The November forecast of state revenues and expenditures revealed a projected $1.2 billion deficit for the current two year biennium (FY 2010-11), which began on July 1. This means that over the course of the next 19 months, the state will have to reduce spending, [...]
Photo Credit: Eagan High School
You don’t need any fancy studies from high-buck universities to know that there’s a correlation between student involvement in extracurricular activities and grades. Two school districts know this firsthand.
In Frazee-Vargas, Schools Activities Director Dave Trautman said he’s heard athletes [...]
The H1N1 outbreak appears to have calmed down so we temporarily return our attentions to the seasonal flu which is expected to reach its yearly high sometime in the next month or two. The attention given to the H1N1 has lead to increased awareness and use [...]
Today’s Minnesota 2020 report documents how state cuts are causing property tax increases. The magnitude of local revenue loss since 2002 have compelled Minnesota local governments to cut their budgets at the same time that they’re increasing property taxes. Thank your “no new tax” [...]
Putting up outdoor Christmas lights after Thanksgiving required careful footwork this past weekend. Clumsy feet and the careful placement of the stepladder had to avoid the flowering pansies, flowering kale and flowering cabbage that seem to be ignorant of the calendar.
Yes, we have flowers in bloom [...]
An article in the Saturday Star Tribune hit the nail on the head regarding the icy relationship between State Economist Tom Stinson and Governor Pawlenty. The first words summarize this article nicely:
“The last person Gov. Tim Pawlenty may want to see rising to speak these [...]
Tomorrow’s release of the state budget forecast won’t be much of a surprise to people of all political stripes. Despite Governor Pawlenty’s draconian cuts to health care and property tax relief, along with his $1 billion IOU to schools, Minnesota’s budget will be full of red ink.
The [...]
“Vocation,” says one. “Location, location, location,” says the other.
We need a meeting of the minds like this. So, set ‘em up Joe.
Every time we look at the Minnesota housing market and national housing and economic trends, we can count on getting hit with conflicting information within [...]
A recent story in the Star Tribune extolled the virtues of Teach For America, a program that takes high-achieving college graduates and puts them into classrooms as teachers.
The story led with Sarah Schultes, a newly minted college graduate who is teaching an eighth-grade science class [...]
What’s your time worth to you? If you’re stuck in rush-hour freeway traffic, congestion researchers will value your delay at less than $20 an hour. If you’re cooped up in a smelly airplane sitting out a near-6-hour flight delay on the Rochester tarmac, the federal government [...]
A report issued [PDF] Monday by the Minnesota Private College Research Foundation shows that enrollment at the colleges was flat compared to last year.
According to the report, enrollment increased 1 percent from 2008 to 2009. Undergraduate enrollment, which accounts for 72 percent of students, increased [...]
Yesterday, NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” held a conversation to discuss the question, “Who needs college, and who shouldn’t go?” For those of us who are interested in higher education policy, that’s certainly a provocative topic. Unfortunately, the question itself is also a bit misleading [...]
As the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season approaches this Friday, Minnesota 2020 is once again urging Minnesotans to think about how we spend our dollars. “Made in MN 2009: Homegrown Holidays,” illustrates how Minnesota would gain a $2 billion economic stimulus if Minnesotans targeted 25 percent of [...]
The Northstar commuter train’s first weekend run from Big Lake to Minneapolis was packed to the gunwales on Saturday, so full that 40 would-be riders were left at the Fridley station. Each of Northstar’s double-deck passenger cars has 140 seats and a “crush load” capacity [...]
When educators talk about curriculum and assessments and standards, it can all seem removed from the typical parent’s interaction with his child’s school. It’s only when mom or dad get a swift kick in the gut that they’re reminded that what happens in the halls of [...]
In 1991, conservative public policymakers made a compromise in their efforts to send public money to private schools in the form of vouchers. Instead, Minnesota created charter schools. These schools would be independent, have fewer licensure regulations, have unelected boards, and extra state money (being unable [...]
A recent Star Tribune commentary argued that the federal government shouldn’t raise income tax rates because ultimately no new public revenue would be generated since high income households will choose to work less in response to the higher marginal tax rate.
This is a variation of [...]
Two school districts in southwest Minnesota have signed on to the YES! Program, administered by the Southwest Initiative Foundation, that offers hands-on energy action projects to look at energy opportunities and issues in rural Minnesota.
A recent report in the Worthington Daily Globe noted that Windom [...]
The National Cooperative Business Association has sent an advisory to co-ops that the most recent health care bill outlined by Senate Democrats still use the word CO-OP for possible new health insurance companies. Hold on a minute, says the NCBA.
The Senate language refers to “Consumer Operated [...]
Since Harriet Bishop came from Vermont in 1847 to establish Minnesota’s first common school, Minnesota’s respect for education and its commitment to educating immigrants has been one of the state’s distinguishing traits. The language has changed somewhat since Harriet Bishop’s day as the focus has [...]
Here at MN 2020 we are hard at work getting ready for the holidays. We just released our annual buy local report and I have been calling around to local businesses and artists to see if we can feature their products in our gift [...]
The America’s Health Rankings report from the United Health Foundation was just released, and they found [PDF] that Minnesota, once a leader in health care is now 6th in the country. Here is the kicker though, the way things are going, it is unlikely [...]
Yesterday, fellow think tank Growth and Justice issued a press release and op-ed by its president, Dane Smith, about the need for Minnesota’s next governor to focus on higher education attainment. They couldn’t be more on point.
Education has traditionally been the primary means for [...]
We recently learned that after ending health insurance for 30,000 of the poorest Minnesotans on a program called General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC), Governor Pawlenty plans to shift most of these individuals to MinnesotaCare. While MinnesotaCare has worked extremely well for working Minnesotans who are unable to access affordable health [...]
Raising the minimum wage creates a multiplier effect. A minimum wage increase will result in billions of dollars in additional sales for businesses in Minnesota. Low-income workers spend a higher proportion of their wages than members of middle class. This is what economists mean when they [...]
Businesses along Minnesota Avenue in St. Peter, Minn., are sighing in relief now that a summer and autumn of reconstruction of the main drag that also serves as Hwy. 169 is coming to an end. The busy thoroughfare reopened to pedestrian traffic on Saturday, a day [...]
Nearly every state is experiencing a negative “budget gap” in the current fiscal year, but Minnesota’s gap is larger than most. To be precise, Minnesota has the 19th largest budget gap (based on the gap as a percentage of the state general fund) among the fifty states [...]
Here’s your Friday news summary. Have a great weekend!
MinnPost: Minnesota falls short on Medicaid for nursing homes
Our own Nina Slupphaug appears in MinnPost to highlight this troubling problem.
“Minnesota’s long-term care facilities face a substantial gap between the rates paid by Medicaid for nursing home [...]
A new report “Help Wanted: Postsecondary Education and Training Required” shows that a post-high school education is imperative for middle class earnings and standings. Further, they argue the only salvation is to help elevate low-income adults into college.
The report, written by Anthony P. Carnevale, [...]
Photo by the Minnesota National Guard used under Creative Commons
We take time on Veterans Day to remember and thank those who have served our country. We must also remember that the lives of these servicemen and women do [...]
Twelve years in the planning, politicking and construction, the Northstar commuter rail line begins service Monday between Big Lake and Minneapolis. This will offer huge benefits to travelers in the congested northwest corridor extending toward St. Cloud, which should have been connected to the Twin Cities [...]
If you really want to understand the current financial crisis, add another opus from the Wall Street Journal to your yellowing pile of indispensable literature.
On Nov. 3, Mark Whitehouse (yep, that’s his name) wrote the Journal’s center column feature on Yale economist John Geanakoplos. The prof has [...]
A report card issued Monday on education innovation found most states earn C’s, D’s, or F’s in key areas as technology, high school quality, and removal of ineffective teachers. We find some of the grades to be on the mark, and some to be awry.
The report, [...]
What do charter schools and traditional public schools have in common? They’re all public schools that are funded with public money. The difference? Public schools operate inside school districts. These districts have publicly elected boards and licensed professionals overseeing how that public money is invested. Charter schools don’t have those [...]
KSTP recently ran a story criticizing sabbaticals and, by extension, the tenure system at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. While accountability with public dollars and general fiscal responsibility is always important, it is also important to fully understand the benefits all Minnesotans glean from the tenure [...]
Don’t let daily bounces in stock market index numbers and even occasional government statistics such as export sales convince you we’ve turned the corner on the recession. The housing market is still in serious trouble, and will remain so until employment and household incomes show real [...]
It was a breath of fresh air to read the final report from the Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband Taskforce, the group Governor Pawlenty appointed to research Minnesota’s broadband needs. Specifically, the report says all Minnesotans should have access to download speeds of 10-20 megabits per [...]
Governor Pawlenty, before departing for an Iowa speaking engagement, proposed a state constitutional amendment limiting spending to raised revenue. Yes, you read correctly. It’s another conservative distraction that puts ideology ahead of common sense.
It’s no mistake, I think, that Pawlenty announced his idea ahead of [...]
Amid all the conservative rejoicing over gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia and voter repeal of civil rights in Maine, there are plenty of countervailing signs of a progressive national electorate. And it’s not just in upstate New York, where prominent right-wing opposition to a moderate Republican congressional nominee [...]
A Wall Street Journal survey of expiring frequent flyer credits has found that Delta, the airline that swallowed Northwest, offers some of the industry’s most user-friendly policies for keeping your miles current. Come January, however, you just won’t be able to earn or spend them on [...]
According to her campaign website, gubernatorial candidate and former Minnesota Free Market Institute President Patricia Anderson wants to:
“Reform the state tax system by reducing and eliminating inefficient taxes – taxes with high marginal rates imposed on a small tax base that produce inconsistent revenue with fluctuations [...]
As the dissection of yesterday’s elections continues, it’s apt to look at the policy implications. The biggest? Minnesotans aren’t afraid to pay more in taxes if it means investment in core areas. Don’t believe me? Yesterday, voters in most Minnesota school districts agreed to raise [...]
From a progressive public policy perspective, what do Tuesday’s election results mean? Do voters’ decisions reflect a progressive policy victory?
Kind of.
First, the overwhelming good news: conservative policy advocates experienced a walloping defeat. The divisive, government bashing, starve the beast, conservative message found few takers and little traction. Minnesotans, in school [...]
It’s easy to be pleased with a success rate of better than 70 percent in the 2009 school district levy elections, but it is important to remember that the elections themselves are a result of the state’s failure of leadership.
As per the state’s constitution and law, [...]
The Westbrook-Walnut Grove School District has joined with as many as 25 other school districts to petition the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) to establish a flexible learning plan.
Although the plan has many parts, perhaps its’ main effect will be to allow school districts to [...]
A key provision of President Obama’s economic recovery package is a provision to pay 65% of health insurance coverage laid off workers can obtain through their former employer. For many Minnesotans, that coverage is about to run out soon.
While the subsidy has been extremely helpful, it brings up a larger [...]
Star Tribune: Lori Sturdevant: All for one, one for all? Not just now in Minnesota
A very practical reason why it’s important for the state to share revenue with communities
“The result: In Red Wing, according to Mayor John Howe, Xcel paid property taxes of nearly [...]
A recent report, “The Proficiency Illusion” asserts that several states have lowered their academic standards to more easily comply with No Child Left Behind guidelines and create the illusion of success, especially at the early grades.
Luckily, Minnesota was not one of the states tagged by [...]
courtesy of Healthy Lakes, Healthy Lives photo contest
Here’s the good news: the EPA is proposing stricter emission standards for U.S. ships.
Here’s the bad news: the Great Lakes area, which includes our great state, may not benefit from the tighter rules [...]
Chris Shields, Lauren Benditt, Conrad deFiebre, John Fitzgerald, Nora Ferrell, Jeff Van Wychen, Lee Egerstrom, Nathan Paine, John Van Hecke, Nina Slupphaug
