These are incredibly toxic political times. It is practically impossible to have a discussion anymore on a political issue or a political candidate with someone who holds a different view, or favors a different candidate than you without sparking a heated argument. This is a polarized society, ...
If last week’s announcement that Russian and Iranian operatives are using technology once again to influence U.S. politics came as a surprise, you clearly have not been paying attention. That makes you preferred prey, by the way. We were warned in advance of the 2016 election of how the ...
Schools staying ahead of COVID-19 THUMBS UP: Information from Brown County Public Health and District 88 indicates the schools in New Ulm are doing a good job of dealing with COVID-19. Superintendent Jeff Bertrang reported to the District 88 board this week that 14 students and five staff ...
Voter interest is always high in Brown County, where turnout percentages traditionally rank high in the state, especially during presidential years. This year, voters are not about to be deterred by COVID-19 fears. Voters are turning in their absentee ballots at a good pace. According to the ...
Earlier this week, Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature announced that if voters give them the majority in House and Senate this coming year, they will undo all the COVID-19 emergency orders that Gov. Tim Walz has issued since last March, and trust the people to do what is right to keep ...
After the first presidential debate took on the aspect of a tag team wrestling match where the referee gets knocked out, the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates has discovered the mute button for this week’s second and final debate. To prevent some of the verbal clashes of the ...
We Americans, collectively, were not ready for the coronavirus epidemic. We ought to be ready for the recovery. It will begin when a vaccine against COVID-19 becomes available. Though a timeline for that is uncertain, it appears safe, effective vaccines will be available early next year. ...
It is doubtful the late Sen. Everett Dirksen, R-Ill., would have foreseen a time when a bit of sarcasm attributed to him would become obsolete. Sometime during the 1960s, it is said, Dirksen warned against apathy regarding the national debt by commenting, “A billion here and a billion ...
German Park bonding benefit THUMBS UP: German Park is the beneficiary of a $300,000 grant from included in the state bonding bill that passed the Senate on Thursday and awaits Gov. Walz’s signature. The money will finance the construction of the shade element of the amphitheater project, ...
The Minnesota House of Representatives has broken through the partisan logjam and voted to approve a state bonding bill late Wednesday night. The $1.9 billion bill was approved in short order by the Minnesota Senate on Thursday, and will almost certainly be signed by Gov. Tim Walz. This bill ...
Well, so much for questions about whether enormous mistakes may occur in handling presidential election ballots. One already has. It was reported last week that nearly 50,000 — 50,000! — voters in Franklin County, Ohio, received incorrect mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 election. The ...
The recent presidential and vice presidential debates have, rightly, put a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue has been politicized for some time now, and so the race for the presidency would not be expected to be immune. Last week’s vice presidential debate between Republican Mike ...
When will we have an effective, safe, vaccine against COVID-19? That depends. Federal public health officials who are in the know and without any political agendas have said deliveries of vaccine can be expected sometime in January. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services predicts a ...
If the authorities are correct in their allegations against a group accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the 13 men ought to be viewed with a mixture of horror and disgust. Real Americans do not attempt to change either society or government by force. Those who do so, ...
Fischer will be missed THUMBS UP: Lisa Fischer resigned from the New Ulm City Council this week, when she and the city discovered she was inadvertently in violation with a clause in the city charter, which prohibits a council member or an immediate family member from holding a paid position ...
Knowing how many people live where in the United States is more than a matter of satisfying curiosity or writing books on demographics and geography. The Census conducted every decade has enormous ramifications. How about $1.5 trillion in federal funding is doled out to localities and states, ...
President Donald Trump on Tuesday called off negotiations with Democrats in Congress on a COVID-19 relief bill until after the Nov. 3 election. The president accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of not negotiating in good faith, and said that after the election, “after I win, we will pass a ...
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of murder in the death of George Floyd in May has posted a bond for $1 million in bail and has been released from state prison pending his trial. Gov. Tim Walz, acting out of “an abundance of caution,” activated the Minnesota ...
There are some who had hoped that President Donald Trump’s coming down with COVID-19 would impress upon him the seriousness of the disease and get him to at least start wearing a facemask. But once he got back to the White House on Monday, off came the mask for a photo op and off he strolled, ...
Many sectors of the U.S. economy continue a slow but steady recovery from the COVID-19 slowdown. By the end of September, the unemployment rate had dropped to 7.9%, down from 8.4% in August. But some businesses — and millions of their employees — continue to struggle. In addition, a ...