Legislators should focus on reducing Minnesota’s occupational licensing burden

Numerous bills regarding occupational licensing have been introduced in the current legislative session. In some ways, our state is in some ways moving in the right direction. However, some of the bills introduced threaten to add Minnesota's already growing occupational licensing burden.

Burnsvile Council member offers innovative proposal to give taxpayers more control over how their money is spent

An intriguing idea from Burnsville City Council Member Cara Schulz would give the people who earned the money more control over how government spends it.

Legislature gives up and repeals jobs report after bureaucracy ignores it for 8 years

In January 2012, Governor Mark Dayton proposed a $775 million bonding bill and claimed it would create 21,000 jobs. This is a common part of the sales pitch for borrowing bills – they will not just create jobs, they will create a very specific number of jobs. As the 2012 legislative session progressed, Republicans who controlled the House and Senate added a provision to that year’s borrowing bill to require a report on the number of jobs created from each project. Show your work ­– if you claim 21,000 jobs, let’s see if that really happens. Subd. 4. Report on...

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Tune In To My Testimony on Clean Energy First at 3pm!

Today, I’ll be testifying in the Senate Energy and Utilities Finance and Policy Committee on a bill called “Clean Energy First.” You can read the bill by clicking here, and you can watch my testimony by clicking the YouTube link below when the hearing starts. https://youtu.be/eWPzbBLPsaE Update* Testimony was cut short, so I am posting my written testimony below. This legislation is similar to the version of the bill that was considered last year. I wrote a three-part series on this legislation last year (The Good, The Bad, and The How Do We Make This Less Ugly?). The good part...

Mankato Schools Face Red Ink and Cuts as Parents Pull Out Kids

The fallout resulting from school districts' pandemic policies continues to surface around the state. Mankato schools have lost hundreds of students and the revenue tied to them in this school year, blowing a multi-million hole in the budget.

Minnesota policymakers should learn from Massachusetts on banning flavored tobacco

Banning flavored tobacco did not decrease tobacco consumption in Massachusetts. It merely shifted sales to neighboring states.

Sign Our Petition Demanding Reliable Energy at WWW.GreenEnergyFails.com!

Last month, Texas experienced rolling blackouts during a polar vortex because the state is too reliant upon wind, solar, and natural gas for electricity generation. As temperatures plunged, wind speeds died down, causing electricity from wind turbines to plummet. Sub-freezing temperatures also resulted in supply-chain problems for natural gas because the pipes were not properly weatherized. These factors led to electricity shortages when the power was needed most. Unfortunately, politicians in St. Paul haven’t got the message that energy policy is a matter of life and death, which is why they are advancing legislation that would put all of our...