The Sunday Take

With the Supreme Court closing their 2023 docket this past week, Blois Olson uses this edition of the program to dive into the decisions made in Washington, D.C.  He sits down with Dennis Olson (Commissioner of the MN Office of Higher Education) and Jill Hasday (U of M Distinguished McKnight law professor) to discuss the major rulings the Court made on Thursday and Friday.

This week, Blois Olson takes us through a couple stories making headlines across the Twin Cities.  The following guests chime in as well:

• State Rep. Paul Novotny discusses the criminal charges brought against Derrick Thompson and whether stiffer punishments need to be considered for vehicular homicide cases.
• State Sen. Scott Dibble talks about the evolution of the recognition of Pride (and everything it represents) throughout his political career.

On this edition of the program, Blois gives his thoughts on the money issues with the Minneapolis Public Schools district, as well as the impact of the Department of Justice's investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department.  We also hear from Minneapolis Star Tribune new CEO and Publisher Steve Grove about the paper's future.

On this week's edition, Blois takes a futuristic turn, looking into technology's effects on politics and government.  He welcomes State Rep. Jim Nash and current State Commissioner of Information Technology Tarek Tomes on the program to really dive into the impacts of this issue.

For this week's edition of the show, Blois digs in to the larger of the Twin Cities.  The Minneapolis-focused episode brings in the following guests:

• Kip Hedges, co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America's Twin Cities chapter, explains his organization's platform and key causes.  How much will they play a role in this year's elections in the city of Minneapolis?
• Dave Orrick, Minneapolis City Hall reporter with the Star Tribune, chats about a host of citywide issues that will show up on this year's ballot.

With the State Legislature finishing their regular session for 2023, the focus shifts to Washington D.C. this Memorial Day weekend.  Blois catches up with Minnesota Congressmen Dean Phillips and Brad Finstad to chat about topics after labor and the economy, most important being the ongoing Debt Ceiling negotiations.

As the State Legislature remains to end their year on Monday, Blois Olson takes some time to talk about the impact of the 2023 session for all Minnesotans.  He welcomes DFL Sen. Nick Frentz and GOP Sen. Minority Leader Mark T. Johnson on the program to hear their opinions on how the session went.  Plus, our host gets your input on whether the DFL reached too far with the laws they passed.

On this Mother's Day, Blois looks into this week's big stories effecting the scope of state politics:

• Outdoors sporting and broadcasting legend Ron Schara highlights the politics of fishing during this 2023 Walleye Opener.
• KSTP-TV political reporter Tom Hauser discusses the results of a recent poll the news outlet put together on how unified (or divergent) we are all when it comes to certain political issues.

Blois gives his thoughts on the most pressing story making headlines this first week of May.  He also speaks to the following guests:

• United Steelworkers Local 2705 president Chris Johnson tells us about iron ore mineral rights leases being approved for Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. on the Iron Range.
• Twin Cities Public Television political reporter Mary Lahammar previews what to expect during the last couple of weeks of the 2023 legislative session.

During this week's edition, Blois dives back into education and what help the industry is asking for from state lawmakers.  He gets help identifying some of the issues from Josh Crosson, executive director of EdAllies, and Kirk Schneidawind, executive director of the Minnesota School Boards Association.