 FOX 9 News | October 30, 2017
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton says an estimates 900,000 Minnesota families would lose an average of $12,000 in tax deductions under the current tax proposal from President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress. At a Monday morning news conference, the governor under Republicans to ditch their proposal.
“One of the most offensive proposals would eliminate the deductibility of Minnesota’s state income and sales taxes and local property taxes from our citizens’ federal tax liabilities,” Dayton said. “It would completely remove these important tax deductions which total over $12.3 billion per year for 900,000 Minnesota families.”
The governor says more than half of the proposed tax cuts in the Republican plan would go to the wealthiest one percent of Americans, with annual incomes of more than $730,000.
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WDIO 10/13 News | October 30, 2017
State leaders met on Monday at Duluth City Hall to discuss the MinnesotaCare Buy-In proposal. It would allow all Minnesotans who purchase health insurance on the individual market to buy into MinnesotaCare through MNsure.
Government officials say MinnesotaCare is a program that offers high-quality insurance at more affordable prices. They say the plan would give an estimated 100,000 more Minnesotans the choice to purchase more affordable, high-quality health insurance for themselves and their families.
"We have a primary goal of making healthcare in Minnesota more affordable, better quality, and more accessible to as many people as possible," said Lt. Governor Tina Smith.
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 Rochester Post Bulletin | October 31, 2017
Gov. Mark Dayton says farmers have made a "remarkable amount of progress" in meeting new state goals for water quality around the state.
During a conference call on Monday, Dayton thanked area farmers, landowners and local officials for their continued efforts in protecting water quality through the state's buffer initiative.
The 2015 legislation requires farmers to establish a 50-foot vegetation buffer on lands adjacent to public waters. The buffers are meant to reduce the amount of phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment entering Minnesota's lakes and streams
Dayton said landowners are now at least 95 percent compliant with the state's initiative, ahead of Wednesday's deadline.
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Duluth News Tribune | October 31, 2017
A town hall meeting Monday about a DFL-backed health coverage initiative drew high-ranking state officials, state representatives and three dozen others in the audience, including Ely resident Teri Haapala.
"Who can afford an 85 percent increase in anything?" she said prior to the event at Duluth City Hall — referring to her monthly premiums which escalate annually while providing her with increasingly higher deductibles and reduced access to physicians of her choosing.
Haapala said health care issues cause her and her family untold stress. She left the hourlong meeting encouraged.
The plan would potentially affect 100,000 Minnesotans who are too young for Medicare and do not receive insurance through an employer. The individual markets, Lt. Gov. Tina Smith said, offer increasingly limited options, including a handful of counties in the state that are routing customers to a single insurance provider.
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Star Tribune | October 30, 2017
Gov. Mark Dayton on Monday harshly criticized the federal tax cuts being championed by President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress, arguing they would undermine the nation's financial stability and also hurt many Minnesotans at tax time.
The governor called a morning news conference to blast the GOP plan still in the works in Washington — particularly a proposed elimination of the federal deduction for income, sales and property taxes.
Dayton said about 900,000 Minnesota families take advantage of those deductions, and that those families would stand to lose an average of $12,000 in deductions when they file taxes.
"President Bush's huge tax giveaways did not prompt a surge in economic growth; in fact, they were followed shortly by a seismic economic collapse, 'The Great Recession,' " Dayton said.
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 FOX 21 News | October 30, 2017
Minnesota Lt. Governor Tina Smith started the workweek with a stop in Duluth to talk healthcare Monday morning. For Lt. Governor Smith, the goal of Monday’s meeting at Duluth City Hall was to inform residents of the plan which she believes would make healthcare more affordable for Minnesotans.
Under “MinnesotaCare Buy-In,” Minnesotans who buy health coverage on the individual market would be able to buy into MinnesotaCare, a program they believe offers high quality insurance at more affordable prices.
“Making sure that people in all of the northern part of the state have access to health care is extremely important and we think MinnesotaCare Buy-In could do that. It seems very relevant to Duluth. Duluth has great hospitals, great clinics and great networks but if people can’t afford them because they don’t have good health insurance, it’s not going to make any difference,” said Smith.
Smith says under the plan, premiums paid by consumers would cover the cost of the program along with upfront costs paid by the state.
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Stop by between 5:00pm and 7:00pm for sweet Minnesota-made treats.
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