Congressman-elect Pete Stauber has a few more weeks before going to DC as Minnesota’s new Eighth Congressional District representative. But the Republican isn’t wasting any time getting behind bipartisan legislation…
Lee Schafer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote an article in the Sunday, December 9th edition of the newspaper stating that Xcel's pledge to generate 100 percent of its electricity…
With the Democrats in control of the House, nothing useful will come out of Congress in the next two years. That means that progress in domestic policy will have to…
The Associated Press had a great overview of the problem presented by the failure of Governor Mark Dayton to negotiate and sign a bill that would bring Minnesota income tax…
A headline in London’s Daily Telegraph recently read, “'Snob’ Parents to be Told Degrees are Not the Only Route to Success.” With the story going on to declare, “Britain has…
Generating electricity with natural gas is far more expensive than generating electricity with coal at current gas prices. In fact, natural gas prices must remain below $2.92/mmbtu at a combined…
The “gender wage gap” is as real as unicorns and has been killed more times than Michael Myers.
The Minnesota Department of Commerce released a study on Tuesday saying that electric and natural gas utilities could continue to meet their current efficiency mandates, but that it will become…
In case you needed any further proof that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has jumped the shark as an organization, it has recently made headlines urging people…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota
Minnesota's state government is forecast to have a surplus of $1.5 billion over the next two years. This should kill stone dead any notion that tax increases are called for.…
This article originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal: PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron suffered the first major setback in his push to overhaul the French economy, backing off a fuel-tax increase…
Recently American Experiment shared the predicament of ten southern Minnesota cities facing an unexpected property tax hike to subsidize their new high speed internet system. The RS Fiber network was was…
Can Title IX statutory language be interpreted to empower colleges and universities to essentially act like police, investigators, judges and juries? Congress should revisit Title IX to pull these corrupting…
In the same week that President George H. W. Bush is being rightfully revered for his modesty, it’s in questionable taste for me to start any blog by saying, “I…
The Duluth News Tribune recently ran an opinion piece by David Lien entitled "Sportsman's View: Clean Water More Valuable Than Copper." Unfortunately, the piece simply recycles discredited anti-mining talking points.
In their write up of our new report The State of Minnesota’s Economy: 2018, the Pioneer Press gets the distinction between per capita and per worker numbers badly wrong.
The men and women of the 148th Fighter Wing of the Minnesota National Guard base in Duluth generally maintain a low profile. Consequently, many of us have little idea of…
Yesterday, we released our new report The State of Minnesota’s Economy: 2018. After finding Minnesota's economic performance to be 'lackluster' last year, we had to raid the thesaurus again. Our state's…
Yesterday, Xcel Energy announced it is committing to go 100 percent "carbon free" by the year 2050 across the eight Western and Midwestern states where they operate. Unfortunately, Xcel's ratepayers…
Utility Dive, a website that covers the ongoings of the electric utility industry, has named Xcel Energy the Utility of the Year for 2018, commending the company for retiring coal-fired…
I recently wrote about a bill called “RESA” (Retirement Enhancement and Savings) quickly making its way through Congress; it would entice small employers with a tax break to offer retirement…
The State of Minnesota’s Economy: 2018 report analyzes the key metrics that have driven Minnesota’s economy over time since 2000, identifying strengths, weaknesses and recommendations for the consideration of policymakers…
OPEC used to to be the most influential cartel in the world. Even if the general public didn’t know that OPEC stood for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, they…