Opinions

Congratulations to teams, FFA chapters

Congratulations are in order this week for a number of local high school students. The Wildcats girl’s hockey team accomplished a milestone over the weekend, winning their first ever trip to the girl’s hockey state tournament. The Wildcats were scheduled to meet Fergus Falls at the Xcel Energy...

An important tool for economic development

Imagine that your community needs funding to build a trail system which will draw tourism to the area. Or perhaps your town needs better broadband access or a housing plan. Whatever economic development initiative your city or county is working on, there is a good chance you will need to use an...

What to expect during the 2024 legislative session

The new legislative session begins on February 12. Though we will not be crafting a new state budget this year, Minnesota faces a challenging fiscal situation that will significantly impact what we can realistically accomplish. Last year, the state had a record $19.5 billion budget surplus. However...

Will Trump flee the U.S. for Russia?

I recently sent the DCI a one sentence letter to the editor stating: “I predict that Donald Trump will not run for President but will run for Russia within six months.” Karen wrote back to say it was too short, so if this gets too long you can blame her. My prediction is based on several things I’...

Help Mantorville Theatre Company, give yourself boost to boot!

The Mantorville Theatre Company needs your help. 2023 saw a decline in revenues from pre-pandemic times (Theatre Arts groups have their own version of long COVID — not fun for people who have it or for organizations still in recovery.) To help start 2024 on a positive note, the Rochester female...

Who will pay for our new flag?

The recent article in the Dodge County Independent titled “Changing of State Flag is Short-sighted” written by Sheriff Scott Rose was spot-on. The only thing I might add is the expected costs to implement these changes and who will ultimately be stuck paying for it. Per state statue, the state...

Congratulations to Chamber award winners, Triton students

Congratulations are in order this week to two individuals honored at last Friday night’s Kasson Chamber of Commerce dinner and annual meeting. Tanya Young was named Business Person of the Year and Kirk Swenson received the Chamber’s Legacy Award. Young is well-known in Kasson and Dodge County for...

‘Liar-in-chief’s’ 40 biggest broken promises

Trump voters: Nearly four years in and here’s an updated list of Trump’s 40 biggest broken promises. 1. He said coronavirus would “go away without a vaccine.” You bought it. But it didn’t. While other countries got the pandemic under control and avoided large numbers of fatalities, the virus has...

Now is the time to make your voice heard

Two stories in this week’s DCI got me thinking about the state of the nation and how we react. First was the announcement that absentee voting is now open for the Presidential Primary in Minnesota coming up on Tuesday, March 5. For decades Minnesotans made their preferences known for president by...

Lack of volunteers hurts everyone

West Concord is the latest community to experience serious difficulties in keeping ambulance services going because of a lack of volunteers. At a special council meeting recently, residents learned that the city would be suspending ambulance service from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday....