By Lee Hamilton Maybe it’s the perspective a long life brings, but I find myself eyeing with some skepticism the glut of “personal brands” that assault us every day on television, in print, and through social media. Entertainers, celebrities, politicians striving for acclaim, artists and writers who’ve mastered the public-relations game, journalists and media stars who are … [Read more...]

Letter about Ukraine... To the Editor, It is past time for we, the United States and our NATO allies, to stop this criminal abomination happening in Ukraine. We must attack with a vengeant fury. Russia is commiting crimes Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin would approve of. Hitler and Stalin are now payng the price in hell, which will be the final residence of Vladimir … [Read more...]

Letter about registering to vote... To the Editor, The total population of Fillmore County as of the 2020 census is 21,228 people. Of this total 24.7% were under 18 years of age. So, the number of eligible voters was 15,985. Of these eligible voters, only 82% are registered to vote. This is a pretty high percentage and Minnesota is known for great voter turnout. But that’s … [Read more...]

By Blake Lauritsen-Norby Lanesboro, MN Growing up, I encountered bullying as many others did in their youth. I remember the anger that swelled up inside, but too scared to stand up for myself. At one point, when mom was driving me home from school, I brought up some of the things that were happening. Without missing a beat, she said that anyone that was bullying me was … [Read more...]

By Senator Jeremy Miller Fillmore, Houston and Winona Counties The Associated Press headline on March 31 was stark and jarring: “Key inflation gauge sets 40-year high as gas and food soar.” But it wasn’t the first of its kind. On March 10, the AP wrote: “US inflation soared 7.9% in past year, a fresh 40-year high.” Record inflation is increasing costs on virtually every … [Read more...]

Letter about let’s celebrate good news... To the Editor, Thank you Fillmore County Journal for the recent article about our low unemployment rate and good job growth. It’s now even better than when the article was written. Our nation’s unemployment rate has dropped again from 3.8% to 3.6%. Current unemployment is lower than all of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and most of this … [Read more...]

Letter about get ready for rifles for deer hunting... To the Editor, Did you know that DNR and MN Deer Hunters Association (MDHA), which I’m a member of, is pushing through a bill right now to allow high powered rifles to be used for deer hunting beginning next deer season? Let me go on record stating that I and every one of my deer hunting friends that I’ve talked to about … [Read more...]

By Jason Sethre Publisher Fillmore County Journal jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com It’s that time again. We have another election around the corner, which means our team at the newspaper will be fielding calls, letters, and e-mails from readers wanting to share their political views to sway the masses. I want to set the table for this upcoming election so that we … [Read more...]

By Senator Jeremy Miller Fillmore, Houston and Winona Counties It’s been another busy week here at the Capitol as bills continue to get introduced and move through the committee process. This update provides highlights on two of those bills: Paid Family Leave, and the Veterans Homes supplemental bill. Paid Family Leave This week the Senate introduced a paid family and … [Read more...]

To the Editor, Darn near everyone who actually works for a living is not paid what they are worth for what they do. How can I say that? Let’s take a look: a Big Mac is $4.49. Let’s say Mickey’s sells 200 in an hour. They just made $898. Let’s say we’ve got four people working: one front counter, one in the back, one drive-thru, and one manager floating between all three. … [Read more...]

By Jason Sethre Publisher Fillmore County Journal jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com As the world has changed over the past couple years, we have all learned to adapt to whatever challenges we have faced.  And we’ve had to adapt to a lot of challenges.  Too many to recall. Our kids have definitely seen a different world than what we saw as children. And, over these past … [Read more...]

By Donna Halvorsen South Portland, Maine We Peterson High School kids lost a treasure when Roy Johnson, our blind English teacher, died so young so many years ago. He didn’t have time to spread his brilliance over all of us, but those who came under his influence will never forget him. He inspired us as no one had ever inspired us before. He told me I had to go to college, … [Read more...]

By Guy T. Soland Chatfield, MN In today’s world, it’s sometimes tough to find positivity, it’s a mindset, to stay positive, that most people, including myself need to work on at times. Negativity is everywhere – news, social media... it’s not tough to find. but, every day I find something that I’m thankful for. I’m so blessed with so many things – God, wife, kids, family, … [Read more...]

By John Torgrimson Lanesboro, MN When the priest who taught my religion class my sophomore year in high school asked if anyone wanted to attend a lecture by Mulford Q. Sibley, four of us raised our hands.    Sibley, an avowed socialist and pacifist, who encouraged civil disobedience, was a Sociology professor at the University of Minnesota.  He was a Quaker who became a … [Read more...]

President/CEO Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation One of my proudest moments as a congressman was voting to support the creation of the national AmeriCorps program 27 years ago. Little did I know at the time how central this program would become to our culture of volunteerism and giving back to our communities. Even more surprising, and delightful, to me is the fact … [Read more...]