In a front-page story in the Star Tribune, “Help Wanted: Homebuilders Need Workers” (December 27), reporter Jim Buchta opened by noting how the “labor crunch is hitting home in the…
It’s already a Happy New Year before 2019 even officially arrives on the Iron Range, where they’ve already seen glimpses of what the future will bring. After years of bureaucratic…
Kirk Cousins shows that a pay off to an investment is not guaranteed. That is why investment income is often taxed at lower rates. But at least we're not the…
Minnesota is home to the world’s largest undeveloped deposits of copper, nickel, and platinum group elements, and developing these mineral resources will be a massive boost to the economy of…
In case you hadn’t noticed, the federal government remains shut down, sort of. More than a week later, it’s hard to get a handle on the impact of the latest…
I have a bike trainer in my basement, which is basically a machine that allows you to turn your bike into an exercise bike. As I was riding it the…
People love their food fads. I remember Snackwell cookies, which were touted as being better for people because they were low fat. Turns out, they were still packed with calories…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
The Star Tribune recently ran an article called “Complicated economics of community solar gardens subject of debate.” Seeing how the Strib did not seek our opinion on the topic for…
Suffice it to say Republican candidates didn’t do well on Election Day last month in urban America. Then, again, they haven’t done well in big and other good-sized cities for…
The economist Milton Friedman once said that "Nobody spends somebody else's money as wisely as he spends his own". That is one reason why it beast to let people spend as money of their…
Nicotine addiction means that smokers will suck up small price increases resulting from increased cigarette taxes - demand is 'inelastic' in the jargon. That means that, to really have an…
Organic food is a touchy subject. Many people think that because it is organic, it is more wholesome and better for the environment. However, there is scant empirical evidence to support these…
Answer: Yes
The 19th century poet John Godfrey Saxe is supposed to have said that laws were like sausages, people would like them less if they saw how they were made. The same goes…
The St. Paul Public Library let tens of thousands of delinquent card holders who owed fines for overdue books off the hook just in time for Christmas. The freebie fulfills…
Amidst mounting frustration with the state and national teachers’ union, a small group of teachers in Becker, Minnesota decided to try something different. They successfully petitioned the state to call…
Starting fall 2026, public schools across the state will be required to implement new K-12 academic standards and benchmarks in social studies. Since there is no external approval process on…
The last few years will go down in history as a time when fraudsters brazenly stole billions of dollars from Minnesota and federal taxpayers while state regulators looked the other…
Gov. Tim Walz delivered his final State of the State address last Tuesday evening, using the speech to tout false education “successes,” claim he lowered taxes for Minnesotans, and take…