Take that

MNDOT’s decision to ban the annual pre-Vikings-Packers Border Battle Tug Of Rope on the Stillwater Liftbridge that raises money for first responders is yet another rock on the cairn of government that supports the people.

It’s a pedestrian bridge that connects public spaces in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Walkers, buskers, bikers, kids with ice cream cones, runners, the old and the young are who use it. But the brain wizards at MNDOT have ruled that it is not an event space and that were the Tug Of War to be permitted how could they adjudge future applications for good things to happen. MNDOT even invoked the mysterious, “historic preservation requirements.” Their hands are tied. So, take that, community builders.

John Vaughn, Stillwater

Can’t afford to stay or move

Knowing a good jolt can stop a heart attack seems important now that my wife and I are “Golden Oldies.” We both earned our Social Security and Medicare. We make ends meet making music fulltime for Elder, Nursing, and Memory care residents.

Our good jolt today? Ramsey County notified us that our unaffordable 2025 property tax will eat 1/3 of my Social Security in 2026. Given those potholes outside that will spend most of the winter packed in unplowed ice and snow, it’s a bad deal.

Since we purchased our home in 1995 its appraised value (if we could afford to sell it and move) has tripled, while our property taxes have quadrupled. Our homeowner’s insurance and repair costs are exploding as well. Every year we’ve qualified for Minnesota’s property tax refund. That refund has risen to over 50% of our taxes paid. Annually, we get that refund just in time to make the second half of our tax bill. A considerable waste of time and money, right?

So, I called Ramsey County to suggest that they reduce my taxes by 50%. Nope, nonnegotiable. The legislature passes the taxes, and you pay the taxes, or else. Why would folks legislate such senseless waste? Why do credit card, internet and cell phone providers charge undecipherable fees? Obviously, enough folks are ignorant that they can apply for, and get, refunds.

We worked hard for, and love, our home. We love our neighbors and neighborhood. We’re blessed we can work at what we, and others, love. We aren’t tax delinquents. We face the dilemma many fine folks face. We can’t afford to stay or move.

Mark E Adams-Westin, St. Paul

Data centers and aquifers: think regionally

City officials are not thinking on a regional level when they need to be regarding data centers.

The Prairie du Chien and Jordan aquifers are two prominent aquifers for the southeast Minnesota region. For a brief perspective of just who relies on these two aquifers in some capacity for private wells and municipal water: Rice County has seven cities; Dakota County has 34 cities; eight out of 10 cities in Goodhue County connect to at least one of them. That’s 49 communities so far.

Olmsted County, Winona County, Dodge County also connect to them in varying capacities, and the list goes on since the Jordan aquifer touches seven states.

Six hyperscale data centers (Pine Island, Apple Valley, Cannon Falls, Farmington, Faribault, Lakeville) are currently proposed to draw from these two aquifers alone. FOur of them are being sued by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. None of them have done full environmental assessments. Not a single one. Being in the karst region our aquifers are at the highest vulnerability risk for being compromised by human activities, and remediation efforts are also harder to do. These six cities are intentionally and wantonly jeopardizing the entire region’s groundwater supply and they need to be taken to task and held accountable. Residents of southeast Minnesotat/Twin Cities area should be infuriated by the complete lack of regard these six cities have for the most basic element needed to survive: water. Let them know it before it’s too late.

Aubree Derksen, Pine Island

We deserve fiscal responsibility

At what point will Gov. Walz’s administration and our local governments learn to live within their means? Businesses — large and small — are held accountable to balance their budgets. Citizens deserve the same fiscal responsibility from state and local leaders.

Bobby Reardon, Pelican Lake Township

Clogged

Dale Street, yet another major artery clogged by the bicycle lobby and politicians.

Mike Feist, Roseville

Even if he doesn’t dust

Thank you for running Mark Glende’s columns.  He’s an excellent writer and I’d love to see him get a weekly column even if he doesn’t like to dust.

Jeanne Mealy, St. Paul

Some things need to go

The reports of how cuts in federal government (taxpayer) funding negatively affect certain groups of people are becoming more common. Over at least the past 60 years, we have increasingly singled out groups of people who have needs, created a federal program to spend money to help them, and created dependency.

Our national debt now exceeds $38 trillion. We are passing this on to our grandchildren and great grandchildren not yet born. This sits among one of the most immoral of all possible actions we, as a nation, have taken.

We cannot tax our way out of this mess. Some programs, some baseline spending, some things need to go. There is “low-hanging fruit.” There are needs that families, communities, and people of faith can fill. There are some needs that are not needs at all.

Ben Franklin, echoing the words of an earlier philosopher, said (paraphrasing) once the people discover they can use their vote to get benefits from the government, it signals the end of our republic. And indeed, without voting to end some of this spending, we can see the end of the republic on the horizon.

Dave Racer, Woodbury