Music Hall of Fame

THUMBS UP: The Minnesota Music Hall of Fame is holding its annual induction ceremony next week, and once again the inductees they have selected reflect the eclectic styles of music that Minnesota inspires. The list includes Old Tyme, bluegrass, classic rock, jazz and liturgical music — something for everyone. The inductees include the Jolly Huntsmen polka band, bluegrass artist Becky Buller, early Minnesota rockers the Del Counts, Jazz musician Gwen Matthews and liturgical composer Fr. Jan Michael Joncas, whose new classic hymns include “On Eagles Wings” and other songs sung by congregations throughout the country. The Hall has exhibits on Minnesota musicians whose fame needs no embellishment, like Bob Dylan and Prince (see the new Prince exhibit at next Saturday’s showcase!), and those who have toiled in relative obscurity, but have still contributed and influenced others. Congratulations to MMHF and their new inductees.

Get ‘er done, MnDOT

THUMBS UP: The Minnesota Department of Transportation expects work to resume on the Highway 14 expansion project as soon as this Monday, weather permitting. And given the forecasts for warm weather this week, they should get off to a good start. Motorists in this area are so enthusiastic about the prospect of this expansion finally being completed that nobody seemed to be complaining at the open house held this past week in Courtland. What’s another few months of detours when the reward of a safer road is so close at hand? We look forward to October.

Walz’s action needed

THUMBS UP: Gov. Tim Walz took the highly unusual step on Thursday of overrulling Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and asking Attorney General Keith Ellison to take over the prosecution of two juveniles accused of the home invasion and murder of Zaria McKeever. Moriarty shocked McKeever’s family and others by offering the two, who are 15 and 17 years old, a plea deal in which they would be prosecuted as juveniles. Moriarty defends her decision based on the idea that the pre-frontal cortex, which controls behavior, idoesn’t fully develop until age 25, and that sending these young men to prison would expose them to more violent influences and turn them into more dangerous people when they come out. We have to agree with the governor on this one. Treating juveniles with more compassion and rehabilitation is a good idea, when they are committing less serious crimes. Hopefully they can be turned away from more violent and serious offenses. But these two young men committed murder, albeit at the behest of an older man who ordered them to attack his ex-girlfriend. The time to let them off with a slap them on the wrist is long past.