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The article focuses on Norm Coleman, former war protester and mayor of Saint Paul, running for governor of Minnesota. If elected, Coleman plans to cut taxes, scrap regulation and privatize government functions. He intends to permanently cut the income tax and pass a law requiring surpluses to be returned to taxpayers. He will be facing one of the five Democratic nominees that include Mike Freeman, Skip Humphrey and Ted Mondale.

The article reports that Mendo Heights, Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines Inc. is set to benefit from the disruption in the operation of Northwest Airlines Inc. because of a strike. The airline has stepped up the expansion of its services because of the strike. Sun Country offers $300 or less for round trips to Minneapolis and 16 major markets.

The article discusses labor market of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The newspaper "Minneapolis Star Tribune" contained some 6,200 help-wanted ads last Sunday. That's about 50% more ads than there were just four years ago--strong evidence of a booming local economy with a labor market as tight as a vise grip. Unemployment has been below 3% for almost all of this year. The region ranks third in the nation in per capita job growth since 1991, and salaries here are among the best in the nation, at an average of about $31,000. Add all this to a relatively strong education system and a tradition of government-business partnerships, and you have as good a laboratory for sharing prosperity as there is across the 50 states.