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Letters

Finstad’s quip is not enough

To the editor: Mr (U.S. Rep. Brad) Finstad: While your quip regarding the Department of Education at the April 2025 CCW Convention was quick (“The Department of Education doesn’t actually education anyone.”), it is inaccurate nor does it address the work this department is required to do. The Department of Education educates and provides funding to educate teachers. The Department of Education educates and supports parents, teachers, state Departments of Education, local school district administration and the public on providing education for the most vulnerable children with ...

Waste – what is the definition?

To the editor: Mr (U.S. Rep. Brad) Finstad said he is proud to vote for the Recessions Act as an act to eliminate “waste”. Perhaps I don’t understand the waste in SNAP and Public Media. I understand fraud and improved efforts to see financial assistance gets to the people who need it. I understand focused funding to provide priority educational efforts. Perhaps I need the definition of waste used by Mr Finstad in this context. Perhaps Mr Finstad didn’t mean to use the word “waste”. But he did. What else is a “waste”? What else can we look forward to being ...

There can be but one explanation

To the editor: I’ve been an interested observer for several years to find out some truths about pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and as an avid critic of the president and his party, I’ve waited patiently to find out more about Epstein’s client list and details about his apparent suicide while in the custody of 45’s department of justice. With Epstein’s favorite girlfriend/procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell, behind bars for her role in Epstein’s shenanigans, (Hmmm…A woman is the only person being punished. Give her another twenty years.) the scandalous list detailing Epstein’s ...

Urge lawmakers to save our libraries

To the editor: I am writing on behalf of the New Ulm Public Library Board to call attention to the critical importance of including library funding in next year’s federal budget for FY26. The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding supports libraries of all types through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and its grant programs, including direct-to-state grants. We urge our legislators to reinstate funding for IMLS, including LSTA funding, and to support the reauthorization of the Museum and Library Services Act of 2018. Among other important services, ...

Affirmative Action the reason for lack of experience in top-level positions

To the editor: I recently read a news article about why things went wrong in the performance of U.S. Secret Service at the Butler, Pennsylvania assassination attempt on Trump. It was noted that “pre-existing issues in leadership and training created an environment” in which the failures could occur, like giving significant responsibilities to Secret Service personnel with little to no experience in advanced planning roles. It also noted a lack of coordination and planning between the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners.”  In my employment experience, “little to ...

Stolen from my father’s grave

To the editor: To the person who stole the cardinal solar light from my dad’s grave at Soldier’s Rest in the New Ulm Cemetery on Memorial Day: You didn’t just take a garden ornament. You took something deeply symbolic, a light placed with love, in remembrance and honor of my dad. The moment I saw it was gone, I felt sick. That light wasn’t expensive, but it had deep meaning. A cardinal — a symbol of hope, presence, and love – chosen specifically for my dad. Stealing from a veteran’s grave is beyond disrespectful. It violates not only the memory of the person buried ...