From rescue to recovery in Florida

July 8, 2021

The hardest thing to lose is hope, especially in a situation like that in Surfside, Florida, where a 12-story condominium collapsed on June 24. The families of those missing have been hoping against hope that their loved ones somehow have managed to find some space and survive. But recovery officials have come to the conclusion that there’s little chance of finding more survivors, and the operation has turned from search and rescue to recovery. The searchers continue to find bodies of people, most of whom were asleep in bed when the collapse occured. Fifty-four bodies have been ...

Donation spurring city into action

July 7, 2021

The New Ulm City Council tabled a decision on where to place a Vietnam Veterans memorial in New Ulm at its meeting Tuesday. The decision was brought about by an anonymous donor willing to pay for the memorial to the six New Ulm men killed in action in Vietnam. The donor stipulated the memorial should be placed in German Park. The upshot of Tuesday’s discussion at the council meeting was not whether to have a memorial, but where to have it. Councilors all agreed that having a memorial to our Vietnam heroes is a wonderful idea, but there have been critics who feel German Park may not ...

Cyber criminals grow more brazen

July 6, 2021

Over the 4th of July weekend, a cybercriminal gang of thieves struck again, delivering the largest global ransomware attack on record, one affecting thousands of organizations in 17 countries. The attacks are tying up their computers, and the criminals are demanding millions in ransom. This attack is sophisticated, and designed to reach the maximum number of victims. Instead of targeting single companies, it targeted firms that manage the IT security of other companies. By hacking them, the attackers could access the systems of companies those IT management firms service. What makes ...

Thumbs Up/Down

July 3, 2021

Celebrate safely THUMBS UP: The 4th of July is here, and if you aren’t ready to celebrate after the year we’ve all just been through, go back to bed. Last year, 4th of July celebrations were stifled by the coronavirus. Big gatherings were verboten and family picnics were a lot less fun with people wearing masks and standing six feet apart. This year we can afford to relax and celebrate. That being said, let’s celebrate safely. Please don’t blow your fingers off with cherry bomb, and let’s all drive safely. And that means don’t drink and drive. Let’s celebrate our ...

Rules of justice can be strict

July 2, 2021

One of the hardest things to imagine about our system of justice is how stringently the rules must be applied. In the U.S. criminal justice system, the defendants are considered innocent until the state can prove them guilty, and the burden of proof can be burdensome. There are rules for gathering evidence, rules for handling evidence, rules for how the accused has to be handled or questioned or even if he can be questioned. If those rules are violated, a defendant, even one who is most certainly guilty, has to be set free. So it it with Bill Cosby, accused of drugging and raping ...

Down to the wire

July 1, 2021

The Minnesota Legislature was cutting it close, as usual, on Wednesday. While most of the state’s budget bills have been passed and signed, legislators were still working on an education funding bill that will pump $1.2 billion more into the state’s classrooms over the next four years. This is money that will be going to school districts largely through the general fund formula, giving school districts the ability to spend it where they need it. We hope they passed it by midnight last night to prevent repercussions in school programs this year. One thing the Republicans managed to ...