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Will This be The Most Unproductive Minnesota Legislative Session Ever

By Bill Dubensky Feb 17, 2026 | 6:03 AM

(Photo by Glen Stubbe/Minnesota Reformer)

 

(Minnesota Reformer) – Minnesota lawmakers will gavel in for the 2026 legislative session’s first day, which will be dedicated to the late-Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband who were assassinated last summer.

Republican and Democratic-Farmer-Labor elected officials will share memories of the former House speaker and then gather for a reception that includes cake and bread — Melissa and Mark Hortman’s favorite treats to bake.

But that’s where the friendliness and cooperation will likely end.

Rarely has Minnesota faced so many urgent needs, but election year ambitions and heightened partisan vitriol are undermining hope for the bipartisan comity needed to pass anything in the closely divided Legislature.

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