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Catch-up week
 
Mock Crash has an impact on Lanesboro students
 
Chatfield moves forward to create Capital Improvement Plan
 
 
 
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A sustainable environment is not optional

By News Team

Fri, Feb 17th, 2006
Posted in Commentary

A sustainable environmental policy is not optional. By definition if it is not sustainable, the earth as we have known it and the human race cannot live with it long term. To assure the survival of our children it is imperative that we realize our place in the ecology of the earth. We cannot continue to apply band-aid solutions that only decrease the rate of acceleration toward; air, water, and soil that can not support human life; lose of vital resources; extinction of other species; and the destruction of natural beauty and open spaces we depend on for spiritual sustenance. It is time for a comprehensive and common sense approach.

1.We must have environmental protection organizations such and the EPA and MPCA that have a bias for protecting our environment. These groups must enforce and work toward improving environmental regulation. We depend on them to balance the self-interest of individuals and corporations that gain short-term profits by degrading our environment.

2.We must decrease the impact of human activities on the earth. Human induced climate change, pollution, over population, depletion of resources, extinction of species, and loss of open spaces are all examples of this. There are only three possible actions to decrease our impact. A) Reduce our population. B) Consume less per person. C) Manufacture and dispose of the things we consume in a more environmentally friendly way. A combination of all three will be necessary.

3.Pay the full cost of our consumption, including the cost of environmental damage. Currently the markets are not working because we subsidize energy use and manufacturing. Our current unregulated market gives an advantage to companies that externalize costs through dumping pollution on all of us. Instead we should subsidize things we want and tax things we do not want. Examples of things to subsidize would be sustainable energy production or companies that either manufacture products that are environmentally friendly or take responsibility for the appropriate disposal or recycling of their products. Examples of things to tax would be vehicles that are not energy efficient, the use of toxic chemicals, and emissions such as mercury or carbon dioxide. If we apply this to ethanol as an example, we would stop subsidizing corn production and ethanol distilleries and we would tax soil erosion, agrichemical use, and carbon emissions. The market may soon show ethanol p .....
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JEM Movie Theatre

On second thought...

By News Team

Fri, Feb 17th, 2006
Posted in Commentary
Comments

That was Minnesota’s own Senator Norm Coleman watching the Administration’s back in Senate hearings two weeks ago when he went after former FEMA head Michael Brown of “you’re doing a heck of a job Brownie” fame.

Brown testified ..... 
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Desperately seeking new leaders

By News Team

Fri, Feb 3rd, 2006
Posted in Commentary
Comments

Soft spoken, sometimes shy Sagittarius, a compassionate Midwestern middle-aged white male with brown hair and blue eyes, reasonably tall 6’ 1”, 180 pounds (okay 190) country boy with city sophistication, a professional family man who likes travel and ..... 
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Eminent domain reform attracts wide range of legislative support

By News Team

Fri, Jan 27th, 2006
Posted in Commentary
Comments

Eminent domain has risen to the top of hot political issues being discussed since the Kelo vs. New London decision in 2005. There is much confusion surrounding this issue, and I would like to try to clear the air.

The Kelo vs. N ..... 
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Wandering alone in the communication desert

By News Team

Fri, Jan 27th, 2006
Posted in Commentary
Comments

I have a personal beef with my telephone company, one I presume others in Preston Township might share.

For the past couple of years I have been asking CenturyTel when they will be providing high speed internet services to my r ..... 
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The Wrath of God

By News Team

Fri, Jan 20th, 2006
Posted in Commentary
Comments

“I don’t care what people are saying uptown or wherever they are. This city will be chocolate at the end of the day,” New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin said in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day speech on Tuesday. “This city will be a majority African-American c ..... 
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The oldest profession

By News Team

Fri, Jan 6th, 2006
Posted in Commentary
Comments

If we were in Washington, D.C. right now, we could probably hear the swoosh sounds of emails being deleted and the brrrr of faxes and other correspondence being shredded.

Those fat cats we elected are running for cover with the ..... 
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A call for help

By News Team

Fri, Jan 6th, 2006
Posted in Commentary
Comments

At 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 15th Jacob and Sarah Byler looked out their window and saw flames consuming the roof of their farm machinery and furniture making shop. Immediately two of the oldest boys ran barefoot a quarter a mile to the neighbor ..... 
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More analysis from less data: an oxymoron?

By News Team

Fri, Dec 30th, 2005
Posted in Commentary
Comments

The Federal EPA proposes to change the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) programs reporting requirements to reduce the “burden” on industry and business despite being unable to demonstrate significant complaints from business and industry. They propose t ..... 
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