Inspiration can strike in the oddest places sometimes. I was sitting on my front porch on a chilly Halloween afternoon, waiting for the first few trick-or-treaters, worried I wouldn’t have a column ready in time for my next deadline. I was worried, dear readers, that I might phone it in. I put the laptop away (yes of course I took it out on the porch with me, because what … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project Why trade schools and construction jobs should be talked about
By Corinna Wiemerslage College is being pushed and can be viewed as one of the only ways to be successful and make money in life. Because college is pushed so much and is viewed as a great opportunity to get a successful job, the statistics of how many students who graduate who will then go on to college are more than 50%. According to statistics reported by the Bureau of … [Read more...]
Human rights
To the Editor, Our long liberal democracy experiment that seeks to protect the interest of minorities is under assault. Two of Trump’s biggest supporting groups, white supremacists and white conservative evangelical Christians, are groups who seek male domination and would often prefer lesser civil rights not only for females, but also for LGBTQ, non-Christian, and other … [Read more...]
Celebrating a century of civic engagement
By Kay Spangler On September 8, 1919, the Minnesota Legislature voted YES to ratify the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, granting women the right to vote and ending the 72-year struggle for woman suffrage. The League of Women Voters Minnesota began with suffragist Ms. Clara Ueland as its first President to help carry out the new work of empowering voters and defending … [Read more...]
Trump was right
Opinions expressed here are those of the author and not of the Fillmore County Journal. The fundamental questions: 1) Why were U.S. forces in Syria? 2) What was their job? They were there to fight ISIS. That’s why they were there. That’s it. They were not there to get in the middle of ancient and ongoing contest between the Kurds and Turkey even though the Kurds … [Read more...]
Vaping: The hope that went horribly wrong to a national health crisis
Vaping. Big buzzword lately. What is it and why is it a big deal? For a quick introduction, we’ll go through the history. Back in 2007, a couple of design students on Stanford University’s campus were focusing on ways to help smokers to stop smoking; a noble mission. They wanted to create an alternative for “health conscious smokers.” Essentially, these two created an … [Read more...]
Devil’s Advocate…Community involvement
Volunteering your time, mind, and energy to accomplish the goals you believe in doesn’t merely satisfy a sense of civic duty; it is legitimately gratifying to work with others who share your passions. Have you ever seen those “Adopt a Highway” signs? Do you know what they’re for? Those signs tell us who has offered their time and energy cleaning up road ditches along the … [Read more...]
We need regular ways to hold presidents accountable
“I ask how and why this decision was reached,” Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said in the Senate recently. He was calling for an investigation into President Trump’s decision to pull U.S. forces out of Syria. “Was there no chance for diplomacy? Are we so weak and so inept diplomatically that Turkey forced the hand of the United States of America?” Good questions, but here’s a wager: … [Read more...]
Making lasting connections
After several busy months of taking advantage of warm weather, the leaves start to drop from the trees in preparation for winter and I am reminded of the importance of slowing down and connecting with others. At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) we are spending this season connecting with many of our partners in our 20-county region at several major events. We … [Read more...]
Impeachment: The last resort
To the Editor, OK, Jeff, you’re absolutely right. As soon as Trump stole the election, the more thoughtful Democrats started thinking about impeachment. We were horrified that such an insincere, frivolous, unprincipled person could possibly be put in charge of our country for four years. It is not that the House of Representatives is panicked. Trump has just finally … [Read more...]