Posts by Dr. Eric Ostermeier
The Picture of Mental Health: Minnesota’s Unusually Low Suicide Rate
Although Minnesotans may not enjoy the harsh cold weather and long winters the state endures year after year, there is little evidence to suggest Gopher State residents are suffering the degree of severe depression or mental illnesses experienced by many…
Read MoreCharles Grassley: Folksiness with an Edge
At 75 years old, the longest elected U.S. Senator in Iowa history, the 11th most senior member of the U.S. Senate, and having cast more than 10,000 votes in Capitol Hill’s upper chamber, Republican Senator Charles Grassley is just…
Read MoreMinneapolis Crime Rates Continue to Fall as Unemployment Rises
As unemployment rises month-by-month in Minneapolis, along with the rest of the Gopher State, serious violent and property crimes continue to fall in Minnesota’s most populated city at an impressive rate. Minneapolis’ non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit 7.1 percent in…
Read MoreUpper Midwestern States Bearing the Brunt of Rising Unemployment
Although the majority of Upper Midwestern states are currently experiencing some of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, the rate of increase, particularly during the last four months, has hit this region of the country particularly hard. Overall, three…
Read MoreAmy Klobuchar: Steady as She Goes
The latest U.S. Senate approval numbers released by SurveyUSA for the month of March find Minnesota DFLer Amy Klobuchar with the 4th highest rating of the 27 Senators tracked by the polling organization. But that’s not the headline. What…
Read MoreIs Minnesota the Most Democratic-Friendly State in the Midwest?
Smart Politics recently examined Governor Tim Pawlenty’s approval rating and highlighted its remarkable strength and stability in the face of the current economic crisis. But Pawlenty’s popularity is also noteworthy when viewed in the greater partisan environment of the Gopher…
Read MoreWhat Do Iowans Think About Gay Marriage?
The Iowa Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to uphold an August 2007 lower-court decision that found the Hawkeye State law limiting marriage to a man and a woman unconstitutional is not likely to be met with strong support statewide, according…
Read MoreMarty Seifert: His Own Kind of Republican
In a colorful speech delivered at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs on Wednesday afternoon, Minnesota House Minority Leader Marty Seifert (HD 21A-Marshall) discussed some of the differences between a ‘Marty Seifert Republican’ and a ‘Washington, D.C. Republican’ as well…
Read MorePawlenty Approval Rating Defies National Trend; Eclipses 50 Percent Mark Once Again
The 45th SurveyUSA poll measuring Minnesotans’ approval of Tim Pawlenty’s job performance finds the Republican Governor back once again in familiar, positive territory. Last month, for only the 6th time in 45 SurveyUSA polls, Pawlenty fell below the 50 percent…
Read MoreRedistricting Update: SF 182 Heads to Rules Committee
On Thursday morning the Minnesota Senate Finance Committee approved SF 182 on a voice vote, with one Senator dissenting. The legislation, authored by Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller (SD 59-Minneapolis) and Ann Rest (SD 45-New Hope), would establish new legislative and…
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