It seems I need to address myths and misconceptions about climate change. Again. Mythconception #7: A 1922 Washington Post article stated: ‘If the warming trend continues, many coastal cities worldwide will be uninhabitable’. This quote was not in the Washington Post article as stated by Jeff Erding in a recent FCJ article, nor would the claim be true, because the … [Read more...]
Time to listen to common sense
By Amy McCall Lanesboro, MN Lanesboro Public Utilities (LPU) Commissioner Don Bell said it best: “Why would you put critical infrastructure on a sandbar in the floodplain, next to a river that floods?” This dose of common sense matches the wisdom of city leaders that set a 1998 (and still current) policy of no development in the floodplain. State floodplain hydrologists … [Read more...]
National Trout Center opposes new sewer plant location in Lanesboro
Jeffrey S. Broberg, LPG Chairman, National Trout Center St. Charles, MN Dear Lanesboro Mayor and City Council: The National Trout Center (NTC) passed a resolution at our April 9 Board Meeting in opposition to the proposed Lanesboro Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) location at the MN 250 bridge. I submitted NTC objections to the City Council at your June 3 … [Read more...]
Working together for greater impact
At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), our tagline is “Collaborating for Regional Vitality.” Whether we are working with partners in early childhood, economic development or community vitality, we do our best to complement what others are doing in those arenas so that collectively we can have more results than we would have separately. This spirit of collaboration … [Read more...]
Letter to the Editor Women’s reproductive health under attack…
Women’s reproductive health under attack... To the Editor, When Roe vs Wade was passed by the Supreme Court in 1973 I believed the abortion issue was settled. With the recent laws being passed in Alabama and Missouri, it is urgent that Americans respond. These states propose criminalizing women who have abortions and doctors who terminate their pregnancies. Those … [Read more...]
Podcasts: My favorite habit
By Sara Snipes While I usually take this time to discuss recent events in the scientific realm, this time around I thought I would share another avenue to get a daily or weekly dose of current events and, you guessed it, SCIENCE! Some of us are already familiar with podcasts, but some of us still don’t understand what the hype is or why that ‘annoying app’ on your phone is … [Read more...]
Observations from “The Old Soldier”
By Ron Scheevel Preston, MN After weeks of enduring cold weather and countless hours of snowplowing, we finally made the great escape from the endless winter to travel to the southwest for a short vacation. Before we left we were bragging to others about how easy it would be to get to Mesa, Ariz., using our recently aquired smartphones. As we hit the road we realized … [Read more...]
Legislation seeks to limit public say on factory farms
To the Editor, This fall, one of the largest dairies in Minnesota, in my county, proposed to expand by 3,000 cows. We had just 30 days to read thousands of pages of material and submit public comments on top of our normal responsibilities. That’s why we pushed for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to extend the public comment period by a month. They ended up … [Read more...]
Regional UMN Extension events are worth the drive
The University of Minnesota Extension is a big organization, with educators in agriculture, natural resources, youth development and more. While I often highlight local workshops and events like the Tesmer Farm Safety Day and Land Rent Workshops, our regional and state educators also put on high value workshops that are worth attending. Below is a small sampling of these types … [Read more...]
Climate science or climate science fiction?
One recent FCJ commentary detailed how panic stricken Democrats have become in their desperation to take down President Trump. The current employment and business boom has made the U.S. economy the envy of the world. Democrat leaders are now past panic stage and have entered a phase of full blown hysteria. But wait: there are some topics to exploit that may help the … [Read more...]