Public-sector unions fought for — and won — the right to represent all employees within their bargaining unit, regardless of union membership status. Because government unions have exclusive representation rights as a…
John Harpole is the president of Denver-based natural gas broker Mercator Energy. In his third appearance on the podcast (previous episodes were on March 10, 2022, and May 25, 2021),…
State and local taxes and spending Minnesota Reformer: Scott Jensen’s proposal to eliminate income tax would benefit Minnesota’s wealthiest Kare 11: While student loan forgiveness won’t be taxed federally, Minnesota…
While our legislature continues to argue on whether to have a special session, more states continue to offer much-needed tax relief. North Dakota is yet to be the latest. According…
Despite the Feeding Our Future scandal, Minnesota’s free-food programs continue to operate. Immediately after the FBI raids in January, there were widespread concerns that children would not be fed with…
Denver News reports that Xcel Energy locked out 22,000 customers in Colorado from adjusting their thermostats as temperatures rose into the 90s. Denver 7 reports: During the dog days of…
Minnesota is the state of hockey. ‘Hockey hair’ — the mullet — is our state haircut. When Kim Jong Un banned mullets in North Korea, it felt like a declaration…
One of my go-to resources for energy information is Grid Brief, a daily newsletter published by Emmet Penney. You can sign up for it by clicking here. Today, Emmet writes:…
It may not happen often enough, but every once in a while local elected officials do something that stands out — in a good way. The Twin Cities suburb of…
As you busily prepare your classrooms for a new school year — or have already welcomed students back! — we want to remind Minnesota educators that the month of September…
Many occupations require state licensing. Generally, however, cosmetologists and barbers are two of the most widely licensed occupations and also face the most burdensome restrictions compared to most other licensed…
Again and again, the majority of voters in Alaska choose Republican candidates, but ranked-choice voting (RCV) won’t let one win. To recap: long-time Republican Congressman Don Young died earlier this…
American Experiment is ramping up its efforts to inject some much-needed energy sanity into our public policy debates by putting pressure on Xcel Energy and the Public Utilities Commission to…
Elected officials never know what to expect during the public comment period that kicks off many city council meetings. But it’s safe to say members of the Rochester City Council…
In the year to July, prices rose by 8.5%. This was down from the 9.1% increase in the year to June, but it is a high rate which continues to…
It doesn’t go far enough to satisfy the most ardent skeptics of the election process. But after months of hearing them out, Crow Wing County commissioners have agreed to increase…
Something called the “314 Action Victory Fund” registered last week with the state Campaign Finance Board. Sadly, the group is named after the number 3.14, shorthand for the mathematical concept…
“Minnesotan’s tolerance for crime is incredibly low.” Gov. Walz, 8/28/22 As it should be, Governor. On Sunday at the Minnesota State Fair, Governor Walz made several claims about Minnesota’s crime…
Last week I wrote about how employment growth in the United States had stalled since March. While one set of statistics, those that count jobs, has shown strong growth since…
Early September, the St. Paul City council is expected to decide on what to do regarding the city’s heavily debated rent control policy. As reported by the Star Tribune, Dozens…
This piece was written by Robert Bryce and originally appeared in The Hill. The hype around the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, also known as the Manchin-Schumer bill, has been…
Gov. Tim Walz was interviewed by Esme Murphy of WCCO TV at the State Fair this weekend and unleashed the most preposterous statement of the 2022 campaign so far: “Just…
But other agencies aren’t so squeamish. Earlier today, the state Department of Commerce tweeted out to its 7,000 followers a message thanking Governor Tim Walz and featuring a picture of…
From A to Z Last week I asked ‘What do states without an income tax do?‘ They get by, is the short answer: states do not need an income tax…