On Thursday, The Free Press suggested that our first-year state representatives in District 19 may not have major roles in the budget talks between DFL and GOP lawmakers. That may be true about Rep. Susan Akland, R-St. Peter. It is not true about Rep. Luke Frederick, DFL-Mankato.

In St. Paul, some out-of-touch politicians at the Legislature are working to eliminate electronic pull tabs and electronic gaming. House File 2366 calls for eliminating games that “display or simulate any other form of gambling, entertainment, slot machines, electronic video lotteries, or vi…

We are an author/professor emeritus at Anoka-Ramsey Community College and a retired high school science teacher.

For quite some time now it seems that our ability to generate data far outstrips our ability to put it to good use. An example appeared in the Sunday edition of The Free Press.

An April 24 article on the plastic debris in remote Hawaii islands highlights the global plastic pollution crisis.

As a retired public health nurse I want to congratulate those students who received their COVID shots this past Thursday. My thanks goes to ISD 77, parents who signed permission slips and the Mayo Clinic for providing this excellent opportunity.

The St. Peter City Council failed to represent the interests of the city with the failure to pass the amendment to permit hobby beekeeping. The ordinance as written would have allowed a sensible balance between the interests of the hobbyist, neighbors and nature.

Minnesota State University has foolishly fallen into the identity politics mindset and is now unable to see the forest through the trees.

I’m a 2018 graduate of Minnesota State University. I was extremely upset to learn that a handful of students are pushing for the Abraham Lincoln statue to be removed in the Centennial Student Union.

While the verdict of "guilty, guilty, guilty" in the Derek Chauvin trial brought relief, it did not bring justice. Justice would have been that George Floyd lived.

At the Derek Chauvin trial the prosecution did not allege racism was a factor in the horrible murder of George Floyd. They argued Chauvin was a bad cop. They did not argue he was a racist cop.

I agree that it certainly appears that “There’s no intelligent life here.” Leigh Pomeroy had a great "My View" in Friday’s edition. Global warming or climate change is here. It has been getting worse since the 19th century. And as the science points out we are awfully close to the “tipping p…

I find it curious that our legislators across the country are focusing on transgender teenagers wanting to play sports. Why, with all that is happening in our country with the pandemic, violence against people of color, and families struggling to make ends meet, are we talking about bathroom…

Before The Red Jacket Valley Park was opened to the public it was touted, by this paper and other sources, as to remain a nature area. As little development as possible was to be done and even native prairie grasses were to be introduced. So I can't help but wonder why the powers that be hav…

Writing letters to the editor is something I do not usually do. But I must this time.

George Floyd is dead. Derek Chauvin is in prison. Is there something there to celebrate?

Indiana’s red flag law is under scrutiny after a mass killing at an Indianapolis FedEx facility.

With Earth Day on April 22, we have reduced our carbon footprint by curtailing travel and our thermostat. We recycle. But we can do so much more by cutting our consumption of animal meat and milk products. Yes, that.

Monday morning I woke up exhausted. I didn’t sleep well, and I wondered if it was the adrenaline, the sun exposure or something else.