Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Ken Kelash represents part of Southwest Minneapolis and is on the Local Government and Elections Committee.
The first state Capitol hearing for the Minnesota Vikings stadium legislation is set for Wednesday, 1–2:45 p.m. Tune in here for live streaming video via The UpTake from the state Senate's Local Government and Elections Committee—the debut hearing for a stadium bill this year. State Sen. Ken Kelash (DFL-Minneapolis) sits on the committee.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
The legislator, representing both Richfield and Minneapolis, plans to run in Senate District 50.
That’s one redistricting battle avoided. State Sen. Ken Kelash (DFL-Minneapolis/Richfield) says he will seek his party’s endorsement in the 2012 elections for the newly redrawn Senate District 50, covering Bloomington and part of Richfield. This decision sidesteps a battle against Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) for the newly redrawn Senate District 61. Kelash lives very close to the border of the two districts, and if he ran against Dibble, fully half of Southwest Minneapolis' legislative seats would be contested by dueling DFLers in the fall. Kelash said he warmed to the idea of moving while hearing the issues brought up at a legislative update session in Bloomington. "I said to myself ‘I’ve been working on these issues for a long …
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Dibble-Kelash matchup for new state Senate seat uncertain.
State Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL), and state Rep. Marion Greene (DFL) are both jumping into the race to represent much of Southwest Minneapolis despite being drawn in the same district by Tuesday's court-ordered redistricting. Greene is in her first term in the legislature, while Hornstein has held his seat since 2002 “Minnesota is at a critical juncture," Green said in a statement. "We have a lot of work to do and I look forward to continuing to represent my constituents’ progressive values in the fight for equity.” “Minnesota in 2012 is at a crossroads,” Hornstein said in his own statement. “In a time of mean-spirited politics and divisive, misguided constitutional amendments, I want to continue to be a passionate voice for social justice…
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Major changes to Southwest Minneapolis legislative boundaries ordered by redistricting panel.
Updated 10:12 a.m. 2/22/12: State Rep. Frank Hornstein has announced he will run in 2012. Four prominent Minneapolis DFL legislators have been thrust into electoral combat with each other after new legislative districts were unveiled on Tuesday by a special court-appointed panel. In the 2012 election, State Sens. Scott Dibble and Ken Kelash could face off in a redrawn Senate District 61. A map of the new district can be seen at right. Dibble, an Uptown resident, currently represents much of the area in the new district, while Kelash, a Kenny resident, will see much of his current district cut off. Tuesday afternoon, Dibble's office confirmed that he will be running in the 2012 election, and Kelash has informed Richfield Patch he also …
Friday, February 3, 2012
"It does not protect anybody's rights," Kelash said. "It just helps lower the cost—the wage rates for workers, union and nonunion alike."
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Patch sits down with the state senator for Southwest Minneapolis and Richfield.
With the Minnesota State Legislature set to resume Jan. 24, Patch spoke with Sen. Ken Kelash (D-Richfield/Minneapolis) about the upcoming session, his priorities and the Vikings stadium debate. Patch: Let’s lead off with the topic on everyone’s minds—state funding for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium. What’s your take, and what will you be pushing for when this comes before the legislature? Sen. Ken Kelash: I’ve been saying this for a while—the Minnesota Vikings are a statewide or, at least, a regional asset, and I think the marching orders they got from former Governor (Tim) Pawlenty to go find a local partner and then come to the legislature (for funding) were flawed. I’m going to be looking as we move forward for ways to regionalize the …
Thursday, January 12, 2012
DFLers present a jobs plan Thursday.
Editor's Note: The following is a press release from Sen. Ken Kelash's office. Minnesota State Sen. Ken Kelash (DFL-Richfield/Minneapolis) together with Gov. Mark Dayton and other DFL legislators introduced a jobs plan to get Minnesotans back to work Thursday. The plan focuses on proven initiatives that grow jobs including small business incentives to create jobs, improving workforce development and training, and investing in infrastructure. “The jobs plan will help Minnesota businesses by giving tax credits for new hires, and give workers the ability to expand their skills to meet the demands of the job market,” Kelash said. “The measures to train our workforce are in response to employers telling us they don’t have applicants with the …
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
He says Republican budget proposals would cut aid to group homes, other social services.
More than a week into the Minnesota government shutdown, Richfield Patch talked with the city's representative, State Sen. Ken Kelash (DFL-Richfield), to ask him about the tone of politics at the Capitol this past legislative session, his thoughts about the budget impasse, and where Minnesota goes from here. Richfield Patch: In these last six months, what has your experience at the Capitol been like? State Sen. Ken Kelash: The whole session was frustrating. This shutdown isn’t a surprise. A lot of what happened this session was the fact that issues and bills weren’t well considered … Bills would be moved by the majority, which you expect to have happen, but were moved on without resolving any legitimate issues. Richfield Patch: What were …
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Southwest Minneapolis lawmakers aren't worried about this first draft of the plan, which needs approval from the governor.
A state House Republican redistricting plan that was approved by a committee yesterday would pit 20 incumbent House members and six Senate members against one another in 2012, including in Southwest Minneapolis. Under the plan in Minneapolis, state Sen. Scott Dibble would face off against Sen. Ken Kelash; Sen. Patricia Torres Ray would face Sen. Linda Berglin; and Rep. Frank Hornstein would face Rep. Marion Greene. Republicans based the draft map partly on recent Census numbers. Although Democrats condemned the Republican process for the plan, which was led by Rep. Sarah Anderson (R-Plymouth), they said it was just the first of many small steps in the redistricting process. "I don’t think these lines will stand,” Kelash said. “There are a …
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Republican changes to prevailing wage requirements in state contracts took another step.
State Sen. Ken Kelash (DFL-Minneapolis) opposed a Republican proposal to change how prevailing wage is calculated in state projects. Kelash said changes could lead to underbidding. The bill moved past the Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Committee, and will now go to the Senate Finance Committee.
Mike McLean
1:40 pm on Thursday, January 12, 2012
If Mark Dayton had spent ANY time working in his family business he would know that virtually NO business is going to hire someone because of a small one time tax credit. Sure, many will claim the credit if they're hiring someone, but that doesn't generate jobs and costs taxpayer's money. more ›