May 20, 2005
T-day countdown on hold?
In an abrupt change of pace, it now looks like the Minnesota Twins stadium bill will not be voted on by the state legislature by the end of session on Monday. What happened is that yesterday, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and legislative leaders had what one local observer called a "meltdown" over setting the state budget; as a result, it looks likely that the legislature will accomplish nothing by Monday, and instead kick everything back to a special session later on.
Whether the Twins bill would even make it onto the agenda for a special session is unknown. (It's still waiting to be heard by the house tax committee, where the bill is expected to face its toughest opposition.) And if nothing else, a delay could cause the reanimated stadium campaign to lose momentum, as the Minneapolis city council is considering a resolution opposing the plan. The council's vote apparently would also be needed to approve zoning changes for the stadium, though it's unclear whether it would use that as leverage to block a deal that had already been approved by the state legislature.
