In 2016 Minnesotans were alerted to a serious lack of child care by the Center for Rural Policy and Development. Since then, there have been many efforts to work toward solutions. At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), we have been supporting the communities in our 20-county region through various programs and trainings. In SMIF’s region alone, we have a … [Read more...]
Humor: one of the tools in dealing with adversity
I spent the summer sitting on our deck watching the grass grow. Now that it’s fall I sit in my easy chair and look out my window at the giant trees in my neighbors’ yards turning a brilliant gold, their leaves released by the wind drifting and spinning finding their way to the ground. There is a song from The Connecticut Yankee – “I’m busy doing nothing, isn’t it just a … [Read more...]
America, now the untrustworthy
To the Editor, There is a group of people (the Kurds) who have been fighting mightily for years as our allies against ISIS, a barbaric religiously extreme group of people in Syria and Iraq. The ISIS group cuts off American heads and is our terrorist enemy, remember? On October 6, President Erdogan of Turkey asked President Trump to withdraw several dozen of our soldiers … [Read more...]
October 14 headlines
To the Editor, This morning’s headlines in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: “U.S. pulls out of Syria, ISIS prisoners go free!” “Mayhem in Syria after American withdrawal,” “Feeling abandoned by the U.S., Kurds join Syrian forces,” “Trust broken, green berets feel ‘ashamed’ for leaving the Kurds.” I wonder how the right wing-nut contributors to the Fillmore County Journal … [Read more...]
Who judges Heaven or Hell?
To the Editor, I attended a Representative Hagedorn Town Hall meeting in Winona in early September. I’ve been haunted ever since by his response to a citizen who was asking if he was aware of the relationship between gun ownership and suicide. Mr. Hagedorn’s response was that he believed that “people who commit suicide go to hell.” Why I’m haunted by that response is that as … [Read more...]
Impeachment: The last resort of panicked leftists?
Impeachment of President Trump has long been the goal of the Radical Left as a means to overturn the 2016 election. With no viable presidential candidate and scant prospects of an economic downturn that could help them, Impeachment has now transitioned to “Last Ditch Hail Mary Pass.” Lest Conservatives become overconfident, I don’t feel certain the 2020 elections will favor … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… We will ask ourselves why
It seems that as I get older, I attend more funerals. I guess the longer we live, the more people we get to know. When someone lives to 80 years or older, I am hopeful they had a good life. But, when we lose a young person, I ask myself why. #GABBYSTRONG This past Wednesday, October 9, 2019, our family attended the celebration of life for Gabriella ‘Gabby’ Lou … [Read more...]
How to keep your hamburgers
I grew up in the middle of Wisconsin in a working-class family of seven. I was the son of a son of a son of a son of a son of a dairy farmer and the first generation to not have the farm thanks to conservative financial policy in the late ‘70s. Regardless, my Dad sold seed and we knew enough farmers to get a decent price on ground beef. And with three sons, two daughters, and … [Read more...]
We should continue to be a nation of immigrants
I was talking with a friend the other day about immigration. It’s one of the most divisive issues of our time, and we, too, found ourselves divided. “Our country is full,” he quoted President Trump, who said this back in April. Let’s improve the country with the people we already have, my friend added. I had a quote, too, and it’s one I still believe in. You’ll find it on … [Read more...]
Climate change
The climate crisis is gaining attention among voters, 40 years after it gained the attention of scientists. Most Americans now realize human induced climate change is an existential threat requiring significant policy changes. Many politicians and some scientifically illiterate people are still denying reality. The additional energy trapped as heat because of greenhouse … [Read more...]