State and local taxes and spending KIMT 3: Amid several operating tax levies, one SE Minnesota school district looks to lower taxes WJON: Stearns County Makes Final Push on Justice…
The headline from a press release issued today by the office of state attorney general Keith Ellison: Attorney General Ellison requires charity to dissolve over governance violations File this under…
The Golden Turkey Committee tried to warn Minnesotans not to continue sending lottery money to the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF), but not enough listened. The result will…
Election Day was Tuesday, November 5, 2024. At least that’s what we used to call it. Now it’s just a day where Minnesota begins the process of collecting and counting…
I guess we’ll find out for sure once the new legislature convenes in January. In the meantime, we search for signs and portents. As for trends, I’ve been pointing to…
All eyes were on the presidential election Tuesday, but energy had a big night, too, with some good things coming at the national and local levels. Now that the dust…
Minnesotans elected 80 achievement-focused candidates to 47 school boards across the state on Tuesday, reports the Minnesota Parents Alliance (MPA). School boards in over 13 districts, including Elk River, Lakeville,…
Spending on E-12 public education is Minnesota’s biggest general fund expenditure. For the 2024-2025 biennium, E-12 education makes up nearly 35 percent of all general fund dollars and is expected…
Notes from the day after the night before. Election 2024 saw the end of Democratic party (DFL) monopoly control at the state capitol. Trump did not prevail in Minnesota, but…
Steve Sviggum was first elected to the Minnesota House in 1978, arriving in St. Paul as a wide-eyed farmer and teacher from Kenyon, Minnesota. The blatant abuse of power he…
Minnesota remains suspended in time when it comes to energy solutions, one of just twelve states that still prohibits the development of new nuclear power plants. But across the border…
It wasn’t enough for the 2023 legislature to spend the entire surplus, raise taxes and add thousands of new government bureaucrats. They had to do one more thing: change the…
It’s Turkey Time! Golden Turkey, that is. Today we begin to unveil the four projects that will make up the nominees for American Experiment’s 2024 Golden Turkey Award. One word…
There has been a surge of popularity for four-day school weeks, particularly in rural districts. Cited reasons for the schedule change include hoping it will boost teacher recruitment and retention,…
The massive changes in election laws enacted by Minnesota Democrats over the past two years inspired us at the Center to undertake a four-stop “election integrity tour” last month. We…
State and local taxes and spending Detroit Lakes Online: Detroit Lakes school district’s proposed property tax levy is just under $10 million Fox News: ‘Bad policy’: Minnesota lawmaker says Walz…
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…
With the new and growing electricity demand that artificial intelligence (AI) is putting on the grid, it seems like the smart money is on nuclear to power AI. Nuclear power…
Today (Halloween), the utility company Xcel Energy filed its latest quarterly financial report. The Minnesota Star Tribune headline: Xcel will increase capital spending by $11B as data centers, climate change…
Only two years after having a forecast budget surplus of $18 billion, Minnesota’s state government is, according to its February 2024 Budget and Economic Forecast, looking at a budget deficit…
Minneapolis records the 7th murder in and around homeless encampments in 10 months This past weekend three people were fatally shot, and three others were wounded in two separate shooting…
Childcare is expensive all over the country, but parents in Minnesota have it especially hard. According to data from Childcare Aware, for example, daycare for infants cost 21 percent of…
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…
County caught illegally staffing ballot boards. The headline from KSTP-TV: Supreme Court rules Hennepin County Absentee Ballot Board must comply with state law in choosing election judges by Nov. 1…