Two items on population are in the news today. First, USA Today reports on the hollowing out of North Dakota. It notes that between 1990 and 2000, 47 of the state's 53 counties lost population. I suspect that a similar story, though not perhaps as dire, could be told throughout the great plains.

Left unsaid in the article is that the best path might just be to let things take their course. Changes in agricultural and energy production techniques have boosted productivity in those sectors, requiring fewer people.

The USA Today story has a national politics hook (immigration), though state officials throughout the country are taking steps to attract the favored demographic group of the day. Right now, that group consists of yesterday's fad, the Yuppies, or more specifically, the single yuppies.

On the pages of the Wall Street Journal, Joel Kotkin takes his statistical analysis and rhetorical tools once again to the "Cool Cities" initiatives. The emphasis on young single professions, he says, is misplaced:

There is a basic truth about the geography of young, educated people. They may first migrate to cities like New York, Los Angeles, Boston or San Francisco. But they tend to flee when they enter their child-rearing years. Family-friendly metropolitan regions have seen the biggest net gains of professionals, largely because they not only attract workers, but they also retain them through their 30s and 40s.

What attracts these people? The basics: economic opportunity, commutes that are not hideous, and opportunities for good education.