Pratt says the move to lock the Senate doors was political, not personal.

Just as Tuesday's marriage equality bill-signing ceremony was about to begin, a group of MNGOP senators invoked an obscure rule to lock the Senate doors. The upshot was that some gay marriage-supporting senators weren't able to be in attendance for the historic occasion on the Capitol steps.

THE BACKSTORY: MNGOPers blocked some senators from attending marriage equality bill signing [VIDEOS]

But reached for comment today, the MNGOP senator who first proposed locking the doors, Eric Pratt of Prior Lake, said the ceremony had nothing to do it.

More »

Will the power of prayer turn George Soros into a God-fearing Christian? Some Minnesota tea partiers sure hope so!

Well, this is weird. The Alexandria Lakes Area Tea Party is asking members to pray "perhaps more than once a day" for the conversion of liberal financier George Soros from atheism to Christianity.

SEE ALSO: Mary Franson on DNC "God" debacle: "Peter denied Christ 3 times also" [VIDEO]

"We are hoping that by midsummer, the whole world will be praying for Mr. Soros," a PDF posted on their website says.

More »

When will the first couple actually be allowed to wed legally in Minnesota?

Since Gov. Mark Dayton signed the gay marriage bill into law Tuesday, same-sex couples around the state have already begun planning their weddings, many hoping to wed the day the law goes into effect on Aug. 1.

But those couples looking to be among the very first to legally marry in Minnesota might want to hold off on booking that venue. At this point, it's still unclear if the first marriages will actually be allowed to take place Aug. 1, or if couples will have to wait until Aug. 6.

SEE ALSO:
COVER: A history of the gay marriage debate in Minnesota
Mark Dayton signs gay marriage bill into law

More »

Google

The site of the May 5 attempted abduction.

Earlier this month, three men allegedly attempted to abduct a 13-year-old girl just blocks away from Lake Calhoun. The men fled the scene after the girl screamed, and no arrests have been made.

THE BACKSTORY: Three men tried to abduct 13-year-old girl while she rode her bike near Lake Calhoun, police say

Today, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension released a sketch of one of the suspects.

More »

Reynold Pratt

One unfortunate patron got a whole lot more than wings, beer, and sports during a recent trip to Buffalo Wild Wings.

SEE ALSO: Buffalo Wild Wings' profits are blazin'

On Monday, Reynold Pratt's attempts to chat up the man sitting next to him at the bar in B-Dubs' West St. Paul location were rebuffed, and if law enforcement's account of what happened can be believed, Pratt was murderously unhappy about it.

More »

The Dark Clouds: Minnesota's most loyal soccer supporters.

This week's cover story follows the history of the Dark Clouds, Minnesota United FC's diehard soccer supporters.

On May 4, we met the Dark Clouds at the Nomad World Pub as they prepared for Minnesota's evening match against the Carolina Railhawks. Once properly lubricated, the group marched down Cedar Avenue to the Metrodome, singing, chanting, and frightening the occasional passerby. Watch video of the day here, by City Pages art director Abbey Kleinert:

SEE ALSO:
Dark Clouds: Embedded with Minnesota's misfit fans

More »

Some think Aries behavior crossed the line from playing the heel to sexual harassment.

Austin Aries grew up in Milwaukee but is billed as being from Minneapolis and has spent lots of time here wrestling on the independent circuit. His rise from relative obscurity in the Midwest to the heights of professional wrestling has been remarkable -- last year, the 5'9", 35-year-old Aries won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

SEE ALSO: Brock Lesnar makes kickass return to pro wrestling on WWE Monday Night Raw [VIDEO]

But he now finds himself in hot water over an incident that happened on live national TV during the May 9 edition of TNA Impact.

More »

Bachmann said Minnesotans she speaks with are clamoring for Obama's impeachment.

In the wake of revelations the IRS improperly targeted tea party groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax exempt status during the last election cycle, Michele Bachmann is worried the Obama administration's apparent desire to make life difficult for conservatives might extend into other walks of life.

SEE ALSO: Barack Obama zings Michele Bachmann during White House correspondents' dinner [VIDEO]

Specifically, she's concerned the president and his cronies might deny health care coverage to conservatives once Obamacare is fully implemented.

More »

the Twin Cities Facebook page

According to RealAge Test data, Twin Cities residents are some of the healthiest, most rested, and calm people in the country.

SEE ALSO: Minneapolis has one of the nicest tree canopies in the country, U.S. Forest Service study says

And as a result, our metro is one of America's youngest -- at least in spirit.

More »

Andy Mannix

Some marriage equality-supporting senators couldn't be there to take in this scene.

Yesterday, Sen. Scott Dibble, D-Minneapolis and chief sponsor of the gay marriage bill signed into law by Governor Dayton on Tuesday, criticized his Republican colleagues for using an esoteric procedural rule to prevent some of his colleagues from attending the bill-signing ceremony.

:::: UPDATE :::: MNGOP Sen. Pratt: Gay marriage ceremony had nothing to do with move to lock Senate doors

At the time Tuesday's bill-signing ceremony began, the Senate was in the midst of what turned out to be a 17-hour debate about a bill to "allow union organizing votes by in-home child care workers who receive government subsidies, and by in-home attendants who care for the elderly and disabled." The Senate could've temporarily adjourned to let everyone who wanted to attend be there for the historic signing ceremony, but instead, Prior Lake MNGOP Sen. Eric Pratt and other Republicans invoked an obscure rule requiring Senate doors to be locked while debate was ongoing.

More »