A recent letter supporting marriage legislation “for propagation” included an unproven conclusion. It was cleverly constructed using this half-truth quoted from a website: “Stable, loving households will more frequently nurture children who become accomplished human beings and free responsible...

Over the next few days, Gov. Mark Dayton and state legislators will work to reach agreement on a plan to address our $5 billion budget deficit. As part of their “all cuts” plan, Republicans have proposed the deepest cuts in state history to higher education. If enacted, funding for public colleg...

I live along County No. 77, where construction has been underway since May 1. The construction company is Anderson Bros. of Brainerd. I had an appointment at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning and they were at work at the 371 stoplight. At 8:30, when I returned, I had to wait to join the one-way route back to...

On May 16, Gov. Dayton offered his budget compromise offer: half cuts, half revenue. The governor modified his tax proposal and now the proposed fourth tier bracket would go from $85,000 in taxable income for singles to $150,000 and from $150,000 in taxable income for couples to $250,000. Now Gov. D...

On Monday in Tornstrom after the annual Brainerd High School Senior Recognition program, a proud parent remarked “Look at all these givers!  They’re givers, not takers.  Look at all these givers!” The parent was referring to the presenters and the scholarships they represented. It fe...

April showers bring May flowers. This year it has been many showers but I haven’t seen flowers. Next Friday and Saturday, May 20 and 21, a very important flower will appear in the area of Brainerd-Baxter businesses. Our Veterans of Foreign Wars, also known as the VFW members, will be popping up ne...

Xcel Energy Inc. has canceled plans to fund EnXco Inc. to build the $400 million, 150 MW Merricourt wind farm in southeastern North Dakota. Xcel noted that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service expressed concern that two endangered bird species were at risk from the turbines.  Xcel has another g...

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I work as a Brainerd lakes area emergency medical responder and too many times I have seen the deadly results of traffic crashes when a person isn’t buckled up. I have also heard stories about crashes in which motorists claim a seat belt caused them injury or that a motorist survived a crash becau...

Why is the city of Baxter involved in Kuepers Inc. building Sprucewood Townhomes? City governments should not be involved in regulating housing projects, or raising taxes to pay for a single company’s project, or zoning, or permits, or regulating architecture. The state government should not issue...