Report Shows Twin Cities Traffic Congestion is No Accident

Twin Cities traffic congestion has reached the crisis point with metro area drivers stuck in traffic 47 hours per year on average compared to 12 hours in 1982. But instead of focusing on comprehensive congestion relief, the state agencies responsible for the transportation system—the Metropolitan Council and MnDOT–pursue policies that make the problem worse, according to a new Center of the American Experiment report. The 24-page report, “Twin Cities Traffic Congestion: It’s No Accident,” estimates the cost of wasted time, wasted fuel and increased pollution from commuters, delivery drivers and others stuck in traffic tie-ups totals nearly $4 billion a...

Property Rights Activists Slam Supreme Court Decision on St. Croix River

Property rights activists are slamming a U.S. Supreme Court case involving land along the St. Croix River near the Twin Cities that strengthens the hand of government environmental regulators nationwide.  They say the precedent-setting decision against landowners on the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix River in Wisconsin undercuts individual property rights across the country. The case involved a family that wanted to sell one of two lots on the river bluff in order to finance improvements on a cabin on the other lot in a case covered in the Twin Cities media for years.  The lot in question was...

Don’t like jobs paying $9.50? Don’t get one

People often say “If you don’t like gay marriage, don’t get one”. Fine. If you don't want a job at $9.50 per hour, don’t get one.

AMERICAN EXPERIMENT BOOK SHELF

Minneapolis Focuses on Threat to Environment Over Public Safety

Minneapolis just became one of the first 100 cities in the world to hire a chief resilience officer. The new employee, former DFL legislator Rep. Kate Knuth, says it will take a year to figure out her newly created city job. The Rockefeller Foundation will pay Kate Knuth’s $114,000 salary during her on-the-job-training as she learns to “address such challenges as sea-level rise, extreme weather, crime, and public health threats.” But Knuth could start earning her benefactor’s exorbitant pay much sooner by paying more attention to the environment in south Minneapolis.  Rick Groger, a south Minneapolis resident, issued an urgent...

Is Governor Dayton Bigoted Against Minnesotans?

Governor Mark Dayton prejudged the Jeronimo Yanez case hours after the fatal shooting of Philando Castile, at a time when virtually nothing was known about the facts. He said: Would this have happened if the driver were white, if the passengers were white? I don’t think it would have. Since then, Yanez has been indicted for manslaughter, and has been tried and acquitted by a unanimous jury that included two African-Americans. Yet Dayton still takes a prejudiced view of the case. Yesterday he met with African-American leaders and said, reacting to the recently-released dash cam video of the incident: With...

Raising the minimum wage will not boost Minneapolis’ economy

Minneapolis’ small business owners are vital to the economy and will struggle with this proposed ordinance. All politicians like Council Member Bender can offer them are empty clichés. Since when have they paid the bills?

Educational and Career Advice and a Barely Changing Score

In the grand scheme of things – and even in much smaller schemes – two decades are not much more than a blip.  So, I don’t want to read too much into an article, published in 1997, that makes many of the same points about how young people choose between four-year colleges and other postsecondary institutions, aided and perhaps pressured by their parents, as does American Experiment’s current multi-year project, Great Jobs Without a Four-Year Degree: Good News for Students, Parents, and Employers.  Still, the consistency is interesting. The article, “The Gatekeepers,” was written by Kenneth Gray, a professor of...

Minnesota Cities Decide On Sunday Liquor Sales

Back in March, the Minnesota House and Senate agreed it was time to repeal an 80-year ban on Sunday liquor sales. Governor Dayton signed the bill into law, and it will go into effect July 1. The Legislature added a provision to the law during its special session: Cities can adopt the state law, continue prohibiting Sunday sales altogether, or be more restrictive than state law on when liquor stores sell booze. Here is a running list of cities and where they currently stand with selling adult beverages on Sundays.