Opinion

As I See It

Are you ready to carry the optimistic energy created during the Democratic Convention into the District 8 US House of Representatives contest between Jen Schultz and Pete Stauber? Are you ready for an end to the darkness and blame game of the MAGA Movement which divides our families, friends and neighbors against each other and prevents progress on issues that are most important to us? Statistics tell us that most people agree on most things, but the current atmosphere of us against them prevents any compromise on those issues on which we don’t see eye to eye. Jen has a graduate degree in economics, has taught healthcare economics, was a successful 4-term state legislator where she worked across the aisle, writing and passing legislation to benefit the whole state, not just the 8th.

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Letters to the editor

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.

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Wild things

For a country that spread out before one to a near horizon in greens and browns and blues, there was nothing much wild anymore. Members of the Family Suidae had been domesticated there some millennia ago, and its nearest geographical descendent was the Vietnamese potbelly.

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Stop stealing political signs!

I, and several of my neighbors have had our Harris/Walz signs and American flags stolen. Clearly the few Trump supporters who are doing this are afraid of those of us who support the opposing candidate. The last time I checked, we still live in a democracy where EVERYONE, regardless of political affiliation, has the right to display their preference. Mature adults would never steal the signs of folks who support a candidate they object to because we all should have freedom to express that support. If you are threatened by a mere sign and remove it, then you obviously don’t respect our democracy! Let’s also respect our neighbors here in Cook County and stop this juvenile behavior. I will keep replacing my sign along the highway until the election. Those doing this cannot stop our beliefs OR our vote. Nice try.

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Wellness

Fall Foraging, part 1 Some of you may have heard my recent interview with WTIP about foraging medicinal plants in the late summer and autumn. The next few weeks, I want to highlight some of these wonderful plant allies.

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It is imperative to vote for Democrats

I went back to work 6 days after my son was born because my husband had a low paying job and my income was needed. I had no income during the time I gave birth and started recovering from that birth. That was years ago. Now, in Minnesota, we have paid family leave so that Mothers can recover from the birth and both Mom and Dad can spend some quality time with their new child. We do not have that overall in the U.S. even though most industrialized countries provide paid family leave. Additionally, the GOP, as written in their plan Project 2025, page 486, is discouraging day care centers and supporting only home-based childcare. How could I bring in the income to help support our family if I had to stay home with our child? It is imperative to vote for Democrats since they support paid family leave and childcare centers as well as providing a $6,000 tax deduction to support the needs of that young child.

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GETTING TO KNOW NORTH SHORE HEALTH

North Shore Health Mask Policy Explained By Jason Yuhas, Infection Control, Quality Improvement, Corporate Integrity Director and Troy Batchelor, Hospital Director of Nursing With the diligence and hard work of our North Shore Health (NSH) Team and the strong support of our community, NSH made it through the COVID-19 pandemic without a single case of infection to our Care Center Residents. We also observed very few outbreaks within the NSH staff.

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MN Great Outdoors Amendment

I live in Gem Lake, MN, yet am a subscriber and faithful reader of the great community newspaper The Cook County News Herald. I am writing out of concern for the passage of the MN Great Outdoors amendment which will be on the front of every voter’s ballot.

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COUNTY CONNECTIONS

County Facilities Update Last year, the County Board approved a Capital Improvement Plan for County buildings. The plan had two main components: an assessment of current building conditions and deferred maintenance needs, and a plan for addressing a shortage of workspaces in County buildings, particularly the Courthouse and Law Enforcement Center.

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