Supporters of the Crow Wing County Human Rights Commission might easily have been alarmed at Wednesday’s headline that spoke to the panel’s possible demise. Yet the dissatisfaction with the board’s status quo might actually lead to a rejuvenated and improved panel....

We hate to be the ones to break it to you, but as a community, the Brainerd lakes area is not getting any younger.  However, just because baby boomer retirees and soon-to-be retirees are transitioning from the working world to a less hectic pace doesn’t mean they aren’t going to continue to...

There’s strength in numbers and that applies to maximizing buying power for governmental units as well.  Five Brainerd area units of government wisely banded together for more purchasing power in hopes that taxpayers will realize savings. The five units involved in the joint powers agreement ...

There’s no indication why Brainerd received the honor but we’re certainly pleased with the Minnesota Supreme Court’s announcement that it will hear oral arguments at Tornstrom Auditorium Oct. 12. The judicial system is the least understood of our state’s three branches of government and anyt...

  How does a school district pass a levy referendum in the current economic climate? The stock markets are in disarray. The economy is in the doldrums. Unemployment continues to be high. Minnesota is still recouping from a lengthy government shutdown brought upon by budget problems.  How d...

If the prolonged debate regarding the raising of the nation’s debt ceiling had any positive effect it was an increased awareness of government spending and what that spending means for our future. Even though opposition to raising the debt limit threatened to shake the nation’s already shaky eco...

Soon, the Brainerd School Board will have to make a decision as to whether it will ask district residents to support an operating levy referendum. The district’s current local levy revenue of $199 per pupil unit expires at the end of the 2011-12 school year. The deadline to decide on whether to go...

Call it a good neighbor policy. Just as good neighbors help each other out by occasionally sharing tools or other household items, the cities of Baxter and Brainerd entered into a service sharing agreement last week. By doing so, the two governments demonstrated they’re more interested in efficien...

The well-intended effort on the part of three seasoned political leaders to end Minnesota’s government shutdown seems doomed from the start.  A bipartisan commission’s ideas of how to fix the structural problems of Minnesota’s finances might have been useful at the outset of this legislat...

Cass County Commissioner Neal Gaalswyk had every right to be incensed recently at both the attitude and actions of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.  No stranger to the government nor to the idea of voicing his opinion, Gaalswyk was a longtime Crow Wing County deputy who also served a sti...