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By Zachery Schmidt | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – New data released by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that Idaho led the nation in median household income growth between 2019 and 2023. Between these years, Idaho’s income growth went up 15.5%. Idaho’s median household income now sits at $74,636. Idaho Department of

By Jon Styf | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s number of individuals employed reached another all-time high in November. The unemployment rate in the state was 2.9% in November, below the national rate of 4.2%. “Over the last year, the Wisconsin unemployment rate has dropped one-half of a percentage point while the

By Derek Draplin | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – Colorado’s economy is expected to see slower growth next year, according to a pair of forecast reports by state economists. The forecast from the Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budget projects GDP to be 1.9% “as slower consumption is offset by rising investments,” which

By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square Party City closing After nearly 40 years in business, Party City is closing all of its stores, including dozens in Illinois. The company’s CEO told corporate employees in a meeting that Party City is “winding down” operations immediately and that Friday was their last day of employment. The

By Elyse Apel | The Center Square (The Center Square) – This Christmas season, Coloradans will find gas prices  higher than last year. Still, the state comes in at less than the national average. According to AAA’s Colorado average on Friday, the current average for regular unleaded is $2.96 a gallon. Mid-grade comes in at $3.37,

By Nolan McKendry | The Center Square (The Center Square) − In 2024, casinos generated $791.8 million in tax revenue for the state. Mobile sports wagering accounted for over $50 million. The Louisiana casino industry was nearly brought to it’s knees when a bill was introduced in the recent special legislative session to increase taxes on

By Elyse Apel | The Center Square (The Center Square) – As Michiganders gear up for holiday traveling, they’ll find gas prices slightly higher than last Christmas. According to AAA’s Michigan average Friday, the current average for regular unleaded is $3.12 a gallon. Mid-grade comes in at $3.68, premium at $4.24, and diesel at $3.60. Those are

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – This year was another record-breaking job creating year in Texas, with employers reporting nearly every month employment records that were broken from the previous month. November was no different – with one exception. Last month, Texas’ labor force participation reached a 10-year high,

By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square Vigil held for Mahomet victims A candlelight vigil was held Thursday in Mahomet to commemorate the lives of three people murdered in the central Illinois community. A suspect in the shootings was located in Berwyn where he exchanged gunfire with police and was killed. Police identified him as

By Morgan Sweeney | The Center Square (The Center Square) — Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin emphasized tax relief and investments in education when he presented his fourth and final state budget Wednesday to the joint money committees of the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate. The governor titled the budget the “Keep Virginia Winning” budget, saying

By Steve Bittenbender | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – More Kentuckians looked for work last month. That’s according to unemployment data released by the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet. The November unemployment rate of 5.1% was up a tenth from October and up November 2023’s 4.3% . Kentucky’s jobless rate also exceeds

By Tim Clouser | The Center Square (The Center Square) – The Spokane County Treasurer’s Office announced Thursday that its investments earned local taxpayers more than $47 million this past year alone.  Treasurer Michael Baumgartner, recently elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, issued a news release Thursday morning touting the success. In addition to collecting

By Brett Rowland | The Center Square (The Center Square) – A credit rating agency has dropped San Francisco’s rating because of the city’s deficit spending and economic outlook. S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term rating and underlying rating to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’ on the City and County of San Francisco’s existing general obligation debt

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Taxpayer money from North Carolinians is a fiscal strength for the push to alternative-powered vehicles. Electric vehicles and their components remained an emerging industry in 2024. In fact, a March report from national nonpartisan nonprofit group E2 presented in conjunction with the Cleantech Summit

By Benjamin Yount | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – There just aren’t a lot of homes for sale in Wisconsin, and that is keeping prices high. The latest report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association shows November was another month of tight inventory. “The inventory of available homes remains very tight even as

By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square (The Center Square) – The national average price of gasoline in the U.S. has fallen below $3 per gallon, just in time for those traveling for Christmas. Motorists across the country will most likely see a national average gas price of $2.95 a gallon on Christmas, the lowest number reported

By The Center Square International migration drives state population increase For the first time in a decade, Illinois’ population increased in the year ending July 1, 2024, ending a decade of decline. Numbers released by the U.S. Census show Illinois gained nearly 68,000. The increase was driven by international migration into Illinois. In the past

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Although the Chicago City Council passed a budget for 2025 this week, the city’s financial problems are not going away. Chicago taxpayers are looking at a billion-dollar deficit after elected officials raised the budget from $16.6 billion this year to $17.1 billion for 2025.

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed on Wednesday down by 1,123 points, marking the 10th consecutive day of losses. The Dow’s drop was the longest losing stretch for the index since it fell 11 consecutive days from Sept. 20 to Oct. 4, 1974.

By Carleen Johnson | The Center Square (The Center Square) – The Olympia City Council is moving ahead with discussions on a potential increase in the minimum wage and the adoption of a Workers’ Bill of Rights that could include guarantees of set schedules and other protections.  Councilmember Jim Cooper said during an Oct. 22 meeting that

By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA, continues to spark controversy.  Earlier this year, the governor signed into law an amendment that clarified that multiple BIPA violations against the same party constitute a single violation and accordingly limits the damages. But its retroactivity has sparked

By Brett Rowland | The Center Square (The Center Square) – U.S. voters are concerned that tariffs could hurt the U.S. economy, but the depth of those concerns varies by political party with more concern from Democrats than Republicans, according to a new poll.  A separate poll released earlier this month asked voters about tariffs

By Elyse Apel | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Over the past few weeks, Michigan lawmakers have been fighting over changes that will incrementally raise the minimum wage in the state to $15 over the next few years. Currently set to go into effect Feb. 21, the proposal will also alter the wages for

By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – Incentives of $2.2 million locally and from the state of North Carolina have helped land new plant plans in Mocksville for the maker of furniture for IKEA. SBA Home, a Lithuanian furniture company, plans a $70 million furniture factory that creates 250 jobs.

By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square (The Center Square) – The Food and Nutrition Service issued a final rule implementing key provisions, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements, following the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. Effective Jan. 16, 2025, the final rule introduces changes to the program’s purpose and modifies work requirement provisions for

By Tim Clouser | The Center Square (The Center Square) – The Yakima City Council is scheduled to adopt its 2025-26 budget on Monday night, closing a deficit that could’ve reached upwards of $50 million by 2029 if the officials didn’t change course.  The biennial framework that will carry city spending through 2026 does not

By Kenneth Schrupp | The Center Square (The Center Square) – California lost 156,300 jobs in the first six months of 2024, according to new federal quarterly payroll data, contradicting California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s claims about job growth in the state. Politicians nationwide often cite optimistic preliminary jobs survey data, which is often significantly revised

By Tim Clouser | The Center Square (The Center Square) – The city of Spokane is walking a tightrope as it approaches the end of the fiscal year, with the administration crossing its fingers in hopes of avoiding the fallout of a deficit. The city council passed a biennial budget last week, balancing a $25