Coming out of the pandemic, one of the biggest questions in policy research has been whether COVID-19 restrictions hurt or helped our state. One way that this question has been…
California is reeling from decades of bad energy policy, and it is now expecting residents living in saner states to pay for their mistakes. On Friday, July 9, 2021, and…
Violent crime is exploding in Minneapolis this year. Data from the City of Minneapolis shows that there were 47 homicides in the city between January 1 and July 15 this…
State and local taxes and spending Star Tribune: St. Cloud will use federal relief to offset lost revenue KNSI: Minnesota to Finish Fiscal Year 2021 Stronger Than Expected Pioneer Press:…
The following article was written by Randal O’Toole for the Cato Institute: Americans drove nearly 96 percent as many miles in May 2021 as in the same month in 2019, indicating a return…
In July 1921, the United States emerged from a depression. Though the economic statistics of the time were rudimentary by modern standards, the numbers confirm that it had been bad. By…
There goes the second summer tourist season in a row for Minnesota and Canadian businesses along the border. The news comes as a crushing blow to the thousands whose livelihoods…
There is a growing awareness among the general public that wind turbines and solar panels may not be as green as people thought. Pictures of old wind turbine blades resting…
Minnesota’s craft brewers have been an economic success story over the last decade. According to the Brewer’s Association, there were 35 craft breweries operating statewide in 2011; in 2020, that…
Minnesota is struggling to create new businesses. In 2019, the state ranked 49th among the 50 states and D.C. for its rate of entrepreneurship per capita. And in the last…
The head of the Minneapolis Police Federation confirms what many residents already know and fear. There aren’t enough police on the job citywide with the shortage in staffing affecting the…
When I wrote in the Star Tribune in April that ‘enhanced’ unemployment benefits were one factor explaining the puzzle of record job openings coexisting with elevated levels of unemployment, not…
The Energy Transition Advisory Committee is a committee established to develop a statewide energy transition plan and to advise the governor, the commissioner and the legislature on transition issues, established…
Minnesota Education Commissioner Dr. Heather Mueller said that there “aren’t currently plans to instill a mask mandate for students when they return to the classrooms this fall,” reported WCCO. [During…
CNBC reported the following today: People working minimum wage jobs full-time cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment in any state in the country, the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual “Out…
It didn’t take long for residents in the besieged Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis to react to word that the latest threat to the area was finally being cleared out by…
American Experiment Releases Voter Integrity Report, Urges Secretary of State Simon to Release Data Post card experiment reveals weakness in Minnesota voting system (Golden Valley, MN) Center of the American…
The abject failure of Califonia’s energy policies is becoming more apparent every day. The Golden State has taken the lead in shutting down reliable coal, natural gas and nuclear power…
Taxes are incentives. Much public policy is based on this insight. If we tax something, like carbon emissions or cigarettes, it is because we want people to emit less CO2…
Last May, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released its Interim budget forecast, which predicted a $2.426 billion deficit for the 2021 fiscal year. This deficit turned into a $636 million…
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is fighting to prevent the public from seeing documents detailing his behind-closed-doors strategizing on climate litigation with a network of state attorneys general with embedded…
In our report ‘Closing Minnesota’s Budget Deficit: Why we should make spending cuts and not raise taxes,’ we noted that Minnesota already has some of the highest tax rates in…
The Financial Times reports that sales of diesel-powered electricity generator business is booming, thanks in part to unreliable power grids in California and Texas. The FT writes: One of the…
Federal data released Monday revealed Minnesota K-12 public school enrollment dropped by 2.36 percent — roughly 17,000 students — in 2020 compared with the previous school year, according to The…