Why are state taxpayers giving New Hope a $2 million “grant” for a pool? We recently helped Golden Valley put in a new clubhouse for its Brookview Golf Course. Huh.…
It is no secret that Minnesota is one of the most highly taxed states in the union. We are one of the 43 states to have its own income tax,…
Minnesota Speaker of the House Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) recently took the rare step of speaking on the floor to give an impassioned speech on the vital importance of the Enbridge…
Hoyt Lakes Mayor Mark Skelton wrote powerful letter to the editor that published in the Strib today. In it, he argues that the PolyMet copper-nickel-precious metals mine would be the Super…
A new report says that Super Bowl LII boosted Minnesota's economy by $400. But what did it cost the state to get that boost?
In an attempt to neutralize the polarizing controversy over NFL players kneeling or sitting during the national anthem, NFL owners approved a new policy requiring players to stand for the…
Minnesota Congressman Jason Lewis recently voted in favor of a bill which (in the words of the press release issued by his office) “aims to lower our prison systems’ recidivism…
This year we are serving 5,500 kids in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade over nine days, and we will start to have test scores on the impact of the program…
What does it really mean to drain the swamp that consists of two million bureaucrats nationwide? We may find out, following a series of aggressive steps announced by President Trump…
Today sees the release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of its estimates of Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment. These can be a useful way to compare economic performance. Minnesota’s…
The German-Spanish wind power company Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has recently announced it will lay off thousands of workers in their wind energy sector, will the same thing happen in…
Conservatives often complain about surprises uncovered in the fine print of legislation that gets slipped into bills late in the process. “We have to pass the bill so that you…
Wages are just one part of total worker compensation. A new paper shows that when minimum wages are hiked, it is these other parts of worker compensation that are hit.…
The Supreme Court has up to another month to rule on Janus v. AFSCME, a case asking the High Court to overturn a 1977 decision that forces government employees to…
The author, the great-grandmother of Kim Crockett, came with her parents to the United States from Czechoslovakia as a very young girl, then Katharine Jirsa. She later taught school in…
The NFL’s self-defeating experiment with enabling players to kneel during the national anthem ended just in time for Memorial Day. Ultimately the league’s open-minded tolerance of players’ patriotic petulance came…
In Endcliffe Park in my hometown, Sheffield, there is a memorial to Lt John Kriegshauser, John Humphrey, Robert Mayfield, Charles Tuttle, Vito Ambrosio, George Williams, Lyle Curtis, Melchor Hernandez, Harry Estabrooks,…
It’s always a special treat when a smart person writes compelling, idea-rich prose. And Charles Kesler delivers just that with his terrific essay in the new issue of the deservedly…
A full-page ad warning readers their “access to local news just got more expensive” has popped up again in the Star Tribune. Higher U.S. tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
Democrats, including (Cryin') Chuck Schumer, have attempted to fault President Trump for high gas prices in the wake of the administration's decision to impose sanctions on Iran, but it has…
Where is the teachers’ union? Teachers are being assaulted. At work. Where is their union? Is it calling for tough discipline, or throwing kids out of school who hurt and…
[Photo Source: NEA] Is NEA’s proposal to broaden the scope of who can have union membership a safety net for its political power? Does the union fear its members will…
St. Louis County Assessor Dave Sipila and his team went big this year, jacking up the assessed market valuations on scores of mostly commercial properties in Duluth essentially overnight. But…