• Monday, May 13, Whalan City Council meeting, 5pm, City Hall.
• Monday, May 13, Houston City Council meeting, 7:30pm, City Hall.
• Monday, May 13, Wykoff City Council meeting, 7pm, City Hall.
• Monday, May 13, Chatfield City Council meeti
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"Where Fillmore County News Comes First"
Online Edition
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013
Volume ∞ Issue ∞
- 5:56:33, May 18th 2013 - modgudur - I guess the child is anti-gun control since Obama went to all that trouble ... [Read More]
- 9:27:41, May 16th 2013 - caal girl - Nice outfit on you. I loved some of the dresses but am holding my breath ... [Read More]
- 2:03:34, May 14th 2013 - - Thanks for sharing the trip with us! ... [Read More]
- 4:12:01, May 9th 2013 - Amanda Ziebell - Wow! Thanks to the Fillmore County Journal for this kind story. For a ... [Read More]
- 11:47:30, May 7th 2013 - EW - ramble.....ramble.....ramble..... ... [Read More]
- 10:25:25, May 7th 2013 - Thunder6 - Great article! I love to see the Youth of Fillmore County receiveing acco ... [Read More]
- 6:52:10, May 6th 2013 - Jason Sethre, Publisher of Fillmore County Journal & Olmsted County Journal - Maryh, ... [Read More]
- 7:29:56, May 5th 2013 - maryh - Where are OCJ's available for pickup...other than at the new office? ... [Read More]
- 2:41:47, May 3rd 2013 - Remark1976 - Mrs. Buckbee, I just looked up Senate File 796 and in it there are said p ... [Read More]
- 2:22:20, May 3rd 2013 - Remark1976 - Mrs. Buckbee, how do you come up with $1.1 billion that trout fishing bri ... [Read More]
Guest Commentary: Can unions survive the implementation of Affordable Care?
Fri, May 10th, 2013
Posted in All Commentary
Posted in All Commentary
Comments
By Jeff Erding, Wykoff, Minn.
Democratic candidates enjoy overwhelming support from labor unions of all types. It is doubtful President Obama could have been elected without the votes and financial contributions of the unions. Unions may be small in the actual percentage of workers, but carry enormous political clout and have been extremely supportive of the Obama Administration. However, as the details of the Affordable Care Act are gradually coming to light, it appears a severe strain on this heretofore solid relationship is inevitable.
The situation is spelled out very clearly in an article by James McGee in the March 18th on- line issue of Labor Notes { www.labornotes.org}. Labor Notes is a union advocacy website and is highly regarded as a reliable source of information for union workers. I’ll try to summarize the problem here, but for a more detailed account it would be best to visit the site and read the complete article.
At the heart of the matter is the existence of multi-employer (sometimes called Taft-Hartley) health insurance plans. This is the type of plan that covers many union workers including construction, theater, longshore, hotel, transportation, and food service. These plans are affordable and effective and are governed by a joint board consisting of union and employer managers. Workers retain coverage as they go through short periods of unemployment or move between employers. Coverage is often quite good and dental and eyeglass coverage is usually included. Union workers were told they would be able to keep their present plan and that the implementation of Affordable Care would save them money. This does not appear to be true.
Instead, the ACA puts multi employer plans at a disadvantage by permitting competitor [non-union] employers access to the new health care exchanges while denying the multi employer funds the same access. ACA calls for a 40% surcharge on the multi-employer plans, making them unaffordable and virtually forcing employers to abandon the plan when the union contract expires. Many union employees are very angry and feel betrayed by the sponsors of ACA, myself included.
Since union membership is relatively low, you may ask why any of this really matters. It matters because unions are now and always have been the standard bearers for wages and working conditions for all other workers. Every i .....
[Read the Rest]
Democratic candidates enjoy overwhelming support from labor unions of all types. It is doubtful President Obama could have been elected without the votes and financial contributions of the unions. Unions may be small in the actual percentage of workers, but carry enormous political clout and have been extremely supportive of the Obama Administration. However, as the details of the Affordable Care Act are gradually coming to light, it appears a severe strain on this heretofore solid relationship is inevitable.
The situation is spelled out very clearly in an article by James McGee in the March 18th on- line issue of Labor Notes { www.labornotes.org}. Labor Notes is a union advocacy website and is highly regarded as a reliable source of information for union workers. I’ll try to summarize the problem here, but for a more detailed account it would be best to visit the site and read the complete article.
At the heart of the matter is the existence of multi-employer (sometimes called Taft-Hartley) health insurance plans. This is the type of plan that covers many union workers including construction, theater, longshore, hotel, transportation, and food service. These plans are affordable and effective and are governed by a joint board consisting of union and employer managers. Workers retain coverage as they go through short periods of unemployment or move between employers. Coverage is often quite good and dental and eyeglass coverage is usually included. Union workers were told they would be able to keep their present plan and that the implementation of Affordable Care would save them money. This does not appear to be true.
Instead, the ACA puts multi employer plans at a disadvantage by permitting competitor [non-union] employers access to the new health care exchanges while denying the multi employer funds the same access. ACA calls for a 40% surcharge on the multi-employer plans, making them unaffordable and virtually forcing employers to abandon the plan when the union contract expires. Many union employees are very angry and feel betrayed by the sponsors of ACA, myself included.
Since union membership is relatively low, you may ask why any of this really matters. It matters because unions are now and always have been the standard bearers for wages and working conditions for all other workers. Every i .....
[Read the Rest]
How Politics Has Changed
Fri, May 10th, 2013
Posted in All Commentary
Posted in All Commentary
By Lee Hamilton
When two senators recently got into a spat over whether the Boston Marathon bombings were being politicized, the news was everywhere within minutes. Reams of commentary quickly followed. In the maneuvering over gun-control legislat
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Marjorie Pauline Spelhaug
Fri, May 10th, 2013
Posted in Fountain Obituaries
Posted in Fountain Obituaries
Marjorie Pauline Spelhaug, 83, of Fountain, Minn. died Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at Samaritan Bethany Home on Eighth in Rochester, Minn. where she had been for two days.
Marge was born Aug. 11, 1929, in Whalan to Adolph and Elva (Sorum) Evenson. S
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Henry M. Colbenson
Fri, May 10th, 2013
Posted in Rushford Obituaries
Posted in Rushford Obituaries
Henry M. Colbenson, 78, of Rushford, Minn. died on Sunday, May 5, 2013, at his home.
Henry was born on February 6, 1935, in Money Creek Township of Houston County, Minn. to N. John and Marie (Thompson) Colbenson. He was raised in rural Rushford
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Roger A. Chiglo
Fri, May 10th, 2013
Posted in Rushford Obituaries
Posted in Rushford Obituaries
Roger A. Chiglo, 73, of Rushford, Minn. died on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at his home.
Roger was born on August 10, 1939, in Whalan, Minn. to Peter N. and Myrtle (Sveen) Chiglo. He graduated from Lanesboro High School. Roger served in the U.S. Army
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Curt Jahn
Fri, May 10th, 2013
Posted in All Obituaries
Posted in All Obituaries
Curt Jahn passed away on Saturday, April 27, 2013, following an 18-month battle with cancer.
Curt was born the son of Paul Giering and Margaret Siebecker Giering on May 10, 1943. He was raised by Margaret and Albert Jahn.
Curt attended and gr
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Fillmore County District Court - May 13, 2013
Fri, May 10th, 2013
Posted in All Court
Posted in All Court
Junior Lee Dillon, 18, of Preston appeared in Fillmore County Court for an alleged charge of Receiving Stolen Property valued at least $500 but not more than $1,000, which carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, fines of $10,000, or bo
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Mother Nature makes a comeback
Fri, May 10th, 2013
Posted in All Sports
Posted in All Sports
By Paul Trende
Gopher Softball Starts 8-0
Thru five games of the season, the Chatfield softball girls really hadn’t had too much to sweat about. Short of a contest with Plainview-Elgin-Millville (where the Goph’s led just 1-0 after four; they
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