When Donald J. Trump was president, the presidency was not a bully enough pulpit for him (“bully” meaning excellent, as Theodore Roosevelt used it), he used social media as no president had before to spread his views and opinions to the public directly, to mock his opponents and praise his ...
Republicans in the Minnesota Senate have decided to play hardball on the issue of auto emission standards in the state. Hardball is the only game available to them, unfortunately. Republicans are willing to shut down the state parks, indeed, much of of the state’s environmental ...
FEDA The Fairmont Economic Development Authority released its first-quarter report for the year 2021, and the report is good. Compared to last year there has been an increase in the three categories of building permits, planning, and zoning permits, and land disturbance permits. Under the ...
Gov. Tim Walz announced a timetable for the easing and ending of the state’s COVID-19 rules on Thursday. The argument over his ability to make such rules in the first place continues on, however. Here’s what will happen with the rules: As of noon today (Friday) there will be no more ...
Gov. Tim Walz last week was speaking hopefully to business leaders about a possible turn of the COVID-19 dial to ease restrictions this summer, including a nearly normal Minnesota State Fair. His hopes were based on increasing immunization rates and a downward trend for new cases. We do need ...
The Minnesota Legislature has about two weeks left in its current session. The DFL-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate have been looking for compromises to reconcile their budget proposals. Will they be able to bridge the gap in time? If recent history is any indication, no, they ...
In October 2001, following the horrific 9/11 terrorist attack on the U.S., American military forces invade Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban regime that had harbored the Al-Qaida organization responsible for the attack. Our goal was not just to punish the Taliban, but to establish a free, ...
President Joe Biden presented to a joint session of Congress Wednesday his “Blueprint to Rebuild America.” Biden’s natural optimism came to the fore as he talked about the crises we are emerging from, and the opportunity we have to transform America and the role the government ...
Sale of Senior Center It was good to see the Fairmont City Council move forward with the sale of the former Senior Center Building. The new Senior Place located in the SMEC building is set to open soon and the old location is ready to be used for a brand new brewery. This is a great way for ...
Every vote counts in political elections, and every person counted matters when it comes to the U.S.Census. That was shown this week when Minnesota kept its 8th seat in the House of Representatives by just 89 people counted in the Census, putting us ahead of New York State. On Tuesday, ...
The CDC issued some welcome news for people trying to live with the COVID-19 pandemic. People who are fully vaccinated don’t have to wear face masks outside, unless they are in a big crowd of strangers. People, vaccinated or not, do not have to wear masks outdoors if you are walking, biking ...
Minnesotans can breathe a sigh of relief today. The U.S. Census Bureau announced its allocation of seats in the House of Representatives on Monday, based on population counted in the 2020 Census. Minnesota will retain its eight seats, getting the last available seat by edging out New York ...
It’s an unsettling fact that the government seems to track parking tickets better than it tracks hate crimes. But a proposal to modify hate crime reporting in Minnesota to allow reports to other agencies than police and to include hate graffiti can help solve that case of misplaced ...
Just in time for Earth Day last week, the Associated Press recently carried a story about a crew of people who returned from a three-week cleanup effort in the northernmost islands of the Hawaiian archipelago. The group spent their time working at the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, ...
Safety Council The Fairmont Safety Council recently met for the first time in five years. Two important issues were addressed: that of better lighting and safety at our parks, and the intersection at Albion Avenue and Lake Aires where a recent collision occurred between a school bus and ...
Minnesota’s Walter “Fritz” Mondale died Monday at the age of 93. He should be remembered as a politician and statesman who brought a uniquely Minnesota flavor to the profession of politics. He was a small town from Elmore, to his lifetime of service as a state attorney general, a U.S. ...
The pandemic ushered in changes that enhanced patients’ access, convenience. The COVID-19 pandemic forced sweeping changes in how we work, with many workers doing their jobs remotely for much of the past year. A swift though lesser-remarked-on transformation happened as well in ...
Ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday on all three counts of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd last May.Chauvin’s guilt was decided by the 12 jurors in the Hennepin County courhouse, but it was established last May, when video shot by a bystander ...
The COVID-19 vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson is being held back this week while government health experts look into the possibility that six cases of rare blood clotting was caused by the vaccine. While the six cases of blood clotting came after nearly 7 million vaccinations means ...
Fairmont area students At their most recent meeting, the Fairmont School Board discussed the failure rate of students. Board member Mike Edman said that the fail rate or about to fail rate was around 30 percent. He further stated that did not meet his expectations, and we agree. The ...