Lab Notes is our blog where we talk about the latest demographic, economic, social, and political trends—and whatever else is on our minds. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest and greatest Lab Notes delivered to your inbox. #LabNotes
My family buried my grandmother the day that coronavirus deaths in the United States crossed the 100,000 threshold. It was a small Catholic mass; only her four living children (including my mother) and their spouses attended. They sat in separate pews, and the priest who led the service wore a face mask.
And I watched the whole thing—the viewing and the service—on a webcast from the comfort of my apartment in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Read MoreThe APM Research Lab’s world headquarters is in Minnesota, and our state fair is a great state fair! This fair season we are teaming up with our colleagues at MPR News to offer two fact-filled quizzes to test your knowledge about Minnesota—by the numbers. While not everyone is lucky enough to get their face carved in butter, anyone can demonstrate their love for facts.
Read MoreThe U.S. process for family-based or “chain” migration is complex. While the system allows for relatives to migrate to the United States for family reunification, it is far from an open-door policy. There are backlogs for family-sponsored visas ranging from two to 23 years depending on country of origin, family member being sponsored, and status of the sponsor.
Read MoreHi. I’m a Millennial. We need to talk. In 2016, 15 percent of Older Millennials were living with their parents. Should we see this as a delay in adulthood? I would argue, no. Older Millennials are haunted by the Great Recession, and many are pinned down by crippling debt. For many, the “decision” to live at home with parents instead of independently is the financially responsible and economically rational choice. The traditional norms that may have governed our idea of adulthood may be transitioning into something that more accurately reflects this generation.
Read MoreIf Minnesota competed in a pageant, it might take the “Optimism” crown—if that were even a thing. The Ground Level Survey that we recently completed with Minnesota Public Radio News found that 82 percent of Minnesotans feel hopeful about the state’s future. What’s more, most Minnesotans feel the state is on the right track on an array of issues. At the high end of agreement, 85 percent of Minnesotans feel the state is on the right track when it comes to “providing safe drinking water,” followed closely by “protecting lakes and rivers for things like swimming, boating, and fishing” at 80 percent.
Read More“I don’t know off the top of my head. Lowering taxes.” That was one response to the broadest open-ended question on the recent MPR News | APM Research Lab Ground Level Survey. The question was about change. It asked: “If there is ONE thing that you would like to see changed in Minnesota to improve our state, what would that be?” But “lower my taxes” strikes me as a simplification. While reading through all of the responses, I was taken by how many people wanted a change that would require taxes.
Read MoreOf all Rhode Island children enrolled in preschool, the percent in private settings dropped five percentage points between 2015 and 2016. Or did it? When a change is “statistically significant,” we can be reasonably confident that the change is real. We use statistics to help us understand an entire population from a sample. Think of a pot of chicken noodle soup. Assuming the pot is well-stirred, you can make a pretty good estimate based on one ladle of soup.
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