To the editor:

Why is Dan Feehan trying to make political hay out of Springfield’s misfortune? And why is The Journal giving him a license to do it?

Having just read an article that found the Mayo Clinic is expected to record $1 billion in annual income this year, it was pretty sad to hear that it is closing the Springfield hospital and clinic and Lamberton clinic.

More sad is that Dan Feehan is trying to turn our hardship into a political opportunity, attempting to blame Congressman Jim Hagedorn and Congress for Mayo’s decision.

If Springfield losing its hospital and clinic is truly a failure of Congress, then why didn’t The Journal go all in trying to get reaction from Washington? Did it attempt to speak with Congressman Hagedorn? What blame do Senators Klobuchar and Smith share in the closing?

Or did The Journal just copy and paste Feehan’s reaction because his staff was organized enough to quickly send out a press release?

The reality is Congress is not to blame. Mayo made a business decision and, for the two thousand people living in Springfield and the dozens of employees who will soon be without a job, it’s a very bad one.

But as I’m traveling to and from New Ulm to my next doctor’s appointment, Lord knows my drive will be made much easier knowing that Dan Feehan is devastated that the Springfield clinic is closing and is blaming Congress for it.

Doug Wenisch

Springfield