The right to vote

THUMBS UP: People should have the right to vote. Minnesotans who have been convicted of felonies lose that right as part of their sentence, but now they will regain the right when they leave jail. Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill Friday restoring the right to vote to people convicted of felonies once they have completed their imprisonment. Before, released convicts couldn’t vote until they had paid all fines and completed probation. For some, that meant they couldn’t vote for decades after their release. We think it’s only fair. A former convict who is working and paying taxes should have the right we all have to vote for their representative. “No taxation without representation” was a bedrock principle for our founding fathers..

Catalytic converters

THUMBS UP: Despite claims by some legislators that a new law regarding catalytic converter theft won’t solve the problem, we applaud legislators who passed it. Catalytic converter theft has been a rampant problem inflicting major expense on its victims. The state is making it harder for thieves to sell stolen converters by prohibiting scrap dealers from buying converters that are not attached to a vehicle unless it has identifing marks, like the VIN number of the car it came from. Critics say it won’t stop the problem posed by organized gangs who will steal and smuggle converters out of state, but this law is a good start. If other legislators come up with ideas to stop the organized gangs, we should pass those too.

Bockfest

THUMBS UP: The 36th annual Bock Fest takes place this weekend at the August Schell brewery. We salute the care Schell’s takes to put on a fun event were people can celebrate responsibly. Combining a few thousand people with beer could be problematic, but we have rarely heard of problems arising from Bock Fest.

National Merithonors

THUMBS UP: Congratulations to Isaiah Carlovsky and Isaiah Rogotzke, two Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School seniors who were informed this week that they are finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Corporation competition. Out of millions who take the test each year, only 16,000 make it to semi-finalist status, and fewer still are finalists. This is a signal accomplishment.