It’s been about a year since Joe Biden took office as President, and though it’s still too early to draw firm conclusions about his performance, it’s not too early to discern some trends. Especially in light of how Biden positioned himself in the 2020 campaign and, I believe, how he still sees himself: as a centrist and a moderate who can unite the country by bringing … [Read more...]
Community solutions for child care
President/CEO Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation It is no secret that our child care system is strained. Even before the pandemic, rural Minnesota was struggling with a child care shortage. For parents, this has made it challenging to enter or stay in the workforce. For communities, the challenge is attracting and retaining residents if they do not have enough care … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… It’s time to pay more, and not complain about it
Publisher Fillmore County Journal jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com I know many of our readers have heard me talking about buying local. “Shop local!” You’ve heard it from me plenty of times. But, there’s something more to consider when shopping local for products and services. I have had some conversations with many business owners over the years, and a common theme … [Read more...]
Letter to the editor about Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right….
To the Editor, We’ve got the Democrats, who are saying you’re just going to have to suffer because you should have recognized that they were right and done whatever they say; and you have the Republicans, who are saying you should suffer because you deserve to because if you didn’t deserve to suffer you wouldn’t be suffering, you dumb cluck. How did we get here? You see, … [Read more...]
Letter about common good… To the Editor,
In a recent article Lee Hamilton asked, “Can we find our way to the common good?” The short answer is YES if we follow the road map in the Constitution. But first, we’d better define what is meant by “common good.” It involves the facilities or institutions that benefit all members of a given community. Examples are basic rights and freedoms, national defense, including … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… Student writers create their own opportunities in life
At the beginning of this school year, I was asked to speak at a few schools about the annual Journal Student Writing Project, now in it’s 23rd year. The Journal Student Writing Project offers an opportunity for high school students to sharpen their writing skills, pick their topics of interest, and share their ideas and talents with readers of the Fillmore County Journal in … [Read more...]
The promise of America
Decades ago, it was easy to talk about “the promise of America,” as historians and boosters did regularly, and have most people understand what you meant. These days, I worry they’d look at you as if you’d taken leave of your senses. Even before the pandemic threw us back on our heels, many people here and abroad increasingly viewed our country and its system of … [Read more...]
Reining in government spending will be very tough
With a $1 trillion infrastructure package on the books and the Biden administration’s $1.8 trillion “Build Back Better” measure preoccupying the Senate after passing the House, government spending is very much on Americans’ minds. In public meetings, I frequently hear people say that government’s share of the economy is too big, and it’s likely that voters’ feelings about … [Read more...]
Welcome to 2022…
The year twenty-twenty-one has left us in the dust To keep people safe, wearing a mask was a must The year started with a carryover from twenty-one Illness, death, and unsureness were not done The heated world of politics continued to abound Splitting families and friends right to the ground This little thing called COVID has changed many plans And … [Read more...]
Can we find our way to the common good?
I still remember a question I got years ago. It was at a public meeting in southern Indiana, in one of those squat, featureless cinder-block buildings you find all across the country. This young woman stood up and commented that I’d traveled throughout the U.S. and had met all kinds of people. So she wanted to know: What was my impression of Americans? I didn’t even hesitate: … [Read more...]