Construction, specifically new builds (housing and commercial) are leading indicators of the economy. As of February 2020, there were about 125,000 Minnesotan workers employed in construction, representing a little over 4% of the total state workforce. Construction as a whole contributed a whopping 11.3 billion dollars to the MN GDP in 2018 (the most recent... Continue Reading →
Quarantine Day – I've Stopped Counting Already, But The Important Thing is We Tested Negative
Fortunately our results came back finally this weekend and we were both negative, which is a relief. We have been able to have dinner with the family and at least that has returned to normal. Kevin is also happy that he can see other dogs, and not just me shouting incoherent phrases at him and... Continue Reading →
Quarantine Day 5 – The Family Is Back
After some excellent advice from Dr. Dora, the family veterinarian, we decided to invite Kevin back into our home since there have been no known cases of transmitting Covid-19 from human to dog. I will have to say that Kevin has boosted moral for my wife and I, even if all he does is follow... Continue Reading →
Quarantine Day 3
Since our basement was sealed air-tight by our family prior to our arrival home on Sunday, I've spent 95% of my time in bed or in my office. We were supposed to hear our test results around 11:30am today, but have still not heard. My wife and I have been face-timing with our three year... Continue Reading →
Quarantine Day 2
As I've recently returned from vacation, like many others, I've been tested for Corona Virus. Fortunately, I was able to do so relatively quickly, after a four hour wait this morning. In the meantime, I'll be isolated at home for the foreseeable future. My work has mandated a minimum 14 day work from home policy... Continue Reading →
MN House Reps Introduce Bill Requiring Candidates Release Tax Returns
As the Minnesota State congress reconvenes for session, an eye turns toward the presidential election. This Tuesday, four DFL representatives introduced a bill which would require any presidential candidate who wishes to be on a Minnesota ballot to release five years of tax returns. Minnesota Joins three other states considering bills this session. In 2019,... Continue Reading →
An Unexpected Result of State vs. Federal Government Under Trump Administration
The United States has coal that it would like to export. It has coal that it would like to export to Asia, and evidently the best way to do this is to put the coal on ships, rather than flying the coal overseas and dropping it over China like a sooted cropduster. There is a... Continue Reading →
Coronavirus: Not as Deadly as the Flu
This has been getting a lot of attention lately, perhaps because it is a novel Coronavirus, or people are predisposed to worrying about China-originated epidemics(see SARS, bird flu). The scope of the issue, while still alarming due to its contagious nature and international presence, is widely overblown when compared with the flu virus. From USAToday:... Continue Reading →
Homelessness and Traumatic Brain Injury
I remember hearing a statistic not too long ago about the prevalence of brain injury among the homeless. Today I looked it up and came across a few studies. Over half of all homeless people may have experienced a traumatic brain injury, according to a study highlighted in this Guardian article. Additionally: A large study... Continue Reading →
Reason For the Unreasonable – Award Winner
This blog recently was selected by the prestigious Feedspot.com organization as one of the "Top 30 Public Policy Blogs on the Web". If you're looking to congratulate me, I accept gift baskets without tomatoes, and free raffle tickets for meat raffles(this is not a euphemism it's something we have here in Minnesota, look it up).... Continue Reading →
Reason For The Unreasonable 