SiouxLand

The sun's out, it's nudging 40 degrees and Minnesota isn't quite as broke as it was when we got up this morning.

Oh, and it should be a little easier to find a job, too.

Well, the weather improving was something we could almost count on happening -- after all, July is coming. But lately a good economic forecast has been as rare as an Alberta Clipper in hell.

Still, there it was -- a one-two punch of optimism right there on the second day of March.

In the great scheme of macro-economics neither number was all that huge in itself -- although I have a hard time dismissing darn near $250 million as pocket-lint. A tenth of a percent drop in the jobless rate isn't huge in itself -- unless you're one of the formerly unemployed who helped make it drop. Still, its a number moving in the right direction -- it's the proverbial first step in a journey of a thousand miles, or 7.9 percentage points.

I know, it takes more than one robin to make a spring and it takes more than one bit of good news to bring back prosperity. Then again, 40 degrees is darn cold in August, but after December, January and February it's feeling pretty good.

Right now, it's pretty darn good news.