Let’s not botch the Afghan pullout mission

August 25, 2021

President Joe Biden has set Aug. 31 - next Tuesday — as the deadline to finish the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He is being roundly criticized by Democrats, Republicans and leaders in the G-7 for that. The U.S. will not be able to get Americans and their allies out of Afghanistan, especially the Afghanis who cooperated and worked with us over the past 20 years. We agree with the critics. It was a mistake to set a pullout date in the first place. It was a signal to the Taliban forces who have been waiting for their time to stage their week-long sweep to power in the country. To ...

Pfizer vaccine meets FDA ‘gold standard’

August 24, 2021

The US government gave full approval on Monday to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, the first of the vaccines produced and approved since the disease’s outbreak in 2019. Up until now the Pfizer vaccine, like the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson versions, have been approved for emergency use. This fact has led many to question whether the vaccines were safe and effective, and in some people’s minds, whether they were really vaccines at all. It has been used by some as a reason to avoid taking the vaccine. The approval is leading to universities, businesses and other organizations to ...

State fair will be big test of COVID transmissions

August 23, 2021

The last time the Great Minnesota Get-Together actually got together, in 2019, 2.1 million people visited the fairgrounds over 12 days. The following year the fair was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year the fair is on again, organizers buoyed by the big lull in new cases earlier this summer and the cessation of the state’s emergency declarations. But as the fair prepares to open next week, COVID infection rates have been rising, spurred on by the quicker spreading delta variant and the slowdown in vaccinations. State and federal health officials are again encouraging ...

Et Cetera

August 21, 2021

Epicureans On September 5, 2021, a bit of Fairmont’s history will be honored in Iowa. The Epicureans, Fairmont’s own Rock and Roll band from the ’60s, will be inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Music Association. We congratulate the surviving band members on this achievement, and we are also sorry that they won’t be able to celebrate with co-founder Steve Murphy. Still, the reunion and induction are sure to be a hit. We’re thankful to Tom Tourville and Jerry Clark for sharing the history of the band. 5Lakes Nutrition Congratulations to Brittany Fowler on the opening of ...

Say no to guns at the State Fair

August 20, 2021

Just when everyone was looking forward to the Minnesota State Fair after a painful hiatus due to COVID, along comes a gun advocacy group that is suing the State Agricultural Society, which controls the fair, and the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department, which is providing security. Metal detectors are being used for the first time to help screen fairgoers. In a statement, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, which filed the suit on behalf of a Twin Cities preacher and a longtime firearms advocate, said that as an arm of state government, the society is “completely preempted under ...

Haiti is in need of help

August 19, 2021

As our attention is drawn to the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan and the Delta variant’s takeover of our COVID-19 battle, we should not forget the suffering going on in Haiti. A major earthquake has shattered that already fragile country on Saturday, killing at least 1,941 as of Tuesday. Tropical Depression Grace was expected to hit on Monday, adding drenching rains and flooding to their misery. The western hemisphere’s poorest nation has an ineffective, disjointed government, and has barely recovered from the 2010 earthquake that devastated the country, killing an estimate ...