Looking ahead to lifting restrictions

February 10, 2021

The Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature have been very strident and demanding about lifting the restrictions Gov. Tim Walz has imposed on the state's businesses to curb the spread of COVID-19. They have tried, month after month since last June, to strip the governor of his emergency powers and force him to bring them in on the decision. Due to the DFL majority in the House, they have failed each time. This week House Republicans have taken a little different approach. They are looking at the falling number of new cases and the rising vaccination numbers and want to plan ahead for ...

Republican outrage is very misplaced

February 9, 2021

If there is any more glaring example of the schism developing in the Republican party, it is the case of Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, voted with Democrats, one of 10 Republicans to do so, to impeach former President Donald Trump for his part in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building. She said Sunday she would likely vote to convict Trump if she were in the Senate. On Saturday, the Wyoming Republican Committee voted overwhelmingly to censure Cheney and demand that she resign from the House. The censure ...

State can’t afford not to be ready

February 8, 2021

Minnesota is facing a potential powderkeg next month when the trial of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin starts. Chauvin is charged in the death of George Floyd, the incident that sparked nationwide rage over perceived police brutality against Blacks. Chauvin knelt on the neck of a handcuffed Floyd for nearly eight minutes, after which Floyd died. Minneapolis was racked by demonstrations that quickly turned to riots. Minneapolis police were overwhelmed, until the Minnesota National Guard was belatedly called out. The trial of Chauvin will draw the same kind of attention, ...

Et Cetera

February 6, 2021

Fairmont vocational wing Area voters have a chance to make a difference for FHS students on November 9. The Fairmont Area School District’s proposed $6.73 million vocational expansion project could offer a lot of positive influence for area kids and local communities. The new facility will focus on automotive, welding, agriculture, culinary, and construction trades. That will enable them to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation or go on to more schooling, with the hope that students will come back to the area later. We hope voters will take the opportunity to support ...

Vaccination numbers rise as COVID cases decline

February 4, 2021

We are beginning to see progress in the battle against COVID-19. We don't know if this statistic, reported Tuesday, is meaningful, but it is heartening - Minnesota now has nearly as many people who have at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine than it has recorded cases of the virus. That's 447,610 vaccinations to 463,132 cases of COVID-19. And it shouldn't be long before vaccinations surpass cases. The state has been recording fewer than 1,000 new cases per day for the past couple of weeks. In November the state was seeing 6,000, 7,000 and over 8,000 on Nov. 16. The number of deaths has ...

Vaccine fears must be addressed

February 3, 2021

A report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released Monday indicates that only a third of nursing home workers have been getting COVID-19 vaccinations when they are first offered. In a look at 11,000 nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities, 78 percent of the elderly residents received at least one shot, but only 37.5 percent of staff members did. It is difficult to understand how skilled health care workers, who deal with the impact of COVID-19 on their patients every day, can be so skeptical about vaccines that are supposed to protect them and their patients. We ...