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...]

Letter about Sen. Miller should deliver for livestock farmers and meat processors with the state surplus... To the Editor, The State of Minnesota has a historic budget surplus of $9.3 billion and Senator Jeremy Miller, particularly through his role as the Senate Majority Leader, has a unique opportunity to deeply invest in building economic and environmental resiliency in … [Read more...]

Letter about SE MN needs a leader, not Jeremy Miller... To the Editor, Recently, Amir Locke was killed during a “no-knock warrant” in the Twin Cities. Body camera footage shows a sleeping Amir awoken by the sound of men breaking into the apartment. When he grabbed his legally permitted handgun he was shot immediately. A no-knock warrant is when police enter a home without … [Read more...]

Letter about connecting with others... To the Editor, The suffering that’s happening in our world fills me with sadness. I believe one antidote is to feel connected to others. Connecting can be as simple as one driver waving to another as they pass.  Or reaching out and telling someone how much they mean to you. Or the act of smiling at someone you may or may not like could … [Read more...]

Letter about the link between gossip and bullying!... To the Editor, It’s not what you see in small towns, or counties, it’s what you hear. Google search Gossip & Bullying and you will find articles like this: “Gossip: The Most Insidious Form of Bullying” - LinkedIn; A Form Of Bullying: Gossip, Inuendo, And Group Participants; My small business is being bullied by a … [Read more...]

By Jason Sethre Publisher Fillmore County Journal jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com Our readers have probably noticed some recent changes in the makeup of the newspaper.  Two, three or even four sections, more often.  And, the relocation of content such as sports and classifieds. For about a month now, we’ve had to adapt to production challenges relating to color and page … [Read more...]

By James Gilmer Houston, MN What do the words patriot and patriotism mean? It is hard to put in to words, isn’t it? I know true patriots in real life. Men and women like my own son, who is a career Air Force officer and is currently in Germany waiting to defend NATO if his country orders him to do so. These men and women stand ready to die in support of freedom and … [Read more...]

To the Editor, It was a Tuesday night in Harmony when residents gathered for a city council meeting to share our concerns about (or support for) our first giant national chain store that wants to open in the old Wheeler’s location. It wasn’t until the end of our public comment time that the Dollar General Corporate representative stepped up to the mic and announced his … [Read more...]