No bill emanating from Congress is perfect. Given the politics involved and the complexity of implementing seemingly simple ideas, that ought to be obvious. So it is with the comprehensive tax reform law enacted last year. It has been good for the vast majority of Americans. The surging ...
A Trump administration plan to freeze fuel efficiency standards of automobiles will turn back progress that has been made in reducing gas prices, reducing greenhouse gases and will likely disrupt the auto industry. Part of the plan also calls for prohibiting states from setting their own ...
Lots of trade war buzz at Farmfest THUMBS DOWN: Donald Trump’s trade war with China and the upcoming primary election gave everybody attending this year’s IDEAg Farmfest a lot more to talk about then just the newest equipment available to put out in the fields. There was a lot of buzz ...
Thousands of American families are awaiting bittersweet news in the wake of what, for them, was much more than a new chapter in the long history of tension between our country and North Korea. They want to know simply this: Are our loved ones’ remains among those returned recently by the ...
President Donald Trump is right that the United States needs an effective reaction to the militarization of outer space. He is wrong that we need to create a whole new bureaucracy to do that, however. Trump has said he wants to create a new branch of the military — a Space Force. That is ...
We tend to complain at the end of a legislative session when Minnesota legislators have failed to get their most important bills passed, but even in so-called “do-nothing” sessions, a lot of laws get passed that have quite a bit of impact on people. They are important laws and make a good ...
First, the president launched a trade war. Now he’s planning a $12 billion bailout to cover some of the financial damage — just the short-term financial damage — inflicted on farmers. What sense does this make? The White House announced Tuesday, in advance of President Trump's visit ...
Donating time for good causes THUMBS UP: It’s good to see southwest Minnesota residents step up and support organizations that are doing a lot of good in the area. Evidence of this generosity occurred Saturday during the annual Toys 4 Tots fun run that started in Amiret. Then on ...
Both the city of Ivanhoe and Lincoln County recently approved a tax abatement for a new Tyler business called Tyler Family Dental. A tax abatement is a temporary reduction or elimination of property taxes. It applies to real estate, or in some cases, the personal property that a local ...
Small towns across the U.S. are facing the same issues that prevent their citizens access to basic quality of life needs. You don’t have to look no further than right here in southwest Minnesota. The communities here are struggling to find answers to providing such needs such as: • ...
In 2014, then Assistant Lyon County Attorney Tricia Zimmer was quoted in the Marshall Independent encouraging a Southwest Community Drug Court graduate to keep working on his sobriety. “You really have come a long way,” Zimmer told the man only identified as Jeremy. “You’re on the ...
Why it matters: State population projections point to the need for immigrants to fill Minnesota job vacancies now and down the road. A recent visit to southwestern Minnesota by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis president reaffirms what many economic experts already had determined, but ...
FEMA takes the time to listen THUMBS UP: There have been a few horror stories reported through the years about the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s handling of U.S. natural disasters. But Wednesday's session inside the Lyon County Law Enforcement Center to collect information on ...
Most illegal immigrants come to the United States for economic opportunity. A few make the journey to escape political repression or crime. In many ways, what they do is entirely understandable — though, of course, immigration laws need to be enforced. Making their own homelands more ...
The family of Jacob Wetterling announced they will not appeal a court order to release the investigative files on one of the most publicized and horrible crimes in state history. Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped on Oct. 22, 1989 near his home in St. Joseph, and not until the summer of 2016 did ...
President Donald Trump tweeted Friday that farm prices have been on a downward trend for the past 15 years due to bad trade deals with other countries that put “massive Tariffs and Barries” on U.S. products. He said “Farmers will WIN!” in the trade war he has sparked. Actually, ...
Ag and rural areas must fight Trump Why it matters: Imposition of Chinese tariffs on U.S. pork and soybeans will have negative impacts on prices and farm income. The Mankato area is set to be stung particularly hard by President Donald Trump’s game of chicken with China as they impose ...
Back when word first leaked that Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort and Donald Trump Jr. had met with a Russian lawyer and others offering dirt on Hillary Clinton, President Trump seemed to think he was supplying an exculpatory cover story. Flying home from Germany on Air Force One, Trump reportedly ...
"Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Under the Constitution, these are the offenses for which presidents can be impeached. And to hear our elites, Donald Trump is guilty of them all. Trump’s refusal to challenge Vladimir Putin’s claim at Helsinki — that his ...
In the pursuit of peace and quiet THUMBS DOWN: A camper from the Twin Cities was looking for a “peace and quiet” tenting experience during the Fourth of July weekend. The camper, Kathy Murphy, went before the Murray County Board of Commissioners this week to complain about noise coming ...