Considering last May’s state revenue forecast, the new projections announced Tuesday are absolutely rosy. From a $2.4 billion shortfall in the current budget to a $641 million surplus is good news indeed. Even a projected $1.3 billion shortfall in the next budget is a welcome figure, compared ...

COVID-19 has been an enormous challenge to the nation’s public school system. It has forced tens of millions of students to stay at home, often for months at a time, rather than go to class. Give educators credit for doing what they could with “remote learning.” Thrown suddenly into a ...

Unless members of Congress find some way to compromise and give Americans an early Christmas through a new round of COVID-19 relief funding, the holiday season will be grim for tens of millions of people. President Donald Trump can do little about that — but he can do something. Among many ...

"Shop local.” Yea, we know. You read that every year about this time. This year, though, “shop local” is more than a holiday slogan. It’s an urgent plea. More than a few local businesses face dire circumstances as this COVID-19 pandemic rages. Central Minnesotans must do all they ...

Thanksgiving travelers irresponsible THUMBS DOWN: Lexi Cusano was traveling form Miami, Florida, to Hartford, Connecticut, for the Thanksgiving holiday. “People were just hanging out without their masks on,” said Cusano, who recently took a job in Miami. “I saw them walking back and ...

Federal CARES Act assistance has been invaluable for many American families and businesses. Without it, what appears to be a record-setting recovery from the financial crisis caused by COVID-19 would not be occurring. Millions of families with laid-off breadwinners would be in desperate ...