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Language matters — we can do better

Letters

To the editor: I read with interest Representative Finstad’s letters to the EPA regarding actions to address nitrate contamination in public water systems and underground sources of drinking water in the First District. The petitioners included Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Environmental Working Group, Minnesota Well Owners Organization, Center for Food Safety, Clean Up the River Environment, Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Mississippi River, Izaak Walton League Minnesota Division, Land Stewardship Project, Minnesota Trout Unlimited, and Mitchell Hamline Public ...

Big divide not with right vs. left

Letters

To the editor: We’re a divided country, but it isn’t right vs. left or red vs. blue. The big divide is between the extremely powerful wealthy and the vast majority of Americans...US. Most Americans are way more alike than different. The powerful use lies, spin, fear mongering, manufactured crises, and propaganda to keep the rest of us distracted and sniping at each other while they amass more power, More wealth. Enough. United, we are even more powerful than they are. So, let’s take our power back. It must start with campaign finance reform. Check out the plan of former Minnesota ...

National Guard troops in U.S. cities alarming

Letters

To the editor: I am alarmed at seeing armed National Guard troops deployed into American cities — Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and next Chicago. This is purportedly about crime prevention, but it seems to me, it’s an attack on the poor and disenfranchised in our communities. We have historically tried to aid those more unfortunate than ourselves. Be kind, fellow Americans. Barbara Reilly New Ulm

A major mower malfunction

Columns

It was sad to see her go. We’d been together for so long — nearly twenty years — that she had come to seem like a member of the family. Time had clearly taken its toll; she didn’t have nearly the same levels of vim and vigor as in her younger days. But I still very much enjoyed her company, especially when I rode her on balmy summer afternoons. I was with her the other day when she began to hiccup uncontrollably. This was deeply concerning. But then, a few seconds later, she stopped and would move no more. Something deep inside me told me that something was deeply wrong with ...

Wildfire smoke signals growing climate crisis

Columns

Recently, a number of Republican members of Congress, including Minnesota Representatives Tom Emmer, Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber, sent a letter to the Canadian government, alleging that its poor forest management practices are responsible for out-of-control wildfires and for this summer’s air quality problems in the Midwest and Northeast. Notably, the letter fails to mention climate change. However, although fire-management practices can play a role in these megafires, climate change also has a profound impact. In the words of Natural Resources Canada: ...

Caring for my husband, battling his family

Columns

Dear Annie: I met my husband three years ago, about eight months after he lost his first wife of 20 years. Their marriage was often toxic, and she was very abusive toward him. After she passed, he was ready to move on. Right away, I knew something wasn’t right with my husband. In his mid-50s, he was having short-term memory issues, falling frequently and struggling with his mental health. After seeing his health care provider and enrolling in the Veterans Affairs health care system, we discovered he had suffered multiple traumatic brain injuries during his time in the Army. That ...