Articles

State expert explains Affordable Care Act

“Learn what the Affordable Care Act, enacted a year ago, actually does, from an expert who helped write it,” was the publicity description given for a July 27 public meeting held by the Minnesota Citizens Federation Northeast.

Pete Langr: Duluth schools superintendent did his job, but challenges remain

While maintaining the good relationship with teachers that Keith Dixon has cultivated, Duluth’s (new) superintendent needs to influence contracts and school culture to give teachers more respect, coupled with more responsibility.

Pete Langr: We need crud-free walkways

The city should be able to create a community with walkways that are more usable year-round, while being easier and cheaper to maintain.

Pete Langr: New rental ordinance already needs work

The well-meaning (but dramatically off-target) city proposal to regulate rental housing moved forward this week. City councilors, equally well-meaning, voted to pass the ordinance.

Pete Langr: Duluth’s rental reform should be withdrawn, redone

Thirty years ago, when residents in the neighborhood adjacent to Mankato State University complained about college students parking on “their” streets, the city simply posted the streets as “no parking.”

Pete Langr: Oberstar’s replacement now faces hard choices

Oberstar's replacement is in a position to determine whether he will prolong business uncertainty by opposing reasonable legislation, or whether he will work to remove some of the uncertainty that he tells us is a problem. He can’t have both.

Pete Langr: ‘Superman’ has important message

“Waiting for Superman" follows the lives of five young students whose neighborhood schools appear to be either unwilling or unable to give them the education they need.

Pete Langr: Parking incentives sometimes backfire

In truth, all forms of transportation — including walking — are heavily subsidized, so generalized complaining about a specific transportation subsidy is little more than foolishness.

Pete Langr: Better accounting for LGA benefits is what we need

Local government aid, the money the state sends to property-poor cities in Minnesota, has been a frequent topic of debate in this year’s state political campaigns.

Pete Langr: Teacher incentives might not work as originally planned

Merit pay for teachers sounds like a great idea; like Pavlov’s dog, people respond to incentives. We naturally expect that teachers who are promised a few thousand dollars in bonus money will find ways to improve the not-so-good test scores of many school students.

Columns

Pete Langr: Test scores aren’t a reliable indicator of quality

Pete Langr calls for a serious discussion of reasons behind poor test scores.