Letters to the editor are the opinions of the writer and don’t necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper. Letters should be 300 words or less but exceptions will be made for longer letters in some cases. All letters must include the writer's legal name, phone number, and email if applicable.
Democracies do not coexist with political violence. The two are anathema. The killing of Charlie Kirk is another turn in the spiraling path where the last step was the assassinations of Melissa and Mark and Hortman which if it had ended the way it was likely intended would have been a series of assassinations sowing further terror. Violence begets violence and the cycle has to stop before it destroys more families. No matter how much we disagree we cannot afford to decline to offer sympathy and compassion to one another. We must exercise our humanity or we will lose it. Nor can we deign to ignore and leave unchallenged inhumanity in others. We must vigorously exercise our own humanity and demand humanity in others - this is the brownian motion humans - to paraphrase Terry Pratfchett.
In April 2025 the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), with 39 million members, identified Arrowhead’s seven counties as friendly to seniors. AARP noted that seniors’ top priorities are housing, access to healthcare, and transportation. The following comments are based on data from North Shore Health (NSH) , Cook County’s (CC’s) Treasurer and CC’s Assessor office.
I want to express my deep appreciation for the Friends of the Boundary Waters and their commitment to investing in gateway communities like ours through meaningful educational programming.
As summer residents in the back woods near Hovland for many decades, my family has needed medical attention from time to time. This summer we had to get more appointments than ever, including an MRI, visits to a nurse practitioner and sessions with a physical therapist. So far we have been very impressed with the quality and timeliness of the care we’ve gotten. Cook County residents should be proud of the friendly, attentive staff and the level of services here in Grand Marais. We are certainly grateful for your well-coordinated services.
I spoke with Robbie Hass, the County Highway Engineer, when the 30 mph signs went up and he tried to explain this “people drive based on the nature of the roadway” logic. And, indeed, most people do drive under 30 mph on the Croftville Road. So why post a speed limit at all? And why give ANYONE the idea that 30 mph would be appropriate?
Dear Mr Perez, From your 8/16 column: “There’s just not a lot of professional sports on television. Basketball’s on summer vacation.”
What Makes America Great? Lots of those things are currently being deconstructed with a wrecking ball and the costs are human lives, needless misery and suffering, cruelty inflicted willingly and with malice. How is America Great when the lights of Art, Science, Education have been smashed? Come to think of it, what great things could come out of the Arts and Sciences if foundation stones upholding those lights weren’t being kidnapped and put in prison camps. Why do I say foundation stones? Well, go look at past presidents praising immigrants and let us consider what things immigrants or the children of immigrants have come up with that are perhaps essential to America and maybe even the world.
With every wildfire smoke event we experience it should remind us that this massive air pollution is directly due to burning fossil-fuels turning Canadian and US forests into enormous fire risks. The smoke we all now breathe is directly caused by burning fossil-fuels; it will worsen every year, and increasingly frequent and severe pollution events are now a fact of life for Minnesotans as discussed in the Brainerd Dispatch: https://www. brainerddispatch.com/sports/northland- outdoors/ask-the-master-naturalist- smoky-summer-skies-may-become- our-new-normal We will never stop this problem unless we stop burning fossil fuels. Minnesotans paid $24 Billion in 2024 to import fossil-fuels we burn to power 73% of our state’s economy including oil for transportation fuels, natural gas and coal to power electricity generation and to heat homes and industrial processes. Burning fossil fuels in Minnesota costs 150% of what we spend annually on our K-12 education, contributing to wildfire smoke and air pollution affecting everyone, causing one-in-five Americans with heart and lung disease to die prematurely while increasing healthcare costs for us all.