As President-elect Donald Trump fills in the blanks of his incoming Administration, some of the earliest appointments have come in the areas of energy and the environment. Most prominent among…
State and local taxes and spending Star Tribune: Economy worries reflected in MN school referendum results The Ely Echo: School levy gets voter OK Star Tribune: How would a divided…
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…
I’ve written several times about the state’s demographic death spiral: the declining birth rate coupled with consistent net outmigration. This trend has continued for years, unchecked. For some reason, the…
I write occasional articles about Minnesota’s history for our magazine, Thinking Minnesota. In the course of doing so, I often write more material than I have room for, as was…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The use of the word “latest” in this Minnesota Star Tribune headline gives the game away: Mayor Frey’s latest plan has ‘action steps’ to revitalize downtown Minneapolis “action steps” The…
Minnesota Power, based in Duluth, got approval for a 4.9 percent rate hike to residential customers’ electricity rates compared to 2023 rates. Minnesota Power estimates the average residential customer will…
Last week, Minnesota’s media reported: KEYC: DEED: Minnesota adds 6300 jobs in September KNSI: Minnesota Sees Job Gains, Strong Wage Growth in September Star Tribune: Minnesota hoping to reverse manufacturing job losses after…
Attempting to address the lack of affordable childcare, an issue vexing the rest of Minnesota, Stevens County did something creative. According to the Star Tribune, last year: The county took…
[Updated: driver fired.] The parking lot was, in fact, a handicapped parking space in front of City Hall. The “courier” was stopping by to pick up more absentee ballots en…
State and local taxes and spending Minn Post: Goldilocks report? Minnesota tax collections show economy not too cold, not too hot Star Tribune: Minneapolis to look at new taxes as…
Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance visited Minneapolis yesterday. Standing outside the ruins of the Third Precinct, he painted an unflattering picture of our state’s biggest city, suggesting that it was…
Palo Alto’s Emerson Collective LLC appears to have done exactly that in the case of an Assistant Commissioner slot at the state Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). In…
State and local taxes and spending The Ely Echo: Council approves 3% tax levy increase Pioneer Press: Letters: St. Paul’s rise in property taxes is unsustainable Axios: The cost of…
The Star Tribune‘s recent investigative articles on Minnesota’s public charter schools paint a very bleak picture of the model, stating they are “largely failing to make good on most of…
Last week’s vice-presidential debate once again elevated the very controversial abortion law that Gov. Tim Walz signed in 2023, which many pro-life advocates claim now allows a doctor to let…