Recently Art Laffer, who once upon a time served Ronald Reagan, went on Fox News to say that “the poor, the minorities the disenfran-chised, those with less education, young people who haven’t had the job experience. These people aren’t worth $15 an hour in most cases.” This is what the kids these days are calling a “mask off” moment. Really “having a normal one” but it was … [Read more...]

No matter how hard we try, we really can’t avoid one another. We live in a world where what takes place somewhere else on the globe has a very good chance of affecting us – along with many others. The pandemic, of course, is a useful – if sobering – example. A virus that infected humans in one city in China spread with breathtaking speed around the world, beyond the power of … [Read more...]

Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) recently awarded 23,622 children’s books valued at $420,472 to 47 organizations through its Early Literacy Grant Program. This grant supports early literacy efforts that enhance school readiness for children birth to age five by providing children with books. The books were awarded in partnership with Capstone and ABDO, … [Read more...]

We don’t often think that how the U.S. conducts itself at home has much impact on how we face the world, but it does. You’d be amazed at how closely people in countries all over the globe follow events here and count on the United States to lead the way.  When it’s messy at home, it’s hard to sustain the strength and readiness to turn our attention outward.  Doing so is … [Read more...]

Grand Meadow, Minn. After visiting cemeteries and honoring those who served in the military on Memorial Day, my mother, wife, and I were enjoying sitting on the street in beautiful Lanesboro when suddenly a pickup truck roared by with two flags, the American flag and “F*** Biden” flag.  What a disgrace.  Total disrespect for the American flag and those who served and lost … [Read more...]

Letter about understanding violence... To the Editor, Recently I  have been trying to understand the violence in  our society and trying to figure out what we can do to encourage civility and restraint In reading Pure Land by Annette Mcgivney, I felt I gained some insight into how our minds deal with trauma in our lives.  According to a report from the U.S. department of … [Read more...]

Letter about displaying profane language in public... To the Editor, To the person displaying the flag that reads “‘F-word’ Biden.”  You have two American flags on the front of your house, so I am certain of your love for our country. However, this flag regarding our president takes away any respect you have for the office. You certainly have a right to your opinion, but … [Read more...]

Most people don’t have a clue about what happened during the Great Depression of the ‘30s.  October 29, 1929, the stock market collapsed to less than 200 from a high of over 380 two months before.    After what was called Black Tuesday, there was a five-month recovery period when the stock market regained a little over 100 points. Unemployment had also decreased in June to … [Read more...]

To the Editor, I listened to the discussion (at the last Harmony City Council meeting) on what account the monies ($12,500) for the trailhead park pump/grinder was to be taken from.  Devin asked the council this question, seemed fairly simple even though it has no association with the splash park other than the work was done under the same contract with the provider. … [Read more...]

There is a fight going on over the heart of our democracy, and I worry that democracy is losing.  Over the last few months, several states have moved decisively to make it harder for their citizens to vote, and more are on tap.  It’s hard to tell yet whether this is just a blip or an actual reversal of the US’s long trend of expanding voting access.  Either way, it’s cause for … [Read more...]

Many of the farmers that I know in southern Minnesota work on the same land that their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents farmed. Because of this, the farm is more than a parcel of land to grow crops or raise animals – it is a living piece of family history. At the same time, we are faced with the reality that the average farmer is close to retirement age, and … [Read more...]

On May 7, 2021, the New York Times published an article titled, “Job Growth Slowed in April, Muddling Expectations.” NT Times Reporter Patricia Cohen introduced the piece with, “The American jobs machine tottered last month, confounding optimistic forecasts of the labor market’s recovery and sharpening debates over the impact of federal pandemic-related jobless benefits on … [Read more...]

Letter about meeting the future king... To the Editor, It was with great pleasure that I read the article about the visit of the Norwegian royalty – I was there! My dad’s brother, Dr. A.W. Highum, was the mayor that welcomed them to Lanesboro. The article states the ceremony “lasted a few minutes”! What most people did not know they came to my aunt and uncle Bill’s home … [Read more...]

I’ve always been impressed that the preamble to the Constitution begins, “We the People of the United States.” We’ve heard the phrase so often that we don’t even stop to think about it. But as the proposed constitution was being debated in 1787, there were people who did — notably, Patrick Henry, who in a famous speech to the Virginia ratifying convention asked why the drafters … [Read more...]

By Eric Leitzen So Governor Walz has proposed some changes to the tax code, and in a surprising move for a DFLer that actually not too bad: raising taxes on the rich, lowering estate taxes so Mr. Moneybags may have to sell off his mansion before Junior gets to move in for free, and putting in capital gains taxes so all of those shady games the rich do with money will actually … [Read more...]