Please allow me to introduce myself and start sharing opinions

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Please allow me to introduce myself, which is an admittedly odd thing to say at this juncture given that I’ve been writing at this daily newspaper for 25 years. I’ve reported on all things from the state government, Minneapolis and St. Paul City Halls, Hennepin County courts, various stadium campaigns and three Super Bowls — none of them involving the Minnesota Vikings.

Since August 2022, I’ve been on the politics and government team focused on the State Capitol. I’ll still be at the Capitol most days, but in a new role as an opinion writer. As a member of the Minnesota Star Tribune Editorial Board, I’ll occasionally write unsigned editorials that detail the views of the board, while more often penning columns that reflect my own views under my own byline.

I’ll also spend some time traveling the state, talking to local officials about what they want and need from policymakers. If you or anyone you know would welcome such a visit, send me a note. I’ll come your way with a fresh notebook, an eagerness to hear your thoughts and an open mind.

I’ve been writing about public policy and politics since shortly after I started with the Associated Press in Kansas City. I spent the 1993 legislative session working in Topeka, Kan., before moving to Charleston, W.Va., and covering the Capitol there for three sessions. I returned to Minnesota in 1996 with the AP in St. Paul before joining the Star Tribune to cover Minneapolis City Hall in 2000.

Do I like politics? Not always. Is it entertaining? Yes, because it involves human beings whose motivations and behavior never cease to surprise. Politics and policy determine how we live our lives in fundamental ways from the quality of the water we drink to who we can marry, how much we pay for eggs and what cars we drive.

One big thing that’s new for me: publicly sharing my opinions. That’s going to be an adjustment.

Are you going to agree with everything I write? Certainly not. Is every column going to be a masterpiece? Alas, no.

Just know that I’ll be trying hard every day and when I inevitably stumble, as we all do, I’ll learn from it. If I’m known for anything as a reporter, I like to think it’s my strong aversion to smoke and bull.

Now that the Minnesota House has convened for the session and must put together a two-year budget, I’m most curious about whether the two parties deliver on their no-shenanigans handshakes and pledges to work together.

Last Thursday at a Capitol news conference, DFL House Leader Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, repeated what she said shortly after the November elections that gave the parties a tie in the Minnesota House.

She called it “a golden opportunity to show that bipartisan governing can work.” Recently elected House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, expressed a similar hope.

Shortly after returning to Minnesota after his national loss in November, Gov. Tim Walz also pledged to do a better job of listening to those who don’t agree with him.

Can the parties work together? There’s an old saying about there being no end to the amount of work that can be accomplished if we stop paying attention to who gets credit.

So much of the energy at the Capitol is spent on messaging, positioning and blaming the other party. I know that’s part of the deal, but everyone also claims their ultimate goal is improving the lives of Minnesotans. Sure, that means different things to different people, but there have to be some points of agreement like clean air, safer streets and drinkable water.

Now that the House has figured out a working arrangement, it’s time to get to work and close the door on the past month. The same can be said of the Senate where the DFL resumed a one-vote edge a week ago.

I hope Minnesota Republicans will stop lamenting what the DFL did during the 2023 and 2024 sessions unless they’re similarly willing to criticize the current president’s power grab happening with the enthusiastic support of the narrowly GOP-controlled Congress. If the slim DFL majorities in Minnesota lacked a mandate in 2023 and 2024, then the Republicans in Congress don’t have one now. (Minnesota’s highest-ranking Republican, U.S. House Whip Tom Emmer, is fully on the Trump train, having declared on social media that “America is Back” after he caught a ride to the Super Bowl in New Orleans with the president and his family).

For now, let’s hope Hortman is right and that Minnesota will lead the way, weaving bipartisan policy for all. Aren’t compromise, sharing and cooperation among the first lessons we try to instill in young children?

Appreciating and valuing diverse viewpoints becomes even more important for adults with power, so it’s disappointing when there’s an outright refusal to entertain another’s viewpoint. If there is one thing I know for certain, it’s that no human possesses the one immutable truth.

The most powerful moments I’ve witnessed in my career came in courtrooms when those who had suffered tremendous loss or injustice extended breathtaking grace, understanding or forgiveness to those who had harmed them. Witnessing those moments always made me try to do better in my own life.

I’ll never understand those who hoard wealth or talk about the importance of religion in their lives while being unwilling to hold the door open for the person behind them in the skyway or allow another driver to merge in traffic. I’m hoping I’ll be able to bring attention to some of the extraordinary efforts in this state along with calling fouls when I see them.

So, if you see something, say something directly to me. Call, email, write. Ask me to coffee. And if you care to quibble about something you didn’t like about this debut column, you can tell me. I’m no shrinking violet and prefer, actually insist, on honest, robust conversations as long as they remain respectful. Let’s make this a dialogue. Let’s learn together.