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COVID rollercoaster?

Minnesota is experiencing a steep rise in COVID-19 cases, due most likely to the omicron variant of the disease. The number of cases, the percentage of positive test results, the number of hospitalizations all indicate that we are in a peak period for the disease. Brown County is mirroring the state’s experience. We have seen a sharp rise in local cases, with 145 new cases reported Tuesday. While hospitalizations are rising, the good news is that the number of intensive care cases is starting to drop More good news comes from the Mayo Clinic, which has developed a model tracking ...

Money and spending

Gov. Tim Walz announced his plan for a $2.7 billion bonding bill, which would be a new record for the state. The governor said more than a billion is for asset preservation — maintenance and preservation of existing public buildings. “These are assets that belong to the people of Minnesota.” There’s more for bridge replacement and road improvements, $450 million for housing, including homelessness projects, and money for the environment. In addition to general obligation bonds, Walz would finance this collection with $276 million from the state’s record surplus fund. ...

Small businesses in need of help

Most economists will agree that small businesses are the backbone of the nation’s economy. They create more news jobs, provide goods and services that bigger businesses may see as not worth their while, and support their local communities. But small businesses have been struggling since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when the government mandated lock-downs and shutdowns, limited their capacity for service and created more regulations for them to deal with. Now small businesses are being hit by another factor. Economic inflation is driving up the cost of doing ...

King’s struggle carries on

This week, many Americans celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., who preached both an unceasing struggle against prejudice and discrimination and use of non-violent methods to win the battle. King’s high-profile leadership cost him his life. Others perished, too, during the struggle for civil rights. We have more civil rights today. Institutionalized racism in the form of Jim Crow laws, “red-lined” zoning for residential districts and other forms of bigotry have virtually disappeared from our nation. Sadly, many hearts and minds remain tainted by biases. It is worth ...

Thumbs Up/Down

Bloodmobile turnout Thumbs Up: The Red Cross is facing drastic shortages in the nation’s blood supply, so much that some hospitals are having to ration blood among patients who need it. So it was important that the New Ulm blood drive, held this week, had a good turnout, and it did. The Red Cross collected 366 on Wedneday, Thursday and Friday., surpassing its 3-day goal by 46 units. This isn’t going to solve the shortfall by itself, of course, but New Ulm sets a great example for other communities hosting blood drives. If we can all get back in the habit of giving blood, we can ...

Vaccine mandate struck down

The U.S. Supreme Court didn’t take long to strike down the Biden Administration’s mandate that large employers must require their workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, or wear masks, or undergo weekly testing. The conservative members of the court ruled that OSHA lacks the authority to make such a sweeping order, though it did allow the rules applying to health care workers to stand. A lot of larger corporations were cautious in their response to the news, saying they’d have to “examine” the ruling to see what kind of impact it would have. The ruling doesn’t say ...