Newly released emails show that St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter declined several offers to privately fund the city’s annual Fourth of July fireworks display, an event he cancelled this year due to financial concerns. According to The Star Tribune, which obtained emails and voice mails pertaining to the matter through…
Read More
A new poll shows Democrat Tim Walz leading Republican Jeff Johnson in Minnesota’s gubernatorial race, though both candidates are trying to win over a large percentage of undecided voters. According to a new MPR News and Star Tribune poll, 45 percent of likely voters favor Walz, while 36 percent said…
Read More
GOP gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson has raised the trifecta of issues facing states where the federal government’s contractors are resettling refugees – cost, transparency and accountability. Johnson’s call to pause refugee resettlement in Minnesota demonstrates his understanding that costs being forced onto the state to pay for the federal program is…
Read More
Joe Radinovich, the 8th Congressional District Democrat nominee, is threatening legal action in response to an attack ad that claims the candidate has a drug-related charge on his record. A Wednesday ad produced by the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) claims that Radinovich has been charged with 18 crimes, thirty traffic…
Read More
In a competitive race for Minnesota’s attorney general, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party has launched an entire website devoted to smearing Republican candidate Doug Wardlow. A new poll set to release Friday allegedly shows that Keith Ellison and Wardlow are in a dead heat for Minnesota’s top law enforcement position, according…
Read More
Two new polls released this week show that Democrat Tim Walz has a slight edge over Republican Jeff Johnson in the race for Minnesota’s governor. The first poll, conducted by KSTP and Survey USA, reveals that 47 percent of likely voters back Walz, while 40 percent support Johnson, and 10…
Read More
Minnesotans may soon resort to turning off their televisions lest they suffer through the swarm of political attack ads invading their homes. The high numbers of ads, and the even higher amount of money being spent on them, highlights Minnesota’s importance in the 2018 midterms. “There’s no way around it:…
Read More
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter plans to forgive $2.5 million in late fees owed to the city’s libraries, and hopes to nix the practice of charging late fees for overdue books altogether. Dating back to 2009, there are currently 51,000 library card-holders who have had their privileges revoked due to…
Read More
A new poll released Wednesday confirms that the race between Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Republican Karin Housley will be unusually “competitive” in a typically blue state. The poll, conducted by KSTP and SurveyUSA, shows that Smith, who was appointed to her position after Al Franken resigned, leads her opponent…
Read More
Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party is doubling-down on claims that Republicans voted to pass legislative pay raises, even though the allegations were repeatedly proven false by several major news outlets. In an August campaign mailer, the DFL claimed that elected officials across the aisle, such as Jim Knoblach, Dario Anselmo, and…
Read More
A new ad released by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) claims that Angie Craig’s former employer was sued for more than $3 million in a racial-bias lawsuit. “Her companies have had a long history of lawsuits and a culture of corruption, falsify sales and financial statements to defraud investors,…
Read More
After months of research, the St. Paul City Council is now considering a proposal to introduce a city-wide $15 minimum wage requirement. According to the City Council’s website, local officials tasked an organization known as Citizens United with launching an independent Minimum Wage Study Committee, and its findings were presented…
Read More
Minnesota’s political candidates took a brief pause from the campaign trail Tuesday morning to commemorate the seventeenth anniversary of 9/11. “Today, we both mourn and remember the tragedy of September 11. We’re reminded of those who gave everything serving and sacrificing for others. 17 years later, we remember those highest…
Read More
It’s been one month since Minnesota attorney general candidate Keith Ellison was accused of domestic abuse by his ex-girlfriend, but the Democratic Party still has no updates on its review of the matter. On August 11, Austin Monahan, the son of Ellison’s ex-girlfriend Karen Monahan, wrote that he had seen…
Read More
In a recent interview, Minnesota attorney general candidate Keith Ellison claimed his campaign is “moving forward” after facing domestic violence allegations. The former congressman sat down with Fox 9 Morning News Sunday, where he insisted that he is “absolutely committed to the MeToo movement.” “I think that it’s important that…
Read MoreThompson’s Station is one of the fastest growing towns in the counties surrounding Nashville, but it is also home to many backdoor deals and shady developments committed at the hands of its Mayor and Aldermen. Mayor Corey Napier, who took office on the Board of Mayor and Alderman in 2008…
Read More
Sun Country Airlines announced it is growing its network with new routes and destinations, including new service to Nashville from Minneapolis/St. Paul. From Nashville, new service begins in November to Fort Myers, Miami, New Orleans, Orlando, and Tampa. If you book by August 22 you may take advantage of low introductory…
Read More
Phil Bredesen, the health insurance executive turned governor, had an antidote to contain the spiraling costs of the state’s Medicaid program – disenroll elderly, sick and disabled Tennesseans from TennCare. According to Gordon Bonnyman, co-founder of the Tennessee Justice Center, two years into Bredesen’s first term as governor, “[a]pproximately 200,000…
Read More
WTN radio’s Dan Mandis tried to hold a reasoned debate with the attorney representing the family of a man who was shot and killed by Metro Nashville Police last month. Mandis hosted attorney Joy Kimbrough on his Super Talk 99.7 program Monday. The audio is available here. Kimbrough represents the…
Read More
When he was governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011, Phil Bredesen set the state up to receive a dramatically higher number of refugees – an increase well into the thousands – bringing with it significant financial benefit to federal refugee contractors like Catholic Charities of Tennessee and World Relief.…
Read More
Southwest Airlines has begun nonstop flights from Atlanta to Nashville. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the airline launched the flights from Atlanta to Nashville, The Associated Press reported. Nashville International Airport celebrated the inaugural flight from BNA to Atlanta Tuesday. The airline will operate five flights a day Monday through Friday…
Read More
Five years ago, Nashville officials launched an initiative to end homelessness as we know it. The program, part of the “How’s Nashville” campaign, promised homelessness would end before 2017. Seeing as how we’re more than halfway done with 2018 it’s time to assess — did the program do what Nashville…
Read More
In 2009, when Karl Dean was Nashville’s mayor he signed into law an ordinance making “sexual orientations” and “gender identity” protected classes in Nashville’s non-discrimination employment policy. Two years later, Dean tried to require vendors wanting to do business with the Metro government to include the same LBGT protections in…
Read More
Tennessee Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean has no comment about what some people call a taxpayer-funded boondoggle erected in downtown Nashville during his tenure as mayor. At least no one from Dean’s campaign returned a request for comment Tuesday regarding the public art project known as Stix. That project…
Read More
Metro Nashville Schools’ director is ducking questions on alleged widespread sexual harassment — and coverups — in his district, news outlets are reporting. NewsChannel 5 reported last week that school director Dr. Shawn Joseph tried to run from their reporter who wanted an interview on the topic and his role…
Read More
Posted on Rep. Tim Wirgau’s campaign website under the heading “Straight Talk with Tim” is this statement about his 2015 “yes” vote to award illegal alien students residing in Tennessee the in-state tuition benefit: I am opposed to illegal immigration. My consistent voting record as your State Representative proves it.…
Read More
Tennessee State Sen. Thelma Harper (D-Nashville) endorsed Howard Jones Jr. as her successor to the 19th State Senatorial District in Nashville, a seat she has held for 27 years, over longtime rival State Rep. Brenda Gilmore (D-Nashville). The Tennessee Tribune reported the endorsement of Jones, a pastor and educator. “A few…
Read More
Governor Haslam and Bill Lee propose the same approach to the use of school bathrooms and locker rooms by students whose choice of gender and anatomy may not match. Both Haslam and Lee have said that this issue does not require leadership from the state but instead, should be problem-solved…
Read More
First Lady Melania Trump visited Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt on Tuesday. The first lady’s visit was part of her “Be Best” campaign, an initiative focusing on the major issues children face, WSMV said. It was Trump’s first domestic trip to highlight the effort, NewsChannel 5 said. She…
Read More
What do you get when horse-race gambling meets legal weed? Beth Harwell for governor! There was an “interesting” welcome line-up for Harwell’s June meet and greet in Jefferson City putting Harwell and company only about 20 miles northeast of GOP challenger mega-millionaire Randy Boyd’s home of Knoxville. Four state legislators…
Read More
GOP gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd’s campaign and political ads have tried to reduce the core concerns of Tennesseans to a three-word tagline: “faith, family and a good paying job.” At the same time, Boyd’s company, Radio Systems Corporation, has offshored and outsourced those “good paying jobs” to China and engineers around the world.
Read More
Gubernatorial candidates Karl Dean and Randy Boyd both considered Renata Soto’s Conexion Americas organization a worthy investment. Democrat Karl Dean used the government’s money while mega-millionaire Republican Randy Boyd used his personal wealth to help Conexion’s legal and illegal alien clients.
Read More
State governments partnering with faith-based and community organizations to maximize the use of resources is not a new concept. In some states, public-private partnerships have been expanded across most government departments, a model GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee proposes to follow for Tennessee. With President Trump’s intention to trim federal…
Read More
Nashville International Airport served more than 14.9 million passengers in the fiscal year just ended, The Associated Press reported, making it one of the nation’s fastest growing airports. The record makes Nashville International, or BNA, the fourth fastest growing airport among the top 50 airports in North America, the airport’s…
Read More
Voters hit the polls heavily in the first two days of early voting in Maury County. The polls opened Friday at the Maury County Election Commission for early voting in the 2018 Tennessee general and primary election, The Daily Herald reported. On Friday and Saturday, at least 1,100 votes were…
Read More
Gubernatorial candidate Diane Black won a straw poll at the Davidson County Republican Party picnic Saturday, a blog reported. U.S. Rep. Black (R-TN) received 116 votes in the governor’s primary straw poll, according to a blog called “A Disgruntled Republican in Nashville.” Rod Williams is the author. Second place went…
Read More
Nashville’s housing agency plans to rehab two properties even as the city takes over public housing from the federal government. The Nashville Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency will release its 600-page five-year plan to the federal government soon, Nashville Public Radio reports. The plan overview is available here. Council will…
Read More
TDOT is planning to overhaul Interstate 440 in Nashville, with options ranging from closing segments at a time all the way to completely closing the roadway for 10 months. The Tennessee Department of Transportation laid the options out at a public information meeting on Tuesday. WKRN reports the department is…
Read More
Diane Black is hitting Bill Lee hard for his financial support for Democrats like Phil Bredesen, Megan Barry and Karl Dean. A new Black ad, “Burn”, specifically targets Lee for his donations to Democrats Phil Bredesen and Megan Barry. Diane Black “BURN” ad: You know the old saying, fool me…
Read More
The cost to teach English to non-English speaking students in Tennessee public schools has increased over 100 percent since FY 2016. In FY 2016, the total cost for English Language Learner (ELL) services was $94,110,440. Seventy percent was funded through the state’s Basic Education Program (BEP) in the amount of $65,877,308,…
Read More
Republican candidate for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 Brent Moody, a Nashville dermatologist looking to replace Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) as the district’s representative, tweeted a trifecta of support for medical marijuana and the two state legislators who have tried to legalize it in Tennessee:…
Read More
The government of Ireland has confirmed to The Tennessee Star that the Irish tax records cited in a recent Tennessean article about the Irish subsidiary of GOP gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd’s company are private, and not available to the public or the media through legal means. Ms. Leann O’Kelly, Press…
Read More
A massive gas tax increase that was part of the Haslam Administration’s IMPROVE Act, which raised fuel taxes over $300 million a year, is becoming an issue in the 6th District Republican Primary congressional race. Former judge and conservative businessman Bob Corlew is hitting fellow Republican contender John Rose for…
Read More
Nashville Community Defense/Defensa Comunitaria Nashville uses the tagline “here to stay.” The group is led by Cathy Carrillo who organizes and leads protests against deporting criminal illegal aliens while Metro’s lawyers in the Public Defender’s office provide legal services for “non-citizen defendants.” According to Elizabeth Lopez, a graduate of Vanderbilt University and a…
Read More
The same day the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed President Trump’s executive authority to restrict entry into the U.S. from designated countries, “La Raza Randy” Boyd’s collaborator Renata Soto, founder and director of Conexion Americas spoke to a group organized by Tennessee’s American Muslim Advisory Council (AMAC), rallying against the court’s…
Read More
So GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee wasn’t the only GOP gubernatorial candidate throwing his money at “the different kind of Republican,” State Senator Steve Dickerson (R-Nashville), to help him get elected again in 2016. Lee only gave Dickerson $1,000 in 2016, which, as it turns out, was significantly less than either of…
Read More
The Tennessee Republican Party is calling for Democrats to denounce comments of Shelby County’s party leader, who on Facebook labeled Republican candidates “demonstrably racist, homophobic and unethical.” Newsweek reported on the now-deleted comments made Saturday by Corey Strong, chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Party. Strong was elected last year to…
Read More
Conservative think tank Beacon Center of Tennessee has created a transit plan for Nashville that it says would serve all drivers in the near future while not raising taxes or requiring a referendum. The plan is available here. “Proponents of the Let’s Move Nashville light-rail plan argued that an alternative…
Read More
Can you guess who it is? Admittedly it’s tough because pretty much any Republican in Tennessee running for the state legislature claims they’re a conservative and there are plenty who forgot what they told voters once they’re elected. Even Bill Haslam claimed he was a conservative when he was campaigning.…
Read More
Officers with the Metro Nashville Police Department responded to at least six unrelated shootings in less than 24 hours, NewsChannel 5 reported Saturday. Meanwhile, police report a spike in violent crimes in the state’s capital. The first shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. Friday on Joseph Avenue at Riverchase Apartments. Officials…
Read More