By Senator Amy Klobuchar In Minnesota, we understand the importance of a free press. It’s hard to forget in our state – Minnesotans are among the most engaged citizens in the country. Last year we again ranked first in the nation in voter turnout. Minnesotans volunteer at the second highest rate in the country. And we usually look to our local newspapers as the first stop … [Read more...]

Baby Boomers, children of the ‘60s, those born somewhere between 1947 and 1965 (if my internet search is to be believed), I need your help. I know we’ve had our disagreements in the past, and I know we’ll have them in the future, but for now I’d like to offer a brief truce to our good-natured horseplay and have a heart-to-heart for a minute or two. I grew up in a Boomer’s … [Read more...]

Currently, as well as before Obamacare, one out of every six dollars spent in this county is on healthcare. Our healthcare costs approximately twice as much as it does in any other country. We are 37th in outcomes. What are we defending? If the markets could fix this problem, why didn’t the markets fix healthcare costs and outcomes before Obamacare when it was a free market … [Read more...]

Recently, the Minnesota Commissioner of Health visited Fillmore County to speak of the overall health of Minnesotans and ask residents our thoughts on the matter of well-being. I had a chance to ask the commissioner a few questions and to speak to him of my concerns about soil quality and availability. He said our way of farming (worldwide) is not sustainable and there must be … [Read more...]

I know what you’re thinking.  We screwed up the front page this week! No, trust me, we didn’t.  We intentionally published nothing on the front page to make a statement. This statement was originally fostered by a committee at the Minnesota Newspaper Association.  To be quite frank, at first I wasn’t keen on this idea. All newspapers in 87 counties in the State of … [Read more...]

Do ordinary citizens still have a voice in Washington and in their state capitals? Despite the cynicism of these times, my answer is, yes, we do... But we have to exercise it. I don’t just mean going to a town hall meeting and yelling, or shooting off a letter or email. I mean making an appointment to sit down with your representative — in his or her office, at a cafe in the … [Read more...]

The Affordable Care Act (The ACA) was signed into law March 23, 2010, in an effort to curb the rapidly escalating cost of healthcare.  Among other protections patients were assured,  you would not be denied coverage because you had a “pre-existing condition” and annual and lifetime “caps on essential benefits” were banned. The United States is one of the wealthiest nations in … [Read more...]