Economy and jobs
Minnesota Endures Worst Employment Skid in 30+ Years
Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate now stands at 6.9 percent, according to new December 2008 numbers released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The data continues what, by many measures, are the worst statewide jobless numbers since…
Read MoreA Content Analysis of Governor Pawlenty’s 2008 and 2009 State of the State Addresses
Governor Tim Pawlenty’s State of the State Address on Thursday afternoon saw a significant change in the policy issues he raised from his previous address on February 13, 2008. These changes largely reflected the harsh economic reality that has beset…
Read MoreCrime and the Minnesota Economy Revisited: Brace for Property Crime Surge
At about the same time Smart Politics posited the question as to what effect, if any, the rising unemployment rate and economic downturn would have on the state’s violent crime rate, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak’s office issued a press release…
Read MoreWill Violent Crime in Minnesota Increase Along With the Jobless Rate?
The news released on Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development that Minnesota’s unemployment rate had reached 6.4 percent, prompted Smart Politics to examine how the current jobless trend, and specifically the large rate of job loss,…
Read MoreMinnesota Unemployment Rate Reaches Highest Level in Nearly A Quarter Century
The news gets bleaker and bleaker for workers in the Gopher State. The November 2008 seasonally adjusted jobless numbers have been released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development: unemployment rose to 6.4 percent – up from 5.9…
Read MoreMinnesota Unemployment Trend Worst In 22 Years
The October 2008 unemployment numbers released late last week by Dan McElroy, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, reveals the Gopher State is enduring its worst jobless trend in more than two decades. October’s 6.0 percent…
Read MoreLive Blog: Al Franken on the Economy
1:00 p.m. In the fifth of a series of candidate forums sponsored by the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute, DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken is giving a speech entitled,…
Read MoreLive Blog: Erik Paulsen, GOP 3rd CD Candidate
12:00 p.m. In the third of a series of candidate forums sponsored by the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute, GOP 3rd Congressional District candidate Erik Paulsen is giving a speech…
Read MoreLive Blog: Ashwin Madia, DFL-3rd CD candidate
12:00 p.m. In the second series of candidate forums sponsored by the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute, DFL 3rd Congressional District candidate Ashwin Madia is giving a speech entitled, “Green…
Read MoreUpper Midwest Delegation Votes 6-2 As $700 Billion Financial Industry Bailout Sails Through Senate
The United States Senate voted 74 to 25 Wednesday night, in support of a revised bill that would, in part, fund $700 billion in a ‘rescue’ of the financial industry. The Upper Midwest delegation voted 6 to 2 in favor…
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