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Opinion

Follow virtues of faith, hope, love; avoid hate

Letters

To the editor: A letter to the editor from Burnsville June 13 refers to reducing hate. It is so important to voice your opinion on the world situation. Misunderstanding and confusion create a greater need for working together to solve not just the world’s problems short term, but long term problems. Discussion is good, it relieves frustration and shows we are all human and want the best for our country. President Trump has projected strength and love of country by discussion and negotiation with many other countries. Trump demonstrates partnership in finding a common goal for ...

Celebrating a birthday during complicated times

Columns

Happy birthday to us! Next Saturday, our country will be 250 years old. I have been around for seventy of those. So, I’ve seen some things. We are just back from a trip to Europe. One of the advantages of traveling is perspective. Looking at America from across the ocean is like astronauts looking at Earth from space. It’s lovely, with a gauzy surface, and it looks a bit fragile. Ben Franklin was asked during the Constitutional Convention. “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” He replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” 250 years later, ...

Thumbs up/down

Editorials

THUMBS UP Human Rights Award impressive honor On Wednesday, the New Ulm Human Rights Commission (HRC) held its annual Human Rights Award ceremony. Each year the award is given to individuals or groups that contribute to the advancement of human rights in the community. In recently years, the HRC has expanded the number of recipients. This year the award was given to three recipients — Ali Gibbs, Betty Uehling and The Grand Center for Arts and Culture. The Human Rights Award is an impressive and honorable award to receive. It was pointed out during the award ceremony the HRC was ...

Understanding the future of AI

Letters

To the editor: AI, friend or foe? Probably both, but I tend to lean more toward foe. I just read in the 4 June issue of AAAS ‘Science’ that there is now a narrowing window for being able to understand AI’s inner workings because: 1. AI systems are now designed and refined by AI through recursive cycles that out pace human understanding. 2. AI to AI interactions are highly connected and complex and becoming increasingly hard for humans to interpret. 3. AI is building increasingly detailed models of human behavior and psychology. So as our understanding of AI ‘decreases’, ...

Farmers suffering under Trump’s policies

Letters

To the editor: The Trump Administration, with Brad Finstad’s enthusiastic support, is dismantling the Department of Agriculture, hurting Minnesota farmers. New tariffs closed export markets Minnesota farmers rely on for revenue, the Iran War has caused skyrocketing operational and input costs causing farmers’ profits to fall, and reorganization at USDA is compromising research that supports agricultural innovation. Minnesota has lost1300 farms, thousands of acres of farmland have been taken out of production, and farm bankruptcies have skyrocketed.  To further the ...

News outlets need to report all sides

Letters

Dear editor: It seems that the journalists are beginning to feel pressure, and in some cases, the ramifications, of telling news that does not portray the president in rosy terms, his terms. We, the people, expect, our nationwide, and local, news outlets, to report what is actually happening, not just what the White House wants us to hear. Our democracy is based on “free speech.” If major news outlets do not continue to report all sides of the issues we face, without fear of retribution, how can we make informed decisions? Our country has thrived on the result of varied thoughts, ...