Imagine sitting down to take a school exam in the late 19th century — no multiple-choice bubbles to fill in, no standardized test booklets, just long, challenging questions covering a…
Axios reported yesterday that the chair of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, is mulling the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) for the 2028 presidential primary. Interest in RCV has…
The economics of housing affordability The big buzzword in politics right now is “affordability.” Things aren’t affordable, the argument goes, or are becoming less so, and voters will reward the…
The wood One of the issues at the heart of the current federal government shutdown is the expiration of certain tax credits. When it became apparent that the Affordable Care…
For many families, K-12 open enrollment policies allow students to attend public schools outside of the districts or zones in which they reside, offering more flexibility, opportunity, and choice in…
The Stibnite Gold Project in central Idaho has been given the all-clear by the U.S. Forest Service, conditioned only on the company posting the bonding agreed to in permitting. After…
Census Bureau data show that, between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2024, Minnesota’s population grew by 1.4%, a rate slower than in 31 other states, as Figure 1 shows.…
American Experiment’s $7k for Kids initiative in partnership with Opportunity for All Kids has prompted thousands of Minnesotans to email their legislators, encouraging them to support legislation that would provide…
If first-term North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong wanted to make an impression right out of the gate, his controversial vetoes of school choice legislation and a bill protecting minors from…
The complicated electoral method was thoroughly rejected in November. On Nov. 5, 2024, Donald Trump won his second presidential term. But that day was important for another reason: Ranked choice…
No three-eyed fish here! Homer Simpson, patriarch of the Simpson family and the eponymous, long-running animated sitcom “The Simpsons,” is the ineffective safety inspector in Sector 7G of Springfield’s nuclear…
The Washington Free Beacon reported recently on China’s expanded export ban of the critical minerals antimony, gallium, and germanium — all necessary for military and energy applications — and a…
Last month, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its final environmental analysis of changes to greater sage grouse management. The final environmental impact statement (EIS) prohibits wind, solar, and transmission projects…
Open enrollment policies allow students to access public schools outside of their resident public schools, which can be a great help for families whose assigned neighborhood public schools aren’t the…
In August, the state of Utah filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court challenging federal control over more than a third of the land within its borders. The lawsuit…
Last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released data for state Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2024. It showed that: Real gross domestic product increased in…
In June last year, I wrote that data show that families with children are fleeing the Twin Cities. Sadly, that is not all. Writing for the Institute for Family Studies,…
Residents of 11 Western states should prepare for an influx of solar panels on public lands near them. A Bureau of Land Management rule is designating 31 million acres of Western lands…
This morning, I was back at Ft. Snelling, observing the workings of the local Federal Immigration Court. Charles Dickens famously wrote in his 1853 novel Bleak House about the fictional…
Eight states, including North Dakota, have petitioned for the Supreme Court to hear a challenge to California’s zero-emissions vehicle mandate. Historically, California was granted an exception to nationwide emissions standards…
Gov. Walz’s desperate push for the Vice Presidential slot on the Democratic party ticket this November has invited a number of appraisals of his record. The Big Picture The Minnesota…
This is not a list you want to rank high on. This headline caught my eye last week: Energy costs: These are the states paying the most, least So, I…
Last year, I wrote that: In 2015, Hennepin County seized Geraldine Tyler’s Minneapolis condo “over about $2,300 of unpaid property taxes, plus $12,700 in penalties, interest and fees.” The county…
The Minneapolis Star Tribune had a headline yesterday noting that Minnesota is among the top states to which New York City is redirecting its excess illegal immigrant arrivals. The Star…