On the surface, the Minnesota Student Survey administered through school districts since 1989 by the Minnesota Department of Health sounds innocuous enough. The Minnesota Student Survey shares insight into things…
This article originally appeared in the Duluth News Tribune on March 11, 2025. The release of the February budget forecast last week started a second round of blame games. A…
The trials continue in the Feeding Our Future scandal, the biggest fraud in the United States arising from COVID-19, totaling an estimated $250 million. This is only one example of…
Your correspondent was there. Defendant No. 1 in the sprawling free-food scandal, Aimee Bock, took the stand for over six hours today at the federal courthouse in downtown Minneapolis. The…
The homeless camps in Rochester may be fewer and farther in between than before the city passed a ban on such activity in public spaces. But the time and money…
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published last month an article warning that planned retirements of coal-fired electric-generating capacity are expected to increase in 2025. The EIA reports that electricity…
A serious look behind our state’s average achievement scores shows we aren’t doing as well as we like to think we are. Comparing Minnesota’s average reading and math performance on…
The Province of Ontario wages a trade war against Minnesota, but without any ammunition. The putatively Conservative premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, launched a trade war of his own against…
In the 66th episode of the American Experiment Podcast we STOP THE TAPE on Governor Tim Walz’s budget press conference to point out the flaws, and blame thrown around. Grace…
Last week, we learned that Minnesota’s state government budget surplus for the 2026-2027 biennium had fallen from the $616 million forecast in November to $456 million and that the deficit…
Your correspondent was at the state capitol this morning, testifying in front of the House’s Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight committee on the topic of fraud in state benefit…
Right on cue, the release of the February 2025 budget focus has ignited a second round of blame games. A new candidate, President Trump’s chaotic policymaking, is seemingly now in…
In the current edition of our magazine, Thinking Minnesota, I wrote about the sad decline of the Lowertown area of St. Paul. That decline continues with news of the closure…
Last month, the owner of the Palisades nuclear plant signed an agreement to build two small modular nuclear reactors by 2030. If this is successful, these would be the first…
There were some whopper messages at the capitol this week reacting to the new budget forecast. The state budget office announced Thursday that the deficit in the 2028-29 biennium will…
Against the advice of her attorney, Feeding Our Future CEO Aimee Bock took the stand late Friday afternoon in her federal fraud trial. She testified for only an hour before…
Economic development Star Tribune: Will tax credits bring more film and TV production to Minnesota? Northern News Now: ‘They’re very entrepreneurial groups:’ Immigration and Northeast Minnesota’s economy Regulation Bring Me…
State budget managers announced that in July 2028 and thereafter, for the first time, Minnesota will spend more money on Health and Human Services than any other budget area, including…
Winona State faculty and officials were thrilled to receive word just before the election last October of a $1.1 million federal grant awarded to support civic engagement through the university’s…
As the prosecution wraps up its case in the latest Feeding Our Future trial, some interesting details have emerged. Aimee Bock, Feeding Our Future CEO, and Salim Said, co-owner of…
It was the crown jewel of city officials’ pitch to convince Rochester voters to extend the local sales tax for 25 years in 2023. A $65 million regional sports and…
In February 2023, Minnesota Management & Budget (MMB) forecast a state government budget surplus of $17 billion for the 2024-2025 biennium. In that “historic” session, the DFL trifecta spent every penny of…
On Wednesday, March 5, Public Safety Policy Fellow David Zimmer testified before the Minnesota House Public Safety Committee in support of House File 765. The bill, authored by Representative Walter…
I was asked to submit written comments on Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 (SCR2) to the Ohio legislature. SCR2 requires the Ohio Assembly to consider adopting legislation to invest in the…