Economy
Economy
Deficit looms over legislative session
“The deficit is so overwhelming that it’s hard to even think about what the other issues would be,” said Senator Sandy Pappas (D-St. Paul), expressing what might be the only easy consensus about the legislative session that begins January 6. From higher education to green jobs to child care to roads and bridges, the deficit looms over all other issues. MORE »
New fees in the era of "No New Taxes"
During the era of “no new taxes,” Minnesota is primarily addressing rising budget shortfalls by cutting much-needed aid to local governments and jacking up regressive fees on Minnesota families. Relying on these policies alone to resolve the $5.5 billion deficit would have disastrous repercussions for our state. MORE »
The Daily Planet's top ten stories of 2008
It’s been quite a year in the Twin Cities, and the Daily Planet has been on the scene. With the help of our media partners and our tireless citizen journalists, in 2008 we published over 10,000 articles, blog entries, photos, and event listings. When we saw that the Minnesota Independent had tallied their top ten most-read articles for the year, we were inspired to check the stats and see what articles Daily Planet readers found most fascinating in 2008. MORE »
Hard Times on Division Street
Business owners in Northfield, Minnesota, talk about the impact of the economic crisis on their businesses and on Northfield’s long-term development. MORE »
Community college offers imperfect solution to a difficult problem
It’s an imperfect plan, but Normandale Community College is willing to go ahead with it anyway. MORE »
Nonprofit fundraising and economic outlook
Despite treacherous road conditions and frigid temperatures, the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) addressed a packed room in St. Paul to unveil a detailed report on the recession’s impact on nonprofits statewide. MCN’s presentation included a mixture of disheartening statistics, hopeful predictions, and strategies to address the ominous reality. MORE »
Neither a 'naughty' nor 'nice' holidays for Minnesota
Community leaders all across Minnesota are making lists, checking them twice, and it hasn’t anything to do with Christmas or Hanukkah. MORE »
Local government, aid to the poor hit hard by unallotments
Governor Tim Pawlenty on Friday announced cuts – known as unallotments – to the state budget in order to close the yawning $428 million deficit this fiscal year. The move left some legislators and public officials worried, and one advocate for the poor called it “an assault on the underclass.” MORE »
