What does it take to get six Democrats and three Republicans to work on the same goal? The answer: When Minnesota needs federal money to rebuild roads, bridges and highway interchanges. Most of Minnesota’s congressional delegation wrote to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao asking why the state didn’t get any funding through the Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage
Volunteer, vote instead of checking out
In case you hadn’t noticed, 2020 will be an election year. Enough Democrats to populate two volleyball teams have been campaigning for a year for an election that’s still 11 months away. Donald Trump started campaigning for re-election the day after he was sworn in. Analysts tell us most voters are alienated and unmoored, and that electoral politics are far
Readers want news, but who pays?
Americans want to read local news. There’s just one problem: they don’t want to pay for it. Some 86 percent of Americans say everyone should have access to local news, even if they don’t pay for it, but just one in five Americans has supported local news in the past year by subscribing to, donating to or purchasing a membership
Reform needed for voters’ voices to be heard
Help paying for health care. Repairing crumbling roads and bridges. Gun safety laws. Action on climate change. A realistic immigration policy. Citizens want action on all these issues and most people agree on the solutions. Yet nothing happens. Presidential candidate Tom Steyer thinks he has the answer and the answer is not who gets elected but the need for basic
Voters lose with only Trump on the ballot
Republicans who vote in Minnesota’s new presidential primary next year will have only one choice on the ballot. Even though he’s not the only announced candidate, only Donald Trump’s name will appear. Last month, the state Republican Party notified the Secretary of State that the “list” of candidates for the March 3, 2020, primary will be a short one –
Social networks are publishers, not platforms
When online message boards, chat rooms and discussion lists first appeared in the digital world, they were much different than today’s social media environment. In the 1990s, they were viewed as digital “bulletin boards,” much like physical bulletin boards, where contributors could post words and photos for public display. At the time, lawmakers, under pressure from free speech advocates, wrote
More cuts loom if voters reject school levy
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