How liberal, conservative polices in Minnesota, Wisconsin impact twinned cities

The cities of Duluth, Minn., and Superior, Wis., are physically separated by the St. Louis River, but legislatures controlled by opposite ends of the political spectrum in Minnesota and Wisconsin, are making a living and working in these neighboring, markedly different communities.

The New York Times identified growing differences between the states that have resulted since strong majorities of Democrats and Republicans have taken control of their state governments in Minnesota and Wisconsin, respectively, through the lens of people living in the border communities.

Teachers working in Wisconsin, for example, have seen their public unions lose power, while business owners in Minnesota have been burdened by increasing taxes.  In Minnesota, state lawmakers have set up a state-run health exchange and increased its Medicaid program, while Wisconsin legislators have not accepted federal funds and opposed Medicaid expansion. Several residents of the communities talked about the impacts the different approaches to governance had impacted their daily lives in the New York Times report.

Read more from the New York Times.