In the midst of the coldest weather in 25 years, Minnesotans heard more chilling news on Jan. 29 from the country’s top spies. Buried in the national intelligence chiefs’ 42-page assessments of worldwide threats were several paragraphs that demand urgent attention. The report says Russia and China have the ability to cripple gas and electric supplies now. Utilities and government
Future professional journalists honored at a difficult time
When 500 of Minnesota’s small-town reporters, editors, advertising sales people and publishers gathered for the annual Minnesota Newspaper Association Convention in Bloomington in late January, they began their awards program by focusing on the future of journalism. The awards program did not start with announcing the awards from the more than 4,100 entries in the annual Better Newspaper Contest, but
Guest column: Catholic Church should be investigated as an organized crime group
by Rob Schwegel, St Joseph The FBI defines Transnational Organized Crime as groups that are self-perpetuating associations of individuals who operate, wholly or in part, by illegal means and irrespective of geography. They constantly seek to obtain power, influence and monetary gains. TOC groups’ primary goal is economic gain and they will employ an array of lawful and illicit schemes to generate
Make political campaigns shorter
Over the last few weeks, we have seen more than a half dozen Democrats declare or signal their runs for the White House in 2020. This list includes well-known names such as Elizabeth Warren, as well as relative newcomers such as Kamala Harris and Julian Castro. The stage is being set for a race with huge numbers of Democratic candidates
Sartell-St. Stephen: Contact your elected officials before it’s too late
With a new year comes a new team of elected leaders and a list of issues for them to tackle. Some of those issues linger from year to year, unsolved because politicians couldn’t agree, the solutions cost too much or because there’s not enough pressure from voters to find an answer. One way individual voters can act is to contact
St. Joseph: Contact your elected officials before it’s too late
With a new year comes a new team of elected leaders and a list of issues for them to tackle. Some of those issues linger from year to year, unsolved because politicians couldn’t agree, the solutions cost too much or because there’s not enough pressure from voters to find an answer. One way individual voters can act is to contact
News has no ‘sides,’ only facts
Smartphone apps are supposed to make life easier, to solve daily challenges. Apps help us connect with friends, track our steps, keep us from getting lost and find cheap tickets to our favorite entertainment. So it’s no surprise that now there’s an app to help us deal with so-called Fake News. You may have seen the ads on television for
Obama’s ‘Becoming’ is a stunning book
Many people assume life in the White House is a constant glamorous whirl of interesting meetings, fancy dinners, ballroom dances and dazzling entertainment. Ask former First Lady Michelle Obama. She’ll tell you the White House can too often be a kind of limiting prison in which one’s natural spontaneity is constantly squelched by the need for security agents watching every