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Redistricting map changes 1st, 2nd districts

Minnesota’s new congressional district maps were released Tuesday, and Minnesota’s First and Second Congressional Districts are trading some territory. According to the maps drawn by a five-judge panel appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court, the Second District, represented now by Rep. Angie Craig, will cede Goodhue and Wabasha counties on the east to the First District, while the First District, represented by Rep. Jim Hagedorn, will give LeSueur County to the second. The change will add more population to the First District, which has seen rural population declining. The two ...

War of nerves

Every other day, it seems, the Biden administration issues a warning that a Russian invasion of the Ukraine could happen at any time. They are not exactly being untruthful — Russia does have about 130,000 troops massed along the Ukraine border, and we doubt they are there for R&R. Every time the warning is issued, the Kremlin repeats that it has no intention of invading, that it is willing to talk. It seeks to get some more security promises from the West about not letting former socialist republics into NATO, limiting missile placements in Europe and stepping down the military ...

Canada protests send clear message

Canadian truckers had tied up traffic on the Ambassador Bridge connecting Ontario and Detroit all last week. In protest of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination mandates, Canadian truckers blocked the busiest international border crossing in North America, tying up millions of dollars in goods being shippped between the U.S. and Canada. On Sunday, after a Canadian judge had ordered the protests to end, police arrested those who remained on the bridge. But their protest continues in the Canadian capital, and their message remains clear. They don’t want government intruding in their lives ...

Thumbs Up/Down

Surge ebbing? THUMBS UP: After the omicron variant pushed through Minnesota and sent COVID-19 cases surging in January, the number of new cases seems to be on the wane in February, according to public health statistics. This is certainly good, encouraging news, but we’ve all learned that COVID is unpredictable. A new variant may be just around the corner. We should continue to maintain common sense precautions, including getting vaccinated if you haven’t already been. It is vexing that the FDA has suddenly backtracked on its recommendation to vaccinate those under age 5, but ...

McConnel’s back

After denouncing the Republican National Committee this week for their censure of two Republican House members participating in the Jan. 6 investigation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to be pulling back from rampant partisanship. It didn’t take long for him to embrace partisanship again. McConnell on Wednesday blocked the appointment of Andrew Luger as the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota. Why? Because Montez Lee Jr., convicted of murder by arson in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder received a sentence ten years below the legal maximum. Now, Luger had nothing ...

Goodell’s talk is just that until action taken

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sternly and forcefully said Wednesday that the NFL will not tolerate racism, discrimination in hiring, and will take strong action if investigation finds wrongdoing that threatens the integrity of the game. That’s big talk that Goodell has spoken before. The NFL has come under fire recently, with a lawsuit by fired Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, who is Black. Flores claims he has experienced racism and discrimination in the league, and was offered $100,000 by his owner for every team loss in a season where the owners wanted to better their draft ...