Articles

Editorial: MCROC opening is a vital addition, MinnWest Tech gets a great partner

“Folks, this is a big deal.” — U of M Regent Dean Johnson The official opening of the University of Minnesota’s new Mid-Central Research and Outreach Center on the MinnWest Technology Campus is a significant development for Willmar and west central Minnesota.

• U of Minnesota logo

Editorial: It’s time to enforce the invasive species law

State and local officials across west central Minnesota are taking the issue of aquatic invasive species seriously in 2012.

Editorial: Thanks to mother for ‘Jacobs Law’ drive

Jacob’s Law is a signature away from becoming part of the law of the state of Minnesota.

Editorial: City needs to hire the Willmar law firm

The Willmar City Council is facing a decision Monday on the future of its city attorney position, with Rich Ronning retiring March 31. This is a critical position that currently handles the city’s civil and criminal legal manners.

Editorial: Congress is losing members quickly

The approval ratings of Congress and its members are at an all-time low. In fact, according to some recent polls, 11 percent of Americans approve of polygamy, while only 9 percent approve of Congress.

Editorial: Senator Kubly will be missed by state

Minnesota lost a legislator with a kind and passionate heart when Sen. Gary Kubly died Friday. He was both a friend of and a fighter for Granite Falls and rural Minnesota.

• Inside Scoop blog: Sen. Kubly’s compassion came from helping less fortunate
• Gary Kubly 1943-2012

Editorial: Sviggum should remove this conflict

Minnesotan Steve Sviggum needs to make a choice between his two jobs: University of Minnesota Regent or his position with the state Senate.

Editorial: MUC has decision to make Monday

The Willmar Municipal Utilities Commission Monday meets to consider an attorney’s report on an investigation of General Manager Bruce Gomm.

• Willmar Municipal Utilities logo
• Commentary: To the citizens of Willmar

Editorial: Freedom of Speech is a right to protect

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided Wednesday over the constitutionality of the 2006 law that makes it a crime to make false claims about military service and honors.

Cartoon by Mike Thompson

• Photo

Columns

Score one for consumers

To anyone who has felt trapped in a circle of bad service: If you haven’t heard the story of Mona Shaw, pull up a chair. The 75-year-old Virginian had ordered a much-advertised package of services from Comcast, her cable company. The installers failed to show up at their appointed time. They came by two days later but didn’t finish the job. Comcast subsequently cut off all her service.

Commentary: This gusher of earmarks a triumph of bipartisanship?

Hell bent on driving its approval rating into single digits, Congress adjourned after passing an omnibus spending bill larded with at least 8,993 earmarks costing at least $7.4 billion — the precise number and amount will be unclear until implications of some obscure provisions are deciphered. The gusher of earmarks was a triumph of bipartisanship, which often is a synonym for kleptocracy.

Commentary: Finally, a Christmas story to warm your heart

Frustrated with immigration posturing and tired of the mudslinging in Iowa, all the while trying to avoid thinking about Iran’s nuclear intentions, I was in the mood for a nice Christmas story that would warm the heart — a story about giving, sacrifice and good will toward our fellow man. I got all that and more thanks to the U.S. Navy, which — it turns out — will make house calls, or rather boat calls, when responding to an emergency at sea.

Commentary: It’s all tabloid politics

Floating crosses, love babies and hag photos. We’re all tabloid now. Two weeks before the Iowa caucuses, politics has gotten not just ugly but unseemly and cruel. If the human appetite for scandal and schadenfreude is satiable, the media haven’t gotten the word. Besides, in a dangerous world of war and terrorism, it’s far easier to speculate on sex lives and sensationalize religious belief than it is to evaluate whether jihad is coming to El Paso. This isn’t to blame American voters, but rather the media.

Old GOP would not have allowed such a scandal

The Mark Foley scandal makes one nauseous but also a little nostalgic. I’ve been wondering: Whatever happened to the GOP? It’s MIA. And if this scandal gets any worse for House Republicans, by next month’s election, they could be DOA.