Minnesotans are fond of reflecting on our state's past, and for good reason. There is much to be proud of.
Minnesota was the first state to offer troops to President Abraham Lincoln at the outset of the Civil War.
Native son Hubert Humphrey was a courageous and influential leader in the civil rights movement of the last century.
An astounding number of businesses blossomed up here into international corporate giants in decades past.
In these trying times, Minnesota nostalgia can be comforting.
But it can also be dangerously distracting. The hard truth is that, today, Minnesota is in decline. We need to stop focusing on our past, acknowledge the deficient direction of the present and make bold change for a brighter future.
Many Minnesotans seem to believe that economic prosperity is an inevitability here. The data suggest otherwise. While Florida and Texas watch their populations balloon and their economies flourish, Minnesota last year lost an alarming 13,453 residents to other states, the most in more than 30 years. We also have 2.8% fewer people employed than before the pandemic.
And while a staggering number of Fortune 500 companies were started here in the last century, in this one the number newly incorporated here is ... none.