Governor Tim Walz took steps to bring the state’s Department of Human Services under better control Monday by naming Jodi Harpestead as the new commissioner of DHS. There has been turmoil in the massive state agency since last month, when the commissioner Walz first appointed, former state ...
To the editor: Saturday will be an opportunity to see and hear some of the best musicians to be in the Marshall area since the Schwan 50th anniversary celebration when Chicago was in town. Pablo Cruise will take the stage around 9:30 p.m. after opening acts Patrick Mahoney and Matt Vee and ...
To the editor: The United States, Mexico and Canada Agreement (USMCA), was about 1,800 pages when President Donald Trump signed the bill, last November at a G-20 Summit. As of August 2019, the same legislation has grown to just over 2,300 pages. Perhaps you’ve talked with lawmakers or ...
To the editor: We are living in a time when we face many challenges and need to nurture understanding and compassion to transform hateful divisiveness that turns us against each other. CoreCivic, a private company, has submitted two proposals to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ...
To the editor: I was just thinking today as I read the Constitution and some of the letters and writings of the Founders. Is there a delegation of elected or appointed men and women of today that could sit at a convention, such as the first convention that debated and wrote our Constitution, ...
To the editor: In Congress, July 4, 1776, 56 men signed “The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.” In a recent article published in the Independent, July 2, 2019, it was reported that a woman activist used phrases from Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration to ...
To the editor: Early in 2016, the United States came under attack by the Russian Army targeting the highest level of our government, the presidency. The purpose of the attack was to benefit the candidate, Donald Trump, favored by Russian President Vladimir Putin and to harm the candidacy of ...
To the editor: July 4, 1776, 243 years ago, the “Declaration of Independence” was adopted by Congress. Why did they declare this independence from the England? Was it declared so we could have a long weekend in the summer to take vacations, have barbecues and shoot off fireworks? ...
To the editor: I seriously doubt that the Minnesota Department of Transportation will complete the ten-years-overdue resurfacing of state Highway 23 Granite-to-Cottonwood in one season. That stretch is 18 miles and three of them are four-lane divided highway, which makes 21 miles of regular ...
To the editor: “Those who call themselves Christians, i.e., followers of Jesus, should note there is no reference in the Gospels to Jesus having said or done anything concerning abortion.” This statement was made in a Public Forum letter, “Don’t fall for political noise in dealing ...
To the editor: Abortion is the issue that keeps on giving to cynical politicians who milk the issue for money and votes. They are drawn to it like maggots to a festering wound. It’s all about heat and no light, about opposing sides screaming at each other across an ideological abyss. ...
To the editor: The Constitution was proposed, debated and written by elected representatives from each of the thirteen original states for the purpose of creating a Federal Government with enumerated “limited” powers. How “limited” is the Federal Government today? How far beyond ...
To the editor: Growing up in rural Minnesota the vast number of cornfields are apparent, but today in Greater Minnesota there is an extreme need for oral healthcare professionals. This is because many dentists are retiring and few new graduates working outside the big city after dental ...
To the editor: I want to respond positively to Roger Baumann’s defense of the Electoral College in his letter to the editor in the May 23 Independent, though I am outraged by Mr. Trump and the thoughtless chaos he has wrought over the past two plus years. His reign is definitely not ...
It is becoming more obvious that the Democrat Party is desperate to complete their “progressive” agenda to destroy the Constitutional republic our Founding Fathers gave us by any means possible. They are angry at we, the people, for not putting their “anointed” Hillary into the ...
To the editor: Republicans say we can't afford 20 cents per gallon gas tax to fix our roads. Gas has gone up 80 cents per gallon since January. Obviously, we can afford to give 80 cents extra per gallon to the oil companies without Republican outrage. The gas tax is a dedicated fund going ...
To the editor: Minnesota drivers licenses will now have the option to let people identify themselves as “non-gender” which will be marked ‘X’ instead of male or female. One legislator commented: “Will this change hamper law enforcement’s ability to properly identify suspects, or ...
To the editor: When I moved to Marshall after graduating college, I was excited and nervous to move across the state to a community I did not know. What I found when I got here was more than I could have hoped for. I had several college friends who scattered across the state; they felt ...
To the editor: We are writing this letter to inform the community about the early childhood needs addressed in the upcoming Marshall Public Schools referendum. Education is a vital part of a great community and we want the best possible opportunities for our children. As we work with our ...
To the editor: The first definition given for “faith” in the World Book Dictionary, is “a believing without proof; trust.” Synonyms are “confidence, reliance.” An Independent reader recently objected to Christian beliefs being expressed on the opinion page in an article ...