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Letters to the Editor

Discerning candidates’ values

As we go to the polls on Nov 3, we should assess the candidates we vote for and, party aside, consider whether they share our values. Remember one of many values John F. Kennedy stood for: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what can you do for your country.” The most basic value we expect from our officeholders is public service. Not self-service. Our President is taking from our country for himself. His tariff policies have hit farmers hard, destroying a marketplace that took years to build and escalating the price of farmers’ input costs which cripples the average ...

Supporting Filipovich for state auditor

I am writing in support Zack Filipovich for state auditor. First off, Zack is the only accountant in this race which makes him well qualified for the position. The job of state auditor is a very serious position and we need someone who is not only qualified but also trust worthy since it oversees how tax dollars are spent. The office is about local communities and listening to those local communities and that is something Zack has demonstrated while showing up all over the state. He is a proven leader, public servant, and has served greatly on the Duluth City Council. It seems that ...

Seifert a young man with experience

It is always interesting to read candidate information before an election. A public forum article contrasting the two Senate candidates for District 15 appeared in the Independent, Tuesday, Oct. 13. The writer wrote in support of a “well qualified woman on the ballot.” This candidate, Andrea Boettger of New Ulm has 47 years of experience on various councils and boards and presently serves as the “Chair of the Region Nine development Commission.” Running for the same senate position is Braxton Seifert of Marshall, “just getting started as a 21-year-old.” The letter ...

Supporting well qualified woman on the ballot

I tuned in to the New Ulm League of Women Voters District 15 Candidate Forum recently. There was quite a contrast between the two Senate candidates in Andrea Boettger and Braxton Seifert. Boettger has accomplished much in her 47 years while Seifert is just getting started as a 21-year-old. Boettger was well spoken and showed that she has done the homework in preparation for representing us in the Minnesota Senate. She has excelled as the President of the very active and forward-looking New Ulm City Council. She is on the Board of Directors of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities ...

Make Minnesota great again

Do we elect politicians to represent us? Or do we elect politicians to create programs that take our property and give it to those to whom it does not belong? Nearly half to two thirds of the Minnesota budget provides benefits to citizens and non-citizens that are “dependent” on a government program. Unauthorized legislation by the people we elect requires the taxpayers to provide these benefits. There is no clause in the U.S. Constitution that grants authority to Congress to provide benevolence; therefore, the states do not have that authority. The congress of the United ...

Leveling the playing field

The reality is we live in a world of plenty. The sad reality is that “the plenty” is held in the hands of a select few who want to keep it that way. Far too many people struggle to simply survive from day to day while a well-oiled machine wants us to think that things like health care, Social Security, and public education are entitlements not investments for the common good. Meanwhile over the last 50 years, there has been a massive wealth grab, 79 trillion from the bottom 90% to the top 1%. If we the people begin to call out the senseless imbalance, we are labeled extremist. ...