MINNEAPOLIS–To some, the actions of the Connecticut legislature that enabled a child care provider’s union in Connecticut, might appear to add momentum to SEIU and AFCSME’s national campaign to conscript family child care business owners into becoming card-carrying dues-paying union members
Federal program features Talk and Trek Tuesdays, Walking School Busses and Bicycle Rodeos Not so long ago, kids walked and biked to their neighborhood school as a matter of course. Now, there’s a federal government program that spends hundreds of
“Paying for wind we don’t need, can’t use and can’t sell” Taxpayers already pay a high price to subsidize wind energy through billions in federal grants, loan guarantees and tax credits that prop up the “windustry”. We now know the
Three Minnesota environmental non-profit advocacy groups have received nearly half a million dollars in out-of-state foundation funding to oppose the Keystone oil pipeline project, according to a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis. The California funding to state groups comes as a surprise,
Small salons burned in what industry calls “classic example of how not to write tax policy” It’s that time of year again. Thousands of Minnesotans begin implementing evacuation plans to temporarily relocate somewhere south and warm. Before embarking, many make
The St. Cloud Regional Airport is banking on a recently announced $750,000 federal grant to land an airline at the airport that’s been virtually deserted since Delta terminated service in and out of St. Cloud in late 2009. Despite a
The Minnesota chapter of a national civil liberties legal group is going to court to fight for the property rights of a Winona man who’s got other battles on his hands: He’s currently serving as a U.S. advisor in war-torn
Controversial card check drive by AFSCME and SEIU aims for governor’s executive order Thousands of licensed Minnesota day care providers may soon become unionized at the stroke of Governor Dayton’s pen via executive order as an increasingly contentious, yet largely
A $3.6 million Broadband Access Project that the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota first flagged in a 2009 investigative report has done nothing to close the digital divide in underserved Twin Cities neighborhoods, according to a recent report on KSTP-TV. The
The beneficiaries of the latest taxpayer-subsidized surprise uncovered in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) includes a who’s who of Minnesota businesses, unions, cities, counties and schools, according to investigators for the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and
Funding from federal stimulus to Exxon leads to banner income in 2009 despite recession The Minneapolis-based nonprofit Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) has marketed residential energy conservation programs under the slogan, “Save Energy, Save Money!” However, according to tax
It appears that 2011 will continue to be another challenging year for many looking to sell their home, particularly given a glut of inventory sure to be on the market from an increase in foreclosures. That’s just the latest hurdle,
No Commercial Flights, But Airport Still Hoping to Land More Federal Funds St. Cloud Regional Airport (STC) touts lots of amenities on its website–a café, ATM, free wi-fi, free parking and a $5 million completely renovated terminal whose capacity went
It’s tough enough to sell a house with home sales in the Twin Cities undergoing the biggest decline in the country, down 42 percent in July year to year. Yet some local governments make it even tougher for homeowners by
Local governments in Minnesota have already spent at least $729,000 of taxpayer money this year to lobby policymakers in Washington, DC. If federal lobbying records are any indication, Minnesota’s local governments are increasingly turning to our nation’s capital in search
Vice President Joe Biden met with state and local government officials from across the country last year to provide guidance on spending federal stimulus funds. Biden implored local leaders to focus on only essential infrastructure needs that will put people
More than 100 staff members appointed by three Minnesota congressmen who serve as chairman or ranking member on powerful House committees appear to be exempt from a key requirement in the controversial health care reform bill recently passed by Congress
Now that most of twelve California wind turbines retrofitted for Minnesota winters are finally operational, several cities have acknowledged to the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota that the $5 million project may be more suited for generating PR–both good and bad–than
Does the government’s power of eminent domain include seizing the rights to the wind that wafts over your property? That’s the controversial question swirling around an 8 megawatt wind farm proposed by the southern Minnesota city of New Ulm and
Minnesota has declined to make public its list of recommended projects for the first round of broadband stimulus funding until Washington announces the lucky recipients beginning in early November. Sure, many other states have released their prioritized lists of applicants
Well before Congress defunded the discredited community organizing group ACORN, the current scandal had its genesis in the most surprising of places, ACORN’s own national board of directors. In the summer of 2008, a small group of ACORN directors blew