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60-606: The Constitution of the State of Minnesota was initially approved by the residents of Minnesota Territory in a special election held on October 13, 1857, and was ratified by the United States Senate on May 11, 1858, marking the admittance of Minnesota to the Union . Nearly 120 amendments have been approved (often multiple items at once), with perhaps the most significant being a reorganization in 1974 to simplify

120-593: A trunk highway system overseen by the state and methods of funding roadways overseen by smaller political divisions within Minnesota. Sections 4 and 5 in Article X also describe the taxation of fuel and vehicles used in relation to airborne transportation, including aircraft and supplemental vehicles. In 1920, the Babcock Amendment authorized 70 " constitutional route " (CR) highways cris-crossing

180-598: A Democrat, sent a certified copy of the Democratic version to Washington, D.C. to be ratified by the Senate. A copy of the Republican version was also sent by an unknown party, and there is good historical evidence to show that both versions were available to Congress members. Additionally, the Republican version was sent with the bill returned to Minnesota. The Minnesota State Legislature began to convene before

240-499: A biennial budget isn't passed by the end of June in an odd-numbered year, the effect is a government shutdown, as happened in 2005 and again in 2011 . Similar to the Tennessee State Constitution , bills brought before the legislature may deal with only one subject. Article XIV of the constitution is dedicated to discussing the public highway system of the state and the methods of funding. It authorizes

300-437: A candidate who identified as an "Independent" versus a "Republican". During that time, the state party became more dependent on grassroots fundraising and eventually went bankrupt. After the national party pumped money into the party, in the early-mid-1980s, their image and base began turning more conservative. During this time the party held both US Senate seats and briefly controlled the state House of Representatives. By 1994,

360-600: A long series of dramatic, contentious, and expensive re-counts. The party was fined $ 170,000 for violating federal campaign finance regulations from 2003 to 2008. The Chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party Tony Sutton (R) was found guilty of circumventing Finance Laws in the Gubernatorial Election Recount of 2010 and fined $ 33,000. (2010) The last Republican Governor of Minnesota was Tim Pawlenty . He

420-419: A member of the complementary convention. In the end, each convention signed their own copies of the document. The two were essentially identical, but had about 300 differences in punctuation , grammar , and wording because of errors in transcription produced as copyists worked late into the night on August 28. The Republican version, written on white paper , ran 39 pages and was signed by 53 delegates, while

480-497: A new territory named Minnesota. An election was held to choose a new territorial delegate to Congress, and Henry Hastings Sibley was elected. This marked the beginning of Minnesota as a territory. Congress responded to this request by passing the Organic Act of Minnesota , which established the territory and provided for its government. This act remains one of the constitutional documents of the state. The Organic Act served as

540-499: A result of the 2022 elections , the Republican Party of Minnesota does not have substantial power in the state, holding no statewide executive offices or U.S. Senate seats, and minorities in both houses of the state legislature . The party controls four of Minnesota's eight congressional districts . The last Republican governor of the state was Tim Pawlenty , who served from 2003 to 2011. The Republican Party in Minnesota

600-405: A state constitutional convention was held on June 1, 1857, following passage of an enabling act by the U.S. Congress on February 26 of that year ("The Enabling Act for a State of Minnesota"). The Republican version, as drafted by William Winthrop, a Yale Law graduate, abolitionist, future Civil War officer, and leading scholar of military law, called for universal male suffrage. The convention

660-546: Is featured prominently in the constitution as Article I. There are seventeen sections, including many that echo the amendments to the United States Constitution by subject, but not necessarily by language. The Minnesota Supreme Court , which has final authority over how the Bill of Rights is interpreted, has given conflicting signals about when the state Bill of Rights should be interpreted differently from

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720-550: Is now the oldest state institution in Minnesota. The Organic Act of Minnesota established the territory and provided for its government, including creating a legislative assembly and a judicial system. Local governments were also established, with the right to appoint or elect officers as determined by the territorial governor and legislative assembly. The act also defined the qualifications for voting, which were restricted to free white males who were citizens or had declared their intention to become citizens. The legislative assembly had

780-400: Is often criticized by advocates of public transportation ( buses , light rail , etc.), which they believe is inappropriately funded. While highways have a consistent source of money, Metro Transit has had to frequently petition the legislature for funding. Minnesota's constitution is characterized by a combination of the commonwealth pattern, which emphasizes the philosophical nature of

840-573: Is situated diagonally across from the Seward Community Cafe where it shares a building with a Pizza Luce . Party Chairman Keith Downey said they were moving away from St. Paul "to be closer to the people." The headquarters were later moved to Edina . Despite this, in 2010, Republicans had taken control of both houses of the State Legislature for the first time in three decades, only to lose both houses in 2012. In 2021,

900-644: The 2010 gubernatorial recount , the Minnesota GOP was heavily in debt, owing $ 2 million primarily for the recount of votes. The GOP had stopped paying rent for its headquarters near the Capitol and the landlord filed an eviction summons once the Party had fallen $ 111,000 behind in rent. They announced they would move their headquarters to Minneapolis's Seward neighborhood in January 2014. The new headquarters

960-495: The 2010 statewide elections , the party endorsed State Representative Tom Emmer and Metropolitan Council member Annette Meeks for governor and lieutenant governor. State Representative Dan Severson was the endorsed candidate for secretary of state . Attorney and psychologist Chris Barden was the endorsed candidate for attorney general . Patricia Anderson was the endorsed candidate for state auditor . All five executive candidates lost their respective elections. Following

1020-709: The Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory still exists. Fort Ripley is now the Minnesota National Guard 's Camp Ripley . The first school in the Territory was located at Fort Snelling, as was the first Post Office. The first justice of the peace in Minnesota was at Mendota , as was the first church, St. Peter's Catholic Church , which was built in 1840. The first territorial governor, Alexander Ramsey , requested that Congress approve funds for five military roads in

1080-623: The U.S. Highway system was created in 1926, many of these roads were made up of one or more U.S. highways. Today, they now use a mix of Minnesota state highways , U.S. highways, and Interstate highways . There is some ambiguity in how literally the Minnesota Department of Transportation must interpret the constitutional routes. In some cases, the routes no longer directly serve communities they were once designated for, but are routed along nearby interstates instead. The strong support given to automobile and aircraft transportation

1140-504: The 2003 case of [1] State v. Carter, the court held that a police dog's "sniff" of a rented storage locker is a "search" under the state Bill of Rights even though it is not a search under the federal Bill of Rights. In the 1994 case of Ascher v. Commissioner of Public Safety, the court held that DWI sobriety checkpoints, while constitutional under the Fourth Amendment, were unconstitutional under Article 1, Section 10. Some of

1200-742: The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis continues to oversee the Catholic dioceses in the Dakotas within its ecclesiastical province. In the 1850 United States census , the nine counties in the Minnesota Territory reported the following population counts: [REDACTED] Media related to Minnesota Territory at Wikimedia Commons 46°00′N 97°24′W  /  46°N 97.4°W  / 46; -97.4 Republican Party of Minnesota Starting in 2023 and as

1260-399: The Democratic version, written on blue-tinged paper, was 37 pages long and had 51 signatures. On October 13, an election to approve the constitution was held. Ballots only provided for an affirmative answer, which probably reduced the number of negative votes since doing so required altering the ballot. The tally was 30,055 for acceptance and 571 for rejection. The territorial secretary,

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1320-613: The Minnesota Republican Party became a subject of controversy when donor and strategist Anton Lazzaro was indicted for sex trafficking charges. Minnesota Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan resigned amidst the controversy. The party ran Scott Jensen for the 2022 gubernatorial race , who lost to incumbent Tim Walz . The party also lost its majority in the Minnesota Senate, giving the DFL a trifecta , but

1380-664: The Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed more expansive protections for Minnesotans than the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause provides. Although the text of Section 10 is exactly the same as the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Minnesota Supreme Court has frequently interpreted it differently, so as to provide more expansive protections for persons subject to criminal prosecution under state law. For example, in

1440-643: The Mississippi and other rivers and waters bordering the state, declaring that they should be "common highways and forever free." During the constitutional convention held in St. Paul in July 1857, tensions between Democratic and Republican delegates were high and the two groups ended up writing separate versions of the constitution. However, the two documents were almost identical, with minor differences in spelling, grammar, and style. The two versions were then submitted to

1500-702: The Territory: Mendota/Fort Snelling to the confluence of the Big Sioux River with the Missouri River ; Point Douglas to Fort Ripley; Fort Ripley Road/Swan River to Long Prairie Indian Agency; and Point Douglas to Superior. A budget was approved in 1850 for four of these roads, with the Point Douglas–Fort Ripley Military Road being the first. Additional funds were later appropriated for a survey of

1560-452: The Union. The Enabling Act also established the basic system of federal land grants to the states for common schools, a state university, public buildings, and salt springs, and provided that 5 percent of the proceeds of the sale of federal public lands in Minnesota be granted to the state for building public roads. It also set Minnesota's final borders and provided for concurrent jurisdiction on

1620-889: The West Plains Trail, East Plains Trail, and Woods Trails. They connected Fort Garry and the Selkirk Settlement in British North America with Fort Snelling and the American Fur Trading Company at Mendota . Later, the Oxcarts became synonymous with St. Paul's Kellogg Street and the riverboat landing on the Mississippi River. Fort Ripley lay along the East Plains Trail. In 1850, 10 years after

1680-473: The constitution for the Minnesota Territory from June 1849 until May 1858, when Minnesota became a state. The boundaries of the Minnesota Territory included the eastern half of the Dakotas to the Missouri River, but this area was subsequently detached when Minnesota became a state. The capital of the Minnesota Territory was St. Paul , which became the permanent state capital after an unsuccessful attempt

1740-456: The constitution was ratified, although officials elected to other positions such as governor did not begin acting in their official roles until later. The first two acts created by the legislature were amendments to the constitution, and they were approved by voters on April 15, 1858. One authorized a loan to railroads of US$ 5 million, and the other related to the term of office of the first state officers. Amended constitutions were apparently

1800-798: The constitution, and the frame-of-government pattern, which focuses on the structure of state government and the distribution of powers within the state. This is typical of western states in the United States. The Minnesota Constitution is relatively short, ranking among the shorter constitutions in the country. Still, it includes explicit provisions for the powers and duties of state officers, schools, taxes, banking, highways, and legislative apportionment, as well as extensive sections on natural resource conservation and progressive social policy Elazar, Daniel (1999). Minnesota Politics and Government . University of Nebraska. ISBN   0803218524 . Minnesota Territory The Territory of Minnesota

1860-434: The document, making it easier for modern readers to comprehend and reducing the extensive verbiage. It is believed that the constitution was amended twice prior to ratification. Minnesota's settlement and organization were influenced by three factors: force, as it was conquered by European powers and later the United States; accident, as some European settlers arrived following the fur trade and American civilians drifted into

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1920-491: The end of the Second Great Awakening (1790–1840), of the three churches with regular services in the Minnesota Territory, 1 was Methodist , 1 was Presbyterian , and 1 was Catholic . The Roman Catholic diocese of Saint Paul of Minnesota was established by Pope Pius IX on July 19, 1850, and consisted of the entirety of the Minnesota Territory. Because of this original territorial designation, to this day

1980-525: The entirety of the present-day state of Minnesota and the majority portions of modern-day North and South Dakota east of the Missouri and White Earth Rivers. At the time of formation there were an estimated 5,000 settlers living in the Territory. There were no roads from adjoining Wisconsin or Iowa . The easiest access to the region was via waterway , of which the Mississippi River

2040-413: The establishment of a universal education system in the future state. Voting was restricted to white male citizens or those who had declared their intention to become citizens. The act granted veto power to both the territorial governor and Congress, with the governor's veto able to be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the assembly. In contrast, Congress's veto could not be overridden. The establishment of

2100-399: The federal one. For example, Section 3 states that "the liberty of the press shall forever remain inviolate, and all persons may freely speak, write and publish their sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of such right." The First Amendment to the United States Constitution , by contrast, states that "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of

2160-505: The grassroots had turned socially more conservative and changed the name back in 1995. Attempts to drop the term "Independent" had previously been defeated in 1989, 1991 and 1993. For the 2006 U.S. Senate election , the party endorsed Mark Kennedy for United States Senate , who lost to Amy Klobuchar . In the 2008 U.S. Senate election , incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman was defeated by Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate Al Franken by 312 votes out of over 2.5 million cast after

2220-607: The next eight years. When Iowa became a state in 1846, Minnesota became an unorganized territory without issue. The area east of the Mississippi River had several hundred American settlers and was organized as St. Croix County within Wisconsin Territory. However, in 1848, Wisconsin became a state, and St. Croix County was left to its own devices. In response, the settlers in the area held a convention in Stillwater and passed resolutions calling for Congress to establish

2280-549: The ones viewed by Congress during the ratification process. The validity of the early laws passed by the Legislature is somewhat in doubt, although they have never been challenged in court . In 1971, the legislature created a commission to study the constitution and make recommendations to maintain its utility. After reviewing the document for two years, it was recommended that the constitution be amended to rewrite it in modern language and allow easier reference. The amendment

2340-630: The other provisions in the Minnesota Bill of Rights are for trial by jury and due process of law . Amongst other rules, the state legislature may not meet in regular session "after the first Monday following the third Saturday in May of any year." The governor may call a special session following that date to handle unresolved issues from the regular session or to deal with unforeseen events such as emergency funding following natural disasters. Minnesota's fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, so if

2400-600: The party held to the four seats in the US House of Representatives. The Minnesota Republicans have a strong voter base in rural and suburban parts of Greater Minnesota . In the party's 2022 platform, the party opposed abortion access , calling for the overturning of Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade , which subsequently happened , and the Minnesota Doe v. Gomez, which is still standing. It also opposes legal recognition of same-sex marriage . They also "support

2460-623: The power to pass legislation on any subject consistent with the Constitution of the United States, and both the territorial governor and Congress had the right to veto acts of the assembly. The governor's veto could be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the assembly, while Congress's veto was final. The act also placed a limitation on the legislative assembly's ability to pass laws concerning the disposal of public land. It imposed higher taxes on non-residents' property compared to residents' property. It reserved sections 16 and 36 in every township for

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2520-463: The press." Despite the affirmative protections of Section 3, the Minnesota Supreme Court has followed the majority position of most states, rejected the position of the Supreme Court of California in the landmark case of Robins v. Pruneyard Shopping Center , and stubbornly refused to interpret such language any differently from the First Amendment. The court's most recent case on this issue

2580-480: The prohibition of Ranked Choice Voting in Minnesota." On gun policy , the statement says that citizens who follow the law should "have the right to purchase and possess firearms, free from any gun registration system ." For education , the platform also opposes "any element of Critical Race Theory or associated curricula and programs." The Minnesota Republican Party holds none of the five statewide elected offices, neither United States Senate seat, and four of

2640-887: The route to the Big Sioux/Missouri, the Fort Ridgely and South Pass Wagon Road and the Wagon Road from Fort Ripley to Fort Abercrombie . Private trails were cut as well, the most well known of which was Dodd Road from 1853. It was named after its builder, Captain William B. Dodd, and significant portions of it still exist. When the region was still part of the Wisconsin Territory , the Red River Trails were further developed by Joe Rolette . There were three main trails, now identified as

2700-406: The state was opened to non-Indian settlement between establishing the territorial government and achieving statehood. The Enabling Act was a piece of legislation passed by Congress in 1857 that enabled the people of Minnesota to form a state by holding an election for a constitutional convention, writing a constitution, approving it through a referendum, and submitting it to Congress for admission to

2760-673: The state's eight United States House of Representatives seats. It holds a minority in both the Minnesota Senate and the Minnesota House of Representatives . Both of Minnesota's U.S. Senate seats have been held by Democrats since 2009. Norm Coleman was the last Republican to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate. Out of the eight seats Minnesota is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives , 4 are held by Republicans: Minnesota has not elected any GOP candidates to statewide office since 2006 , when Tim Pawlenty

2820-571: The state. Until the 1974 modification of the constitution (see section below), these were enumerated in the document itself, though today they are listed in the Minnesota Statutes (§161.114). Still, the general routes cannot be altered or removed without amending the constitution and are therefore somewhat fixed. In many cases, the constitutional route numbers do not match highway numbers. In fact, it has been common for CR highways to be composed of several different trunk highways . When

2880-403: The territorial government of Minnesota in 1849 greatly encouraged the growth and development of the state. The population increased from around 4,000 non-natives in 1849 to 150,000 in 1857, on the eve of statehood. This growth was facilitated by the territorial government's efforts to extinguish Native American land claims and enable settlers to acquire titles to their lands. About three-quarters of

2940-577: The territory seeking opportunities; and choice, as the American settlers in the territory decided to establish a civil society. In 1838, the region that is now Minnesota was divided between the Iowa and Wisconsin territories. The part of Minnesota west of the Mississippi River within the Iowa Territory remained unoccupied by European Americans. It, therefore, did not require a civil government for

3000-466: The voters of the state as required by the Enabling Act and both were approved, resulting in Minnesota having two original constitutions. The state's constitution has served for almost 160 years and has not undergone significant revision, although there have been periodic proposals for a constitutional convention. An election in Minnesota Territory to select Republican and Democratic delegates to

3060-462: Was State v. Wicklund , in 1999, which involved a failed attempt by fur-coat protesters to demonstrate at the privately owned but publicly financed Mall of America. By contrast, Section 16 addresses the "freedom of conscience," or more generally freedom of religion. In the 1990 case of State v. Hershberger , which involved the Amish's successful attempt to be declared exempt from a state traffic law,

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3120-539: Was elected in 2002 and after winning re-election in 2006 , he served two terms. With Tom Emmer's defeat in 2010 by Mark Dayton , Republicans held the governorship for eight years. Despite having lost every executive race in the general election of 2010, the party captured both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature for the first time since the 1970s, and defeated 18-term Rep. Jim Oberstar by electing Chip Cravaack to Minnesota's 8th district . For

3180-674: Was aided by an opposition divided between the Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party , which eventually merged in 1944. The Independent-Republicans of Minnesota ( I-R ) was the name of the party from November 15, 1975, until September 23, 1995. The name change was made because the "Republican" name was damaged by the Watergate Scandal . Polls conducted in the early-mid-1970s indicated people in Minnesota were more likely to vote for

3240-525: Was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota and the western portion became unorganized territory and shortly after was reorganized as part of the Dakota Territory . The Minnesota Territory was formed on March 3, 1849, encompassing

3300-498: Was approved by voters on November 5, 1974. This did not alter the meaning of the constitution, although if there is a case where meaning is ambiguous, the original document remains the final authority. The earlier wording of the constitution, including all of the amendments approved since adoption in 1857, is printed in the Minnesota Legislative Manual 1973–74 , pages 445–484. A bill of rights

3360-558: Was founded in 1852. The Upper and Lower Sioux Agencies were created in 1853. All of these were also located adjacent to waterways. The primary territorial institutions were in the three main settlements. St. Paul was made the territorial capital , Minneapolis was selected as the site of the University of Minnesota , and Stillwater was chosen for the Territorial Prison . The military reservations were federal land, of which

3420-486: Was held in Saint Paul from July 13 to August 29. However, the divisions between the two political parties were so great that they each held their own separate conventions and never met together aside from five people from each party who met in a conference committee to create a document acceptable to both sides. Still, the tension was so extreme that delegates would not sign anything that had previously been signed by

3480-412: Was made in 1857 to move the capital to St. Peter . The Minnesota Territory was governed by an appointed governor and secretary and had an appointed judicial system. It also had a legislative assembly consisting of a nine-member council and an eighteen-member house of representatives, which the territory's residents elected. The Minnesota Historical Society was also established in the territory in 1849 and

3540-471: Was primary. The primary mode of transport was the riverboat . Minnesota Territory had three significant pioneer settlements: St. Paul , St. Anthony/ Minneapolis , and Stillwater , plus two military reservations: Fort Snelling and Fort Ripley . All of these were located on waterways. A reservation for the Winnebago people had been created at Long Prairie in 1848. The Chippewa Agency, at Crow Wing ,

3600-532: Was the dominant party in the state for approximately the first seventy years of Minnesota's statehood, from 1858 through the 1920s. In the Civil War , the state supported Abolitionism and the Union . Republican candidates routinely won the state governorship as well as most other state offices, having 12 out of the first 13. The 1892 Republican National Convention was held in Minneapolis. The party

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