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New Ulm schools teach a lesson on democracy

Democracy is under attack across this nation. But there are some places where democracy still flourishes and nourishes the daily lives of Americans. One of those places is the New Ulm Public Schools District, where, during a recent update of the student handbook for the next school year, district administrators encouraged and promoted input and consent from the people actually governed by the handbook — the students themselves. While the district had previously received input from a student leadership group, the process was expanded to other groups representing other perspectives ...

Let us start with some Sesame Street learning: This lesson is brought to you by animals that start with the letter B — bats, butterflies, beetles, birds and bees. This week is Pollinator Week, an annual celebration in support of pollinator health to raise awareness for pollinators and spread the word about how to protect them. What is pollination? It is the transfer of pollen to a plant, mostly done by a pollinator animal, that allows fertilization and reproduction. How does pollination work? As a pollinator, such as a bee, collects nectar from a plant, such as a flower, pollen ...

Millennials can change world, starting right now

To the class of 2022 and all the millennials coming of age in these times of pandemic, economic and racial strife, environmental deterioration and the perpetuation of disinformation leading to the rise of authoritarianism, the world needs you, and it needs you right now. It seems there are more threats to humanity than ever before, and they all need to be addressed simultaneously. It looks pretty bleak, but doom is not inevitable — yet. There is still time remaining, but the clock is running down. That’s why humankind needs the millennials to step up. It needs your energy and ...

Make it harder for bad people to penetrate our schools

“We also hear and see in the media too many unfortunate examples — whether it be a church, businesses, government buildings or even schools — where people are coming into those buildings and doing harm to others.” Former Marshall Public Schools District Superintendent Scott Monson made that comment at a 2019 board meeting during a discussion over approving funding security upgrades at two school sites. The “unfortunate examples” Monson was referring to three years ago are increasing across the nation. On May 24, evil struck the small community of Uvalde, ...

Memorial Day speech for ages given at Gettysburg

To honor the people who have died defending freedom and liberty of we the people, we bring you “a few appropriate remarks” from President Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg: Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have ...

Another mass shooting — this time in Texas

This editorial is written with a heavy heart — and sense of helplessness. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday afternoon that a gunman had just killed 14 students and a teacher at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, about 85 miles west of San Antonio. We also learned many more injured students and another adult were rushed to hospitals. Dozens of parents are grieving now over the senseless loss of their young sons and daughters. This shooting comes on the heels of another mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo that left 10 Black shoppers dead. In this particular tragedy, ...