The Quadriga

For those of us with Android smartphones, Google is a pervasive part of the experience of using our device. Apps made by Google come preinstalled with nearly every phone sold, and even the way that we usually get new apps, the Play Store, is owned and controlled by Google. For a long time, this kind…

In the wake of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death earlier this fall, it is important to reflect back on her legal journey towards equality, which led to her being named the second woman on the Supreme Court. Aside from being a legal giant, the “Notorious R.B.G.” was a cultural and feminist icon who lived an extraordinary…

Most Americans would reiterate the long-told story of the U.S., that one person, one vote is the law of the land. Most Americans are unaware that voting power in the U.S. is skewed; the value of one vote is not the same as another, and millions of U.S. citizens are denied the right to vote…

If a tree falls in the forest but no one hears it, does it make a noise? If a law is passed but no one is educated to implement it, does it have any effect? The hardest I ever worked to get a law passed during my twenty years in the Minnesota Legislature was a…

All Minnesotans deserve to feel safe in their communities. Students and teachers deserve to feel safe in schools, employees deserve to feel safe at work, and families deserve to feel safe while seeing a movie, worshipping, or enjoying an afternoon at the mall.

Red flag laws can be described as the attempt to prohibit the possession of, and remove access to, firearms owned by individuals who may have a propensity to harm themselves or others. These laws are motivated by a desire to proactively protect the public from gun violence. Proponents generally argue that red flag laws will…

The future of mining on the Iron Range has taken a couple of hits in the last month. At the end of December, at the behest of Ramsey County Congresswoman Betty McCollum and environmental activists, a federal spending bill gave the State Department 60 days for another review of the potential effects of Twin Metals’…

Article I, Section II of the U.S. Constitution mandates that Congress shall undertake a decennial census for the purposes of ascertaining population and the apportionment of congressional seats across the states. While every state is entitled to at least one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, regardless of population, additional seats are awarded based…

As government policies and market forces result in more carbon-free and renewable resources to replace coal, nuclear, and natural gas plants, policymakers in Minnesota (and across the country) are grappling with how to support the communities and workers these transitions will leave behind. One thing is clear: many local governments do not have the tools…

Minnesota’s farmers have faced an array of issues this past year, from weather-related property losses to destructive trade wars and another year of low commodity prices. The Midwest is witnessing the loss of dairy farms at an alarming rate. Optimism wanes as farmers face a multitude of issues, created by nature and weather challenges and…