Voters in the Sartell-St. Stephen school district will be asked on Nov. 6 to approve a levy to fund the second stage of the district’s master plan approved three years ago. As the new high school, the first part of the master plan, nears completion, district leaders are asking voters to approve funding to operate it and to support other
Keep it local during Oct. 18 trash pickup
“If you see something, say something.” That admonition usually applies to airports and other potential terrorism targets. But on Oct. 18, in St. Joseph, those words will apply to refuse. That’s when the city has scheduled the next curbside rubbish pickup and the city is as serious about the warning as any airport security officer. During the last pickup in
Census, redistricting questions are hidden election issues
The future of Minnesota’s representation in the next decade will be decided with this fall’s elections and with decisions being made now about how Census 2020 will be conducted. How many members of Congress Minnesota will have and how their districts will be drawn will be determined by the census. The decennial count also affects drawing boundaries for other elected
Compromise, cooperation should be key issues for voters
It’s hard to turn down a gift of $6 million. But that’s what happened because Minnesota’s political leaders couldn’t agree on a compromise spending bill. The bill passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature included measures they knew the DFL governor and legislators wouldn’t support. The omnibus spending bill also contained noncontroversial items such as the formal request for Minnesota’s share of
Government shouldn’t try to censor social media
Misconceptions about free speech and the First Amendment are getting tangled up in the growing controversy over the role of social media companies in public debate. Don’t let confusion about free speech, companies’ business decisions and technology lead to government regulation. Let’s start with the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
‘Nobody’ wins when you don’t vote
Do you want to overthrow the government? Or maybe you think things are going just fine. Either way, Tuesday’s primary election is the time to take a stand. Midterm elections generally attract a low voter turnout. Primary election turnout is historically even lower. Voting is always the most important action of civic engagement, but because of a unique set of
New ruling opens courtroom doors just slightly to cameras
An open-government debate that has gone mostly unnoticed for the past 30 years cleared another milestone in early July. The Minnesota Supreme Court filed an order permanently opening up Minnesota’s criminal courts to cameras. The decision comes after a 2-1/2-year pilot program on camera access to criminal proceedings. The permanent rules take effect Sept. 1. The U.S. Supreme Court held
Voters do have a choice in future Supreme Court cases
The debate about how Justice Anthony Kennedy’s Supreme Court seat should be filled and how an expected “conservative” justice might rule on past issues misses the point. Voters don’t get to decide who Donald Trump nominates or who the Senate approves. But voters do have a voice. Many issues that reach the high court end up there because of a