Pioneer Editorial: Credibility suffers with bad figures
In a rush to prove that the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package is working to create or save jobs, the Obama administration may have done irreparable harm to its credibility.
Work progresses on Bemidji Skate Park
The work we put toward getting a world-class skate park in Bemidji is showing results. This week I got my first look at the concept design of our skate plaza. The design is very impressive considering these concrete parks are pretty expensive and we have a limited budget. So far the $313,000 we have will get us a smaller park with lots of features. This is about half of our initial plan, which was for a larger $600,000 park. So in these final hours of fundraising, we are making one last push to get as much financial support as possible.
New economy: Banking is Us
Lending money,
Local Radiothon helps in lower child abuse stats
I would like to add to the article on why child abuse and neglect has reduced 37 percent since 2002 in Beltrami County — a great piece of news. While the Family Assessment Program has reduced substantiations, the annual Radiothon to End Child Abuse sponsored by the Paul Bunyan/Omni radio stations the first week in December is an important contribution to the reduction in child maltreatment.
Federal stimulus equals deception
It seems the president has a new trick up his sleeve to convince us his bloated “stimulus” packages are solving our economic woes: deception.
Presidential Proclamation: National Native American Heritage Month
The indigenous peoples of North America — the First Americans — have woven rich and diverse threads into the tapestry of our nation’s heritage.
No more tax money for new hog farms
The Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment delivered a petition with more than 25,000 signatures from individuals around the country to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Oct. 20. It demanded that the agency immediately suspend the practice of providing guaranteed and direct loans for new and expanded specialized hog and poultry facilities. More than three weeks have passed without a response.
Real patriotism means ‘Buy American’ always
The current political climate is a remarkable thing. The flag-waving patriots who “want their country back” are completely missing the point on the key issues of our time. The economy (arguably our biggest woe), energy, environment, the very future of our country is at stake, and yet all of us are making a critical mistake: we’re fighting the wrong enemy — each other.
Going hungry in America
The number of American households who couldn’t adequately sustain food for their family rose from 13 million in 2007 to 17 million households in 2008, according to a new report by the Food and Drug Admin-istration. The jump represents the highest number since the FDA started keeping track in 1995.
Double-take when seeing kangaroo crossing Hwy 2
When leaving Bemidji on Saturday afternoon, to return home to Faribault after celebrating my mother, Doris’s, life in a memorial service, my wife, daughters and I had our eyes peeled for hunters and deer. We were heading toward Cass Lake when we spotted something in the median moving at a brisk clip. A dog, perhaps, no — a deer, maybe, but again, no! A kangaroo, yes, a sight during hunting season in Sydney perhaps, mate, but in northern Minnesota?
Pioneer Editorial: Budget suit needs focus on legality
A trial began Monday in Ramsey County District Court that could set the course of how state government does budgeting.
The problem with our health care debate
Everyone seems to have a different take on how to solve America’s health are problem. But notice that every solution offered involves some elaborate new system of government controls. Different proposals include a “public option,” mandatory insurance for individuals, government-supported health-care exchanges, government-sponsored “efficacy research,” government-supported co-ops, and as many other ways of dictating consumer and producer behavior as can fit in a 1,000-page bill.
The meaning of church more than just a building
I have read far too many articles and letters of condemnation, judgment and hatred and I can no longer be silent. I would like to clarify a specific terminology ... the church is not a building or organized religion, it is the body of Christ, which for those who are not versed in religion it means, the people who believe in Christ.
More troops in Afghanistan won’t do it
For the past two months, President Barack Obama has been weighing Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s request to send an additional 40,000 troops to Afghanistan to “disrupt, dismantle and defeat” al-Qaeda. That same effort, according to Obama, entails ensuring that the Taliban can’t regain control of the country.
RSS Feeds