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Critical need for nursing staff

Hospital capacity is often referred to a “beds,” but the surge in COVID cases has proven that to be misleading. What really affects capacity, hospital administrators will tell you, is people on staff to treat those in the beds. More than beds these days, hospitals need trained people, nurses especially, to treat those who are sick. Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday he intends to use $40 million in federal pandemic relief funds to bring in health care staff from out of state to take some of the burden from the overtaxed hospital staff in the state. The funding will pay a staffing ...

More than COVID to worry about

Over the weekend the Associated Press reported on an AP-NORC poll indicating that people are finding more things to worry about these days than COVID-19. Pushing the pandemic off the front burner is the economy. While concern about how the COVID pandemic is handled waned from 53% a year ago to 37% today, inflation and personal finance are considered a top concern to 68%. Pandemic fatigue is setting in. If we’re not tired of hearing about COVID-19, we’re at least getting used to it. At some point, people want to live their lives, and risking a COVID infection may be taking on the ...

The gift of life

People in New Ulm have the chance this week to give a most precious gift — the gift of life — by turning out for the Red Cross blood drive in town this week. The Bloodmobile will be setting up at the Vogel Field House in the New Ulm Rec Center on Wednesday from 1 to 7 p.m., on Thursday from 12 to 6 p.m. and on Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Red Cross blood supply is at a historic low, and continues to decline. It has dipped to levels where hospitals might be forced to hold off on essential blood and platelet transfusions for patients. Potential donors are urged to ...

Lawmakers need to address carjacking

For some reason, carjacking has become far more prevalent in Minnesota over the past year. The number of cases in Minneapolis rose 57 percent in 2021 over the previous year —619 in 2021 compared to 388 the year before. This is not just a Minneapolis problem. All Minnesotans should be concerned. Many of us travel to the Twin Cities for business, or recreation, or to visit family. We could be just as likely a target of carjackers as a Minneapolis native. Many of us have family in the Twin Cities, and we don’t need to worry about whether our loved ones are safe. Carjacking is a ...

Thumbs Up/Down

Right the first time Thumbs Down: Sen. Ted Cruz went groveling to Tucker Carlson Thursday, to apologize and seek forgiveness for describing what happened a year earlier as “a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol.” On Carlson’s show, he apologized, and said, “The way I phrased things yesterday, it was sloppy and it was frankly dumb.” No, Sen. Cruz, what you said was honest and accurate. Those who insist it was something else are the ones who should be apologizing. Masking up Sideways Thumb: Even as the Supreme Court held hearings Friday on whether President Joe ...

One of the great ones

More than 16 million American men and women served in World War II. Today there are only about 240,000 remaining. What brings that to mind is that this week the oldest surviving WWII veteran died. Lawrence N. Brooks, who served in the U.S. Army during the war, was 112 years old when he died Wednesday. Not only the oldest veteran, he was believed to be the oldest living man in the U.S. just three years younger than Thelma Sutcliffe of Omaha, Neb., who turned 115 on Oct. 1, 2021. Brooks served in the mostly Black 91st Engineer General Service Regiment and was stationed in Australia. He ...