Opinion

Letter to the Editor: When my husband was offered a banking position in Redwood Falls and the bank president gave us a tour of the community, one item stood out above everything else in our minds – the small town of Redwood Falls cared about its children. The middle school/high school/community center were absolutely amazing, the public library and its programs impressive, a new aquatic center was on the docket, walking trails spread throughout our beautiful park, ball fields and sand volleyball courts were filled with young people… we were thrilled to move here with our three children at the time – 8th, 5th and 2nd graders.

This is a response to the Mar. 2, ‘Pipelines before people…’ It states: 1.

To the editor: I think the taxpayers are missing one major point. The 'Vote Yes' people who are pushing to get the new elementary school built, are not thinking of the students.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Justice Programs (OJP) distributes approximately $54 million annually in state and federal funds to programs across Minnesota providing services to crime victims. The Minnesota OJP has informed all current grantees, including WRAP (Women’s Rural Advocacy Programs), that all states are receiving VOCA reductions. This is happening when crime victims need it most. VOCA was created by Congress in 1984 and established the Crime Victims Fund (CVF). The CVF is not funded by tax dollars. Instead, it comes from fines and fees from federal crime convictions. From there, Congress distributes the funding from CVF and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) based on a population-based formula to all states and territories.

CURE CURE (Clean Up the River Environment) is arguing that there is nothing hypothetical about Summit Carbon Solutions’ (Summit) plans for an extensive CO2 pipeline network in Minnesota. On Monday, Feb.

Whether one believes in climate change or the risks that our current weather patterns have on our environment, one must understand the more imminent threat knocking on the door of our MniSota prairie homes. While we have always relied on our Indigenous knowledge in understanding and living in balance with the natural forces, basic science also indicates that greenhouse gasses from the extraction industry (oil and gas) cause shifts in weather patterns.

A proposal that’s been working its way through committees, and is soon to be on the Senate floor, is the Democrats’ driver’s licenses for all legislation. This bill already passed out of the House of Representatives, and Governor Walz has indicated that he will sign it into law.