Posts by Dr. Eric Ostermeier
Are Supreme Court Nominees Getting Younger?
Many commentators and political analysts have speculated that Barack Obama’s nomination of U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court was based not only on his agreement with her judicial philosophy, but also her gender, ethnicity (Hispanic),…
Read MoreMinnesota and Upper Midwest Being Spared the Worst of US Job Loss Crisis
While Minnesota and the rest of the Upper Midwestern states are still in the midst of enduring some of the largest unemployment rates each has endured for many years, most of the region is historically doing quite well on the…
Read MoreIs Conservatism on the Rise in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest?
While the last two election cycles have seen Upper Midwestern Republicans lose seats in state legislatures, lose seats to the U.S. House, and lose statewide elections for the U.S. Senate and the presidency, the conservative brand seems to be catching…
Read MoreWisconsin Unemployment Rate Rises for Record 7th Straight Month
Last week’s news from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development that the state’s unemployment rate had increased from 8.5 percent in March to 8.6 percent in April marked an inauspicious moment for the Badger State’s labor market. Although the rise…
Read MorePro-Life Stance on the Rise in Minnesota, Upper Midwest
A Gallup Poll released last Friday made headlines for its finding that a majority of Americans now identify themselves as “pro-life” as opposed to “pro-choice” on the issue of abortion, marking the first time that “pro-life” has been in…
Read MoreIowa Unemployment Rate Falls for First Time in Nearly Three Years
New numbers released this week by Iowa Workforce Development find the Hawkeye State joining Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota in seeing a slight drop in the unemployment rate for the month of April. Iowa’s jobless rate fell from 5.2…
Read MoreNorth Dakota Unemployment Rate Falls to Record 4.9 points Below National Average
For the second consecutive month, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has fallen in the State of North Dakota – providing further evidence of at least a lull in, if not a cessation to, the bad economic news that has befallen…
Read MoreSouth Dakota Unemployment Rate Drops for First Time in 18 Months
In what may be the Upper Midwest’s first sign of the beginning of the end of its economic recession, the South Dakota Department of Labor announced on Wednesday that the Mount Rushmore State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate had fallen to…
Read MoreMinnesota Unemployment Rate Drops for First Time Since May ’08
On the heels of the positive developments in South Dakota, which also saw its unemployment rate drop in April, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development announced on Thursday morning that the Gopher State’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell…
Read MoreThe ‘W’ Word: Seifert Says DFL Ran the Legislature Like Democrats in Washington
In his final media availability at the Capitol for 2009, House GOP Minority Leader Marty Seifert cast a very critical look in his (Tuesday) morning quarterbacking of the 86th Legislative session for 2009. Calling it “a session of lost opportunity,”…
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