Virginia state legislators on Monday approved legislation to end the death penalty in that state, making it the 23rd state in the U.S. to do away with the practice. It is notable, because Virginia, over the years, has executed more people than any other state. Virginia has come to the ...
The U.S. is suffering from an unnatural cold weather storm that has swept into the South, bringing bone-chilling temperatures and causing utility failures that have kept millions in Texas without power and heat. In the midst of all this, natural gas prices have skyrocketed. In Oklahoma, the ...
President Joe Biden said, after being sworn in, that one of his priorities would be immigration reform that would offer a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million people living in the United States illegally. On Thursday, Biden and congressional Democrats proposed a plan to do ...
Justice Center Earlier this week, Martin County Commissioners approved 2021 representation on Capitol Bonding as they seek further funding for a new justice center. We’re glad the commissioners are continuing with this much-needed project. While some may question further spending after ...
Minnesotans tend to be rather blasé about winter storms in other parts of the country. We are used to dealing with snow, ice and cold and figure people in the South, for instance, where an inch of snow can absolutely paralyze a city, are over-reacting. But the massive winter storm that swept ...
The shock of last week's shooting at the Allina Clinic in Buffalo is still there, especially for the people of Buffalo and the health care workers in the clinic who were the target of the rampage. Today, we can all do something to show solidarity with Buffalo and the clinic. Allina Health, ...
The U.S. Senate's impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump may not result in a conviction. Enough Republican senators are hewing to their party line to prevent the conviction. Their minds were made up before the trial began that they would not vote to convict Trump. But this trial ...
4-H Seminar Kudos to Martin County 4-H Ambassadors for hosting a free virtual seminar for area teens this weekend. Focusing on mental health and well-being, the seminar is meant to help kids find ways to cope with the stress, anxiety, and disappointment caused by the pandemic. Many have been ...
We don't know what set off Gregory Paul Ulrich, sending him on a rampage to shoot up the Allina Clinic in Buffalo on Tuesday. But the fact that something was bound to set him off sooner or late was pretty well known by the staff at the clinic and by local law enforcement. The 67-year-old Ulrich ...
Minnesota made a big jump in the rate of vaccinations recently. On Monday the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Minnesota jumped from 45th place to 14th in the nation in the rate of doses administered per 100,000 population. That's good news. At least 569,164 Minnesotans ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
President Joe Biden is pressing to get a COVID-19 relief bill passed, and he indicated he is willing to push it through with the slim Democratic majority he has in Congress. This weekend a group of 10 Republican senators proposed he meet with them to hear about a bill, a $600 billion bill ...
The idea of requiring a photo ID from people before they cast votes keeps yo-yoing back in the Legislature. Sen. Scott Newman, (R-Hutchinson) is proposing a bill to present photo identification at the polls. This bill has been proposed and shot down before, most notably in 2012, when ...
Cut budgets or raise taxes? COVID-19 rescue plans have wreaked havoc on federal, state and local budgets. While many of the items in the rescue plans are needed such as the paycheck protection program, eviction protection, K-12 school funding and stimulus checks. Some items are not. Why ...
Once again, the issue of legalizing sports betting is popping up in the Minnesota Legislature. Democratic Sen. Karla Bigham, of Cottage Grove, and Republican Rep. Pat Garofalo, of Farmington, are proposing a bill that would allow on-site sports wagering at tribal casinos for the first year, ...