Schmeeckle Foundation

Thank you to the Schmeeckle Foundation for their donation of $250,000 toward increasing the availability of child care in Martin County. They have partnered with the Prosper Project and other groups to help existing daycare with additional training and support and to recruit and add new providers to the mix to help chip away at the 170 additional child care slots needed in Martin County.

Thank you Schmeeckle Foundation for your continued and generous support of Martin County.

Martin County publication

Once again the Martin County commissioners have not served all of Martin County when they designated the Truman Tribune as the county’s legal newspaper. According to County Attorney, Terry Viesselman, Minnesota statute states that the bid is to go to the lowest bidder, but the board may reject any offer if, in its judgment, the public interest so requires. How does a newspaper with 85% less distribution in the county serve the needs of all the county?

Commissioners said they will look at the situation more thoroughly in the future. We hope so.

Gov. Walz restrictions

Gov. Walz announced this week that Minnesota bars and restaurants can resume limited indoor service starting on Monday. He also announced the re-opening of indoor entertainment venues such as movie theatres, bowling alleys, and museums. While these businesses can only open up at 25-50% capacity and with a maximum of 150 people, this is welcome news. We encourage people to frequent these businesses and wish them well.

Keeping these businesses open will depend on us to continue to wear masks, social distance and wash our hands. We can do this!

Protesters storm Capitol

Monday was a dark day for our country. Protesters, upset by President Trump’s loss to Joe Biden, stormed the US Capitol. Trump incited their actions with inflammatory speech, though he later condemned the event. Too little, too late. Finally, Capitol Police were woefully unprepared.

This incident is an embarrassment for our country. Even if you’re a Trump backer, you can still recognize that Trump’s inciting rhetoric was a disgrace.

But the problem is not just Trump. Part of the issue was with the Capitol Police, who again, should have been better prepared. Finally, the bulk of responsibility is with the protesters. People should never act that way. We saw enough of that over the course of 2020 in major cities. If their goal was to prove they were different than rioters on the left, they failed miserably.