Fighting For Our Local Papers

April 13, 2021

(Editor’s Note: We turn our editorial column today over to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who writes on an issue vital to newspapers and their readers.) On May 7th of last year, the Hastings Star Gazette printed its last issue. The paper’s first issue as The Hastings Independent was published in 1857, a year before Minnesota gained statehood. Generations relied on papers like this for local news—they told you who was born and who died, whose daughter just broke the county record for the 400-meter freestyle, whose Holstein won a surprise ribbon at the State Fair, and how your local leaders ...

An eye in the court

April 12, 2021

Having cameras in the courtroom has been inconceivable in Minnesota for years. Judges and attorneys alike have feared the impact the idea millions of people could be watching might have on witnesses and jurors. The Derek Chauvin trial is the first trial to allow gavel to gavel coverage. People watching are receiving a greater education in courtroom procedures and hopefully will have a better trust in the outcome. Cameras are controlled — no shots of the jury are allowed, and some witnesses have been kept off camera too. We hope this experience will lead to more openness in trial ...

Et Cetera

April 10, 2021

Local vaccination efforts It was good to hear that the Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont is able to schedule appointments for patients ages 16 and up. It was also good to hear from Health and Human Services of Faribault and Martin County that a majority of elderly residents have received at least their first dose of vaccine. We know people are anxious to see the end of this pandemic, but it is important to remember that good things take time. There are still different variants of COVID-19 out there, and we still need to do our part. This means continuing to wear masks, keep our ...

State needs immigrants to succeed

April 9, 2021

A report from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce confirms what our state demographers have been telling us for a long time: Minnesota’s economy needs the immigrant population to succeed. Here are some of the key findings of the Chamber’s report as outlined in its executive summary: — Absent immigrants’ arrival, our overall population would have declined beginning in 2001, with Minnesota residents moving to other states. — Immigrants link Minnesota to the world economy and make valuable and meaningful contributions to our state as employees, entrepreneurs, consumers and ...

Emergency powers strengthened Minnesota

April 8, 2021

Resolve differences with good-faith negotiations, not Wisconsin-style court fights. Last week the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down a mask mandate imposed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, following a challenge to his authority by a major Republican donor. It is another in a punishing series of court losses for Evers and the COVID-battered citizens of his state that included a rejection of his stay-at-home order and his attempts to limit capacity in gathering spaces. In Minnesota, by contrast, court challenges to Gov. Tim Walz’s authority to wield emergency powers during the pandemic ...

Make it harder to sell catalytic converters

April 7, 2021

According to the St. Paul Police Department, the theft of catalytic converters is big business for theives. According to the department, 560 catalytic converter thefts have been reported in the city so far this year. Catalytic converters are stolen off vehicles in car lots or on the streets. People who find their vehicles vandalized and looted by thieves face an expensive replacement cost. It may be upwards of $1,000, depending on the model. Catalytic converters make tantalizing targets for thieves. They are relatively accessible under the car, can be sawed loose in a couple of ...