Minnesota’s public school system is carrying a heavy price tag, as debt per student reaches more than $20,700 and pushes total school borrowing to $16.5 billion. Number crunching by the…
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…
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 National Center for Energy Analytics released a report this month that evaluates each state’s financial assurances required for decommissioning wind and solar facilities. Given the short lifespans of wind…
From the Minnesota Star Tribune, North Dakota wants to block Minnesota power lines in fight over clean energy. The fight is in front of a national energy regulator, North Dakota,…
Yesterday, I wrote about Minnesota’s performance on the raw labor components of human capital; the number of people employed and the average number of hours each of them works annually.…
Yesterday, I wrote that “Per capita economic growth comes from three sources,” one of which is “Growth in human capital, the quantity and quality of the labor provided.” I also…
Last week, the Department of Energy announced it would invest $625 million in coal production and coal-fired generation activities. The same day, the Department of the Interior announced it would…
German Tinoco-Perez, age 35, is scheduled to appear in federal court in downtown St. Paul this afternoon. He is charged with a felony count of illegal re-entry of a previously…
For data center developers, Minnesota piles on the red tape Data centers, the factories of the computing age and enablers of artificial intelligence (AI), are dominating panic-stricken headlines about growing…
Untwisting the falsehoods about religion and government Should people of faith have any influence on our state and nation? Is their influence dangerous? These are increasingly frequent questions, sometimes being…
American Experiment Update: Center events, initiatives, and policy work Summer tour American Experiment’s summer tour returned this year in June and July. The “Minnesota DOGE: Cut the waste, save the…
In our report “The State of Minnesota’s Economy: 2020: A focus on economic growth,” we wrote that: Per capita economic growth comes from three sources: an increase in the amount…
American Experiment represents American conservatism. American conservatism is different from European conservatism in that every variety of American conservatism includes a healthy dose of libertarianism. Pretty much all American conservatives…
The North Dakota Monitor reported on the North Dakota Petroleum Council’s annual meeting last week: Natural gas is going to be the “savior” of the power grid. That was the…
Approximately 1 in 5 workers in the U.S. needs a license to work, making it costly for individuals to enter certain occupations. This hinders income mobility, increasing inequality. It also…
Yesterday, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission gave Xcel Energy approval to run the Prairie Island nuclear plant through the early 2050s. It’s the right move, but state law currently prohibits…
Gerrymandering — the practice where politicians choose their voters rather than the other way around — is much in the news at present. Faced with moves to redistrict, Democrats in…
At our old office in Golden Valley, Tom Steward worked from a small desk in the mail room next to a very large (and loud) copy machine. Perhaps that was…
Center events, initiatives, and policy work. Greater Minnesota American Experiment is making significant strides in Greater Minnesota through six volunteer chapter boards that work to address pressing community issues. Duluth,…
Last week, Talon Metals announced it has secured a former coal mine site in western North Dakota for processing nickel from its proposed project. It’s a victory for North Dakota’s…
The Energy Information Administration published a brief article today forecasting a steady increase in residential electricity prices. The EIA expects electricity prices to rise through 2026, as prices have outpaced…
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…