It was a post-9/11 reform. How soon we forget. The current prohibition on issuing Minnesota driver’s licenses to undocumented migrants dates from 2003. A number of media outlets note that…
The Minnesota House of Representatives is considering a $500 million renovation of the State Office Building. That’s $200 million more than we spent renovating the State Capitol. The current proposal…
Minneapolis school finance officials gave a very sobering presentation to board members recently, warning that enrollment losses coupled with district spending will bankrupt the district in two short years. There…
It’s been almost a month since the 2022 election, so it’s time for your esteemed editors at Capitol Watch to provide our expert analysis about what happened.
Minnesota’s reinsurance program keeps health insurance premiums at a national low.
With this November’s governor’s race rated only a “lean” to the Democrats, national groups are taking no chances. In case they are needed late in the race, national groups are…
A centrist Minnesota political action committee just got a big pile of cash from an unlikely source. On Monday, former Enron executive John Arnold of Houston, TX, gave $150,000 to…
So far in this 2021-22 election cycle, Alida Messinger has donated $1.8 million to Democratic political causes in Minnesota. Messinger is the daughter of J.D. Rockefeller III and the former…
The most important address in Minnesota politics is located in St. Paul, but it’s not the state capitol building. The most important address is 1600 University Avenue. This glass office…
Ken Martin, the head of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party, put out a press release on Good Friday touting their most recent fundraising results. The state’s version of the Democratic party…
Greta Callahan, president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, and Shaun Laden, president of the educational support professionals chapter of the Minneapolis union, held a press conference this week after an…
While the debate over voter fraud and the “big lie” continues across the country, a relatively minor bill moved through a Senate committee this week that could do more to…
The current budget debate is shaping up much like the debate in 1999, albeit with exponentially more money involved. Jesse Ventura had just shocked the world with his election as…
In a punishment that stunned many, Dakota County District Court Judge Jamie Cork sentenced an Apple Valley man this week to 10 years probation following his guilty plea to raping…
At the beginning of his prepared remarks about the budget surplus this week, Gov. Tim Walz referenced a story in the press about past Minnesota governors putting together economic councils,…
I’ve written before about a ‘War on Public Safety’ being waged by some of Minnesota’s non-profits, District Attorneys, and judges, all of which are contributing to the explosion of violent…
Call me skeptical. Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat and former teacher, announced a new Council on Economic Expansion for Minnesota. Economic expansion means business, right? So, the council will be…
Tobacco taxes hurt low-income Minnesotans, small businesses.
Minnesota didn’t raise taxes. But why not lower them?
The last shutdown of state government was in 2011 with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate and Mark Dayton in the governor’s office. The major sticking point was whether…
Last week, we released our new paper ‘The State of Minnesota’s Economy: 2020‘. In it, we argued that Minnesota’s economy is being held back by its excessively high taxes. Chief…
Comparing border counties reveals the real impact of Minnesota’s economic policies.
Conforming to the federal schedule for depletion and abolishing the corporate AMT wouldn't send Minnesota rocketing up the rankings, but they would be baby steps in the right direction.
Poor tax policy repels high wage earners.