opinion

President Obama is scheduled to present the state of the union address, and reportedly will discuss raising taxes on the wealthy. Why target the wealthy? Aren't their taxes too high already? They constantly say they are. Apparently they weren't too high to prevent them becoming...

Like many guys of my vintage, I grew up believing that a woman's place was in the home, keeping things tidy, cooking the meals, washing the clothes, supporting the husband and always being there for the kids. True, there were a handful of exceptions in our little town. My friend...

The legislative session just started and it appears Reps. Dale Lueck and Josh Heintzeman are giving up when it comes to fixing our state's transportation infrastructure. As a rural legislator, I know how important our roads and bridges are to residents and farmers. During the campaign,...

This viewpoint is in response to John Weber's "Blind to science" letter in the Jan. 15 Echo Journal. Climate change is not a proven fact. It is a theory that may turn out to be true, but so far the theory has had a very bumpy history the past 10 years. In 2003, Al Gore took the...

The Legislature will set a new two-year state budget this session. The process is just beginning, but it's never too early to ask this key question: How much is enough? I believe we can set a new state budget without raising taxes. Unfortunately, evidence already is mounting that...

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped make the Timber Bay spaghetti feed and silent auction on Jan. 17 so successful. We had a lot of great items donated for our auction from area businesses and private parties. We had a good turnout, and a great time of...

If they'd had reality TV shows when I was growing up, I'd have made a million dollars. Well, maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars; well, maybe they'd have paid me my mileage to the studio. I and many others lived a reality TV farm life. My wife and I were recently viewing...

The Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew (CLMTBC) would like to extend a hearty "thank you" to all who attended our 2015 annual meeting at the Heartwood Senior Center on Thursday, Jan. 8. It was so heart-warming to see an attendance of more than 120 as we released the results of the...

The Lake Hubert Community Grange wants to thank the community for all the support it has given us in the past year. To all who donated for the bake and veg sale, the silent auction, the Thanksgiving supper, the Christmas program and all the food everyone brought for the pot luck...

Why do so many proposals or attempts to improve education (or to save money on education) end up maligning teachers? Another Mark Anderson (from Ramsey) states, “Once again a legislator is proposing to eliminate teacher tenure under the assumption that schools can then keep...

The climate change deniers and the solar promoters are blind to science. There are no melting glaciers, there is no drought, there is no ocean acidification. See these: http://sunweber.blogspot.com/2014/08/photos-of-alaska-then-and-now.html http://sunweber.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-drought-devastating-photos.html "There...

It may surprise you to learn this, but your local news writer is human. Now, what does that mean? I'm happy you asked! Human beings tend to have a few of the same characteristics, limitations and faults, regardless of their area of employment. I say this because some people appear...

Members of the Pine River-Backus Booster Club, Inc. would like to thank all who took part in our first-ever fundraising raffle. The drawing was held Dec. 23 at Pine River-Backus High School. The prize winners were: first, Ice Castle Fish House, Brad Cardini of Breezy Point; second,...

I didn't think much about holding public office as I was pulling cockleburrs up by their roots in those Iowa cornfields of my youth. There wasn't a thought about taxes, budgets, zoning issues or citizen complaints as I was dispatching sunflower roots from the soil. I lived a relatively...

The written word has literally changed the world or major parts of it ever since man first figured out how to capture thoughts and ideas and preserve them so others could see them. From the earliest pictures on cave walls to stone tablets, animal skins, papyrus, parchment and all...