According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), average construction costs for utility-scale solar increased by 1.7% in 2022 compared with 2021 data, and increased by 1.6% for wind turbines, respectively. Meanwhile, in the…
The weirdness just keeps piling up. You’ve probably seen the latest headlines: Felony charges: Hubbard County election judge allowed 11 unregistered voters to cast ballots You read that correctly, a…
Minnesota utilities face a state deadline to provide 100 percent of power from carbon-free sources by 2040, just 15 years from now. It’s a pipe dream, given the unreliability of…
A Wall Street Journal article recently made an excellent point about energy efficiency. It’s quoted at length below: The idea that more efficiency can spur more consumption rather than less…
As President-elect Donald Trump fills in the blanks of his incoming Administration, some of the earliest appointments have come in the areas of energy and the environment. Most prominent among…
State and local taxes and spending Star Tribune: Economy worries reflected in MN school referendum results The Ely Echo: School levy gets voter OK Star Tribune: How would a divided…
A new report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) is highlighting yet another instance of mismanagement in Minnesota’s state-run programs, adding to a troubling pattern. While the report…
The blame game always cranks up following a loss at the polls, whether it’s at the presidential level or a $4.3 million levy referendum for Moorhead Public Schools. The reckoning…
Minneapolis Ward 6 council member Jamal Osman is back in the news over his links to the sprawling free-food scandal. But he isn’t answering any questions. The latest round of…
The EPA is going to charge oil and natural gas companies for methane emissions under a new rule finalized Tuesday, November 12. The final rule will be published in the…
That’s the apparent situation in Shakopee, MN, where the incumbent DFL state Rep. Brad Tabke leads his Republican opponent, Aaron Paul, by 14 votes out of nearly 22,000 votes cast…
Baxter has become at least the fourth Minnesota city to prohibit homeless encampments on public property this year. The Crow Wing County city followed through on a summer work shop…
Last week, I joined Power Gab, hosted by the Independence Institute’s Jake Fogleman and cohost Amy Oliver Cooke to discuss American Experiment’s recent report, Mission Impossible. Watch it here, and…
Hennepin County Jail ordered to reduce inmate population to 600 Following a recent biennial inspection of the Hennepin County Jail by Department of Corrections (DOC) inspectors, the DOC has ordered…
It’s been relatively quiet in the Feeding Our Future case the past few weeks. That will change after the holidays, as trial dates are stacked up throughout 2025. First up…
Sarah Montalbano and Debra Struhsacker will be discussing American Experiment’s recent report, “Mission Impossible: Mineral Shortages and the Broken Permitting Process Put Net Zero Goals Out of Reach,” in a…
President-elect Donald Trump may have only made one campaign stop in the state this year, but that’s all it took to get the attention of supporters of overturning the Biden…
The ban on building a new nuclear power plant in the state is incorporated into Minnesota Statute Chapter 216B.243 Subd. 3b(a). The ban was included in the 1994 law to…
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) may rule on a 28-mile Minnesota segment of the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline at its Dec. 12 meeting, according to the North Dakota Monitor.…
The Golden Turkey Committee returns to the State Arts Board’s Creative Individual grant program for this year’s low-dollar-but-high-outrage Golden Turkey Award nominee. In this case, $10,000 of sales tax revenue…
I’ve written several times about the state’s demographic death spiral: the declining birth rate coupled with consistent net outmigration. This trend has continued for years, unchecked. For some reason, the…
Today marks the beginning of the United Nations’ 29th Conference of the Parties, or COP29. Look forward to two weeks of international handwringing about the U.S. election results. COP29 is…
I write occasional articles about Minnesota’s history for our magazine, Thinking Minnesota. In the course of doing so, I often write more material than I have room for, as was…
State and local taxes and spending KIMT 3: Amid several operating tax levies, one SE Minnesota school district looks to lower taxes WJON: Stearns County Makes Final Push on Justice…