GFW referendum

SIDEWAYS THUMB: The Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop School Board approved a school bond referendum this week. The referendum, to be held in November, will decide whether the district can sell bonds to build a new pre-K through 12th grade school in the Gibbon area, at an estimated cost of $50.8 million.

The board went through several motions different alternatives – whether is should be two schools or one, whether it should be located in one of the other communities in the district — before settling on the one-school option in Gibbon. The district currently has three schools — an elementary, a middle school and a high school with one in each of the three communities.

The school board is going to have a difficult task selling the district’s citizens on this. Besides the prospect of losing a school in two of the three communities, the issue of cost is sure to be a factor, especially in a heavy farming area.

People will need to be sold on the future benefits to the school district and the students in the years ahead.

MNLARS fix

THUMBS DOWN: It hasn’t even taken effect yet, but the Minnesota Licensing and Registration System (MNLARS) law, which will reimburse local DMV offices for their losses during the rollout of the failed state system, seems to be in need of fixing.

Rep. Paul Torkelson said he will introduce legislation in the next session to ensure that these payments to the registrars will be tax exempt. It is bad enough that they had to bear the brunt of the cost of this system failure. To have to pay tax on the reimbursement payments is adding insult to injury.

Lay off military

THUMBS DOWN: Reprehensible is the only word for a pair of tweets issued by DFL Party workers this week, labeling the work of the military as “murder.” Earlier this week DFL State Party deputy communications director Will Davis referred to a new U.S. Navy combat ship, the USS Minneapolis-St. Paul as a “murder boat,” earning a rebuke from Gov. Tim Walz and a demotion from the party. Later, a Sixth Congressional District DFL volunteer responded to a tweet from Republican Representative Tom Emmer congratulating his son for joining the Marines. The volunteer responded, “Can’t wait to hear about all the Iranian civilians he murdered.” The volunteer has resigned.

Insulting the military for political purposes is indeed reprensible and dishonorable.