In addition to rent control, Mayoral candidate Senator Omar Fateh wants Minneapolis to adopt a $20 minimum wage by 2028. This would be disastrous for the city, as results from…
Economic growth Star Tribune: Target layoffs reflect economic trends: ‘We’re starting to see cracks’ Star Tribune: Halloween businesses were worried, but now think last-minute spending surge will save them Minn…
One of the consequences of the collapse of downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul is the rise of “suburban downtowns” elsewhere. The Star Tribune reports: The concept of a “suburban downtown”…
Economic growth Duluth News Tribune: Candidate’s View: Economic growth matters to Duluth; standing still comes at a cost Star Tribune: Opinion | The culprit behind our precarious state? A stagnant…
Yesterday, I wrote about Minnesota’s performance on the raw labor components of human capital; the number of people employed and the average number of hours each of them works annually.…
Yesterday, I wrote that “Per capita economic growth comes from three sources,” one of which is “Growth in human capital, the quantity and quality of the labor provided.” I also…
The recent film “A Precarious State” has drawn a number of responses, a recurring theme of which is that Minnesota’s problem is its slow growing economy resulting from its slow…
As the core cities continue their collapse into oblivion, surrounding suburbs step up to fill the void. From the Minnesota Star Tribune, Twin Cities suburbs seek destination status with new…
State and local taxes and spending Alpha News: Bloomington looking at property tax increase of 9.44%, building $100 million complex Economic growth Minnesota Reformer: Minnesota exports down 19% from this…
State and local taxes and spending Wadena Pioneer Journal: Wadena County trims preliminary 2026 tax levy to 13.28% Bemidji Pioneer: Why the Beltrami County budget includes a 42% cut to…
In December 2018, Minneapolis became the first city in the United States to eliminate single-family zoning through the Minneapolis 2040 Plan. The move attracted national attention. NBC News reported that…
Over the last few weeks, I have been looking at various data to judge how Minnesota’s economy and Minnesotans economically have fared since Gov. Walz took office in January, 2019.…
State and local taxes and spending KYMN: Northfield City Council Approves 10.2% Preliminary Tax Levy Increase Bring Me the News: Live in Hennepin County? Prepare to pay more in property…
Housing and zoning “Overly restrictive local zoning is the fundamental cause of America’s housing shortage,” according to the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. “Cities and counties have employed their…
For data center developers, Minnesota piles on the red tape Data centers, the factories of the computing age and enablers of artificial intelligence (AI), are dominating panic-stricken headlines about growing…
In our report “The State of Minnesota’s Economy: 2020: A focus on economic growth,” we wrote that: Per capita economic growth comes from three sources: an increase in the amount…
State and local taxes and spending The Ely Echo: City tax hike at 6.54 percent Sun This Week: Apple Valley levy, taxes on the rise Sun Current: Edina council adopts…
Yesterday, I noted that job growth in Minnesota was up from July to August but so was unemployment. How does that work? Jobs and unemployment up? As I’ve noted before,…
According to newly released US Census Bureau data, in 2024, 9.3 percent of Minnesotans were in poverty. This is the same rate as in 2023 and 2021. Among the 50…
Some recent headlines read: MPR News: Minnesota adds nearly 6,000 jobs but unemployment increases Star Tribune: The U.S. labor market is slowing. Minnesota, for now, is bucking the trend Kare 11: MN workforce,…
State and local taxes and spending The Ely Echo: Ely school levy uncertain KROC: Minnesota Tax Revenues Exceed Forecast by 4.2% in August CNHI News: North Mankato to set preliminary…
Yesterday, Gov. Tim Walz surprised many by announcing that he will run for an unprecedented third term in office. No doubt he believes that he will be better placed for…
Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that: The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in August, after…
Regulation Duluth News Tribune: Our View: Minnesota’s wild rice standard demands compromise Grand Forks Herald: At Iron Range hearing, miners warn of closures if wild rice rule enforced St. Cloud…