I previously wrote about the $7 billion elephant in the room plaguing Minnesota’s Teacher Retirement Association (TRA) pension fund. As of the plan’s latest valuation study, TRA says its funded…
Sahra Nur, Feeding Our Future Defendant No. 24, Guilty Plea No. 14, became just the fourth of 45 convicted felons to be sentenced in the case. She was sentenced to…
The nonprofit money gusher continues. Despite talk of not doing earmarks for named nonprofits this budget cycle, a few are slipping through the net. Case in point is SF 2298,…
The financial health of the Teachers Retirement Association (TRA) affects the fund’s long-term viability and ability to offer the majority of Minnesota educators the retirement benefit they have been promised.…
As you know by now, Gov. Tim Walz and three of the four legislative leaders announced at a press conference Thursday morning that an agreement was reached on the overall…
Yesterday, amid chaotic scenes at the Capitol, Governor Walz, Senate Democrats, and Republicans and Democrats from the House, announced an agreement on spending targets for the upcoming two biennia, a…
“You’re killing our community!” In a bizarre scene at the state capitol this morning, protestors, including sitting DFL members of the state legislature, attempted to break into the Governor’s reception…
I’ve been writing for a while about the forces driving increased residential property taxes in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Now, with state government finances in a mess following the DFL…
An old video has surfaced of a Feeding Our Future defendant testifying in favor of an unrelated nonprofit seeking a multi-million-dollar state government grant. They got the money, of course.…
In a state increasingly renowned for bad public policy, it is still possible to be surprised. Take this headline from the Star Tribune: Minneapolis council to consider new 2% fee…
After an understandably lukewarm reception of their initial $400 million ask for state funds to cover renovations at Xcel Energy Center, the city of St. Paul and the Minnesota Wild…
The setting Minnesota’s legislators have until next Monday to finalized a budget for the 2026-2027 biennium, and there is still a lot of work to do. The setting is the…
There is one week left in the regular legislative session and to no one’s surprise, the parties are stuck on the big stuff. Everyone is waiting for a breakthrough on…
On Wednesday, I offered a cautious welcome for the House tax bill. Faced with ballooning state government budget deficits as a result of an explosion in spending since 2023, the…
Yesterday, Republican and DFL leads on the House taxes panel unveiled their proposed tax bill. It deserves a cautious welcome and shows how divided government is paying off this session. WCCO…
As discussions on what to do about the state budget deficit continue at the legislature, American Experiment urges no tax hikes. As our research has noted, not only does Minnesota…
The fifth and final defendant in the Feeding Our Future-related juror bribery case is expected to enter a guilty plea. In a filing made today in federal court, Abdiaziz Shafii…
The state House of Representatives Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight committee met again this morning to take up the subject of Medicaid fraud in Minnesota. It was the tenth…
All progress on the state budget came to a grinding halt this week when House Democrats broke an agreement with Republicans to move budget bills to the floor once they…
It looks like a fourth guilty plea will soon be entered in the juror bribery case arising out of the first Feeding Our Future trial held last year. Said Farah…
Two things can be true at once: assistance or welfare programs provide an important lifeline to vulnerable Minnesotans. However, the surge in spending on these programs is unsustainable for the…
We have added a new item to Scandal Tracker 2025TM and we are scanning the horizon for more examples of waste, fraud, and abuse. Give credit to A.J. Lagoe and…
Even after his epic 2-hour appearance before the House Fraud Prevention committee on Monday morning, many important questions remain unanswered regarding the relationship between state Attorney General Keith Ellison and…
With three weeks left until the end of the 2025 legislative session, the conversation at the State Capitol on what to do about the budget has shifted to tax hikes.…