The news that Minnesota’s state government is forecast to run a budget surplus of $17.6 billion in the 2024-2025 biennium prompted some to ask where all that money came from.…
The Star Tribune ran a story last Wednesday titled “Minnesota’s big economic challenge is where to find people to fill jobs, state demographer says.” It followed this with another on…
State and local taxes and spending The Globe: Worthington City Council talks budget ahead of December certification deadline Alexandria Echo Press: Douglas County commissioners approve 2023 budget of nearly $64.6…
Governor Walz and other liberal lawmakers have proposed legislation that would require Minnesota to derive 100 percent of its electricity from carbon-free resources by 2040, but his proposal would not…
The latest Thinking Minnesota poll was conducted last week, and the top choice for what to do with the budget surplus for Minnesotans was once again permanent tax cuts. Twenty-seven percent of respondents…
A report from the administrative law judge tasked with reviewing proposed amendments to the state’s licensure rule for teachers has been released. The 86-page report responds to rule changes to…
The third large free-food nonprofit suspended by the state Department of Education (MDE) appeared in the state Court of Appeals yesterday. Youth Leadership Academy, d/b/a Gar Gaar Family Services, is…
Walker Orenstein of MinnPost wrote an article detailing the energy and climate agenda of key Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota now that the DFL has total control of the House of…
In political science, it’s very difficult to conduct controlled experiments. However, in this month’s general election, a natural experiment appears to have occurred in Edina, MN. Statewide, Democrats swept to…
It’s been almost a month since the 2022 election, so it’s time for your esteemed editors at Capitol Watch to provide our expert analysis about what happened.
Efforts to politicize K-12 public education and turn classrooms into ideological battlegrounds have dominated headlines over the past two years, as school closures and distance learning gave parents a peek…
Feeding Fraud Program at MDE Wins Golden Turkey Award for Wasteful Spending We have a winner! Poor management and oversight by the Minnesota Department of Education of a pandemic-related food…
Education Minnesota’s Political Action Committee (PAC) spent nearly $4 million this year leading up to the statewide general elections, according to its 2022 Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure report through…
A recent story from the Energy and Policy Institute (EPI) details how Xcel Energy is apparently approaching cities to join its Carbon-Free Future MN Coalition to promote Xcel’s goals of…
Gov. Tim Walz dedicated a new statue of Nellie Stone Johnson today at the State Capitol. The press fawned over the ceremony, calling her an “iconic civil rights and labor…
Forget about ventilators, masks, test kits and vaccines. During the height of the pandemic, Gov. Tim Walz’s Department of Health spent $19,700 on the real solution to COVID-19: sauerkraut! Thanks…
State and local taxes and spending West Central Tribune: Litchfield school bond referendum fails, but operating levies pass in Hancock, Paynesville Pioneer Press: Real World Economics: Structural or cyclical in…
The recent elections gave Minnesota Democrats total control of the state government for at least the next two years. According to an article in The Sahan Journal, they are wasting…
A parent using the occasional bribe to coerce good child behavior is one thing, but this is ridiculous. Now the Department of Natural Resources is effectively paying kids to go…
For many years prior to the mid-term elections, the lack of affordable high-quality childcare has been one of the biggest issues plaguing Minnesota families. The coronavirus pandemic has merely worsened…
At last week’s election, Minnesotans handed the DFL control of the governor’s mansion, the state Senate, and state House. What fiscal measures might they get in return for this vote?…
On Tuesday, Minnesota Democrats won control of the Governor’s mansion, the House of Representatives, and the State Senate, giving the DFL unified control of the legislature for at least the…
Crime and public safety issues were reportedly of high concern to Minnesota voters this election cycle. The crime problem that had exploded in our state in recent years was supposed…
In an article summarizing the economic policies of Tim Walz and Scott Jensen — candidates in tomorrow’s gubernatorial election — Dave Orrick writes for the Pioneer Press: The Federal Reserve…