American Experiment on Governance
Governance Reports
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How the Met Council Misplans the Twin Cities
How the Met Council Misplans the Twin Cities by Randal O’Toole. From the Spring 2017, Issue 7 of Thinking Minnesota....
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The Twin Cities Met Council: A Comparative Assessment
The Twin Cities Met Council: A Comparative Assessment This report is designed to give lawmakers and citizens basic information about how the Met Council compares to other large, metro area bodies bot...
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Governance Articles
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St. Paul should stop using ‘fees’ to fund street maintenance
Minnesota’s Constitution imposes some important limitations on a city’s tax power. For several years, the city of St. Paul has imposed a right-of-way assessment on all property owners to fund road...
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Editorial counterpoint: Why fight over light rail when there’s bus rapid transit?
Why fight over light rail when there's bus rapid transit? BRT is cheaper than LRT. It could actually ease congestion and, if it fails, it's less down the drain....
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Minnesota needs a Brexit from the Met Council and regionalism: Dakota County makes a move
Allow me to juxtapose two news stories. The first is a local story, a small rebellion so obscure you might not have noticed it, which signals an important shift in regional partnerships. The other is ...
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Governance Posts
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The Ellison-Bloomberg Connection
It came to light last year that a handful of rich left-wing donors led by Michael Bloomberg have collaborated with New York University Law School to recruit, place and pay for lawyers in attorney gene...
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Paper Rips Walz on Lack of Transparency Over State Agency Meltdown
Governor Tim Walz may not “do drama” but his dramatics in attempting to avoid the accountability that comes with his office guarantee more of it. The Duluth News Tribune issued a blisterin...
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Lawsuit Claims St. Paul Failed to Implement Own Sick Pay Policy
The St. Paul City Council imposed a controversial paid sick leave ordinance on all businesses last year. The ordinance allows employees to take up to additional six paid days off every year, essential...
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St. Louis Co. Commissioner Cracks Down on Amazon Orders
You’d think that spending taxpayer funds on supplies from local businesses over Amazon would be a no-brainer, particularly in St. Louis County. But County Commissioner Keith Nelson recently made...
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Gov. Walz Fails to Stay the Execution of Kenilworth Trail until SWLRT is funded
The Met Council has been saying for years that it is ready to apply for a federal grant. Yet, here we are in 2019, during the Trump administration, without an invitation to apply for $929 million fede...
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Governance Media
Howard Root: Five Heart-Stopping Years as a CEO on the Fed’s Hit-List (5.12.17, 50 min.) (50 min.)
Howard Root: Five Heart-Stopping Years as a CEO on the Fed’s Hit-List (5.12.17, 50 min.)...
The Twin Cities Met Council: A Comparative Assessment (Narrated PowerPoint) (09:33)
This presentation is designed to give lawmakers and citizens basic information about how the Met Council compares to other large, metro area bodies both in terms of governance structure and scope of a...