Evan Ramstad
Columnist
BusinessHe moved to the Twin Cities and joined the Star Tribune in 2013. Ramstad previously worked for The Wall Street Journal in Seoul, Hong Kong and Dallas, and the Associated Press in New York, Washington and Dallas and briefly at the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He grew up in Grinnell, Iowa, where he got a start in journalism at radio station KGRN.
Latest from Evan Ramstad
Ramstad: What GOP gubernatorial candidates say about growth and immigrants
At the biggest yearly gathering of business and political leaders, Republicans talk about the issue that has hurt their chances to win statewide office.
February 18, 2026
Ramstad: Immigration is Minnesota’s top issue. We need to hear specific numbers.
Look at my targets and see how you they make you feel.
February 14, 2026
Ramstad: With $1B vulnerable to social services fraud, Minnesota needs solutions, not noise
It’ll take more than appointing an inspector general. Structures need to change in state and local government.
February 12, 2026
Ramstad: The Great Wrecking of Minnesota is underway
Republicans overreacted to illegal immigration and fraud. Democrats did the same with the state’s social service providers. Collateral damage is in every corner of the state.
February 7, 2026
Advertisement
Ramstad: An economic bomb has hit Lake Street
Hispanic businesses are being hit hardest as customers and employees hide from federal agents — or leave Minnesota.
February 4, 2026
Ramstad: Minnesotans’ moderation, not radicalism, is working against Trump’s immigration crackdown
Minnesotans fought back from the bottom up, not the top down. The resistance has not been overly organized and yet incredibly disciplined.
January 31, 2026
Minnesota gained more people from other states in 2025, a first this decade
The state’s overall population growth slowed last year, however, due to fewer international immigrants.
January 27, 2026
Ramstad: Open the Whipple Federal Building now
One of the first things Tom Homan should do is reveal the place and conditions in which Minnesotans have been detained.
January 27, 2026
Advertisement
Ramstad: Readers join my appeal to focus on state services, but fraud dominates their emotions
A column with un-Christmas emotion prompted the most reader emails and comments in recent weeks.
January 24, 2026
Ramstad: Vance revealed the real game in his Minnesota remarks
If this so-called “largest immigration action ever” operation was a business venture, it would be an utter failure.
January 23, 2026
Ramstad: Telling people to avoid Minnesota businesses doesn’t hurt ICE
The “economic blackout” day creates unnecessary risk for people who are on the side of getting ICE out of Minnesota.
January 21, 2026
Ramstad: Trump’s ICE push in Minnesota is part of a makeover of America’s population
He dislikes that immigrants have become such a major source of population growth in the state and country.
January 17, 2026
Advertisement