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Reflecting on 2025; priorities for the year ahead

Columns

As 2025 draws to a close and Minnesotans enjoy a holiday season filled with family, friends, and, yes, snow, I wanted to take stock of what we’ve accomplished this year, reflect on some of the challenges we’ve faced, and look forward to the work ahead. This year started with the transition of power from one president to another. I chaired the bipartisan inauguration committee and spoke about the need to recommit to my North Star: finding common ground where I can and standing my ground where I must. Last Congress, during a highly partisan time, I was again ranked as one of the ...

Politics isn’t measured in words, it’s measured in results

Columns

Politics is a lot of talk. Sometimes, that conversation results in action. Other times, it fizzles out and gives way to the next headline, the issue forgotten and the solution left uncharted. In my decade as a Minnesota senator, I have seen dozens, maybe hundreds, of conversations bubble up and then pop before any meaningful reforms are signed into law. If we only talk and don’t act, nothing changes. From housing affordability to mental health, and from public safety to education, those of us who write our laws and decide how to spend the public’s money must remember that when ...

Readers' Views

Letters to the Editor

Thank you Rep. Olson To the editor: Reliable energy infrastructure is essential to families, farms, and businesses across Minnesota. That is why I want to thank Representative Bjorn Olson for his leadership in strengthening the state’s energy systems to ensure they remain safe, dependable, and affordable, including his work as lead on HF 2871. Energy reliability affects every corner of our state, keeping homes heated in winter, farms operating efficiently, and businesses running smoothly. Rep. Olson has been a steady voice for thoughtful improvements that protect jobs, support ...

Adults and social media

Local Editorials

The latest special Fairmont City Council meeting largely centered on whether Council Member Britney Kawecki had disclosed private personnel data of a current or former city employee to members of the public. The method in which this information was supposedly shared? Social media, Facebook to be exact. I’ll be honest, sitting in a meeting for over an hour listening to grown adults, elected officials no less, argue back and forth about what was posted on Facebook was a little embarrassing. The Facebook, which was created by college students to befriend and keep track of other ...

Readers' Views

Letters to the Editor

Thank you for your support To the editor: To the Fairmont Police Department, Fairmont Fire Department, Martin County Sheriff Department, Mayo Ambulance, Truman Ambulance, Truman, Welcome, Jackson Fire Department & Emergency Room staff at Fairmont Mayo Hospital: We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone for the wonderful job they did to save our lives and our home during the fire on Monday, December 1st. Sadly, our beloved son & brother, Jared, did not survive. All of the first responders put their own lives in harms way for many hours that night. Our words ...

Supporting each other through hard times

Local Editorials

Sudden and unexpected loss is always hard to grasp, especially when it’s of a young person. Loss around the holidays season is always a little harder, too. The Fairmont community, then, has recently experienced a triple whammy of sorts and people are reeling, trying to come to terms with the news, asking questions like how? and most certainly, why? In a small city like Fairmont, where if you didn’t know someone personally, you know someone else who did, it does feel like the whole community is in mourning, but despite the grief many are feeling, I think we’ve also seen a great ...