In light of newly available documents, I revisit a 2021 shooting case involving Liban Osman, the brother of Jamal Osman, Minneapolis city council member (DFL-Ward 6). The incident occurred around…
In 1980 Minnesota became the first state in the nation to adopt a sentencing guidelines structure. The guidelines that were adopted were designed for judges to follow to “ensure that the…
It is by the grace of God that St. Paul Police Officer Abdirahman Dahir was not killed Monday night, and that our region isn’t mourning the loss of yet another…
Welcome to Capitol Watch 2025 Happy New Year and welcome to Capitol Watch 2025! Hold onto your wallets because the Minnesota Legislature returns to St. Paul on Tuesday, January 14,…
In the Winter 2024 issue of our magazine Thinking Minnesota, I wrote about the “Minnesota Miracle” of 1978 which saw, among other outcomes, the election of a tied state House,…
State and local taxes and spending Moose Lake Star Gazette: Action needed to avert looming state shortfall Star Tribune: St. Paul schools to raise property tax levy by 7.9% in…
Note to county commissioners and other local officials with taxing authority. It doesn’t help your constituents feel any less pain over their property tax bills being finalized this month by…
The battle over St. Paul’s budget is coming to a climax. KSTP reports: Nearly 200 people filled St. Paul City Council chambers on Monday night to express concern and some…
Minneapolis Ward 6 council member Jamal Osman is back in the news over his links to the sprawling free-food scandal. But he isn’t answering any questions. The latest round of…
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…
Center of the American Experiment has been sounding the alarm about St. Paul’s economy and fiscal prospects for some time. Now, a group of “fiscal watchdogs” have added their weight…
Back in 2018, I asked, “Why is the Ramsey County board going to waste up to $2 billion on a pointless streetcar?” This was in reference to the proposal “to…
You may recall the name Empress Malcolm Watson, Jr., from the early days of the Feeding Our Future scandal. He was described back then as the live-in boyfriend of Aimee…
A St. Paul-based drug- and alcohol-treatment center, Evergreen Recovery, accused of defrauding the state in the amount of $28 million, had its day in court. Fifteen days ago, on July…
That represents a 49 percent increase over the current level of $122,225. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports: Hennepin County Board members are ready to give themselves a 49% pay hike…
The city of St. Paul just got smacked down by a Ramsey County court in what’s being hailed a groundbreaking case for transparency in Minnesota government. Ramsey County District Judge…
Last week, I wrote about the bankruptcy of the Park Square Court building in downtown St. Paul and how it is an omen of looming budget problems in the city.…
In May, I wrote about Madison Equities putting ten of its commercial properties in downtown St. Paul up for sale, including the First National Bank building, the Park Square Court…
In a curiously timed Sunday evening announcement, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty dropped all charges against Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan, relating to the July 2023 use of deadly force…
Last week I wrote about the looming budget battle in Minneapolis resulting from an increase in spending at the same time as declining commercial property values were dragging down commercial…
On July 31 at 2 a.m. on I-94 in North Minneapolis, three Minnesota State Patrol (MSP) troopers attempted to arrest Ricky Cobb II for a felony domestic abuse no contact…
The Bait In 2023, Governor Tim Walz’s budget proposal included funding for public safety in the form of a one-time $300 million infusion divided between cities and counties over 10,000…
Late last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released 2023 county-level population data. The bad news continued for Hennepin County. Hennepin County, which includes the state’s largest city of Minneapolis, has…
On July 31, 2023, at 2 a.m. on busy metro freeway, Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan shot and killed Ricky Cobb II, during an attempt to arrest Cobb for violating…