The push for all high school graduates to earn a four-year baccalaureate degree over other post-secondary pathways has resulted in employers struggling to find workers with in-demand technical skills. Vocational…
Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius is the latest to weigh in with a Star Tribune counterpoint denouncing my recent op-ed, “Undisciplined: Chaos may be coming to Minnesota classrooms, by decree.”…
Philadelphia has been shut down by a nor'easter. (We call them blizzards). Tomorrow morning, I am going to pop into Independence Hall. Then, assuming this town re-opens, I am going…
The purpose of an energy industry is to generate energy, not jobs. We should bear that in mind when discussing the economics of renewables.
The Star Tribune ran a sobering and important story on Tuesday (March 20) with the headline “Black-White Gap Persists, Even in Affluent America.” It dealt with a new study by…
Yesterday (March 20th, 2018) John Hinderaker, John Phelan, and I were invited to give a presentation in front of the Minnesota House of Representatives Committee on Job Growth and Energy…
My colleague Kim Crockett testified on Minnesota teacher pensions before the Minnesota Senate Committee on E-12 Finance on Monday (March 19) afternoon. Her message was clear: we need to keep…
As we commented last week, January's job numbers contained good and bad news for Minnesota. Watchdog.org's Michael Carroll looks at some of the responses.
I testified in the House Transportation Policy committee in favor of an idea that is long overdue: requiring MnDOT to revise the 20-year plan to prioritize mobility and relieve congestion.…
When a high school slides downhill from pre-eminence to mediocrity, one symptom is violence. A school that no longer stands for high standards has a harder time maintaining control over…
The Star Tribune has published two counterpoints to my March 18 op-ed on the racial discipline gap in Minnesota schools [“Undisciplined: Chaos may be coming to Minnesota classrooms by decree.”]…
Question. When it’s written or said that a person has taken out, say, $30,000 in student loans, is it usually assumed that $30,000 is the total to be paid back,…
How do community and technical colleges decide what programs to offer to meet the labor market’s needs most effectively? Two college presidents recently offered their insights in MinnPost. Rich Wagner,…
The federal tax bill provides states with an additional revenue buffer and an incentive to compete for additional domestic investment expected under the new law. States are already adjusting their tax…
Wind and solar advocates inflate their job numbers while downplaying the jobs in other sectors of the energy industry.
In his final state of the state address last week, Gov. Dayton sought to take credit for Minnesota's economic achievements. But the evidence suggests that the credit really belongs to…
A state agency aims to eliminate racial disparities in schools’ response to misbehavior. Its destabilizing course would only spread the disruption. This commentary originally appeared in the Star Tribune as…
American Experiment’s Katherine Kersten warns in today’s Star Tribune of a secret war on teachers and school discipline being funded by taxpayers and directed by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Brace…
Democrats are desperate to deflect responsibility for the monumental meltdown of the MNLARS vehicle registration system under the Dayton administration’s bungling bureaucracy. Legislative leaders are working on a measure to…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota
Gov. Dayton vetoed the last attempt by legislators to get the Metropolitan Council in line. But lawmakers are back with a vengeance, picking up where they left off this week…
Among other things, Ireland is famous for its stories. The story of the Irish economy in the last 30 years highlights the importance of sound fiscal and monetary policy and…
Opponents of copper and nickel mining in Northern Minnesota sometimes suggest that new mines for copper and nickel will not be needed because metal recycling can fill the gap. Data…
Solar power proponents hit a brick wall recently on the fringe of the metro area in Carver County. Three long-standing proposals to install so-called solar community gardens were all turned…