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Farmers tired of waiting for drought relief aid

While front line workers and business owners inMinnesota can express a sigh of relief, farmers are still waiting. On Friday, Gov. Tim Walz signed into law legislation providing direct payments to frontline workers and replenishing the unemployment trust fund, providing tax relief for small businesses. Meanwhile, negotiations between the two houses of the Legislature continue over the drought relief package. The hangup is over DNR funding proposed in a House version of the bill for seedlings and shade trees lost in the drought. The other part of the relief package is $10 million in ...

Biden has taken another step toward mass student-loan debt forgiveness

The Biden Administration announced another installment in its student-loan forgiveness plan to “fix longstanding failures” in the program. Translation: Taxpayers will pay again for the mistakes of Congress and the Obama Administration. Congress created income-based repayment plans in 2007 to help borrowers manage mountains of debt they can’t repay. Initially borrowers could cap monthly payments at 15% of their discretionary income and discharge their remaining balance after 25 years. Those who went to work in “public service” had to pay 10% for 10 years. Democrats made the ...

Long overdue deal in Legislature

On Tuesday, the Minnesota House passed a bill to replenish the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund and get bonuses to frontline workers. It was hailed as a breakthrough in the Legislature after months of stalemate. That breakthrough resulted in Thursday’s announcement that House and Senate leaders struck a deal to go forward with a plan that includes $2.7 million to replenish the trust fund and pay back a debt to the federal government for jobless aid. It also features $500 million in bonuses for workers who took risks during the pandemic. A total of 667,000 workers will ...

Don’t chance it — stop for children getting off buses

One May day in 2019, a Minneapolis girl, 11 was hit by car after getting off a school bus. A 60-year-old man was arrested. Witnesses said he was traveling in his vehicle at a high-speed when he attempted to go around the stopped bus. The accident left the girl fighting for her life and facing several surgeries. There was conflicting information in the case whether or not the bus driver lowered the bus stop arm at the time of the incident. However, drivers must use extreme caution when approaching a parked school bus to avoid such horrific tragedies. Ever so often our court reporters ...

Passing computer-chip aid legislation shouldn’t be this hard

Even during a time of intense political division, the global computer-chip shortage should be something both Republicans and Democrats be in total agreement that something needs to be done. Try buying a new car. Need a new home appliance — you may have to wait weeks. Even smartphones are more expensive. Members of Congress say they want to do something to help businesses and consumers. Both the House and the Senate have passed major computer chip aid legislation in what is one of the final opportunities before the November elections to show voters they are addressing the nation’s ...

It’s crunch time for the Minnesota Legislature

Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, called it the homestretch in his weekly legislative newsletter that he emailed out before the Easter break. There’s about five weeks left in 2022 session for the Minnesota Legislature. And like sessions of the past, members of the House and Senate are leaving all the big decisions to the bitter end. The Associated Press reported this weekend that there’s been little meeting of the minds between the House Democrats and Senate Republicans. Translation: A house divided. Here in southwest Minnesota, there are two items of interest that deserves major ...