MLB’s latest work stoppage — Why?

December 3, 2021

The Major League Baseball collective bargaining agreement expired last night at midnight, and since players and owners were unable to agree on a new one, the owners are locking out the players. Since the World Series concluded last month, there isn’t much work to stop, but it still begs the question — why? With all the billions of dollars in revenue and ever burgeoning player salaries, why can’t owners and players simply divvy it up? There should be plenty for everyone. Players and owners may say it’s not about the money, but, yes it is. Players want more of their ranks, not ...

Trump court takes on abortion case

December 2, 2021

Religious conservatives are about to have their day in court, the day they have been waiting for since the U.S. Supreme Court wrote the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision establishing women’s right to have an abortion up until the final trimester of pregnancy. Since 1973 they have rallied, voted for anti-abortion candidates, and pushed for stricter abortion laws that inevitably ran up against the legal precedent of the Roe decision. To abortion opponents, it was clear that the only way to reverse the Roe decision would be through another Supreme Court decision, and that would require a much ...

What happened to ‘respectfully disagree’?

December 1, 2021

There was a time when members of Congress referred to each other as “distinguished gentlemen” or “honorable representatives,” even as they were ripping each other’s positions on this or that issue. Lately, however, congress men and women have been targeting each other with racist, anti-semitic and Islamophobic tropes. This week it was Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a Republican, who caught criticism for telling a story to supporters about Minnesota’s Rep. Ilhan Omar, insinuating that she might be a potential bomb-carrying terrorist. Omar called for her to be ...

S. African travel ban is justified reaction

November 30, 2021

The World Health Organization was urging nations not to impose travel bans on south African nations after the outbreak of a new COVID variant, the omicron variant. Other countries, including the U.S., have banned travelers from that area, which WHO claims is not a science-based reaction. In the case of COVID, who cares what WHO wants? Keeping people traveling from an infected area out of the country is a pretty good way to prevent or at least slow the spread. Unfortunately, it may be too late to contain the spread. New cases are popping up in other parts of the world, including a ...

Give the state’s heroes hazard pay

November 29, 2021

One of the crying shames of the Minnesota legislative game playing is the impasse that has kept Gov. Tim Walz from calling a special session to approve passing out the hero pay for frontline workers, drought relief, and stabilization measures for nursing homes. The state has $250 million from the federal government to distribute to frontline workers in recognition of their heroic efforts during the COVID pandemic. But Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on who counts as a hero and how much they should get. Even if they could, Gov. Walz is leery of calling a special session unless ...

Et. Cetera

November 27, 2021

MRCI on the move MRCI is a great program that helps find employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. While they don’t have a physical building in Fairmont anymore, they’ve been utilizing space inside local businesses for daily activities. What an excellent way to get out and be seen in the community. City hears about state building code This past week members of the Fairmont City Council held an informational session with a member from the State regarding building codes and the enforcement, administration and application of it. We’re glad this meeting took ...