The North Dakota News Cooperative commissioned a poll of 501 North Dakotans to determine their views on energy production. Surprise, surprise: North Dakotans overwhelmingly support continued coal and oil production…
Happy Thanksgiving! Given that my work focuses on education, I thought it fitting to share a bit about my schooling background, which was filled with many educators who taught me…
In a Thanksgiving-eve, pre-holiday, afternoon news dump, officials in Scott County admit that 20 ballots were destroyed in this year’s election. The county attorney issued a two-page report, summarizing the…
Hennepin County officials struck out at the legislature this year in their attempt to win approval to continue charging residents for the sales tax that’s paid for Target Field. But…
Xcel Energy’s recently filed rate case apparently assumed a different election outcome. The Friday before this month’s election, Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility, filed a new electric rate case…
Back in May, I wrote an article titled “Property tax battles could be coming to St. Paul.” Simply put, tanking commercial property values have lowered commercial property tax payments and…
I recently watched some early episodes of The Simpsons and came across a gem. In “Bart vs Thanksgiving,” Season 2, episode 7, Bart runs away from home after ruining Lisa’s…
Minnesota played a key role in advancing the idea of collective bargaining for public school teachers in the United States. While the goals and philosophical views of the early teacher…
Two weeks after parents and taxpayers overwhelmingly approved a $70 million levy referendum, they were blindsided by news of a $20 million budgeting error certain to result in deep cuts…
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has suspended proceedings on the NewRange Copper Nickel project until August 2025. The company is studying potential changes to the project’s design as of…
Yesterday, a recount of ballots from three precincts located in Sherburne County (St. Cloud) was conducted. One vote shifted from the incumbent Democrat state Rep. Dan Wolgamott (14B) to his…
Northstar Commuter Rail has never come close to meeting the rosy ridership projections touted at the $320 million line’s kick-off 15 years ago this month. Not before the pandemic, certainly…
Alert readers will recall that I’ve written several times about the federal immigration court located at Ft. Snelling. Officially it’s the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.…
We need to get over ourselves as Minnesotans and stop seeing every issue through the lens of racial disparities, especially when children's fundamental rights are at stake.
State and local taxes and spending Fox 9: Property tax increases give Minnesota homeowners sticker shock Axios: Minnesota homeowners brace for property tax sticker shock Kare 11: Property Tax Sticker…
Democrats and Republicans are still working out the details of power-sharing in the rare 67-67 tie the parties are facing next year in the State House of Representatives. Axios Twin…
Yesterday, Scott County completed a recount of ballots in the race for State House of Representatives District 54A. The headline from the Minnesota Star Tribune: DFL Rep. Brad Tabke picks…
How out-of-touch are elected officials in St. Paul? First, they successfully lobbied state legislators to scrap a long-standing law shielding Xcel Energy customers in the city from paying higher utility…
I provide a real-life example for the benefit of the incoming Minnesota legislature. Perhaps we won’t see a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)-style effort here at the state level any…
I’ll be blunt. The news of Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal from consideration in the Attorney General nomination process is a relief. Our Nation’s Attorney General must be a person of impeccable character. While…
Southwestern Minnesota farmers and residents left no doubt about their objections to Xcel Energy’s proposed billion dollar power line for renewable energy at a recent hearing before an administrative law…
Information surfaces about dramatic staffing crisis in Hennepin County Attorney’s Office Alpha News broke a story this week that confirms rumors that have existed for the past two years that…
Debra Struhsacker and I addressed the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America (MMSA) and Women’s Mining Coalition (WMC) for a webinar last week discussing our recent report, “Mission Impossible: Mineral…
2025 will be an election year in Minneapolis, with the mayor and the entire city council on the ballot. Incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey appears ready to run for a third…