In recent weeks Minnesota has made national headlines, and it’s caused negative impressions among many people who’ve never visited our state.

I want to respond by listing everything I can think of that’s good about it. I can’t do that because it would take the entire editorial page. I’ll settle for listing 50 of the most famous things.

For starters we have Twins, Vikings, Wild, Timberwolves and Lynx. We have the Mayo Clinic, Fort Snelling, Minnehaha Falls, and the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Then there’s Red Wing Shoes, the Watkins spice factory in Winona, and the Schwan Food Company that was based in Marshall.

Next there’s a need to mention the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth Harbor, Glensheen Mansion, Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock Lighthouse on the North Shore, and Grand Portage at the tip of the Arrowhead.

In the far north we have the Iron Range, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, the Border Bob’s store in International Falls on the border with Canada, Voyageurs National Park, and the Itasca headwaters of the Mississippi River.

Speaking of rivers I have to mention the St. Croix, the Minnesota and the Red River. We also have the headwaters of the Des Moines River at Lake Shetek in Murray County.

Let’s talk about lakes. Some of the most famous in the assortment of 10,000 are Lake Mille Lacs, Gull Lake, Lake Minnetonka, Lake of the Woods and Lake Pepin (the birthplace of water skiing).

For the arts there’s the Guthrie, the Ordway, the Old Log Theater in Excelsior and the Chanhassen Dinner Theater. There’s First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, which was home to the rock star Prince. Among the many outdoor sites are the University of Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum, the Pipestone rock quarries and the Gunflint Trail north of Duluth.

We shouldn’t forget about Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. We should remember literary icons like Sinclair Lewis and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Minnesota is home to many recent writers such as Bill Holm, Howard Mohr, and Garrison Keillor.

We all remember Judy Garland’s acting career, especially her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. The music of Bob Dylan also stands the test of time with fans from several different generations.

Lastly but not least we’re the home of two vice presidents, Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale. If Paul Wellstone hadn’t died in a 2002 plane crash near Eveleth he might have at least been another vice president. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is a current contender.

I’ve named more than 50 things and people. It was easy. It almost wrote itself. I think I proved something by compiling it. Minnesota has a lot of reasons to show that it’s a vibrant state.

I’m not trying to downplay the recent issue of human services fraud. It should be reported. I just question the way it was done.

We had upstart self serving online journalists who played up the idea of a Somalian conspiracy. They’ve fueled wild speculation that House member Illhan Omar and Gov. Tim Walz are somehow involved. They’re even worse when it comes to numbers.

I’ve heard people spread rumors that it was as high as $30 billion. The figure used by a reliable Republican panelist on a Twin Cities PBS program of $700 million is much closer to the truth.

The best step now is to try to prosecute the fraud. It didn’t have to cause an Immigration and Customs Enforcement invasion with 2,000 agents.

When weeds are in a garden the thing to do is to eliminate the weeds. They should be pulled or hoed. There’s no need to plow up the entire garden. It’s that kind of approach that’s led to conflict in the streets of the metro area.

Questions need to be asked. We should find out if Renee Good needed to be shot four times. We should question the use of tear gas on an entire crowd of demonstrators, including some who were just standing in place.

To be fair we should also question the decision of a small number of protesters to disrupt a church service. It gives the far right a reason to claim that all protesters are violent. It’s important for those who are concerned about the conflicts to draw a distinction.

Both parties need to step back and use good sense. The violence should end. There shouldn’t be any more casualties. We need a peaceful solution.

— Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent