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Easing up on mask wearing outside

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 or running, alone or with a member of your household. Small outdoor gatherings with other people who are vaccinated can also be mask free. Unvaccinated people are still encouraged to wear masks outside at small gatherings that include other unvaccinated people. Everyone, vaccinated or not, ...

Minnesota’s 8 seats safe for 10 more years

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 State. There had been fears that Minnesota, which has been on the bubble for decades, might lose a seat. We narrowly avoided losing a seat in 2010, and narrowly avoided losing a seat this year. State officials credit Minnesotans’ strong response to the 2020 Census for making the ...

Hate crimes Proposed law changes would highlight hidden threats

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 priorities. A recent case of neo-Nazi graffiti via stickers on lamp posts in the Mankato area may have fit under the new legal definition of a hate crime and given authorities power to investigate and prosecute. Hate crimes at the state and federal level have from the beginning been described by a ...

Environmental plastics cleanup

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, 1,300 miles north of Honolulu, and came back with 47 tons — that’s 94,000 pounds — of marine plastics. The haul included lost and abandoned fishing nets, buoys, crates, bottles, fishing gear, washed up surfboards, even cigarette lighters that littered the beaches and snared the wildlife ...

Et Cetera…

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 semi. It’s good that the Safety Council is meeting, but perhaps it should occur a little more often. It’s a valuable council to address concerns, such as our parks and intersections. The next meeting is set for September, and we hope that’s not missed. FEDA, Childcare According to a study ...

Looking at the Mondale model

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. senator, as a transformative vice president, an honest, if unsuccessful presidential candidate, an ambassador representing his country in Japan, and finally, an elder statesman who was so respected he was the consensus candidate to take the place of Sen. Paul Wellstone, who was killed in a plane crash ...