Minnesota high school graduates continue to beat the national average in the ACT college entrance exam, even though 2012 graduates scored slightly lower than 2011 graduates, MPR reports. Minnesota ranked at the top among states where a majority of students take the test.

High school junior Joseph Vanderwall is among just 700 students nation-wide to score a 36 on the college entrance exam last year. WCCO reports less than one-tenth of a percent of students ace the placement test. The average score in Minnesota was 22.9.

A conservative, Midwestern approach to debt may be the reason why Minneapolis residents have the best average credit scores in the country, according to a new report by Experian.

Twenty-two years ago, then Gov. Rudy Perpich caught heaps of flack for referring to Minnesota as the "Brainpower State." He may have been onto something. New Census data shows that Minnesota ranks fourth in college completion rates among adults 25-54 with 49.8 of folks in that bracket having completed college. Our neighbors to the northwest, North Dakota came in a slot ahead of us at #3 with 50.8 percent of their adult population donning college graduation caps.

The latest numbers show Minnesota students gaining in math and holding steady in reading. But Minnesota education officials say other states are making bigger strides. “We are still ahead of the curve, but that won’t be the case for long if other states continue to gain ground while we simply hold steady," says education commissioner Brenda Cassellius.

Minnesotans as of Monday were paying 17 cents more for gas than the national average. It's unusual for the state to be well over the national average. Maintenance issues at oil refineries in Chicago are to blame, a spokesperson for AAA told KARE 11.