Sartell-St. Stephen school district’s voters will get a second chance on Nov. 5 to approve an operating levy that would raise $1.7 million a year for 10 years. A year ago, voters defeated a similar measure, forcing school leaders to cut $1.3 million from this year’s school budget. District voters should approve the levy this year. The money is needed
Bits, bites and cops make St. Joseph a thriving place to live
Good news is stacking up for St. Joseph from a variety of unrelated actions that will help the city grow and attract new businesses and residents. Midco recently announced gigabit internet service is now available, which offers business and residents online speeds as much as 35 times faster than standard services. That technology upgrade should make St. Joseph an attractive
Vaping is a public health crisis for young people
Back in 1975, Minnesota was the first state to enact a Clean Indoor Air Act. Although the act did not eliminate smoking in public settings, it did require the creation of “Smoking Permitted” and “No Smoking Areas,” it was still a groundbreaking law at the time. Thirty years later, the Freedom to Breathe Act banned smoking in indoor public spaces
Area legislators deliver votes on conservative agenda
If you are a political conservative, a recent report about the Minnesota Legislature has good news for you. If you’re a liberal, the news is that you’ve got to work much harder to elect legislators who represent your views. The American Conservative Union released its ratings of Minnesota Legislators and the three people who represent our area received high scores.
School test scores provide a tool to close performance gaps
For those of you who like to keep score, the latest test results for Minnesota’s schools were released last week. Called the Minnesota Report Card from the state Department of Education, the scores measure the performance of the state’s 890,000 students based on five indicators – achievement and progress on state reading and math tests over time, progress toward English
Republicans need to be part of the gun safety solution
89, 89, 77, 67, 65. What do these numbers have in common? They represent the percentage of Americans who favor various gun-safety measures. But from St. Paul to Washington, D.C., none of them have become law. 89: The percent of people who favor universal background checks on sales. 89: The percent of people who favor extreme protection orders, better known
First Amendment knowledge grows
Here’s some good news. The First Amendment Center of the Freedom Forum Institute announced the results of its annual State of the First Amendment survey, which discovered the public has generally become more knowledgeable about rights under the First Amendment during the past year. You can read the entire report here. Seventy-one percent of respondents were able to correctly name
Day of reckoning for Rep. Emmer
The day of reckoning is at hand for Rep. Tom Emmer. He must choose if he endorses Donald Trump’s racism or if he will stand with his constituents. Emmer’s past positions as well as current statements push Emmer to pick a side. Donald Trump’s latest Twitter tirade attacked four women of color who are members of Congress. One of those