration policies. But Walz and Minnesota lawmakers have their work cut out for them in a reconfigured Legislature.