Last May, Wisconsin's college-savings program, EdVest, held $9 million in cash that parents had invested for their children's higher education. By November, EdVest had $120 million in hand.

When it comes to governing in the United States, "there is more that unites us than divides us," declared Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, as he welcomed more than 350 high-level local and state officials to Governing's annual management conference, held in Baltimore October 10-12.