Breaking News

Opinion

Readers' Views

Letters to the Editor

Community Center Support To the Editor: I am looking forward to the new community center with year round indoor swimming and other activities. I am happy to see the support for this in the Fairmont community. As a student in Fairmont, I am pleased that new options for activities are being developed. I hope that the community center is built soon and I am confident it will benefit us all. I appreciate the city leaders who support its development and our working to make it happen. Levi Loughmiller Fairmont

IRS is in desperate need of money and staff

Local Editorials

This is not a normal tax year for the Internal Revenue Service. As millions of American households scramble to meet the April 18 filing deadline, it’s easy to view this as just another tax season that causes temporary annoyance and then fades in the headlines and minds of most people. But there’s a lot more at stake. The IRS is currently limping along without enough staff or funding. Congress, especially Republicans, needs to face up to reality. The IRS still manually enters the information on paper tax returns into its computing system because its technology is so outdated. ...

Paddling sports wonderful, but training necessary

Local Editorials

One of the silver linings of the pandemic was that more people connected or reconnected with the outdoors. Bicycling, simple walks, gardening, visits to parks, bird watching and other outdoor pursuits surged. Paddlesports was no exception. A record 38 million people took to lakes and rivers to kayak, canoe and use stand-up paddleboards in 2020, according to the latest data from the Outdoor Foundation. The number includes 2.5 million paddlers who were new to the sports. But the increase also brought a surge in accidents. There were 331 accidents and 202 fatalities, also a record. ...

Passing computer-chip aid legislation shouldn’t be this hard

Local Editorials

Even during a time of intense political division, the global computer-chip shortage should be something both Republicans and Democrats be in total agreement that something needs to be done. Try buying a new car. Need a new home appliance — you may have to wait weeks. Even smartphones are more expensive. Members of Congress say they want to do something to help businesses and consumers. Both the House and the Senate have passed major computer chip aid legislation in what is one of the final opportunities before the November elections to show voters they are addressing the nation’s ...

Readers' Views

Letters to the Editor

What is 420 Day? To the Editor: The number 420 has become synonymous with marijuana. But how and why? More than 50 years ago, a group of high school students in California decided to meet at 4:20 p.m. near their school campus to smoke marijuana and get high. Why that time? School was out, but parents weren’t yet home. The story passed around and nearly 20 years later, a group of Grateful Dead deadheads began encouraging people to smoke marijuana, now nicknamed 420, at 4:20 p.m. on 4/20. April 20 has become known as a “stoner holiday.” Unfortunately, the event is getting more ...

Crunch time for Minnesota Legislature

Local Editorials

Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, called it the homestretch in his weekly legislative newsletter that he emailed out before the Easter break. There’s about five weeks left in 2022 session for the Minnesota Legislature. And like sessions of the past, members of the House and Senate are leaving all the big decisions to the bitter end. The Associated Press reported this weekend that there’s been little meeting of the minds between the House Democrats and Senate Republicans. Translation: A house divided. Here in southwest Minnesota, there are two items of interest that deserves major ...