We are divided and faltering in Minnesota and the United States, staggering through a state government shutdown over a legislative refusal to raise more revenue, and teetering on the brink of a disastrous and unprecedented default on our national debt for essentially the same reason.
Read More »Racial diversity grows as public school aid shrinks
Is the following set of facts just a coincidence, or a sign of subtle racial antipathy by Minnesota’s white-majority political establishment toward nonwhites and immigrants?
Read More »U of M: The house that Pillsbury built
Almost 150 years ago, in the midst of economic hard times and a Civil War, a young business dynamo by the name of John S. Pillsbury was named a regent for the University of Minnesota and given the unofficial task by Gov. Henry Swift of saving it from premature death.
Read More »Mainstream consensus builds for budget sanity, tax fairness
An entertaining skit now on YouTube portrays your classic Minnesota church ladies slamming down the coffee and clucking around the table about their charitable efforts to help children and elderly folks in their congregation.
Read More »Investment in education is sweetest spot for bipartisanship
Three months before former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush came to Minnesota to pitch his model for improving school test scores and closing the achievement gap, he was joined at Miami's once troubled and rapidly improving Central High School for a celebratory event with President Barack Obama.
Read More »Some top earners say they can and must pay more
Millions of affluent taxpayers know that our public-private system has benefited them, and they are willing to pay a fairer share.
Read More »Cincinnati offers lessons on improving schools and closing racial gaps
We've all heard the stories and seen the movies about that charismatic principal or that inspirational teacher who defied expectations and boosted educational outcomes for a challenging group of students in a tough urban environment.
Read More »Who’s getting too good a deal?
As state and federal budget debates heat up this month, the taxophobes are bombarding us with propaganda claiming that too many groups are getting too good a deal.
Read More »Lawmakers should pass Dayton’s bonding bill
One of the outstanding things I noticed about Minnesota on arriving here in the early 1970s, right up there with the refreshing coolness of the summer mornings, was the high quality of the state's physical public infrastructure.
Read More »Post-high school education goal should be tops for Dayton, Legislature
Start with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan's recent visit to Minnesota and his frequent and urgent plea for Americans to set a goal of regaining our top international ranking in higher education attainment by the year 2020.
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