Author: Rick Haglund

Rick Haglund specialized in covering business and state economic issues in his nearly 25 years of working as reporter and business columnist at Booth Newspapers (now the MLive Media Group). Now a freelance writer, his work has appeared in numerous publications, including Crain’s Detroit Business, Bridge Magazine, the AARP Bulletin, Dome Magazine and the Traverse City Business News. Haglund, a Michigan native, has a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University. He lives with his wife in metro Detroit and has two adult daughters.

Minnesota: a high-tax, high-prosperity state

Many states, including Michigan, have embraced low taxes and small government as their strategy to try to grow their economies. Minnesota has long trod a different path, one that features high taxes and smart investments in areas such as transportation, cities and education. It also has the strongest economy in the Great Lakes region and […]

State Policies Matter: How Minnesota’s tax, spending and social policies help it achieve the best economy among the Great Lakes states.

Michigan Future’s latest report looks at Minnesota, the most prosperous state in the region with the lowest unemployment rate, and the public policies that have helped it achieve that status. Michigan Future has long argued that our state should want a high income, low unemployment economy that looks like Minnesota. Now we know how policymakers […]