GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 4 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary: * * * ACT scores maintain record lows amid student proficiency drops By Catrin Wigfall ACT scores for the class of 2025 remain historically low as statewide measures of high school academic proficiency continue to tell a concerning story. According to the ACT, the nonprofit organization that administers   more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 5 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary: * * * Gov. Walz's $400 million public school decision By Catrin Wigfall Gov. Tim Walz is facing a consequential decision about whether to have the state of Minnesota opt in to the federal tax-credit scholarship program established under the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA). Under the ECCA, ind  more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 6 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary: * * * Gov. Walz's record: Since 2018, Minnesota has seen the biggest expansion of SNAP issuance in the United States By John Phelan As Senate Democrats continue to refuse to pass a bill to reopen the federal government, SNAP has been much in the news; without a budget, there are no funds for the program.   more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 5 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary: * * * HCMC: Refocus the mission, reform the funding -- save Minnesota's trauma lifeline By Matt Dean When 12-year-old Sophia Forchas stepped out of a stretch limousine and into a hero's welcome at Hennepin Healthcare (HCMC), she was swept into a bear hug by Dr. Walt Galicich, her neurosurgeon. Two months   more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 11 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary on Nov. 10, 2025: * * * Hopes, hurdles, and hard choices in school enrollment By Catrin Wigfall More than half of parents say they would choose a school type other than a traditional public district school if given the option, highlighting a continued and substantial disconnect between parents' schooling   more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 5 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary: * * * Is America's strongest advocate your local teacher? By Josiah Padley The past decade of American soul-searching has left many adrift. Is America a fundamentally good country? Has it ever been -- or will it ever be in the future? Should children be told that America is fundamentally evil, or fundamen  more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 4 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary: * * * Is handwriting the key for cognitive development? By Josiah Padley As schools move toward our brave new digital world, a battle has raged over the usefulness of handwriting practice and cursive pedagogy. Why do children need to learn to write physically, when every grown-up they'll ever meet exclusi  more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 5 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary: * * * Jacob Frey fends off challenge from Fateh By Bill Glahn From the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Mayor Jacob Frey beat back a challenge from democratic socialist Omar Fateh for a third term leading Minnesota's largest city." We had to wait a few extra hours for the result, to see if the colossally-stup  more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 11 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary on Nov. 9, 2025: * * * Hennepin County agency cited for 90 violations by state By Bill Glahn From a Bloomberg opinion column, "Minnesota Is Becoming the Land of 10,000 Frauds." I would update the headline with "has become." The column was written by Patricia Lopez, formerly of the Minnesota Star Tribune  more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 6 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary: * * * Minnesota's criminal justice system: unable to see the forest for the trees By David Zimmer Two recent arrests of young men who had used guns to commit violent offenses expose a criminal justice system that is failing to see the big picture and consequently failing to keep law-abiding Minnesotans sa  more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 11 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary: * * * Per ride subsidy on Borealis train increases 66% in one year By John Phelan In the first eleven days of its operation in May 2024, Amtrak's Borealis service between St. Paul and Chicago generated a "profit" of $100,000 which excited a few local people. In fact, as I and others noted shortly afterw  more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 6 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary: * * * A shift in Minneapolis politics? By Bill Glahn On Tuesday, voters in Minneapolis made international news for holding off the socialist challenge in local elections, unlike their counterparts in New York City. In the rest of America, voters may be bitterly divided between Democrats and Republicans.   more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 7 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary: * * * Throwback to when Sens. Klobuchar and Smith voted for ACA subsidies to expire in 2025 By John Phelan Back in 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (H.R.5376). It is a hefty bit of legislation, but Subtitle C reads: You will note the part reading "2021 THROUGH 2025." The bill legislated   more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 11 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary on Nov. 10, 2025: * * * What does it mean for a Minnesota school to exceed expectations? By Josiah Padley Understanding Minnesota's abysmal test scores -- with 42.6 percent of students performing at grade level in math in 2025 and only 47.6 percent at grade level in reading -- can be a more nuanced proces  more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 11 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary on Nov. 10, 2025: * * * What's new in the 2025 Critical Minerals List By Sarah Montalbano Last week, the Department of the Interior finalized its 2025 Critical Minerals List, adding 10 new entries for a total of 60. What's a critical mineral? There is a school of thought out there--and I'm sympathetic t  more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Nov. 4 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary: * * * Xcel proposes massive battery project at Sherco By Bill Glahn From a company news release issued yesterday, "Xcel Energy to build Upper Midwest's largest battery storage site: "600 megawatts at Sherco Energy Hub among a series of planned battery, solar projects" Two things you should keep in mind  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 -- Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minnesota, issued the following news release: * * * Congresswoman Betty McCollum Statement on Senate-Passed Continuing Resolution * SAINT PAUL, Minn. Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04), Dean of the Minnesota Congressional Delegation, issued the following statement on Monday upon Senate passage of a continuing resolution that fails to extend tax credits that millions of Americans depend on to access affordable health care. "Donald Trump and Re  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (TNSFR) -- Education Loan Finance Inc., Knoxville, Tennessee, Credicorp Ltd., Hamilton, Bermuda, and Broadway Bancshares Inc., Gilbert, Minnesota, have filed requests with the Federal Reserve System to engage in or retain specific nonbanking activities across the U.S. Education Loan Finance long with its subsidiary Southeast Bancorp Inc., is seeking to start data processing activities through a proposed wholly-owned subsidiary, OpenETX, based in Farragut, Tennessee. This requ  more

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, Nov. 10 [Category: BizLaw/Legal] -- Taft, a law firm, issued the following news: * * * Friel Selected for DBA Leadership Development Program * Taft attorney Celeste M. Friel was selected for the Dayton Bar Association's prestigious Leadership Development Program. The 10-month program provides selective leadership and professional development for DBA attorneys with two to five years of experience. Candidates selected for the program demonstrated a passion for the legal  more

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, Nov. 10 [Category: BizFood/Beverage] -- General Mills, a food company, issued the following news release: * * * General Mills Accelerates Kernza Market for U.S. Organic Farmers with New Cascadian Farm Cereals * MINNEAPOLIS, MN General Mills (NYSE: GIS) is accelerating the Kernza market for U.S. organic farmers by quadrupling its use of the grain with the introduction of four Cascadian Farm cereals. Kernza, a grain that grows back each year without replanting, has uniq  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, issued the following news release: * * * Klobuchar Statement on Budget Bill * WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) r eleased the following statement on her vote against the budget bill. "Lowering costs is the top priority for Minnesotans. I voted against this budget bill because it does not prevent health insurance premiums from doubling for so many in our state. The President and Congressional Republicans should have come to  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 -- Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minnesota, ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, issued the following news release on Nov. 10, 2025: * * * Ranking Member Angie Craig Slams Trump for Continuing Legal Challenges to Food Assistance Program Today, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02) released the below statement following the Trump administration asking the Supreme Court for permission to cut SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans. "The Trump adm  more

SAN FRANCISCO, California, Nov. 10 [Category: Environment] -- The Trust for Public Land posted the following news release: * * * Trust for Public Land and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Protect 200 Acres for New Sungina Wildlife Management Area * Lonsdale, Minn. Trust for Public Land and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced the permanent protection of 200 acres of grassland, forest, and wetland habitat just outside the City of Lonsdale in Rice County  more

BRISTOL, Connecticut, Nov. 10 [Category: BizMedia] -- ESPN, a sports media company, posted the following news release: * * * Two exclusive NHL games this week on ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu * * Tuesday in prime time: San Jose Sharks vs. Minnesota Wild at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu * The Point continues Thursday at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2 and ESPN+ * Thursday on ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu: Edmonton Oilers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:30 p.m. * All NHL on ESPN Games stream on the ESP  more

CROOKSTON, Minnesota, Nov. 11 -- The University of Minnesota Crookston campus issued the following news: * * * UMN Crookston horticulture students earn first place at collegiate conference University of Minnesota Crookston horticulture students recently competed in the Mid-America Collegiate Horticultural Society (MACHS) 2025 Conference held at the University of Wisconsin River Falls (UWRF) and earned first place overall in the competition, plus excelled in several individual categories inclu  more