A Star Tribune editorial gives an example of why University of Minnesota regent Steve Sviggum faces a conflict of interest as long as he remains spokesman for the state Senate Republican Caucus: Sviggum’s new job binds him to the legislative branch. As a Senate employee, he is beholden to his bosses. He will be obliged Read more →
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Tag: conflict of interest
I’ve already gone over the point that University of Minnesota regent Steve Sviggum says he “vetted” his new state Senate Republican Caucus spokesman position with board Chairman Linda Cohen and David Larson last week to make sure it didn’t present a conflict of interest with his regent’s job. He also told me he’d also mentioned Read more →

I’ve got calls in to see where we go from here with the University of Minnesota’s review of whether regent Steve Sviggum’s two jobs conflict with each other. For now, though, here’s a quick roundup of how things stand: Less than a year after being told his regent’s job was not compatible with a position Read more →
Here’s what University of Minnesota regent Steve Sviggum told Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer about how he’d react if the Board of Regents finds a potential conflict of interest between his regent’s position and new job as Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus spokesman. (And he sounded pretty adamant): Wurzer: If the board comes back and says look Read more →

Just for the record, here’s University of Minnesota Regents Chairwoman Linda Cohen’s official statement, as released by the U: “Steve Sviggum has a long and distinguished record of public service in the Legislature. The announcement that he has been appointed to a senior staff position with the majority caucus in the Minnesota Senate reflects his desire Read more →
Here’s what University of Minnesota regent Steve Sviggum told me yesterday about a university committee’s decision last year to not allow him to be both a regent and a Humphrey School of Public Affairs fellow: “I think it was wrong. I think if you would have pressed it, there was no prohibition to being a Read more →

Late this afternoon I asked University of Minnesota Board of Regents Chairwoman Linda Cohen and Vice Chairman David Larson whether they thought regent Steve Sviggum’s new position as Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus spokesman represented a potential conflict of interest — and whether they felt the need to do anything. Cohen said that although the board’s Read more →
Just how well will University of Minnesota regent Steve Sviggum represent the U now that the former state legislator has accepted a job as spokesman for the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus? His move seems to have raised a few regents’ eyebrows — including those of Chairwoman Linda Cohen — just as a similar move ran Read more →

The University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic received $650,000 from drug companies in 2010. That’s from reporter Christopher Snowbeck, who analyzed annual reports to the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy for a story in today’s Pioneer Press. Snowbeck reports that $350,000 in drug company money went to the U in 2010. The money is used to fund Read more →

MPR Photo / Tim Pugmire Decisions, decisions. Now that the University of Minnesota Board of Regents has ruled that recently appointed trustee Steve Sviggum faces a conflict of interest if he remains both regent and Humphrey School instructor, Sviggum has a choice to make, MPR’s Tim Post reports. We should hear within a few days Read more →