Posts by Dr. Eric Ostermeier
Iowa Least Affected by Unemployment Increases in the Upper Midwest
Although the unemployment numbers released during the past week by Iowa Workforce Development find the Hawkeye State with its highest seasonally adjusted jobless rate since December 1987, Iowans are not losing their jobs at the rate endured by other Upper…
Read MoreWho Does Keith Ellison Represent? (And Why Aren’t Minnesotans Funding His Campaigns?)
The FEC’s Q1 2009 campaign finance data reveals several interesting facts about how Minnesota’s U.S. Representatives fund their campaigns. Earlier in the week, Smart Politics documented that GOP Representative Michele Bachmann received the largest percentage of contributions from individuals…
Read MorePawlenty’s Political Future: When Will We Know?
Although taxes and vetoes are the talk of the town today, reporters at the State Capitol would still like to know the answer to the question: “When is Governor Tim Pawlenty going to announce his future political plans?” Most analysts…
Read MoreWhy the Bachmann ‘Revolution’ Is a Grassroots Phenomenon
Heads turned last week upon the release of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s impressive Q1 2009 fundraising data – outpacing all her Gopher State colleagues by nearly $100,000. Eyes rolled on some liberal blogs yesterday after Smart Politics characterized Representative Bachmann’s fundraising…
Read MoreBachmann’s Media Blitz Increasing Statewide, Not National, Fundraising
When the Federal Election Commission (FEC) released its Q1 2009 campaign fundraising data at the end of last week, the Minnesota media largely focused on how Michele Bachmann lead the Minnesota U.S. House delegation in contributions received. But reports on…
Read MoreWisconsin Unemployment Rate Eclipses Minnesota for First Time Since Summer 2007
For those wondering why Wisconsin’s evaluation of the job performance of President Barack Obama, its Governor, Jim Doyle, and its U.S. Senators, Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, has been quite critical in recent months, one may only need to stop…
Read MoreSouth Dakota Unemployment Rate Reaches 23+ Year High
South Dakota’s Department of Labor announced the state’s new March 2009 unemployment numbers Wednesday morning – numbers which find the Mouth Rushmore State enduring its highest jobless rate in more than 23 years. The seasonally adjusted March 2009 unemployment rate…
Read MoreMinnesota Unemployment Rate Slows to Smallest Increase Since September
Although Minnesota’s new March unemployment numbers, released this morning by the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development, are the highest since May 1983, the 8.2 percent seasonally adjusted rate marks the slowest rate of decline in jobs in the…
Read MorePolitical Luminaries Rally in Support of Ranked Choice Voting at FairVote Minnesota Fundraiser
More than two hundred Minnesotans – from party leaders, to legislators, to mayors, to city council members, to interested citizens – rallied in support of ranked choice voting at a fundraising event held for FairVote Minnesota in Minneapolis Tuesday evening….
Read MoreMinnesota 2nd Most Competitive State for U.S. Senate Elections Since 1990
With the three-judge panel ruling on Monday that Al Franken received more legally cast votes than Norm Coleman, the Minnesota 2008 U.S. Senate race moved one step closer to a final resolution. Coleman has stated he will file an appeal…
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