Opinion

We all want to be important to someone. Jim Manahan mattered to his clients, the legal profession, to Chilean people, and his family. Although not a perfect person, he was a good, talented, and interesting man. Why might we care about a Mankato attorney who died this year?

with a-half years ago in the spring. That's how I know the 'half ' year or so.

I don’t know exactly why cramming the entire population of Minnesota (5.7 million) into one fairground over a one-week period is a good thing, but people seem to clamor for the thing. Like an old friend, they even give it a nickname: The Great Minnesota Get Together. Look, you can call the event “Fred” for all I care but its official name is The Minnesota State Fair.

This year, more than others, has seen multiple days during which the Environmental Protection Agency has issued an air quality alert due to wildfires. Climate change has led to an increase in the length of wildfire season, the frequency of wildfires, and the total area burned, a trend that is predicted to continue in the coming years. Even when fires are far upwind of Cook County, wildfire smoke can lead to poor air quality locally, which, in turn, can lead to negative health affects for those of us who live, work, and play in the area.

The Price of an Education In the 1998 film “Good Will Hunting” the titular character is at a bar and says to a Harvard undergrad, “One day you’re gonna wake up and realize you dropped a hundred fifty grand on an ***ing education you coulda got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the library.” True words, perhaps. Today a higher education will set you back even more.