The current legislative session is supposed to be an "Un-Session," according to Gov. Mark Dayton, a chance to clean up obsolete, confusing and redundant laws on the books.How about doing away with dangerous ones, too?Star Tribune columnist Jon Tevlin on Sunday highlighted the efforts of some ...
There are all sorts of possibilities for using unmanned drone aircraft to make our lives better. No pun intended, but the sky's the limit.Except in the United States. Here, the Federal Aviation Administration has decreed that there is to be no use of drones for commercial purposes.You can buy ...
Bad taxes repealedTHUMBS DOWN: Why did it take so long? The Minnesota Legislature on Friday finally repealed the business-to- business sales taxes that were passed last year. The Senate and House passed an omnibus tax bill that repeals sale taxes on farm equipment repairs and telecommunications ...
Russian leader Vladimir Putin and many other world leaders know how to use power. They understand diplomacy, military might and economics. Some use their personalities to exert pressure.President Barack Obama seems to comprehend none of this. Confronted by a crisis in Ukraine and a leader - ...
The Minnesota Legislature is in full swing with no lack of high-profile issues. How high will the minimum wage be raised? Will the sales taxes enacted on business-to-business transactions be repealed? Should marijuana be legalized for medical purposes? How these are resolved will have an impact ...
Jefferson Elementary School is a child-focused primary school located at 318 South Payne Street. Jefferson Elementary School is a Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 3 primary school with an enrollment of approximately 625 students. For the 2013-14 school year, there are seven sections of kindergarten ...
By an overwhelming margin, voters in the Crimea region of Ukraine agreed Sunday to separate and establish an independent nation. Russian President Vladimir Putin moved swiftly to recognize the new country.President Barack Obama reacted by announcing the U.S. is freezing assets in this country ...
When President Barack Obama took office, he promised Americans the most transparent administration in history. Just the opposite has occurred.The situation is getting worse, according to a study of the federal government's responses to requests for records. The Associated Press found that "the ...
No sooner do elected officials proclaim their regard for a free press and an informed public than they begin chipping away at their constituents' right to know. That has been the history of our states and nation.Seldom has the right to know been under a comprehensive assault such as has been ...
Apparently neither Attorney General Eric Holder nor his boss, President Barack Obama, are familiar with the concept of sending mixed messages.This week, Holder termed heroin use "an urgent and growing public health crisis." He is right about that.Between 2007 and 2012, heroin use in the United ...
Keep pressure on for Highway 14 fundsNew Ulmites and others who live along Highway 14 have been very vocal in pushing for funding for a Highway 14 four-lane expansion project. Our voices have had a good effect, with money approved last year for the Corridors of Commerce program that is funding ...
The Legislature is working on a beefed-up anti-bullying bill for the second year in a row. Minnesota's old anti-bullying in schools law is so wimpy it would spend most of its time stuffed in a locker if it had to walk the halls of most schools.But coming up with a tougher bill seems to be a lot ...
How did Adam Lanza go from being "just a normal little weird kid," in his father's words, to someone who "couldn't get any more evil"?Peter Lanza made the comments in a magazine story about his son, who slaughtered 20 children and six adults in a 2012 rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in ...
Editor's note: Randy Krzmarzick of Sleepy Eye writes a regular column for The Journal's editorial page. This week his column focuses on the tragic accident that claimed the lives of four young men in Sleepy Eye last Friday.By Randy KrzmarzickWhen I sit down to write, I think a lot about ...
In all likelihood, an Interior Department report last week was intended by President Barack Obama as another slap at conservatives in Congress. During the government "shutdown" last fall, he blamed them for all sorts of havoc.If the report on national parks during the shutdown was issued with ...
The Minnesota Legislature is taking a look at the laws that ban liquor sales on Sunday in the state. These are laws that harken back to a time when the Sabbath was observed throughout society. Sunday was a day for going to church and relaxing at home with the family.Over the years, however, ...
Public noticesTHUMBS UP: Good news from the Capitol last week when a committee decided not to vote on the bill that would give local governments the choice of taking public notices out of newspapers and putting them only on government websites.The decision to lay the bill over, the Minnesota ...
The Minnesota House quickly passed a major tax bill on Thursday, one that would provide real relief to Minnesota taxpayers as early as this year.The bill, which Gov. Mark Dayton said he hopes to sign by March 14, does two major things. First, it would repeal the onerous business-to-business ...
Gov. Mark Dayton's office unveiled a list of 1,000 items in state law that could be changed in the "un-session," such as the law requiring the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture to personally capture any wild boars running loose in St. Paul or Minneapolis. We wonder if Ag ...
U.S. officials' blustery but empty reaction to Russian intervention in Ukraine sums up failures in foreign policy by President Barack Obama and his administration. In effect, the White House has made the mistake of attempting to shoot first - with an empty gun - while not even asking questions ...