www.commsolutionsmn.com- The first presidential debate is drawing nigh. It's looking like President Biden may end up being the nominee, but what about vice president? Kamala Harris remains unpopular and doesn't seem to help Joe Biden's struggling poll numbers at all. Amy Klobuchar alway outperforms in Minnesota. Why? Why do more Minnesotans vote fo…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- What is going on with the Biden campaign? They scheduled their convention so late, that if anything unforseen happens, there will be no Democratic candidate on the ballot in Ohio. Will President Biden make it to the general election? Will Kamala Harris? This campaign is losing and losing bad. Obama can't see all of his work…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Gavin Newsome promised to end homelessness in California. Now it's at all-time high. We don't see the problem getting better, but exponentially worse. He's giving them free drugs, Election polls keep rolling in, and President Trump keeps widening his lead in the swing states. In fact, he is starting to go after Biden in sta…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- When times get tough, people depend on entertainment to take them away. Today, entertainment is rotten through and through. How are they making us forget our problems, when they are championing our problems? They can't create art that brings people together because they are too busy separating us. The problem is that we hav…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- It’s been a while, thanks to a technical meltdown at Comm Solutions HQ. We will not be kept down! We’ve got a couple of back episodes to release, but we’re storming forward. In this episode, we discuss the passing of Senator Joe Lieberman, and his mark on the future of the Democratic Party. They have drifted so far since th…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- The State of the Union address was uneventful, so maybe that was a win for President Biden, although his angry demeanor and use of the weord "illegal" kept him from getting a bump in the polls. This guy is in trouble and Democrats are starting to get nervous. Unfortunately, the Republicans weren't able to capitalize on the …

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Super Tuesday proved a couple things, one that noone in the Republican Party is going to stop President Trump, and two... there's a pretty big contingent of the Democrat electorate that is voting "no preference" or "noncommitted" over President Biden. That's troublesome. Those folks may vote Biden in the end, but if they do…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Now that the 2024 presidential race is set between Trump v Biden, what is the Democrats play? It looks like Trump is ahead in all of the important places for now. What does that mean for the Dems in the House and the Senate? Will Biden even make it to the general election? Is Harris the heir apparent? Is it time for them to…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Another state primary down, and another state primary solidly in the "W"column for President Trump. Nevertheless, Nikky Haley is staying in the race with no path to the nomination. It's certainly her right to do so, but at what point is she helping Joe Biden and the Democrats? We declare the inauigural "Conspiracy Week", wh…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- The Robert Hur report came out, not clearing President Biden of wrongdoing, but rather claiming that he is incompetant to stand trial, so no charges. So if he's too bad off to stand trial, how is he well enough to be the president of the United States? Which is it? Are you comfortable with that? ...or are they trying to exp…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- This last week, Ilhan Omar made a speech that was smilar to a Donald Trump speech... except that it was about Somalia. It called for a Somalia-first policy, including a secure Somalian border. If the Squad didn't have hypocrisy, it wouldn't have any political strategy at all. Never mind that she took an oath to put our coun…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Well... It's January, and with that, we have new city council and school board members in select locations. St Paul has set a record. No, not for the most females on an elected body, but for possibly the most juvenile and uninformed public meeting in history. They sat around and cheered that there were no elected men on the…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- We’re back with season 8, and we’re off to a raging start. We’re going after an issue that seems like a national issue, but it really doesn’t get more local than what’s in your wallet. The Federal Reserve has been talking about issuing a new currency… a progammmable digital-based currency. This isn’t the first time a new US…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- We have recorded 299 episodes over seven seasons. That's a bunch more than most podcasts. We have stood the test of time, and taught many in Minnesota (and elsewhere) all about the ins and outs of local government. We've done shows on budgets, government handouts, local elections, transit, property taxes, and bike lanes. Yo…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- It's no secret, we hate odd year elections. Very few people come out, and the majority of those are activists, union members, and the uber political. Should 3,500 people decide who makes policy for a city of 50,000? Why don't we just make it easy for people to vote? We hear so much about making it as easy as possible for ev…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- The war in Israel is front and center on the world stage, and there are a number of things that are starting to surface, that we didn't think that we would ever see again. When Hamas blindsided Israeli families and concertgoers on not only their Sabbath, but also on a huge religious holiday, it proved its cowardice and barb…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- If we want to change the direction of our government, it takes us getting serious about our local elections. Top-down government never works, but yet we almost completely ignore the offices that are closest to us. The real problem is that we are playing a game that progressives created and wrote the rules to. Almost every c…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Our fantastic legislature passed a 1% increase in the sales tax this year that just took effect. This pushes Minneapolis' sales tax up over 9% and St. Paul is almost at 10%! Of course, the DFL wants to claim that this increase is "for the kids", yet the kids never seem to be any better off. Our taxes keep going up, and it's…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- We hear all around us about the impending doom that is climate change. A group called C40 Cities in collaboration with Arup advisors have come up with some ambitious climate goals so that we can all save the earth... or something like that. There's a problem, however, that if we do these things, we will have to completely g…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Ramsey County is trying to pass a $842 million budget, and there is no expense spared. It's 750 pages of endless spending to the tune of almost $1 billion. They have huge personnel costs, as they have well over 4,000 employees. There is all sorts of state aid and federal aid, mixed with bonding, to meet the demands that the…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- It's no secret, our school districts are struggling with discipline issues. The inmates run the asylum, with schools allowing them to talk back to teachers, be physically violent with teachers, and with grading standards being erased. Parents no longer back the teachers, and the Teacher's Union is the one empowering the stu…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Just about everyone agrees that the Met Council is way too powerful. They threaten cities with litigation if they don't fall into line. So what glorious ideas are both Republicans and Democrats agreeing upon to fix this problem? Dismantle their authority? Of course not! We're going to elect them! People don't know who their…

Golden Valley is a mess. In their pursuit for "equity" they are destroying the city. They wrote an equity plan that required all contractors looking to do business in Golden Valley to answer certain equity-related questions. They put equity ahead of fairness and have a plan to ensure things work that way. Equity has become the foremost standard in …

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Minneapolis Public Schools just approved a $976 million budget. That's almost $1 billion! They cite rising costs and lower enrollment. Shouldn't fewer students equal fewer dollars spent? Maybe they can afford it? Not a chance. The district is running a $42 million deficit. This is absolutely irresponsible. Kim Ellison (yes,…

www.commsolutions.com- I'm sure that you all heard that there was a huge tax surplus in St Paul. Don't stay up waiting for your check. It ain't coming. So after spending all of the extra money they stole, that should be the end of it... right? Of course not!!! They passed a bonding bill in a non-bonding year with Republican help! Thanks guys!!! Rem…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- On their way out of session, the Minnesota Legislature passed an education omnibus bill. As you know, we hate omnibus bills. So much junk passes through in these things, and the Republicans are just as complicit as the Democrats. They could choose to stop this horrible practice with a unified "no" vote, but they refuse. Is …

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Police departments are starting to fly surveillance drones over cities. Don't we have a fourth amendment anymore? Aren't we supposed to be secure in our persons, homes, papers, and effects? How can this be allowed? Yet if we say anything, the same people that marched in the streets and ran for office on the platform of defu…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Everyone is talking about 2024 and who will be running for president. Did you know that many places will be having school and municipal elections this year? There's one problem... almost no one votes in odd year elections. Townships can have elections whenever, as can school districts with referendum votes. We currently see…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Our cities are expected to be built the same as each other, using the exact same infrastructure, zoning, and policies. Everything is interconnected and collecting, analyzing, and reporting all different kinds of data. They're pushing electric vehicles, smart meters, and safer streets. They monitor activity and use that to t…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- The Gold Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line just got a huge financial shot in the arm from the Federal government. It is only a 10-mile line, and $240 million alone is coming from the Feds. $120 million a piece have come from Ramsey and Washington counties. That is such a short route, and it stops in so few places. It will s…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- There is no end to the amount of money that government is asking from us. The problem is that the costs grow out of control as we implement all of these new green regulations. Thrifty is a word not found in the government dictionary. Stearns County wants a new jail, but it will cost at least $300 million, which is only thre…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- We haven't talked about Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) much on this show, but they make a lot of rules that affects a lot of local cities and businesses. When they mess around with the slot sizes and limits, it can affect the level of businesses at the resorts, bait shops, gas stations, and restaurants. I…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- I'm not sure that anyone can explain how property taxes are figured out, but we're going to give it a shot. You get the county, the city, and the school district, all with their hands in the pie. There are 47-some classifications of properties, despite there being four main classifications (residential, commercial, industri…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Property ownership is a bedrock of American society. It has been ingrained in the fabric of our great country since before the beginning. Yet, government has found a way to confiscate our property, despite what the constitution says. Government came up with eminent domain as a way to take that property back. They would just…

www.communitysolutionsmn.com- I'm sure that you've heard about the 150 car train derailment in East Palestine, OH on February 3rd. The train was full of a number of dangerous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, which was used as a poison in World War I. The Federal government has avoided and ignored this situation up to now. The state of Ohio has …

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Today we focus on counties. The Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) has an updated legislative agenda, looking to states and the Federal Government for funding and support. Now we all know that money comes in a one-time payment, and because the county scrambles for the free money, they are left having to pay for these t…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Golden Valley continues to decimate it's police department. Reports say that they have somewhere between 9-17 officers out of a possible 31 officers to fill the force. The city says that there's no reason to worry. They hired Belcom to do investigative work, as they have no detectives. Golden Valley is relying on the Fire D…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- It's that time of year again where the World Economic Forum gets together in Davos to plan how they want to bring the world under their public-private cooperation. The largest corporations and elements of world governments get together in the name of saving the world and address top-down solutions to climate change, poverty…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- There is a new group called Minnesota Parents' Alliance that is focused on education, equality, and parents' rights. That has made them public enemy #1 among the left. There are a lot of parents across the country that are starting to stand up. These parents have great reason to stand up when you think about the radical age…

www.commsolutionsmn- The St Paul City Council authorized a new permanent committee to be put in charge of researching and Reparations Legislative Advisory Committee. The council also passed a resolution to apologize for Minnesota's part in slavery (we weren't a slave state, by the way). That lets you know exactly where this group is coming from. Th…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Here we are wrapping up 2022 and on the precipice of 2023. This is the end of season six, and season seven is on the way in. And after six seasons, things are more out of control than ever. Our job is far from finished. Brooklyn Center is in some serious trouble. They have thirty-six police officers and are trying to get to…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- In the previous episode we introduced you to a group called Gender Justice. We decided that we needed to do a deep dive. They have been around for about 10 years. They do a lot of work around the trans agenda, gender-based violence, abortion, deportation, and any leftist cause they can wedge in there. They try to convince u…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Hennepin County just passed a measure to force all contractors that work with the County to acknowledge and affirm the gender identities of everyone. This Board Action Request- 220216 was submitted by Commissioner Ierne Fernando. It states that anyone that receives services from the County can do so inclusive of their gende…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- It's time once again to do the mess around. We are going to take you to some The Marcy-Holmes neighborhood association in Minneapolis is pushing to rename Marcy Park. I'm sure that no one even knows who William Marcy was, but yet we need to erase our history. Keith Ellison waved his hand, and the Minnesota Department of Edu…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Well, here we are. The Republicans found a way to screw things up again. The Democrats are fully in charge in MN. So what does that mean? What kind of policies can we expect? What can we expect in Southwest Light Rail? Will it get finished? What does that mean for the Blue Line Extension? Minnesota has a large surplus of ta…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- There are a whole bunch of things to consider when you step into the booth to vote. We've heard so many times about how difficult it is to know which local candidates to vote for. It can be easy to cast a vote when a candidate is a Republican or a Democrat. They are a little more publicized. You kind of know where they stan…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Today we bring you the story of some Minnesota cities that have asked for obscene amounts of taxpayer money to pay for things that they haven't planned for in advance or that nobody wants. There hasn't been so much begging for pork since the 1930's. Emily Larson, mayor of Duluth, took a taxpayer-funded trip to Washington DC…

www.commsolutions.com- Everybody in Federal, State, and local government, along with almost all businesses are pushing ESG scores.... you know, Environmental, Social, and Governance scores that business and government are colluding on to control anyone that wants to stand up and do it differently. It's the climate change agenda, like no more combus…

www.commsolutionsdmn.com- It's that point in many campaigns where public forums are popping up like whack-a-mole. These are important to go to, because you find out a whole lot about who is running for these local seats. We sat down recently to watch the Robbinsdale 281 forum, and heard things that curled our hair. Thing is, it might be more severe…

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Ever heard of the Minnesota Regional Council of Mayors? Yeah, us neither until we stumbled upon it in our vast research. It was created from the Urban Land Institute. Right now, it includes mayors from St Louis Park, Minnetonka, Burnsville, Lakeville, Edina, Eagan, Woodbury, Duluth, Willmar, and more. They are sponsored by …