Readers’ Views
Mardi Gras a success
To the Editor:
I would like to thank local community members and businesses for their continued support of our students. Our 10th annual Mardi Gras, held Feb. 4, was a great evening of food, fun and friends. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces of our alumni that attended.
Soon we will be awarding scholarships to our well-deserving students thanks to your generosity. Over the last nine years, we have been able to award over $101,000 in scholarships. This is very important as we recruit new students and retain current students.
Once again, we wish to thank our corporate sponsor, Rosen’s Diversified Inc.
Looking forward to next year’s Mardi Gras scheduled for Feb. 3, 2018.
Billy Potter, director
Presentation College
Fairmont Campus
Thanks to community
To the Editor:
Thank you to all the blood donors who answered the call to come and donate. Here are the results from the February blood drive:
o Tuesday, Feb. 14, 88 units collected with a goal of 101 units.
o Wednesday, Feb. 15, 101 units collected with a goal of 96 units.
o Thursday, Feb. 16, 51 units collected with a goal of 56 units.
In total, 242 units were collected on the goal of 253.
Special thank you to all the volunteers: To all the long-time volunteers and the new volunteers who have answered the call for greeter and canteen volunteers. Anyone interested in volunteering, please contact Cathy Stapel at (507) 381-2066; to John McDonald and Kyle Redenius with Sentence to Service; and as always, to the Holiday Inn for the fine facilities and great staff, especially Mike Christians and Megan Johnson for their assistance.
The next blood drive will be June 6-8. For appointments, please contact Red Cross at 1-800-RED CROSS.
Cathy Stapel
American Red Cross
St. Paul
Clean water essential
To the Editor:
With the 2017 legislative session now in full swing and as chairman of the Minnesota Legacy Funding Finance Committee, I wanted to note that the list of prospective recipients of this taxpayer-funded revenue source is rapidly expanding.
Our committee is hearing numerous requests for financing, everything from Minnesota Public Radio programming to new exhibits at the Como Zoo. The goal is to find the projects that have most economic value and benefit the most residents in our state.
The committee is a product of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, which Minnesotans passed into law via the 2008 general election ballot. It raised the state sales tax by three-eighths of 1 percent and diverts that portion to support Minnesota’s outdoors, environmental and cultural causes. The tax generates around $600 million biennially.
Many of the requests are for new projects that are quite unique and exclusive to rural Minnesota. They include children’s museums in Hutchinson and Mankato, along with an exhibit dedicated to the Jolly Green Giant.
Trails and hunting-fishing habitat make up many of the other requests, but to me, the most important funding provision will center on clean water. It’s the most important natural resource Minnesota has, as about 14 percent of the world’s freshwater is located in our state.
I am hopeful my final Legacy funding proposal can be debated on the Minnesota House floor by mid-April.
State Rep. Bob Gunther,
R-Fairmont
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