House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, have used their slim DFL majorities to break a logjam over progressive legislation.

MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talks to three of the most powerful women in state government about what's happened at the Capitol so far this year and what's next on their agenda.

Speaker Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Dziedzic talk about Minnesota's massive budget surplus and their plans for the upcoming weeks. And Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, has made history herself as the first Black woman to lead the House Republican caucus. We'll get the GOP take on what's been happening this session and her strategy for the weeks ahead.

Later in the hour, MPR News political reporters unpack the biggest stories from the State Capitol this week.   

Guests: 

• Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park

• House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring

• Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis

• Dana Ferguson is a politics reporter for MPR News

• Brian Bakst is a politics reporter for MPR News

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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.