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Suni Lee steps up

We love to look for heroes in the Olympics. Every four years athletes who have been dedicating themselves to training and competition don the colors of their various countries and see who is the best. This year Americans were counting on Simone Biles, considered the greatest gymnast of all time, to be a hero, to bring back the gold in the women’s all around and lead the U.S team to victory. We all know how years of trying to meet high expectations became too much for Biles this week, forcing her to withdraw. But another hero was ready to step in. Suni Lee of St. Paul, who had been ...

Biles shows courage in Olympics withdrawal

We are used to seeing great athletes powering through obstacles and setbacks, even physical injuries, on their way to greatness. We celebrate them for their courage. But we rarely see them struggling with mental pressure and self doubt, the kind that can be more crippling than the kneed injury that Tiger Woods had when he won the U.S. Open in 2008, or the badly injured ankle that Kerri Strug had when she performed the final vault to clinch the team gymnastics gold medal for the USA in the 1996 Olympics. On Tuesday Simone Biles, possibly the all-time greatest women’s gymnast, pulled ...

Clean car standards are coming

It’s official. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has adopted the so-called California standard for tailpipe emissions, and will mandate that auto dealers get more zero-emission vehicles on their sales lots. The rules were published Monday in the Minnesota State Register. The rules won’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2024 which gives auto dealers and manufacturers some time to adjust. “These clean cars standards are a win across the board. With cleaner air, more car options, economic growth, and less money spent on foreign oil, every Minnesotan will benefit,” said Gov. Tim ...

COVID challenges keep changing

One of the criticisms used by coronavirus skeptics is that the advice from the government keeps changing. They quote what Dr. Anthony Fauci and other experts said in March 2020 and note how different their advice is today. “First they said masks won’t protect you. Then they said everyone should wear masks. Then they said everyone should be double-masked. Why should we believe anything they say?” Yes, the advice from the experts keeps changing as they learn more about COVID-19 and see how the vaccines are working and how the disease is progressing. It should change. We’d be more ...

Jan. 6 investigation must be held

The events of Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol are unprecedented. Never before has a mob broken into the nation’s capitol to disrupt Congress in the midst of its duties — the certification of the election of a U.S. president. This was an appalling event, one that is being described differently by different parties. Was it a mob of insurrectionists, or a group of patriotic citizens who got carried away? Were they trying to reverse the election or simply voice their opinion? Was it a attempt to keep power fomented by then President Donald Trump? These are the kinds of questions ...

Weather doesn’t respect borders

Perhaps you noticed the moon the last couple of nights with a reddish tint as it crept across the sky. No doubt you saw the haze in the morning air as you looked down the street, or across the valley. Meteorologists tell us the haze is being caused by wildfires burning in the West, affecting our air quality. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has been issuing air quality alerts the last couple of days as the haze descends. We are used to weather from Canada blowing across the border with no regard for the customs officials. Alberta Clippers have been whipping up snowstorms and ...