Oliver Stone’s latest movie is about nuclear power and why it is probably the future of energy. The film will be airing in Minnesota in four different locations, including Minneapolis…
State and local taxes and spending The Center Square: How Much Minnesota Taxes Its Residents Compared to Other States Bloomberg Tax: Minnesota House Sheds Modesty With Bold Tax Overhaul Plan…
Remember when libraries were sanctuaries of silence, when even talking in hushed tones met with disapproval? That’s the least of the concerns now at many libraries, particularly those located downtown…
There isn’t space in the newsletter to write about all the bad things that passed this week, so here are just ten things that happened this week in St. Paul…
As a staffer for the Minnesota House Republican Caucus during the 1996 session, the first thing I did each session day was check the hand-written list of absentee members held…
You still see a few folks wearing medical masks here and there, but they stand out like sore thumbs. Most people ditched the pandemic relics long ago. But there’s a…
Census Bureau data released late last year showed that: From mid-2021 to mid-2022, 19,400 Minnesota residents left for other states, by far the highest number in at least three decades.…
An anti-nuke resolution before the Duluth City Council must have appeared to be a slam dunk to supporters. After all, their like-minded peers on the Minneapolis and St. Paul city…
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…
Some 80 percent of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s members already offer paid family leave to employees. Yet Gov. Tim Walz and DFL legislators plan to impose a new $1…
News of note in Minnesota: Center events, initiatives, and policy work.
Ah, the good old days of the pandemic, when Gov. Tim Walz’s emergency authority waived the public meeting laws, empowering state and local governments to hold official meetings online without…
State and local taxes and spending Faribault Daily News: We need targeted tax relief Pioneer Press: Real World Economics: Property taxes are simple, and complex Park Rapids Enterprise: Nevis school…
State and local taxes and spending MPR News: Cities, counties head back to Capitol, sales tax wish lists in hand Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal: Minnesota’s corporate tax rate limiting economic…
One of my favorite replies to my last article about the Northern Lights Express was “Have you ever been to Europe?” Well, yes, actually, I lived there for the first…
I’m always surprised at the amount of pushback that criticisms of the Northern Lights Express draw. I write about a number of contentious topics here — taxes, spending, regulations, for…
State and local taxes and spending The Globe: Worthington City Council talks budget ahead of December certification deadline Alexandria Echo Press: Douglas County commissioners approve 2023 budget of nearly $64.6…
With the state government’s budget forecast to run a surplus of $17.6 billion dollars to June 2025, there will, no doubt, be all sorts of proposals put forward for how…
It’s the same old story, but with a cruel twist for taxpayers. Like other public transit systems, the Duluth Transit Authority continues to run half-empty buses, still lagging far behind…
State and local taxes and spending Duluth News Tribune: Local View: Parks question doomed by Duluth’s dependence on property taxes Alexandria Echo Press: Property values take big jump in Douglas…
Labor market CBS News: Chaska auto shop sees booming business, but struggles with rising cost of labor Economic growth Star Tribune: Minnesota firms see supply chains healing, but still not…
Duluth Mayor Emily Larson can’t say no one warned her about the timing of her plan to put a tax increase for city parks on the ballot this year. The…
Americans continue to purchase firearms by the millions, though not at the record-breaking pace of the last two years. NRA Shooting Illustrated has posted this update on where sales stand…
The Star Tribune has published a 3-part series on Minnesota’s juvenile justice system. The series paints a picture of inexplicably poor decisions made by our political and juvenile justice leadership…