Two weak tornadoes touched down in the south metro late Saturday - an extremely rare phenomenon that Minnesota has not experienced this late in the season since the National Weather Service began keeping tornado statistics. After a day of record-breaking highs that topped out in the lower 70s in some parts of the Twin Cities, a strong cold front rode in from the Dakotas, spawning the tornadoes in Dakota County around 11 p.m. Saturday. They fanned into straight-line winds that ripped out trees, knocked out power, and caused light structural damage in Dakota, Ramsey, and southern Washington counties. The first tornado showed up on radar at 10:58 p.m., touching down near McAndrews Road and County Road 5 in Burnsville. It moved northeast. Wind speeds were estimated at 80 miles per hour. It then widened into straight-line winds. 
Seven minutes later, a line of thunderstorms moving fast to the northeast produced a second tornado following the Mississippi River, and it dropped down near the intersection of Interstate 494 and Hwy. 13. That one had wind speeds of 70 to 75 mph. The winds had picked up intensity as they swept from the west into the east metro, with pockets of homes and businesses hardest hit, and power failures in West St. Paul and Mendota Heights. The straight-line winds were nearly as strong as the tornadoes, wreaking nearly as much damage and over wider swaths. Wind damage was reported as far north as White Bear Lake. No injuries were reported, but trees and power lines were blown down. Power was lost to about 12,000 homes and businesses. The twisters were rated as EF-0, on a scale that rates the most devastating tornadoes as EF-5. But even a weak tornado can still do damage. Any tornado in a metro area can be dangerous with so many people. The November twisters are not only rare in Minnesota, but are extremely rare for other places in the Northern Plains, the Upper Mississippi River Valley which includes Wisconsin, Iowa, and North and South Dakota. The tornadoes came four to six weeks later than the typical time that twisters end in Minnesota. As the cover of the November 5 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek said, It’s Global Warming, Stupid.
November 11, 2012
November 7, 2012
The United States no longer makes the list of the 10 most prosperous countries in the world, according to a new study by the Legatum Institute. The Legatum Prosperity Index found that while prosperity increased globally, the U.S. fell to 12th place in its rankings. The report writes: 
The American Dream is in jeopardy. In an unprecedented fall, America drops to twelfth position in the worldwide prosperity rankings – with weakening performance across five of the Index’s eight sub-categories. The Legatum Institute published its first Prosperity Index six years ago, ranking countries based on material wealth and personal well-being. The 2012 index analyzed 142 countries in eight categories: economy, education, entrepreneurship & opportunity, governance, health, personal freedom, safety & security, and social capital. According to the study, overall prosperity in Europe has increased despite the economic crisis, though several European countries have seen their scores drop in categories analyzing economic development. This study comes on the tails of the U.N.'s list of the most prosperous cities in the world -- with more than half of them located in Europe. It’s about time all those American exceptionalists stop the continuous bluster about “greatest country in the world.”
November 6, 2012
Yes!
Except for Michele Bachman slithering by, it was a great night:
Both constitutional amendments, one to state that marriage is only between a man and a woman, and another to require voter ID, failed. Very proud to be a Minnesotan today, especially having been away in nothing land for nearly 3 years.
