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…
In the November 2024 forecast, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) estimated a $5.1 billion budget deficit for the 2028-29 biennium. A newly released February 2025 budget forecast shows that the…
That’s “billion, with a “b.” Minnesota has much experience with brand-new nonprofits getting multi-million-dollar grants from the state government. The Feds have managed to go over the top in this…
The snowstorm appears to have wiped out today’s sitting of the Feeding Our Future trial against Aimee Bock and Salim Said, Defendant Nos. 1 and 3, respectively. To make up…
The Trump administration has singled out the most crucial electrification metal, copper, as a focus of its domestic minerals policy. Last week, an executive order was released “addressing the threat…
That seems to be the implication of reporting by the Minnesota Star Tribune from inside the Federal courtroom during the current free-food fraud trial. The Star Tribune‘s Jeffrey Meitrodt reports:…
Grace, Kathryn, and Jill cover all the latest in Minnesota MADNESS!! Including the House Democrat’s decision to vote against protecting women’s sports?! One Democrat Rep going as far as to…
The problem Yesterday, I testified that: In February 2023, Minnesota Management & Budget forecast a state government budget surplus of $17 billion for the 2024-2025 biennium. In that “historic” session, the DFL…
One of the most regrettable results of the COVID classroom lockdowns was a significant rise in chronic absenteeism, a.k.a. skipping school. It’s a problem nationwide that’s proven difficult to get…
Xcel Energy proposed to issue a $318 million rebate to Minnesota customers in a press release on Monday. More than half of the refund ($176 million) will come from federal…
Today I testified in the House Transportation Finance and Policy committee in support of HF 494, which: …prohibits the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the MetropolitanCouncil from expending funds…