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Ecolution

Deep Dive: How the Attorney General’s Office Impacts Affordability, Housing, and Healthcare

At a recent campaign rally for Attorney General Keith Ellison, Sen. Tina Smith, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and Ellison talked about several key issues impacting voters this season. Following are excerpts of the discussion, including Ellison's talking points about the economics of daily living, healthcare, housing, and other details related to how affordability is tied up in government policy and enforcement.
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A Conversation About Priorities with U.S. Senate Candidate Peggy Flanagan

Two of our Future Forward editorial board members — a board of women under the age of 25 — had a chance to talk with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who is running for U.S. Senate. Here is some of the conversation.
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EXPLAINER: Mining in Minnesota

Minnesota has mined iron for well over a century, and it is still the largest producer of iron ore and taconite in the United States. Now the state is at the center of a bigger question: should it open a second kind of mining, for copper, nickel and other metals, in some of its most water-rich landscapes? This Explainer is part of a series designed to help people understand how the government — and the people we elect to it — serve the common good with the decisions they make about policy and funding priorities that impact the interconnected whole.
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How to Build a Life of Financial and Emotional Health

I didn’t know anything about goal setting, time management, or financial planning until I came to Minnesota and registered at Community Action Partnership for a two-year program called “Self-Sufficiency for Low-Income Families.”
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Minneapolis Residents: It Is Time to Voice Views on Xcel and Centerpoint Agreements

"We encourage members of the public to attend and share their thoughts on the agreements reached and explain why taking this bold action on climate is important to them."
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Three 20-Something Women Talk About How They See Hope

"There is unifying recognition that it's not just about money — it's also about social and health fabrics that need tending to. The narrative is shifting. I think people are making the dots and connections a bit more."
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COMMENTARY: How Some Homeowners Are Getting Squeezed on City Land

The marketing might say that your sidewalk will be shoveled and your lawn will be mowed, but it does not tell you that an unlicensed management company or a board appointed by that company will spend your money without oversight.
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How I Am Growing My Own Solidarity Economy

The end of capitalist systems is not a story of good overthrowing bad, but rather a pluralistic tale of nurturing alternative economies to make the current ones obsolete.
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ANEW’s Recovery Clinic: Can-Do Spirit

“All human beings are stronger together,” says Arradondo-Russell, who oversees day-to-day operations. “The opposite of addiction is connection.”
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Britt Howell: Proactive About Health

“If we can keep seeing powerful women, who are doing extraordinary things, on the front of magazines, and inside the magazines,” then others will be inspired to do similar works, she says.
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Marla Spivak: Bee Researcher Leaves Legacy

After more than three decades at the University of Minnesota as a bee researcher and professor, Spivak is retiring on December 31.
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Publishers Commentary: Stepping into 2025 With Open Eyes and (Wounded) Open Hearts

In reality, we need each other. We need generosity of spirit and mind. We need tolerance and acceptance of people who are not simply versions of us. We need a balance of people — who are equals — to care for us in nursing homes and hospitals, teach our children in schools, feed us at restaurants with food that comes from the collective.
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Veterans: Edit Letter and TOC

From veterans, I am learning about the simultaneous mix of traumas and joys from service. Mostly, what I have heard is the desire of service providers to be able to serve veterans better.
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Returning to My Hometown After Three Decades in the Military

"Because of my pension and health care benefits, I have the ability to do this. My military career gave me that freedom to do something good for my community, because I have that safety net."
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BOOK DEEP DIVE: “Convergence” Author on Why Polarization Does Not Have to Dominate

"Yes, we feel divided, and yes, we are in real ways — but I think the narrative is obscuring a lot of shared values, shared goals, the desire to be in positive relationship, the desire to solve problems together."
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