Payday or short-term loans have a bad reputation — and for an understandable reason. Interest on payday loans tends to be high. Additionally, it is usually low-income, credit-crunched individuals that…
It’s a refreshing show of support for agriculture and family farmers. The planning commission in Fillmore County recently voted overwhelmingly to recommend the county board double the limit on the…
Abdullah Arif, 48, of Stillwater was shot and killed last Thursday outside his tobacco shop in St. Paul. Arif’s murder is in part the result of a broken court system that…
As North Dakota legislators consider an educational reimbursement program for families (H.B. 1532), the Chicken Littles are out in full force — engaging in fearmongering to convince North Dakotans that…
The Minnesota legislature reached another new low this week when Sen. Omar Fateh called Minnesota Senate Republicans terrorists and white supremacists during his speech on the Senate floor in the…
Minnesota schools are in crisis. Only 44.6% of our students can do grade-level math, and just under half can’t read at grade level. These results add to a long-term trend…
The controversy isn’t over the subject matter, but the project’s location and cost. Although his face appears on Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota, America’s 26th President is more closely associated…
The National Education Association — the country’s largest teachers’ union — once again prioritized political spending over member representational expenditures, according to its most recent annual federal LM-2 filing covering…
According to the Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB), tax collections in January of this year were 10 percent more than was forecast in December 2022. And for the 2023 fiscal…
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) recently announced it is seeking educators to review the state’s academic assessments — the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) — and ensure they “are aligned…
HF 1992/SF 1946 was introduced yesterday, which includes Gov. Walz’ proposed transportation budget for the next two years. As is traditional with budget bills, the measure is being carried by…
There is a tradition in the Minnesota legislature that bills dealing with election law achieve bi-partisan support. Governors Tim Pawlenty and Mark Dayton each abided by this tradition and refused…
A lot of effort has been taken to end child labor in developing countries. Among other things, Contemporary Regional Trade Agreements, especially those between developed and developing countries, have usually…
The Minnesota School Boards Association is marking the month of February as Minnesota School Board Recognition Month, according to the MSBA website. Previously, the annual recognition period was a week…
State and local taxes and spending Country Messenger: Governor Walz highlights budget KROC: No sign of a slowdown for Minnesota tax collections Star Tribune: Minnesota’s tax structure is enticing many…
When both Minneapolis and St. Paul proposed rent control on their ballots, American Experiment warned that passing such a policy would deter construction. This has come to pass in St.…
Here they go again. Just when you think the Met Council can’t dig itself a deeper hole on the construction of the Southwest Light Rail Transit Line, the agency inevitably…
The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows that the mental health of all youth, but particularly teenage girls, did not fare well through…
The nonprofit Youth Leadership Academy, d/b/a Gar Gaar Family Services, had been the third largest Minnesota participant in the Federal Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), one of two child nutrition…
The title of a bill introduced by Sen. Mary Kunesh (39, DFL) is a worthy goal that the state has been pursuing and should continue pursuing: increasing teachers of color.…
Evidently it’s no secret that vagrants, drug use and defecation pose a public safety problem at several downtown Duluth city parking ramps. But the city’s unofficial policy of tolerating the…
On Thursday morning, February 9, Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District Representative Angie Craig was physically assaulted by a homeless man named Kendrid Hamlin in the elevator of the apartment complex she…
Last year, my colleague Martha Njolomole noted that: Approximately 1 in every 5 Minnesotans has an occupation that requires a license. According to a 2017 report by the Institute of…
Liberal lawmakers are pushing forward with House File 772, which would allow the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) to change the state building codes in a way that allows…