Ever since Governor Wendell Anderson appeared on the cover of Time holding a (only one?) northern on a stringer, Minnesotans have carefully monitored the good life in Minnesota. Sure the winters are brutal, but we know how to make the most of things and live well.
Minnesota Compass, a data compilation service run by The Wilder Foundation, came out with a 2023 report this month entitled, More quality of life indicators trend worse than better in Minnesota.
Some of the insights are not surprising. Student achievement at the 3rd grade level is down whereas obesity is up. These seem easy to tie to the lockdowns. But a larger share of babies were born at a low birth weight is a bit distressing.
Violent crimes are at the highest level in a decade- there’s been plenty of coverage of this as it mainly involves youth. Youth volunteerism is reported as down whereas the homeless numbers are on the rise.
On a positive note the homeownership gap is closing. And this is a good thing.
Home Economics 