Archive for June 2009
Obama Approval Rating Dips Below 60 Percent in Minnesota
It took nearly half a year, but President Barack Obama’s approval rating finally fell below the 60 percent mark in the Gopher State, according to the latest round of monthly polls conducted by SurveyUSA. Obama had previously notched an…
Read MoreSouth Dakota Unemployment Rate Reaches 5 Percent for First Time Since 1985
New unemployment numbers released by the South Dakota Department of Labor quickly doused the short-lived optimism about the economic situation in the Upper Midwest, which had seen historic increases in the jobless rates across the Upper Midwest halt and slightly…
Read MoreHow Will Pawlenty’s Unallotment Impact State’s Higher Ed Ranking?
When Governor Tim Pawlenty proposed a collective unallotment of $100 million to the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MNSCU) system on Tuesday, higher education officials breathed a short sigh of relief. After the end of…
Read MoreWhy Michele Bachmann’s Political Ideology Is the Boldest Among U.S. House Republicans
Continuing to serve as a lightning rod for the political left in the Gopher State, the month of June has seen Representative Michele Bachmann maintain her remarkably high profile among not only the Minnesota Congressional delegation, but also nationally…
Read MoreU.S. Military Fatalities Continue at Record High Pace in Afghanistan, Record Low Pace in Iraq
As President Barack Obama approaches the 5-month mark of his administration, his political supporters, especially those on the liberal end of the ideological spectrum, are faced with reconciling the President’s campaign promises on the military, national security, and the country’s…
Read MoreMinneapolis Index Crime Rate Falls 18 Percent from April 2008
The Minneapolis Police Department’s official Uniform Crime Report data for April 2009 finds crime in Minnesota’s largest city down 18 percent from one year ago. The 18 percent 12-month drop is the largest in the city dating back more than…
Read MoreMinnesota, Western States Lead Nation in Male Population; Vote for GOP Governors
In one of the quirkier statistical findings reported by this blog, a new Smart Politics analysis of Census Bureau data finds that all twelve states in the country in which the male population is equal to or greater than that…
Read MoreFact Check: Is Stephanie Herseth Sandlin a “Radical Liberal?”
Last Thursday the South Dakota Republican Party launched a new website called “Stop Stephanie,” designed to attack 4-term At-large Democrat U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. Herseth Sandlin – a virtual lock for a 5th term should she decide to…
Read MoreHow Do We Judge Governor Pawlenty’s Political Legacy?
As Tim Pawlenty completes the remaining 18+ months of his second term, before venturing into (politically or financially) greener pastures, he has vowed to “Continue to spend every day doing what’s right for them. Minnesota will get my very best…
Read MoreHow High Does the U.S. Rank in World Muslim Population?
During the past week, President Barack Obama has made a determined effort to emphasize both the importance of Islam to American culture and history, as well as suggesting Muslims comprise a substantial percentage of the U.S. population. Obama first got…
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