Bus trip tripped up

THUMBS DOWN: A special bus trip to the Minnesota State Capitol to lobby legislators on the crisis in nursing homes had to be canceled for Monday. It is Sovreignty Day at the Capitol, and all legislators will be in a mandatory joint session of the House and Senate so leaders of the 11 Native American nations in Minnesota can raise awareness of their issues. We are sure their needs are many and pressing, but so are the needs of the nursing home industry in the state. Nursing homes are unable to pay enough to keep nursing staff because the state ties nursing home rates to the state’s Medicaid rates, and the Legislature has not kept up with the needs of the nursing homes. The organizers of the bus trip are hoping to reschedule. When they do, it would be nice if legislators would give the same attention to our state’s senior citizens as it does to the state’s sovereign nations and hold a joint session where all the state’s long-term care facilities can state their case. Since that is not likely to happen, we hope the committee chairs and leaders on health issues will pay attention. Be sure to write to your legislators and to legislative leaders to voice your concerns about the need for nursing homes now and in the future.

COVID anniversary

THUMBS DOWN: Today is an unhappy anniversary. March 11, 2020, was the day the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 was a pandemic. Two days later the Trump administration declared a nationwide emergency, and states soon followed suit. We all know what followed – two years of sheltering at home, the shutdown of non-essential businesses, bars and restaurants, schools rushing to set up remote instruction systems while kids stayed home, mask mandates, etc. Three years, 105 million cases and 1,148,391 deaths later, COVID is still around, in variant forms. We have vaccines, tests, and medications to help fight the disease, and for many of us life has headed back to a semblance of normalcy. We may never be clear of the COVID virus, but the days of thousands of newly infected patients jammed into overpacked hospitals and thousands of deaths per day seem to be behind us. Here’s hoping for better days.

Farm Show get-together

THUMBS UP: One sign of our return to normalcy is the resumption of get-togethers like the New Ulm Farm-City Hub Club’s Farm Show, continuing today at the New Ulm Civic Center. For years the Farm Show was one of the local signs of spring, an exposition of the many businesses serving agriculture. After the farm show, it wouldn’t be long before plowing and planting would start. During COVID, such exhibitions were banned as dangerous “spreader events.” We’re glad the tradition is continuing this year.