opinion

You turn on the TV and see a politician sincerely raging against a threat of flooding waters killing salamanders in the Painted Desert... “Republicans want these lizards to die!” You wonder, “If this is his campaign, he must think voters are idiots. He must think they don’t...

It was 2007 and we were all gathered around the kitchen table. It was my husband; his parents, Frank and Rachel (not their real names); and me spending a Sunday afternoon catching up. Everyone, it seemed at that time, had just bought a house. Their modest three-bedroom tract home,...

The past two NCAA hockey champions have been fun to watch. Both Union, this year, and Yale the previous year captured the essence of collegiate athletics, in that neither give out athletic scholarships; but still rose to the pinnacle of an NCAA sport. The University of North Dakota...

To paraphrase the line often attributed to Mark Twain, there are lies, damn lies and the “equal pay” statistic. The factoid that women earn only 77 cents of every dollar earned by men is the focal point of a feminist cargo cult. It has its own movement and its own quasi-holiday,...

The guys still don’t get it. The latest example of men behaving badly is Michael Hayden, the former CIA director. He said on Fox that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the Intelligence Committee, was motivated by a “deep emotional feeling” when she endorsed a still-secret...

Despite Monday’s smattering of precipitation, the snow- and ice-covered driving conditions of this long winter should be behind us. With spring melt here, motorists now should also keep an eye out for flooded-out roads. But regardless of the time of year, there’s another danger...

Bruce Ahlgren and Tom Stiehm Special to the Pioneer Gov. Mark Dayton and the state Senate cannot let the legislative session slip away without showing leadership on the issues that will improve the health of cities and foster economic growth in Greater Minnesota. Time is quickly...

In a move as surprising as limos at a state funeral the GOP has misplaced their ticket for the clue train. Yes, again. Just when you think they get it, party leaders move heaven and earth and that place due south to prove that not only do they not get it, they have never gotten it...

So what does the tea party want this fall? A repeat of 2010, or a repeat of 2012? The tea party succeeded spectacularly in 2010. Its principled enthusiasm put Republicans back in charge of the House of Representatives and, if the tea party hadn’t been so stupid in several races,...

Gay marriage is inevitable — and rightly so, because it’s in sync with a core American value, equality under the law. But another core American value is freedom of expression, and gay marriage supporters need to revere that as well. I say this because last week’s purging of...

The dictionary defines the caterpillar as a “wormlike larva” and a “crawler.” Also, that “pillar” part of the word is derived from a French verb that means to “pillage, abuse, mistreat.” Good to know. Now, meet Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest maker of construction...

Minority women often have the greatest need for support and resources during pregnancy as they lack access to health care. Resorting to measures like drug abuse to cope with the pain and other stressors of pregnancy is common. Opioid abuse during pregnancy leads to adverse birth outcomes...

Some conservative political groups have run into trouble making ads that criticize Obamacare. The ads were intended to showcase “horror stories” from the Democrats’ national health care overhaul, but instead attracted zealous fact-checking and ferocious pushback from media...

Just like Mother Nature can’t decide if it’s winter or spring, the Legislature can’t resolve its debate about transportation funding. Some leaders have said transportation funding cannot move forward without engaging the state’s business community. Others say they can’t...

The Minnesota Legislature is going too far with its plans to raise the state’s hourly minimum wage. The Senate on Wednesday and the House on Thursday approved the measure that would increase the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour in 2016 and, starting two years later, tie additional...