Examining the roots of party politics realignment In 2001, when Tim Pawlenty told the Minnesota State Republican Convention, “We are the party of Sam’s Club, not just the country club,”…
Yesterday, Gov. Tim Walz surprised many by announcing that he will run for an unprecedented third term in office. No doubt he believes that he will be better placed for…
If he wins, Tim Walz will be the first Minnesota governor elected to a third four-year term.
Minnesota legislative leaders and Governor Walz have come to an agreement to avoid a government shutdown. But we’ve been here before, only to have that deal announcement interrupted by a…
American Experiment broke the story last week of an hour-long recording of Attorney General Keith Ellison meeting with participants in the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal. During the meeting Ellison…
The money and power wielded by the state's teachers' union is the reason we don’t have school choice in Minnesota. It's time to connect the dots between union dues, campaign…
Capitol Watch is taking a break from all the negativity and polarization in state government to bring you four positive developments we’ve observed in St. Paul. Next week we will…
The main group advocating for the new amendment calls itself Minnesotans for the Great Outdoors. The organization boasts of a long list of entities supporting the effort. But of more…
Allowing people to buy health insurance across state lines has been a key policy in Republican health reform proposals over the past 20 years. The policy goal has always been…
Those wishing to cut state government spending could begin with the 173 employees in the Walz administration working on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). American Experiment intern Nathan Fish recently…
In a moment of reflection, Legislative Auditor Judy Randall hit the nail on head when it comes to fraud and mismanagement in the Walz administration. After releasing two scathing audits…
Are all the children in Lake Wobegon still above average? If Democrats in the legislature have their way, we’ll never know. The Minnesota Senate passed an education bill this week…
The Minnesota Legislature is about to build another new office building for themselves, and the Golden Turkey committee is here for it. Without a single vote on the floor of…
Xcel Energy has been cashing in on Minnesota’s renewable energy mandates. Minnesota passed the Renewable Energy Objective (REO) in 2001, requiring utilities to make a “good faith effort” to reach…
The first person Tim Walz called after he became governor in 2018 was his real estate agent in Mankato. Since the job of governor includes the perk of living in…
Why Education Minnesota is the most systemically racist organization in the state.
A recent dust-up between the Capitol press corps and House DFL leadership exposes a much larger trend of complacency and incuriosity of the media covering the governor and legislature in…
After watching Rep. Cheryl Youakim (DFL-Hopkins) run the House Education Finance Committee last week, it’s apparent she doesn’t like strong Black women. I’m not sure what else to conclude after…
There is a tradition in the Minnesota legislature that bills dealing with election law achieve bi-partisan support. Governors Tim Pawlenty and Mark Dayton each abided by this tradition and refused…
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…
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…
When it comes to politics in Minnesota, the Democrats are the professionals, and Republicans are the amateurs. I don’t say that to disparage my Republican friends. Politics is supposed to…
In case you missed it...and what to watch for.
Tuesday, Nov. 23 marks the 15th anniversary of the day then-Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty signed off on his renewable energy mandate, the Next Generation Energy Act (NGEA). Today is also…