State and local taxes and spending Wadena Pioneer Journal: Wadena County trims preliminary 2026 tax levy to 13.28% Bemidji Pioneer: Why the Beltrami County budget includes a 42% cut to…
State and local taxes and spending KYMN: Northfield City Council Approves 10.2% Preliminary Tax Levy Increase Bring Me the News: Live in Hennepin County? Prepare to pay more in property…
Housing and zoning “Overly restrictive local zoning is the fundamental cause of America’s housing shortage,” according to the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. “Cities and counties have employed their…
Tom’s work at American Experiment frequently focused on local government, where mismanagement, malfeasance, and the imposition of political agendas too often escape public scrutiny. Sometime in the fall of 1989,…
There’s a new, disturbing epidemic sweeping through Minnesota. It has shown up on the government radar, infecting state agency social benefit programs and siphoning taxpayer money by the millions: fraud.…
Teachers often make personal sacrifices for their students, purchasing classroom supplies, giving up weekends to grade, coach or chaperone, and choosing a position with comparably low pay. But one extra…
Quite often, in recent years, as policymakers at state and local levels have pushed some wacky rail scheme, we at Center of the American Experiment have suggested buses as an…
Regulation Duluth News Tribune: Our View: Minnesota’s wild rice standard demands compromise Grand Forks Herald: At Iron Range hearing, miners warn of closures if wild rice rule enforced St. Cloud…
Recently, KSTP’s 5 INVESTIGATES published an explosive report detailing the contracts for every superintendent in Minnesota’s 30 largest school districts. The 5 INVESTIGATES team submitted public records requests (occasionally along…
From the U.S. Attorney’s press release: Carjacker Charged with Federal Crimes for Carjacking Spree that Killed Two Women and Injured a Child. David Zimmer wrote about the incident the day…
Update: Shortly after posting the original news of some ten shooting victims in Minneapolis on Tuesday, the tragic news broke of a mass shooting at Annunciation Church this morning as…
Labor market MPR News: July jobs report: Minnesota economy strong but slowing as shifting federal policy creates uncertainty St. Cloud Live: Minnesota economy remains stable despite layoffs, tariffs, DEED says…
Trade Star Tribune: The last bite: Tariffs, economy and beans are hot topics at Minnesota Farmfest Economic growth WCCO: Is the Twin Cities restaurant scene in crisis? KFGO: Farm and…
Alpha News reports: Minnesota DHS takes a step to improve background checks. It’s about time. The requirement will also apply to contractors, interns, volunteers, and existing employees with Criminal Justice…
Did you know that the 2023 DFL-controlled legislature decided that Minnesota school boards can bypass their residents and renew local school levies (taxes)? During the legislature’s 2025 special session, a…
Catching up on news from last week, from KSTP: Man charged with fatal stabbing at bar in Windom sentenced to 15 years in prison. You may recall the tragic story…
There should be far less of it. Ideally, the amount of fraud perpetrated against state and federal welfare programs should be zero. That’s my controversial opinion. Someone else who doesn’t…
From the Minnesota Star Tribune this evening (Monday): Minnesota halts payments to housing program providers amid fraud investigation. The Star Tribune quotes the governor: The payments that were scheduled to…
Sentencing was today in the case of that horror June 2023 car crash that killed five young women off Lake Street in south Minneapolis. KSTP reports: Derrick Thompson gets over…
With an anticipated $37 million budget deficit beginning in the 2026-27 school year, the St. Paul school district is asking voters to take on more property taxes for the next…
Jay Kolls of KSTP-TV 5 has the scoop. In an interview that aired tonight (Tuesday), Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson tells KSTP: that when current investigations are prosecuted and finished,…
KSTP reports: Hundreds of autism centers popped up to meet demand in Minnesota. Now 85 are under investigation. KSTP reckons that works out to one of every five providers in…
KSTP has all the details on that $430,000 legal bill Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz racked up preparing for his testimony before Congress last month: Invoices reveal more about what Gov. Tim Walz’s…
How not to kill off a media story. The saga of former state bureaucrat, Wilson Tindi, has been extended for another week, with a fresh round of media reports. From…