The dream of Martin Luther King Jr.

January 19, 2021

Martin Luther King Jr. would be 92 this week. He was 39 when he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee for his leadership in the Civil Rights movement. In the 53 years since his death, one would hope we have taken steps, made some progress, toward achieving his goal expressed in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech — “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…” Over the years, certainly some progress has been made, but in the past few years we have ...

Vaccinations depend on supplies

January 18, 2021

The Minnesota Department of Health has announced an expansion of the COVID-19 vaccination eligibility rules. The state is going to allow hospitals and health care systems to vaccinate a broader category of Minnesotans. This would include people who are not frontline health care workers, but who are over 65, or younger people with underlying conditions that put them more at risk. Of course, all that depends on the availability of doses. You can vaccinate someone if you don't have the vaccine available. It's a good idea, in places where everyone in the 1A category - the front line health ...

Et Cetera

January 16, 2021

Public Works facility The Fairmont City Council is taking a second look at the Public Works facility project after a discussion about whether the building should be made with precast cement or steel. Precast cement will last longer, but could further delay the $9.8 million project. Nevertheless, while the price is steep, an upgrade is needed. We agree with Councilman Bruce Peters that if the project needs to be done, it should be done right. Students return to school Martin and Faribault County students have either returned to in-person learning or will be doing so shortly. The ...

Where do we go from here?

January 15, 2021

The U.S. House of Representatives made Donald J. Trump the first U.S. president ever to be impeached twice on Wednesday. There's little chance that Trump, as a result, will be removed from office one second earlier than his allotted time. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he will not call the Senate back for an emergency session to hold the impeachment trial, so the Senate won't hear the impeachment and vote on it until after the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden next week. So why impeach the president at all? Is it simply, as his most loyal enablers like Rep. ...

Being prepared is a wise move

January 14, 2021

State governments across the country have been warned by the FBI that militant groups are planning a series of armed protests at their state capitols as inauguration day approaches on Jan. 20. In light of the armed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, capitol buildings across the country are being made more secure with fences, barricades and plans to deploy National Guard troops. Gov. Tim Walz has announced the Guard will be stationed at the Minnesota Capitol to defend against armed violence. Legal protests that are being planned will not ...

Be cautious while getting out

January 13, 2021

The state’s restaurants and bars are reopening this week, with some restrictions yet on how many people can be allowed inside, how many can sit at one table and how far apart they need to be. This relaxation of the COVID-19 closure order does not mean that the disease is no longer a danger. It is still out there, and while the vaccines are starting to trickle in, there are still many more who need to be vaccinated before we can truly relax. Statistics from the Minnesota Department of Health show that 147,645 people in the the state have been vaccinated. We have over 5.6 million ...