Most of us up here have a complaint or two about Minnesota. We grumble about the weather, the mosquitoes, or summer road construction. But there is a difference between grumbling about the place you …

We’ve all heard the old saying… Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. But by the time the foolery gets to the third, fourth, or fifth go-round, you would hope voters finally get …

The last few weeks may ultimately come to be seen as the turning point when Americans— including a growing number of those whose livelihoods are at stake— began to recognize the existential …

Twenty-five years ago today, on Sept. 11, 2001, 3,000 people went to work, boarded planes, or simply went out for a normal day and never came home. The grief surrounding America’s worst terrorist …

With the Nov. 3 general election now just two months away, voters in the St. Louis County School District , or ISD 2142, need to understand the implications of their vote on the district’s proposed …

Unintended consequences can be a bitch. Just ask Rep. Pete Stauber. Despite the congressman’s latest hysterical outbursts against Gov. Tim Walz over the governor’s recent executive order putting …

It didn’t take long in the wake of last week’s primary election, to hear what is likely to be a primary attack line of Minnesota Republicans in the races for U.S. Senator and governor: fraud in …

There was a time, not so long ago, when a crisis like a cyberattack on a state’s water infrastructure would draw a president toward the bully pulpit with words of reassurance and resolve. Instead, …

We now know why President Donald Trump has pushed so hard for the right to control the makeup of federal regulatory boards that are supposed to be independent. Trump uses his office to grease the …

“Which side are you on?” That question, posed by songwriter Florence Reece in her famous 1931 song, became the unofficial anthem of the protest and union movements for decades— and it’s a …

The closure of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness due to the ongoing threat from major wildfires is certainly understandable. It is also an economic gut punch for resorts, outfitters, and …

For those of us in the North Country, this past week seemed like a little taste of hell. Unprecedented heat, with temperatures topping 100 degrees in the border country. Massive wildfires and choking …

The old adage, “where there’s a will, there’s a way,” may hold true in many cases, but when it comes to housing in northern Minnesota, all the will in the world isn’t enough. It also takes …

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit …

When will American presidents learn, for good, the limits of military power? For the better part of a century, the United States has operated on a simple, comforting (yet clearly erroneous) …

To hear certain people talk, one might think of Minnesota as a state in crisis. Too many taxes. Too much government. A business climate hostile to growth. A welfare state run amok. If you’ve spent …

There are moments in the life of a small town that deserve more than a passing notice. The start of construction on a mixed-use development at Tower’s harbor is one of them. After roughly 25 years …

Here in Minnesota, we like to tell ourselves that we do a great job of protecting the environment. We pass strong laws and have good folks working at our regulatory agencies. It all seems reassuring. …

There are moments in American public life when the corruption on display is so brazen, so self-serving, and so plainly contemptuous of American citizens that silence becomes its own form of …

As we report this week, the U.S. Postal Service has implemented yet another new “reform” that’s supposed to save money. More likely, it will further erode public confidence in an entity that is …

The U.S. Supreme Court, once again, has shown that it is a court in name only. As it demonstrated in its recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, the conservative majority that makes up the Roberts …

Donald Trump has proven once again who he really represents, and it sure isn’t the average family in America. Just last week, as the national average gas price was inching closer to $5 a gallon, …

During the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump made a straightforward pitch to working-class men: elect me, and the jobs will come roaring back. The mines would reopen. The factories would hum. The oil rigs …

“Congress should follow the law.” That statement by U.S. Sen. Tina Smith following the 50-49 Senate vote last week that purportedly overturned a 20-year sulfide mining ban on about 225,000 acres …

There’s a particular kind of paralysis that sets in when a government institution has been burned badly enough. It stops moving. It stops deciding. It layers review upon review, audit upon audit, …