A question for President Biden regarding oil, gas

March 23, 2022

Every so often President Biden makes himself available to the press to ask a question—when he’s not walking to or from a helicopter—and we have a suggestion for the next opportunity: “Mr. President, will you do everything in your regulatory power to make it easier for American companies to produce more oil and gas to make the U.S. and its allies in Europe and elsewhere less dependent on Russian energy?” The question is straightforward, and the goal is to elicit a straight answer that gets to the heart of the current geopolitical moment. Oil and gas prices are soaring amid ...

Time to get tougher on catalytic converter theft

March 22, 2022

The theft of catalytic converters from cars has been growing over the past few years. The converters, part of the emissions control system, are coated with a variety of rare and precious metals to convert unburned hydrocarbons in exhaust into carbon dioxide and water. Thieves found that with a little practice and an electric saw they can slide under a car, take out the converter and be gone in a couple of minutes. They can sell the converters to salvage shops and recyclers for a few hundred dollars. They also leave the car owner with a very expensive repair ...

Russian brutality should count as war crimes

March 21, 2022

Russian troops that have besieged the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol have waged a kind of war that should be considered crimes against humanity. They bombed a maternity hospital. They have shelled schools and hospitals where civilians have gathered to seek shelter, including a theater where 1,300 people are believed to be inside the destroyed building. Refugees fleeing the city have run a gantlet, dodging Russian artillery and guns to escape. The city behind them is being destroyed. The siege will “be remembered for centuries to come,” because of the terror tactics of the ...

Et. Cetera

March 19, 2022

Council hears appeal for Ambiance addition This week the Fairmont City Council heard the appeal of a variance request. Ambiance on Albion had asked to put a shipping container against the bluff of Hall Lake in order to offer snacks and drinks to boaters in the summer months. The council heard from owner Troy Menke, as well as from Peter Bode, planner/code enforcement technician, and from a member of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. We’re glad the council is gathering information. Let’s try and make this work. ECI looks to partner for community events The Early ...

Legislature failing

March 18, 2022

With its inability to pass even the most basic and common sense legislation in a timely fashion, the Minnesota Legislature has hit Minnesota’s employers with a huge tax increase. This increase could have been avoided if the state had just agreed to repay the debt in the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, a $2.7 billion deficit that arose due to the unexpected unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government stepped in with enhanced federal unemployment payments, but the bill has come due and Minnesota has to refill its trust fund. The state is sitting on ...

Is this what Texas lawmakers wanted?

March 17, 2022

The State of Texas, like a lot of Republican dominated states, passed voting restriction legislation that they claimed would “make it easier to vote and harder to cheat.” So how is it working? In the March 1 Texas primary this year, the state threw out 23,000 mail-in ballots, roughly 13% of the mail ballots cast in the counties surveyed by the Associated Press. The rejected ballots indicate that voters were having a hard time complying with the new rules Texas installed, including providing a personal ID number, such as a driver’s license number or Social Security number as well ...