The town I live in recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to help repair a waterfall damaged by last summer’s flooding. Ten miles up the road, it’s not uncommon to see one of the LED billboards advertising yet another person with a medical emergency who needs the community to come together for a benefit or raffle or event in order to, you know, live. Now, I could easily spin … [Read more...]
Business of news: Why the press should stop giving mass shooters publicity
By Tim Gallagher Alex Teves was born in suburban New Jersey, moved to Phoenix as a youngster, earned his master’s degree in Denver and was shot to death in a movie theater in 2012 in Aurora, Colo., while shielding his girlfriend from a man on a killing spree. About 20 miles away and 13 years earlier, two killers entered a high school armed with automatic weapons and a … [Read more...]
The “best” people?
To the Editor, “I’m going to surround myself only with the best and most serious people. We want top-of-the-line professionals.” Donald Trump has promised many times to hire and appoint only the “best” people. Let’s see how that’s working out. As of April of this year, seven close Trump associates have entered guilty pleas to a variety of crimes and four of them have been … [Read more...]
Trump, our sick president
To the Editor, A few weeks ago I watched 60 Minutes. It was an interview with Andrew McCabe. After watching it I wondered what was the purpose of the meeting. It must have been to belittle McCabe and to make Trump feel better about himself. That seems to be one of the symptoms of his disorder. At the end of his talk, Trump asked McCabe how his wife felt about being a … [Read more...]
In politics, you need priorities
It’s been many decades now, but I still remember a piece of advice I got not long after entering Congress. It came in passing from a prominent journalist as we were talking about the bewildering array of issues Congress faced. Every day, he told me, I should ask myself a simple question: “What’s the most important thing to be doing today?” He was raising what may be the … [Read more...]
Devil’s Advocate…One America
From the heat of flames and twisted metal, an America rose from the ashes of 9/11; an America that was strongly united in spirit if not in direction. “Never Forget” signs were everywhere. Even at 11 years old, I knew I would never forget. I will remember the brave men, women, and rescue dogs as they risked their lives to save people inside the burning buildings, and then later … [Read more...]
Pro-choice? What choice?
By Aaron Swaaartzentruber Greenleafton, MN “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee.” (Jeremiah 1:5) “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mothers womb.” (Psalms 139:14) God has a lot to say about the unborn. Apparently He knows each one of the over 60 million precious little … [Read more...]
In politics, you need priorities
It’s been many decades now, but I still remember a piece of advice I got not long after entering Congress. It came in passing from a prominent journalist as we were talking about the bewildering array of issues Congress faced. Every day, he told me, I should ask myself a simple question: “What’s the most important thing to be doing today?” He was raising what may be the … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project A loving home
By Leah Himlie Imagine that there are two couples. One of the couples is pregnant without wanting to be. The other couple would die to have a child but is not able to. Instead of aborting, the pregnant couple is pressured into carrying the pregnancy to term and putting the child up for adoption. The other couple goes through all the legal steps needed to adopt a child. Their … [Read more...]
Bringing our resources to a Sprout! event near you
At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) we sometimes joke that we are our region’s “best kept secret.” But it is true that despite the fact that we are regularly out in our 20-county region visiting with partners and facilitating trainings, we find that there are still many people who do not know about SMIF. Unfortunately, that could mean an entrepreneur who doesn’t … [Read more...]