MN Amtrak Ridership Declines Again in 2018

Amtrak continues to lose passengers in Minnesota, even as DFL Governor Tim Walz, MnDOT and the national rail service continue to pursue a partnership to initiate two new Amtrak-operated but heavily state-subsidized routes from the Twin Cities to Duluth and Chicago. RELATED: Are Minnesotans Being Taken for a Ride by Amtrak? Ridership on the only Amtrak line in Minnesota, the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle, has waned nearly 30 percent in recent years. The latest numbers compiled by the Rail Passengers Association indicate the Empire Builder lost another 10,000 riders in 2018, dropping to a total of 126,700 compared...

It was fifty years ago today! – 1969

1968 did not usher in the Age of Aquarius. From the glimpses we got, like the Manson Family and Altamont, it would have been the ultimate bad trip.

Teachers believe they should be able to join or quit a union at any time

Union membership is a personal decision. And a majority of U.S. teachers across the country believe they should be able to make this decision whenever they want to. Unfortunately, teachers who are union members are bound to resignation windows set by the union that limit when they can leave the union.

AMERICAN EXPERIMENT BOOK SHELF

BREAKING NEWS: Twin Metals Minnesota Proposes Most Technologically Advanced Mine in Minnesota History

The future of mining in Minnesota looks even brighter today as Twin Metals Minnesota announced they will protect Minnesota’s water resources at their planned copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota by using a method called dry stack tailings storage, which is often touted by environmental groups as the best way to store waste rock left over from the mining process. This technology eliminates the storage ponds and dams associated with conventional tailings facilities and it has been successfully used in four mines in the northern United States and Canada with similar climates to Minnesota and has been permitted at two mines...

4 Ways Employers Respond to Minimum Wage Laws (Besides Laying Off Workers)

In reality, there are a number of things employers can do in response to a minimum wage hike that don’t involve laying off employees.

Rebuking Renewables: Le Sueur County Places Moratorium on Solar Gardens and Solar Farms

It looks like the Community Solar Gardens aren’t very popular with the locals  in Le Sueur County. Earlier in July, the Planning and Zone commission voted to enact a moratorium, or temporary suspension, on new solar facilities. The moratorium, which will ban applications for new solar projects for one year, comes at a time when solar facilities are being cited closer to city limits and residential properties. According to KEYC in Mankato: “Separation distances from residential properties is one thing that people are very concerned about. They don’t want to have these panels 50 feet from their house, and by...

Excessive fees and regulations make Twin Cities housing expensive – The facts behind our new radio ad

We have a new ad running on 93X concerning high housing costs in the Twin Cities. You can only say so much in 30 seconds, so here are the facts we use in the ad and where they come from.