While initial versions of the legislation would have applied the requirement to businesses seeking air and water permits in environmental justice areas across the entire state, the law only applies to air permits for projects inside, or within a mile of, such areas in the seven-county Twin Cities area, Rochester and Duluth. Many Greater Minnesota Cities were not included.

Supporters of the legislation said such laws are essential in addressing the health concerns from pollution that historically have hurt people of color.

Cumulative impacts are defined in the law as the effect of “aggregated levels of past and current air, water, and land pollution in a defined geographic area to which current residents are exposed.”

Some groups, like the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, were skeptical of a law like this applying to the entire state, saying the definition of “environmental justice area” covered too many regions and would limit economic development.

According to the legislation, an environmental justice area is defined as an area, according to the Census, where 40% or more of the population is nonwhite, or 35% or more of the households have an income at or below 200% of poverty, or 40% or more of the population over the age of five has limited English proficiency, or is located within Indian Country. A MinnPost article last summer examined which areas would be impacted by this definition.

If an analysis is completed, the MPCA will consider it when deciding whether to issue or deny a permit.

Gathering the data

The MPCA has begun the process — and hosted a webinar in January to share some initial thoughts on what the cumulative impacts analysis would look like. Panelists at the first event have experience in states with similar laws, like Washington and New Jersey.

The agency says it will solicit and gather data, ideas and approaches until April 2026 and that the process will be ready toward the end of May 2026 for legal review.

So far, using the Legislature’s criteria for an environmental justice area and the types of air permits subject to the new cumulative impacts law, the MPCA estimates 123 current facilities may need additional environmental analysis when seeking an amended or reissued air permit.

They include facilities in Bayport, Duluth, Little Canada, Hastings, Farmington, Forest Lake, Newport, Northfield, Osseo, Rochester, Shakopee and White Bear Township, among others.

What about Greater Minnesota?

The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities lobbied for the adjustment to the policy that excluded cities outside the Twin Cities area, Rochester and Duluth.

Rochester and Duluth are not members of CGMC. While the coalition’s over 100 member cities are not directly impacted by the legislation, Elizabeth Wefel, the lead lobbyist for the CGMC on environmental issues, said it’s still important to weigh in on the policy and process because it could potentially be expanded to other areas in the future.

Wefel said the group sees the benefits of such a policy for areas with high exposure to pollutants. But they worry that depending on how it’s implemented, it has the potential to apply to vast geographical areas, she said.

“We are worried that it might have the potential to discourage businesses,” she said. “We do think it’s important, obviously, that any business that’s relocating, and is going to be emitting air pollutants or whatever, go through the permitting process, but we do have processes in place. But this is an added layer on top of that, that could be enough to discourage folks.”

She says the definition of environmental justice areas — as defined in the law — applies to large swaths across the state, many of which might actually hurt more from such a law than benefit from the environmental protection.

“People who don’t earn a lot, don’t have access to as healthy food, or health insurance and stuff like that. If there’s not good jobs in their area, that problem isn’t going to get any better if businesses are choosing to locate somewhere else. In fact, it could make the situation worse,” she said. “Being pulled in as an environmental justice area based on income without other factors … could have the unfortunate effect of making it actually worse for those lower-income people.”

But some residents of Greater Minnesota do want a policy like this in their areas. During a public comment period on the policy, several wrote that they wanted Greater Minnesota to have similar protections.

“Regarding this proposed Cumulative Impacts Bill, where does Greater Minnesota fit in? It’s essential to include and protect us as well. This absence is concerning and needs to be addressed,” one commentator wrote.

Another comment in similar fashion came from the city of Winona. The city’s Citizen’s Environmental Quality Committee wrote that it would like the law to apply statewide and that Winona needs those protections.

The committee is made up of a small group of people, but includes diverse perspectives, like a high school teacher, an employee of a local manufacturer and a couple of other people, according to Sadie Neuman, the committee’s chairperson.

Neuman felt that residents didn’t know about this law – and she brought it to the committee’s attention when she found out it could provide feedback. While she sees the economic reasons that the CGMC believes would harm communities, she also said the city is facing negative impacts from air pollution.

“Our access to the river is completely blocked by manufacturing, because that’s what the town is built on. We have days every once in a while where our air, if you walk outside, it’ll just hit you and it’s nauseating,” Neuman said.

The committee wrote in its letter that excluding certain geographic regions in this policy promotes a “race-to-the-bottom” effect in pollution control.

“Lessening environmental regulations kind of … incentivizes more manufacturing to either relocate there or initially locate in those areas of lower regulation,” Neuman said.

She worries that those incentives will then drive more polluters to Winona.

A request for benchmarks

Winona is one of the coalition’s member cities, but there may have been a disconnect between the coalition and the city on this particular issue. Wefel said the coalition communicates frequently with the participating cities and holds policy committees every fall where member cities identify general priorities and stances going into the next session. At that session, members vote on policy stances, she said.

Request for feedback on this particular policy issue and updates on the legislation were given through weekly newsletters; Wefel said she didn’t hear from Winona one way or another.

When members of Winona’s committee heard about the policy more recently, they wanted their perspective to be heard. Neuman said that if the regulatory agency is going through the process of crafting this policy, she would have liked for their city to be included as one of the vulnerable populations;

“We really wanted to make sure that there was at least a comment on the record whether or not it actually impacts anything in the short term,” she said. “We wanted to make sure that it was out there that we’re watching. We also want to make sure that our neighborhoods and our residents are also protected under the same kinds of new policies that the state would be making in more metro areas.”

In the coalition’s public comment, the group suggested that the MPCA adopt benchmarks so that cumulative impacts analyses would only be required in environmental justice communities that are currently overburdened by air pollution or potentially at high risk.

They also asked that the MPCA only require a cumulative impacts review for facilities with a history of substantial permit violations — and if the issuance of a permit would result in substantial growth in air pollution.

The MPCA is planning more webinars to include panels of experts from other states, community organizations and academia to help shape the implementation of the law.

“We won’t be presenting information on this law of our own as we have a lot to learn from these experts, as well, that can be applied to the creation of our program,” the MPCA wrote in an email to attendees of the first session.

After those sessions, the agency will begin “work sessions on key concepts within the cumulative impacts rule” to be held tentatively between June and October.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman said Wednesday she thinks the Legislature will vote this session to place the issue on the ballot for voters to pass judgment on. But that public vote will wait until 2026 rather than appear on this fall’s general election ballot.

The proposed measure has agreement by state ERA backers as well as groups representing abortion rights and transgender rights. Rather than have multiple measures on the ballot, a single amendment will cover all three issues. But those groups, as well as DFL political strategists, have been undecided on when a public vote should be held.

Hortman said Wednesday that the consensus now is that the 2026 ballot, not 2024, is the better path. Constitutional amendments require campaigns, money and volunteers, and there should be more time to prepare such an effort.

“One thing we don’t want to do is go out with a question that gets defeated and have some theoretical future Minnesota Supreme Court use that as an argument that the Minnesota Supreme Court does not protect reproductive freedom,” she said. Currently, the court has found abortion protections in the privacy provisions of the state constitution.

The Brooklyn Park DFLer said she doesn’t support two other proposed constitutional amendments — one to create a statewide sales tax for affordable housing and the other to convene a redistricting commission to redraw state lines after the 2030 Census. She said she wants to see how the billion dollars in housing money appropriated last session is spent before looking at additional money. And she said she isn’t convinced that redistricting commissions produce better results than the long running trend of Supreme Court-drawn lines.

One measure that will be on the 2024 ballot is the renewal of the use of state lottery money to fund the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund.

“I am incredibly cautious when it comes to which questions we put before the voters to amend our state’s constitution,” she said during a pre-session panel sponsored by the Frederikson & Byron law firm. “The Legislature does need to be very thoughtful about what we are taking to the voters with regards to this founding document, not to use it for political purposes but for its meaning. What does it mean to amend our constitution?”

Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, told the same panel sponsored by the Frederikson & Byron law firm that he thinks the ERA and abortion measures are campaign related.

“We hear about these bills being proposed to change the constitution,” he said. “To take different aspects of political gamesmanship, ERA, abortion and slugging them into one bill and putting it on the ballot, I’d like to believe that’s not something that is going to happen in this state.

“That would be just gamesmanship at that point,” Johnson said. Abortion should be handled in statutes, as it was done last session, not the constitution.” As values, as norms change, it is best to be in the statutes where you can modify and change, But once it gets into the constitution, it’s very difficult to make changes to it.”

“We’ve been fighting this now for a hundred and one years, and 40 years for the state,” she said. “It’s hard to put the breaks on the activists.”

But activists like her know the decision is the Legislature’s, not theirs. 

“The decision is up to the Legislature in its wisdom to determine when to put it on the general election ballot,” Folliard said.

Polling consistently shows majority support for abortion rights and an ERA amendment separately. Last fall, a MinnPost/Embold Research poll asked voters about the issues separately. In that poll, 60% said they would support a ballot measure that guarantees that “equality of rights under the law shall not be abridged … on account of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry, or national origin.”

A separate poll question on abortion — whether voters would support putting abortion rights into the constitution — showed that 54% either strongly or somewhat supported such a measure. Another 34% of respondents either strongly or somewhat opposed that issue.

But Hortman said there are many factors that impact outcome.

“Until you know what kind of forces are allied for and against and what kind of funding they have and you see how it is going in other parts of the country, it is hard to assess,” she said. “You have to look at all that. Polling is less reliable as time goes by, so you look at special elections and actual results.”

Election results around the U.S. suggest the issue has majority support and has been helpful for Democratic candidates and campaigns. That political effect is central to the timing debate: Do Minnesota Democrats need a turnout boost this election when the state House and the president are on the ballot? Or in 2026 when the state House, Senate and governor’s office will be contested?

The state Senate approved ERA language last May in a measure that won bipartisan support. That language stated that “equality under the law shall be abridged or denied … on account of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin.”

The language now being proposed is more specific about those protections and now includes abortion, stating that the state and local governments cannot discriminate “on account of race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, or sex, including pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, reproductive freedom, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.” (emphasis added)

To appear on a general election ballot, proposed amendments must receive a majority vote in both the House and Senate and don’t need the governor’s signature. Then, amendments must receive a majority of the votes cast in that election, not just for that measure. That is, a voter who doesn’t make a choice on the amendment essentially registers a no vote. 

At the beginning of 2023, ChatGPT/AI took higher education by storm. It was heralded as the next big thing to change teaching and learning. It was going to be the savior or demise of higher education as we know it. Yet as we know, the road to educational reform is littered with educational technology failures and overhypes.

In the fall 2023, I incorporated ChatGPT into my three undergraduate classes. For all three classes ChatGPT was used  in a variety of ways. For each class, a ChatGPT question was listed in the syllabus for each day, serving as a prompt for discussion. I used ChatGPT to encourage student discussion. If I asked a question and no one was willing to answer I told the class to look it up in ChatGPT and tell me what it said.

I encouraged students in all three classes to use ChatGPT to help them generate preliminary answers for their take-home essay tests or papers. They could use it for research, to generate outlines, or for summaries of lectures. They could use it any way they wanted.

Finally, I generated several lesson plans on topics to be covered in class. I did this after already preparing my own so that I could compare them.

What did we learn?

My students were underwhelmed or generally unimpressed with ChatGPT as a teaching and learning tool. I chose not to use any of the ChatGPT generated lesson plans. They were simply not well organized, superficial, or got critical facts or issues wrong.

Several students remarked how they had been using it even before my classes. They found it mildly useful to generate some preliminary ideas for research or a paper, such as perhaps producing a preliminary outline that identified key issues or points. They were extremely critical that ChatGPT did not provide sources or references to books or articles. They all told me that they did not think ChatGPT did not do anything that Google did not already do, or the latter did better. Several said that using Google or another search engine along with ChatGPT helped them.

My students were highly aware and critical of the biases and inaccuracies in ChatGPT and how  it makes up facts. They all knew the now near legendary story of a New York attorney using it to write a brief and how it made up cases. As several students stated, ChatGPT operated on the principle of “garbage in, garbage out.”

We ended the classes unimpressed for now with the ChatGPT revolution, but we did come up with ten rules that may be useful to teachers and students as they experiment with AI in the classroom:

-It’s useful to get a conglomeration or talk about ideas surrounding a topic; good for brainstorming; creates outlines for a paper. Students found ChatGPT useful for gathering information, or to start exploring a topic. If you are totally stumped about where or how to begin, it may help.

-It makes essay writing and assignments easier to begin with, but it’s not very helpful with the midst of the work. Once one uses ChatGPT to get started, it quickly loses its value. It does not replace the readings in class and it does not help you answer specific research questions that are specific to the class or subject matter.

-Use it as a starting point, rather than relying on it as a primary source; gets the ball rolling.  None of the students said that they would rely on ChatGPT as a primary research or source tool.  There are too many problems with its information or the information is limited and therefore outside research is needed.

-It can be used as a way to get an opposing point of view. Some students thought that the use of  ChatGPT to generate pro and con bullet points on issues helped them think about opposing viewpoints or perspectives. However, they did not feel or believe that these pro and con points provided much information regarding who and why individuals hold these views.

-It’s very helpful when drafting; use it to check grammar or spell checks or use it to summarize readings. Many found ChatGPT to serve as a proofreader or spellchecker. In addition, some thought it could be used in terms of summarizing the main points for some class readings, but again they did not see it as a substitute. A few said they used it before or after reading an assignment to help them look for or review key points.

-If you use it for an assignment, you have to disclose and cite it; fact check everything. My students treated ChatGPT both as a search engine and a source of knowledge. They felt it important to  explain or declare the search query as a way of explaining the results they received, and they agreed  that it needs to be cited as a source, but it could  not stand alone as a source of information unless corroborated.

-Limited in terms of sources (none), superficial, and does not address normative issues well.  Students noted how limited its use as a way to bibliographical research and found mostly the results were very thin in terms of substantive knowledge. They also thought that it fared poorly in terms of helping them address normative questions or provide information for argumentation and persuasion assignments.

-Better if you role play. A few students thought ChatGPT worked better if you asked it, for example, to do a role play of two individuals debating a topic, such as whether capitalism is ethical.

-Use it as a review after/before class for summaries. ChatGPT performed well to help students fill in class notes to check to see if they missed any major points or issues on the topic. It helped with class outlines.

-Does not in itself promote critical thinking; does not provide new insights — it relies on status quo knowledge. Students were emphatic that the use of ChatGPT alone does not produce or encourage critical thinking. Its superficial answers actually dumbed down many points. They also did not see how its use produced “new knowledge” since it was simply a conglomeration of  often dated or biased information.

David Schultz is a distinguished professor at Hamline University. He teaches in political science, legal studies and environmental studies.

In retrospect, it was probably inevitable, but it’s beginning to fester like a hangnail just the same.

Remember back in 2023? Before the ball dropped in Times Square, the Wolves had the second-best record in the NBA at 24-7 and had beaten the only team ahead of them in their lone matchup. Their defense was more than two points better per 100 possessions than anybody else, and became a five-player sleeper hold on opponents after halftime.

In the third quarter, their on-ball pressure and fearsome rim protection squished their foes like a bug. Minnesota allowed 100.7 points per 100 possessions in 31 third quarters before the calendar flipped on the 2023-24 season. That was a staggering 7.1 fewer points allowed than the second-best defense.

If an opponent managed to survive that third quarter and make it into the final stanza, they almost never had the juice to finish the task. The Wolves won 11 out of 12 games that were competitive enough to be called “clutch” – defined by the NBA as the period of time when teams are within five points of each other and there is less than five minutes left to play. They had the league’s fourth-best offense to go with the fourth-best defense in those moments, and shot the ball more accurately, in terms of effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage, than any team.

But perhaps the most telling stat is that in the October through December period that comprised the 2023 part of the 2023-24 season, the Wolves ranked 26^th in total clutch minutes played, just 42. Opponents simply weren’t getting that close that often, and if they did, it was an uphill slog against a very confident team accustomed to triumph.

Not so in 2024.

In the first 20 games of the New Year, the Wolves have already logged more clutch minutes, 53, than they experienced in the 31 from 2023 – the second-most in the NBA. No, it is not a huge sample size, but those relatively scant minutes are the most consequential, and often reflect the mood and tenor of a team. What they reflect about the Timberwolves is not good.

The Wolves went 11-1 in games with clutch minutes in this season’s calendar year 2023 because they scored 23.7 more points per 100 possessions than they allowed in those tight situations. Thus far in 2024, the Wolves’ record in games with clutch minutes is 3-8 because they have scored 20.8 fewer points than they allowed in the clutch. That’s a whopping 42.5-point swing per 100 possessions, caused by a decline of 32.1 points by the offense and 12.4 points by the defense. Even granting the careening nature of small samples, that’s extraordinary regression.

As of Thursday morning, the Wolves are 11-9 in 2024. If you do the math on 3-8 in clutch games, that means they’ve had a good chance to win all but one contest of the 20 played this calendar year. But are middling – unreliable – in eventual outcome.

The past week has been emblematic of the Wolves’ current checkered routine. They walloped a woefully shorthanded Dallas Mavericks team to close out January, then blew a 17-point first half lead in a two-point loss to Orlando. They toyed with Houston for a second straight time to finish a home stand, then lost to the Bulls in Chicago after being up 22 at the half.

Between the Dallas and Orlando games, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns were named to the Western Conference All Star team. The Houston win ensured that Chris Finch and the rest of his staff would be coaching the West All Stars as tribute to the Wolves holding the best record in the Western Conference two weeks before the game.

But the good vibes couldn’t tune out some underlying discordance. Rudy Gobert – the most consistent Wolves player and leader of their top-ranked defense – was stiffed in the All Star selection process. Then the Orlando loss made the All Star hoopla feel like nostalgia from another time (and it was – 2023). When I asked Finch after practice the next day after the Chicago collapse if he had a breaking point, he welcomed the question, revealed that he put his team through a blistering film study of the entire fourth quarter, and said, “I think what was needed today was absolute clarity and redefining some roles and getting some people back in their boxes and getting them to worry about the right things and the things they do best.”

Much of the Wolves offensive inefficiency, especially in crunch time, seems to come from a lack of structure. When I posed that issue to point guard Mike Conley in the locker room after Orlando, he stated that more structure had been implemented, but that the players still had to read and react to the defense as part of maximizing the play call.

Finch confirmed this at practice.

“We have a few sets that have been good to us to close games with. They involve getting our best players the ball in space, in action. When that happens, they have to make the right play. If they dust off the play and just go iso (isolation, or solo against the defense), then we don’t know what’s coming next, so the rhythm of the offense just falls down. Maybe we turn it over, maybe we get caught in poor transition, certainly we maybe don’t get a good shot. At that point in time, my breaking point is I don’t give them the ball at the end of games. I think the ball has to be back in Mike’s (Conley’s) hands a lot more at the end of games. And that’s something you’ll see differently coming up.”

In the cakewalk over Houston, late game offense was a moot issue. In the collapse against Chicago, the poor judgment and execution looked depressingly familiar.

I believe two of the best aspects of this Wolves team are the coaching of Finch and the play of Ant. Their mutual admiration should be a source of reassurance for Wolves fans – a coach who has taken the Wolves to the playoffs in every full season he has spent with the team and a 22-year old nascent superstar.

But if they are on the same page, they are reading it in different languages. And they know it.

To avoid outright friction, they coat it in humor.

One of Finch’s great virtues is the ability to criticize in a manner that doesn’t make it personal. His style is direct and honest, more book report than expository sermon, seemingly weighted with facts far more than opinion, so that any rebuttal is induced to proceed on the same grounds. When the win over Houston secured the coach’s presence at the All Star game, his players were universal in praising him for his clear communication and bottom-line accountability. And Finch was equally magnanimous in praising their “coachability.”

But some sly levity shaded the sunshine a bit. Asked what it might feel like to be coaching Lebron James and other legends, he capped his “amazing honor” gushing with, “And like these guys (his own Wolves players), I’m sure they won’t listen to what I have to say either.”

Ant had his own bon mot regarding Finch’s All Star nod.

“I think we’re just going to take all the mid-rangers out of the game,” he said, referring to players whose shot mix includes inefficient shots from the midrange distance from the hoop in the half court. “If one of the starters shoots a midrange, I’mma be like, ‘Finchy we don’t allow those right there.’”

The subtext of this is that Finch has let it be known that he dislikes a preponderance of midrange jumpers and wishes Ant would cut their volume – and that Ant basically ignores him, especially in crunch time, especially when he is going “iso.”

It is beyond dispute that, just as Gobert is the engine behind the Wolves defense with Jaden McDaniels an important complement, Ant is the engine behind the Wolves offense, with KAT an important complement. If you want to understand why Gobert is the Most Valuable Player of this 2023-24 team thus far, it is as simple as the Wolves ranking first in defensive efficiency this entire season, while the offensive efficiency has just as steadily been mired a notch of two above the bottom ten in the 30-team NBA (it currently ranks 19^th).

Of course everything is relative. For the third straight season, Ant’s overall numbers have noticeably improved across the board. His field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free-throw percentage are all career highs.

But it is not unfair to point out that they should be higher – and would be, with a smarter shot mix. The two most efficient shots are at the rim and from behind the three-point arc. Per basketball-reference.com, Ant has taken 27.9% of his career field goal attempts from zero to three feet away from the basket. Thus far this season it is 21.4%. For his career, 35.5% of his shots have been three-pointers. This season it is 31.4%. Inaccurate midrange jumpers make up the difference, with Ant setting career-highs in frequency from three-10 feet out (19.3% of the mix this season compared to 15.3% for his career), from 10-16 feet out (13.3% this season versus 7.4% for his career) and from 16 feet out to the three-point line (12.4% versus 8.6%).

Ant is not an especially accurate midrange shooter. On the contrary, for the season, per nba.com, he is ninth in midrange attempts yet 44^th among the 50 most-frequent midrange shooters in terms of accuracy. Over the last ten games he is 11^th in overall attempts and 49^th among the top 50 midrange gunners in terms of accuracy.

The caveats here are that Ant is getting to the free throw line more often, which improves his efficiency, and that, while his turnovers are a career high, his assists have improved at an even greater rate, which means he is getting his teammates involved better than ever. The counter is that Ant is improving each year on a baseline of inefficiency, relative to his high usage.

On Tuesday night, his dominant first half included 23 points on 3-4 shooting from three-point territory, 3-7 from inside the arc and nary a miss in eight free throw attempts. He also had four assists versus a single turnover as the Wolves scored 69 points in 24 minutes. The team was plus 20 in the 18:22 Ant played and plus two in the 5:38 he sat.

In the second half and overtime, Ant scored 15 points on 2-for-5 shooting from three-point range, 4-for-10 from two-point territory and just three free throws, of which he made one. He had but one assists and three turnovers as the Wolves scored 54 points in 29 minutes. The team was minus 24 in the 25:11 he played and minus four in the 3:49 he sat.

Oh, and Conley had four assists in the first half, four assists in the second half and zero assists in overtime, when Ant took two-thirds of his team’s shots. Conley finished the game with zero turnovers.

Obviously, not all of the Wolves offensive troubles can be blamed on Ant. Put bluntly, Finch and company are squandering the best long-range shooting team in franchise history. The team is third in the NBA in accuracy from behind the arc, at 39.1%, yet 22^nd in three-point attempts. (The good news is that KAT is finally upping his three-point volume.)

Three of the top six players in the rotation are shooting better than 40% from distance, led by KAT at 43.7%, then Conley at 43.6% and Naz Reid at 41.3%. And none of the other three are below 36%, led by Ant at 39.4%.

According to The Athletic’s Jon Krawcznski, the beat writer with the best connections on inside intelligence, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connolly has been active seeking one of the other, with hometown product Tyus Jones as the sexiest option and rumor. The difficulty is that the Wolves sacrificed most of their draft picks in the trade for Gobert, and any teams in selling mode at the trade deadline are clearly looking to rebuild with youth.

Whether Connolly can be creative (and circumstantially lucky) enough to make a deal or not, the Wolves have raised expectations with their glorious first half of the season. Even if the team succeeds in adding a solid bench piece in place of disappointments like Shake Milton and (to a lesser extent) Troy Brown Jr., it won’t move the needle as much as reverting to the suffocating defense that propelled the fast start and making better decisions on offense.

Otherwise, continuing this five-week stretch of unreliable performance will lead to more dramatic changes in the makeup of this team as the new majority owners contemplate soaring into luxury tax territory over the salary cap.

To call Morris a Swiss Army knife would be overstating it. He’s more like an adjustable wrench that should be very handy for the Wolves in a few specific ways.

He’s had extensive experience as a floor general. When Connolly was running the Denver Nuggets two years ago, he plugged Morris in as the starter at the point after the team’s second-best player, Jamal Murray, was out all season with a torn ligament. He logged the fourth-most minutes on a team that made the playoffs. And last season he was the starter for the Washington Wizards.

In those two seasons, he was a respected three-point shooter, canning 39.5% for Denver on a volume of 4.2 attempts per game, and making 38.2% for Washington on 3.3 attempts. (His career accuracy from distance is 38.9% in what is now his seventh season.) Better yet, he takes care of the ball. In those two seasons as a starter he dished 659 dimes versus 138 miscues for a gaudy assist-to-turnover rate of 4.8-to-1.

In other words, the insurance policy on any injuries to Wolves 36-year-old Conley just got upgraded.

The trade also didn’t significantly constrain the Wolves’ already dicey salary cap situation moving forward. The $9.8 million Morris is making this season is very close to the combined $9 million it cost to pay Milton and Brown. And while the Wolves had the option of terminating the deals for both now-traded players after this season, Morris’ contract is expiring anyway.

Morris doesn’t possess galaxy-brain court vision or above-average athleticism. He’s simply a capable pro who has bailed out a Connolly team in the recent past. He attributes are modest – but reliable. Which is what the 2024 Timberwolves need as they head into the playoff push on the final 30 games of the season.

The transition for MinnPost happens Thursday, so we wanted to give readers a heads up that some things might look a little different on our site. Overall, we’re excited to explore the new tools and features we’ll have access to with Newspack, which we hope will further enhance the reader experience on MinnPost.com. We’ll let you know about some new features as we implement them over the coming months.For now, here are a few things to know about MinnPost’s new site:

• The new site has been designed to look similar to the old site, and all story archives should still be available. If you find pages or features that don’t look quite right, flag them for us by sending a screenshot and email to feedback@minnpost.com.
• All of our stories are still paywall-free and will continue to be paywall-free!
• We will continue to publish most stories mid- to late-morning and send our daily newsletter out midday, though it might be a bit delayed on Thursday with the transition.

We’ll respond to any questions or comments about the new site sent to feedback@minnpost.com over the next couple of weeks. And, as always, thanks for reading MinnPost!

Handprints

One of the special treats of Greta Oglesby’s autobiographical show, “Handprints,” at The History Theatre, comes in the second half, when she’s sharing her experiences as a performer. As she brings the audience along on a journey through her career, she gives little tastes of the iconic characters she’s played on stages like The Goodman Theatre in Chicago and The Guthrie Theater. In some cases, it’s been years since she’s performed in some of the plays, like “Gem of the Ocean,” by August Wilson, which she originated in 2003, and “Caroline, Or Change,” which won her an Ivey award in 2009. And yet at the History Theatre, she transforms in the characters so completely as if no time has passed, and the characters she played are still a part of her.

Beginning with her childhood experiences, Oglesby outlines the people and experiences that informed her both as a person and as an artist. In a lot of ways, “Handprints” is a very intimate work. It’s a rather unique look at the artist’s process, by illustrating how the moments in one person’s life shape their artistry. Thursday, Feb. 8 at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m., and Sun, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m., through February 18 at The History Theatre. ($25-$64). More information here. 

Phantom of the Opera

Local composer Philip Shorey takes on the 1925 silent film version of “The Phantom of the Opera” with a new score performed live by Curse of the Vampire Orchestra.  In the last 5 years, the group has accompanied other silver screen classics like “Nosferatu,” and Charlie Chaplin’s “The Kids,” performing across the country and internationally, including Minneapolis. 

For Shorey’s new composition, he focuses on the story of Christine in his adaption of the Universal Pictures film, itself based on Gaston Leroux’s novel from 1910 (all predating Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway version). This weekend’s three screenings/live performances will mark the new music’s world premiere. Friday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m., at the Granada Theater, ($25-$150). More information here.

Andrea Carlson: Perpetual Sarah 

Andrea Carlson returns to Bockley Gallery for the artist’s fifth exhibition at the space, showing new works on paper from three different series. A former Twin Cities resident, Carlson has been making waves in Chicago as of late, earning a Creative Capital fellowship in 2023 and a United States Artist Visual Art Fellowship in 2022. She helped co-found the new Center for Native Futures, and she’s been engaged in big public artwork projects, including one on the High Line in New York, co-commissioned by The Whitney Museum of Art, and one on Chicago’s Riverwalk, called “You are on Potawatomi Land.” In the next couple of years, she’ll be featured in solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art in 2024 and The Denver Art Museum in 2025. 

At Bockley, Carlson shares work from “VORE,” “L’Assomption Sash for Carrying Things that No Longer Exist,” and “Perpetual Sarah.” Deeply intellectual, dizzyingly detailed, and engaging with everything from power and mainstream culture to Indigenous sovereignty, Carlson’s artworks pop with energy and ideas. It’s on view through March 16, with an artist walk through Saturday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. and a public reception Saturday, Feb. 10 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. (free). More information here.

Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre: The Conference of the Birds

Less than 15 years after the Cowles Center opened as a flagship center for dance and performing arts in the heart of downtown Minneapolis, the venue announced that it will be closing at the end of March. It’s still operating this month, however, and this weekend is a chance to experience the beautiful building (renovated out of the old Schubert Theater) as Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre performs its adaptation of the ancient Sufi poem, “The Conference of the Birds.” Zorongo’s artistic director Susana di Palma collaborated with local choreographer Darrius Strong for the work, set to original music performed by flamenco composer and guitarist Juanito Pascual. Saturday night’s performance also features a performance by young dancers from the FAIR school for the arts. Saturday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Sun., Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. at The Cowles Center ($35, Pay as you are Sunday). More information here. 

The Cedar Commissions 

Aerial silk performance set to country songs, hip hop infused R&B and jazz, folk songs set to Yiddish poems, Afro-Indigenous instruments paired with experimental jazz and blues, Viet-punk jams and Ukrainian resilience are all on the docket for this year’s Cedar Commissions. It’s two evenings filled with brand new music created by The Cedar Cultural Center’s commissioned artists. The cohort of artists have been developing their work and collaborations in the rigorous program, presenting the world premieres at the Cedar this weekend. Friday will see works by RZ Shahid, McKain Lakey, and YEV. Then on Saturday night, take in what Sarah Larsson, Lady Xøk, and Tri Vo have been putting together. Feb 9, and Saturday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at The Cedar. ($15, $25 two show pass.) More information here.

The Kills 

There’s a certain retro sound to The Kills’ latest album, “God Games” released in 2023. There are echoes in the music of The White Stripes and similar bands of the early 2000s, and you can also hear a bit of Sonic Youth in the gutsy voice of Alison “VV” Mossheart. She plays with co-founder Jamie “Hotel” Hince, a British guitarist (who, as a side note, was married to Kate Moss), who had to re-learn how to make music after he lost one of his fingers in an accident. They got back together in 2022 after a 6 year hiatus, and will make a stop in Minneapolis as part of their album tour. The Paranoyds open for them Monday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. at First Ave. ($42.50). More information here.

Bemidji Pioneer’s Nicole Ronchetti reports a Bemidji City Council meeting was abruptly ended this week when “unknown individuals” interrupted the meeting virtually spewing hate speech and racial slurs.

WDIO has details on the most recent inspection at the Lutsen Resort Lodge prior to the fire. “According to the inspection report, there were seven violations and SFM says the owner repaired four of them.”

Related: Star Tribune’s Paul Walsh reports the owner, Bryce Cambell, denied allegations that he started the fire that destroyed the lodge.

MPR News reports the Minneapolis City Council is expected to vote Thursday to settle a lawsuit filed by journalists who allege they were targeted by Minneapolis police following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

Richard Reeve with KSTP reports the Rochester City Council has cleared the first hurdle in banning camping in public spaces, with caveats, in an effort to combat homeless encampments.

Star Tribune reports a 16-year-old student has been hospitalized in intensive care after being stabbed by another student with an “art tool.”

WCCO’s Adam Duxtor reports activists are calling for Hennepin County’s trash incinerator to close next year, ahead of the planned closure for the facility.

Alfonzo Galvan at Sahan Journal reports thousands of Twin Cities janitors, security officers, and retail cleaners, members of Service Employees International Union Local 26, have voted to authorize a strike if employers fail to reach a new contract with their union by March 2.

Michelle Griffith at the Minnesota Reformer reports the Minnesota DFL Party is asking the state Supreme Court to decertify the Legal Marijuana Now Party as a major political party.

Hannah Yang at MPR News is reporting Mayo Clinic Health System is ending labor and delivery services at its New Prague hospital on Friday. Mayo is moving those services to its hospital in Mankato.

Jana Shortal at KARE 11 talks with local DJ Jade about the harrowing ordeal of being stalked by Patrick Kelly, who was convicted of stalking her former colleague at 89.3 The Current, Mary Lucia.

Nick Longworth FOX 9 reports a man was killed in northeast Minneapolis after walking in front of a slow-moving Hennepin County Plow Truck as it left the Holiday gas station at 2nd Avenue Southeast and Hennepin Avenue East.

Ren Clayton at WCCO-TV has the story of how former pro football player Justin Johnson became a cadet with the Minnetonka Police Department.

Doing so yields a much more favorable evaluation, for they have achieved their principal objective of delaying the various criminal cases by their advocacy, appeals, and strategies, aided by some unforced errors and blunders by their adversaries and other lucky breaks.

As a result, the prospects are dimming that there will be any trials, let alone convictions or other outcomes, prior to the Republican nominating convention this summer, which their client seems to have locked up, or the election this fall, when he stands a decent (some would say indecent) chance of winning.

If that occurs, the two federal cases of election interference and improper handling of governmental materials, including classified data, will probably be extinguished by Presidential fiat about as fast as he can pardon the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters, whom he and some of his acolytes have referred to variously as “patriots,” “heroes” and, lately, “hostages.” Not harmless “tourists” visiting the Capitol any longer.

That leaves the two state court cases in New York and Georgia, both plagued with their own prosecutorial problems.

The initial case that was filed, the one concerning “hush money” payment to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election, has fallen off the radar screen. Since its initiation in New York state court last year, it has advanced nary at all; its major product seems to be  jump-starting his MAGA base and enriching his coffers from supportive contributors. To compound its inertia, a vital prosecution witness, former Trump attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen, a felon himself, has muddied the waters with his own misconduct, including his recent use of fabricated legal citations in a different proceeding.

The election interference case in the nation’s capital, being handled by special counsel Jack Smith, is hamstrung by appeals. While the outlook for Team Trump on the pending issue of his “absolute immunity” from any criminal prosecution now lodged in the D.C. federal appellate court looks bleak, it has had the effect of derailing the proceeding and more pit stops are yet ahead. (Editor’s note: The appeals court on Tuesday ruled against granting Trump immunity).

The Mara Lago purloined documents case, which once seemed like a slam-dunk, has been slow-walked by the Trump-appointed judge Aileen Cannon and seems to be dry docked.

Then, there’s the sprawling Georgia state court case brought by the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose immense prosecution of 19 alleged racketeering co-conspirators may have  bitten off more than it can chew. While it has achieved a few guilty pleas by small fish, it will have a whale of a time getting to the former President, who also has raised the immunity defense there, too.

The case is now marred by the bad optics of the D.A. enmeshed in an unbecoming romantic imbroglio concerning her hiring and designation of an apparent romantic partner as lead attorney in the case, a predicament that, while not necessarily illegal or unethical, is likely to cripple the prosecution for a long time as Team Trump and other various defendants, including those who have pled guilty, attack the arrangement and seek to use the stench emanating from that inconvenient arrangement to wound, if not scuttle, the prosecution.

Although not a criminal case, the effort to keep the former President off of the March 5 primary ballot in Minnesota under the “insurrection” clause of section 3 of the post-Civil War 14th Amendment failed here due, in part, to successful lawyering by his attorneys and affiliated ones representing the state Republican Party. The state Supreme Court last fall punted, deeming the case premature until the fall election. But the issue is likely to be resolved soon by the U.S. Supreme Court in connection with litigation challenging decisions barring him from the ballot in two other states, Colorado and Maine.

While they have yet to achieve any victories, the Trump attorneys have managed to succeed in accomplishing another objective: not losing.

That deserves some degree of grudging admiration, not condemnation.

Marshall H. Tanick is a constitutional and employment law attorney with the Twin Cities law firm of Meyer Njus Tanick.

Smith will be presenting a summary of the Reappraising Minnesota project in an online lecture series beginning Feb. 7.  The two-hour presentations, through the Selim Center for Lifelong Learning at the University of St. Thomas, will be simulcast online on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. for four weeks.  The fee for the series is $100. Click here for registration. 

Minnesota’s rising stature as an innovative economic powerhouse, managed by generous and progressive business owners, was a central theme of the August 1973 Time magazine cover story that revealed “The Good Life in Minnesota” to the rest of the world.  

Near the top of the story, the Time writers focused on a disproportionate concentration of Fortune 500 headquarters and emerging high-tech expertise: “The state harbors some of the nation’s fastest-growing computer companies — Honeywell Inc., Control Data Corp., Univac — along with a diversity of such other corporations as 3M Co., General Mills Inc., Geo. A. Hormel & Co., Pillsbury Co., and Investors Diversified Services Inc. (IDS), one of the nation’s largest mutual fund conglomerates.”  

Time observed a decline in the dominant industries of the state’s first century — especially mining and logging — while maintaining its top rankings in many categories of farm production and agribusiness. Minnesota today still ranks 5th in total value of agricultural production, and companies like Hormel and General Mills, Land O’Lakes and CHS (formerly Cenex, a farmers’ co-op) are still on the national Fortune 500 list. Cargill doesn’t appear on the Fortune 500 list because it is a privately held company, the largest in the United States and the third largest in the world, and the reigning behemoth in agricultural commodity trading.

What seemed to impress the Time writers most, however, was the philanthropy and communitarian ethic of the business elites. Time lauded the Dayton, Pillsbury and Cowles families, and 3M, IBM and Mayo Clinic for philanthropy, arts patronage, and civic activism.   

“The business community’s social conscience … is a reflection of the fact that so many companies have their headquarters in the state. … The companies’ concerns are reflected in their annual reports; most of them carry a section called ‘Social Concerns’ or some such.” Other national media followed suit, marveling at institutions such as the “5 percent Club’’ and efforts as recently as 20 years ago by business leaders in The Itasca Group to raise the alarm about growing racial disparities, well before Black Lives Matter was formed.

Increasingly conservative Republican presidents and congressional leaders (the GOP controlled the White House for 27 of the 50 years between 1973 and 2023) steered national economic policy back toward laissez-faire. And more moderate Democrats often collaborated rather than stand their ground on such key issues as deregulation, labor rights, environmental action and economic security for workers.  

Today’s MAGA Republicans, in the thrall of billionaire celebrity Donald Trump, stand in even sharper contrast to that social responsibility ethic of 50 years ago. In 2024, they are engaged in a relentless counterattack against any and all businesses that support diversity training or racial justice initiatives, or that favor a path to citizenship rather than deportation for undocumented immigrants, or that embrace climate action and LGBTQ rights. Demonizing of the word “woke” and anything that can be labeled “DEI” (for diversity, equity and inclusion training programs), or ESG (environmental social governance) has become paramount. 

Considering its allegedly anti-business mentality and perennial Top 10 rankings in tax obligations on high incomes and corporate profits, Minnesota ranks 6th on the Fortune 1000 list, 17th in millionaire households per capita, 7th on patents per capita and generally high on other innovation indicators.      

Still, not quite as special 

One of the more balanced and comprehensive analyses on the state of the state, also based on a reappraisal of the Time 1973 article, was published 20 years ago by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. This sweeping special project was entitled “Still the Good Life in Minnesota?’’ 

In that series, business editor and columnist Dave Beal wrote a lengthy article assessing the economy 30 years after 1973 as “far larger, stronger and more diverse, but also more like the national economy in some ways, with less local ownership, less philanthropy.”    

Beal and other writers for the project emphasized widening inequality in the national and state economy, increasing racial diversity and disparity, and a decline in both innovation and community involvement by business leaders. That basic critique could be applied today, as well, with even stronger concerns on the racial disparity front and with new concern about a workforce shortage since the Great Pandemic, especially skilled workers, and declines in educational attainment and vocational credentials. 

Noting slower GDP growth in recent years than the national average, Star Tribune business columnist Evan Ramstad in late 2023 urged “more of Minnesota’s government and business leaders to squarely confront that the state is no longer the exceptional economic performer it was when they were young.” Ramstad added: “Minnesota remains a wealthy state in strong fiscal shape. However, it is growing more slowly than at any time in its history and it is constrained by labor scarcity that’s also without precedent.” 

Another recent Star Tribune article assessing the state of corporate philanthropy found a decline in the aspirational levels of bygone days, measured as a percentage of profits devoted to charity and community. The article noted that a business group in the 1970s known as the “5 Percent Club” has effectively become a 2 percent club. But relative to a national decline in pre-tax giving from 2% to 1%, Minnesota philanthropy and involvement in civic affairs remains better, or less stingy.  And by other measures, such as wealthy individual donations to charities and volunteerism, Minnesota by most accounts remains well above average. 

In Newsweek’s 2023 list of America’s most socially responsible companies, Minnesota had 14, far out of proportion to its population size. Florida, with almost four times the population, had only nine on the list. States closest to Minnesota in population were Wisconsin (9), Colorado (8), South Carolina (3) and Alabama (1). 

That level of social responsibility and philanthropy over many decades has produced one of the nation’s largest nonprofit sectors. This has become an increasingly important slice of the economy, often overlooked by analysts. Minnesota also has a strong century-old tradition of cooperative and not-for-profit enterprise, especially in farming and electricity generation. Some of the state’s largest agribusiness giants, Land O’Lakes and CHS, began as co-ops and still function that way, with democratic decision-making among their members. Minnesota now ranks 8th in nonprofit employees as a percentage of the workforce, almost 15% of total workers. Their wages and benefits tend to be comparable to for-profit workers, and many work in health care and human service jobs. 

Analyses of business vitality too often isolate profitability and growth for owners and shareholders, overlooking the basic conditions of workers, without whom there would be no profitability or growth. Here again, by almost every measure, Minnesota’s workers and households, especially those below the median, do better than their counterparts in other states, with the glaring exception of wide disparities for Black and indigenous Minnesotans. (See Parts II, III and IV of this series). 

Communitarian DNA, globalism and unions 

From the founding of the nation and ratification of its Constitution in 1787, debate has raged over the comparative size and role of the private and public sectors. Conservatives argue for private good and capital and deferring to property owners, liberals for public good and labor and equitable uplift for people on the margins. Liberals have always had to overcome arguments that ending slavery and child labor, or being forced to pay higher wages and benefits, would imperil sacred property rights and destroy the economy. In the grand sweep of things, reformers have gradually prevailed, and Minnesota has long been a leading state on the liberal and reform side of that argument. (See Part III of this series). Like most other progressive or “blue” states, it has higher incomes, better outcomes on education and health care, and at least comparable business indicators to states that brag about being “pro-business.” 

Minnesota’s status for more than a century as a hotbed of Farmer-Labor Party activism has played an important part in improving the wellbeing of middle- and low-income families. Unions have lost membership and power since 1973, and in Minnesota, too, but the state still ranks 10th in union members as a percentage of workers. Union power produces not only higher wages and benefits in negotiations with employers, but labor leaders also wield influence on public policy that builds more economic security for folks who are not unionized. 

Minnesota’s public-mindedness and willingness to tax and invest in public goods also has produced a superior system of physical infrastructure, not only transportation, transit and sewer and water systems but also better internet connectivity than most. These assets are crucial for business development. Minnesota ranked 5th on a 2020 multi-factor ranking of overall infrastructure quality. 

Yet another subtle and overlooked asset is a more sophisticated global awareness and a willingness to learn from and trade with other nations. Going back to railroad tycoon James J. Hill’s establishment of ties with China, Minnesota’s bi-partisan spirit of internationalism has served its economy well. DFL Gov. Rudy Perpich in the 1980s elevated global trade as an economic priority and often was criticized for frequent trade missions. But Republican Gov. Arne Carlson and others strengthened efforts to find export markets. Organizations such as Global Minnesota and dozens of other civic and business associations nurture this spirit.   

Partly through progressive public policy and partly luck, Minnesota has been blessed with an unusually diverse economy. A fairly even mix — between agribusiness, manufacturing, services and retail — helps even out booms and busts, in contrast to states that are overly dependent on a single sector. Having no single dominant sector also has spared Minnesota the suffocating political influence of oligopolies that have wielded overwhelming power in places like Texas (oil) Michigan (automobiles), Nevada (gaming), and most of the farm states in the Plains and Midwest (Big Ag).

Although the “bad for business” screed often captures the headlines and public attention, many of the state’s more responsible business voices consistently offer a more positive and accurate view of things. 

The business-funded Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence (once called the Minnesota Taxpayers Association) continues to produce thoughtful policy analysis that recognizes the business value of foundational public investments in education, health care, infrastructure and economic security. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis recently became so involved in racial education equity that the national parent organization ordered it to pull back from direct policy advocacy.   

Greater MSP, a relatively new alliance of corporations and urban core city governments, has become a strong cheerleader in promoting the Twin Cities as a superior place to do business. The venerable Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota Business Partnership (the latter is comprised of the state’s 100 largest employers) continue to complain about taxes and regulation. But the chamber also has produced valuable research showing the enormous benefits of international immigrants to the state’s economy, and both organizations serve an upbeat message on the state’s overall business vitality. Even the arch-conservative Center of the American Experiment, a think tank that has been relentless in portraying Minnesota liberalism as Public Enemy #1 of free enterprise, recently produced a thoughtful essay on the importance of “social capital’’ as a factor that can override economic levers in producing prosperity and quality of life. 

Maintaining an “intelligent equilibrium”  

Time in 1973 used the term “intelligent equilibrium” to describe how Minnesotans were creating a better place to live and work and do business. That smart balance has been threatened, but still holds firm. A majority of Minnesotans tends to believe that the business of Minnesota is not just about maximizing profits and driving to the bottom with cheap labor and low taxes. They stick with a Minnesota Model that’s about maximizing human potential and talent to drive innovation and productivity. It’s also about building and maintaining high-quality physical infrastructure. And it’s about providing the kind of physical health and economic security that allows all households to buy the goods and services that the private sector produces.

In their defense, Minnesotans’ liberal and egalitarian tradition has always been one of confronting capitalist elites and challenging the concentration of wealth and power. In other more conservative states, those elites get what they want most of the time, while Minnesotans have opted for a more liberal democracy that helps business succeed because more people have what they need to develop their potential. This foundational investment has created a remarkably productive workforce and stable consumer demand. And despite constant complaining about the business climate and having to pay more in personal income taxes than other states, Minnesotans have an economy and a society that continue to exist in a relatively intelligent equilibrium. 

Rankings on Economy and Business 

#2 Top States for Medical Device Manufacturing, The top 10 medical device states: Everything you need to know – Medical Design and Outsourcing 

#2 Most Generous States, 2023, The Most and Least Generous States – Forbes Advisor 

#5 America’s Top States for Business, 2023, CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/11/top-states-for-business-minnesota.html 

#5 Value of Agricultural Products, 2019, Visualizing Top Agricultural Products by State (howmuch.net) 

#5 Quality of Physical Infrastructure (transportation, sewerage and water systems, high-speed internet), States With the Best Infrastructure – 2021 Edition – SmartAsset | SmartAsset 

#6 Fortune 1000 Companies Per Capita, States Where Top Companies Have Headquarters | US News Best States 

#7 New Business Applications, States Ranked by Rate of Increase in 2023, Mapped: America’s new business hotspots (axios.com) 

#7  Most Inventive Residents (patents per capita), 2022, 15 U.S. States With the Most Inventive Residents | ClickUp 

#8 Most Diversified Economies, 2018, Measuring Economic Diversity: The Hachman Index, 2018 (d36oiwf74r1rap.cloudfront.net) 

#8 States Ranked by Greenest Economies, Greenest States 2024 (worldpopulationreview.com) 

#8 Nonprofit Employment as Percentage of Total, 2016, (15% of total, 360,000 out of 2.4 million workers) Nonprofits account for 12.3 million jobs, 10.2 percent of private sector employment, in 2016 : The Economics Daily: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov) 

#9 Top States for Workers’ Rights, 2019, Virginia Ranked Worst State for Workers’ Rights (usnews.com) 

#10 Long-term Fiscal Stability, Rankings: Long-Term Fiscal Stability – Best States (usnews.com) 

#10 Union Membership as Percent of Workforce, 2022, (14.2%, highest in the Midwest), Union affiliation by U.S. state – Wikipedia 

#11 Per Capita Income, Ranked by Gini coefficient, (#1 in MIdwest), 2022 List of U.S. states and territories by income – Wikipedia 

# 12 Income Equality List of U.S. states and territories by income inequality – Wikipedia 

#13 State Science and Technology Index/Rankings State Technology and Science Index | Rankings (statetechandscience.org) 

#14 Per Capita Gross Dometic Product, (#2 in Midwest, behind oil-rich North Dakota) 2023, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP – Wikipedia  

#15 Housing Permits Per Capita (2nd most in Midwest, behind S.D.), 2023, Housing Permits Per 100,000 Population,  Where we build homes helps explain America’s political divide – The Washington Post 

#15 Best Economy, 2022, multi-factor ranking for employment, growth and business environment https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/economy 

#17 Millionaire Households Per Capita, 2019, List of U.S. states by the number of millionaire households – Wikipedia 

#18 Best States To Work in America, 2022, Best and Worst States to Work in America 2022 | Oxfam (oxfamamerica.org) 

#20 States Ranked by Favorability of Liability Laws for Business, 2019, 2019_Harris_Poll_State_Lawsuit_Climate_Ranking_the_States.pdf (instituteforlegalreform.com) 

#21 Best Economies (multi-factor ranking: innovative potential, economic health, economic activity), https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-economies/21697 

#21 Best States to Start a Small Business in 2024, Top 10 States to Start a New Business in 2024 (fool.com) 

#43 Best States to Start a Business in 2024, The Best States to Start a Business in 2024 – Forbes Advisor 

Sources and Links: 

Minnesota was once a leader in corporate philanthropy. Is that still true? (startribune.com) 

America’s Most Responsible Companies 2023 (newsweek.com) 

What are Minnesota’s most notable inventions? (startribune.com) 

A Robust & Diverse Economy / Join Us MN 

Economy of Minnesota – Wikipedia 

2024 Business Benchmarks.pdf (mnchamber.com) 

Minnesota Business Partnership/On the Issues 

Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence: A Closer Look at Migration Concerns 

Fortune Global 500 – Wikipedia  

Income growth by race and ethnicity: The two-decade view from Minnesota | Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (minneapolisfed.org) 

$5 billion redo of Mayo Clinic’s campus will reshape Rochester skyline (startribune.com) 

50 Minnesota innovations that changed the world | MinnPost 

Data from past decade shows Minnesota’s economy is productive, diverse and innovative – Minnesota Reformer 

Are people moving out of Minnesota because of high taxes? Question is ‘an easy one to manipulate’ | MinnPost 

Taxation and Migration: Evidence and Policy Implications – American Economic Association (aeaweb.org)\ 

Real Median Household Income in Minnesota (MEHOINUSMNA672N) | FRED | St. Louis Fed (stlouisfed.org) 

America’s Evolving Geography Of Innovation: How The Heartland Region Can Lead The Way On Industry Transforming Technology – Heartland Forward 

WaterTechnologyIndustry2015WEB.pdf (state.mn.us) 

The X-Factor? Social capital and economic well-being: A quantitative analysis (americanexperiment.org) 

https://tcbmag.com/2023-person-of-the-year-beth-wozniak/ 

Labor Unions and the U.S. Economy | U.S. Department of the Treasury 

The history of labor organizing in Minnesota | MinnPost 

Red-State, Blue-State Divide on ESG Legislation (lexisnexis.com)