Watch and listen a little

It is unfortunate that we can’t have certain conversations. I have become very aware that some very left people (not all) don’t care to ever talk ideas with people on the right.

If a person on the right talks about what they may be thinking, many times the far left just puts their fingers in their ears and sings LA-LA-LA-LA-LA. They can’t have a conversation because it hurts.

I wish both groups could listen and watch some of the other’s ideas to see what they are thinking and saying, and then see how things end up.

Please watch and listen a little to the other side before total judgment.

Philip Hove, Cottage Grove

 

If the program is valuable …

The federal government is going broke, and that fact threatens the blessings of liberty we mean to leave to our posterity. To protect the federal government, it should return to serving the enumerated powers designated in the Constitution.

It is troubling that a federal job corps program, listing millions each year, should need to close, as is reported in in June 3 newspaper. Yet, this most certainly should not mean the end of the program if its effectiveness and value can be proven.

Labor unions, professionals, and others who benefit directly from the work of the Job Corps, should step forward, reorganize the program and fill the need. State education funding can be directed to provide some of that support.

If the program is valuable, then let Minnesotans step into this void.

Dave Racer, Woodbury

 

Didn’t get it done

So the traveling Tim Walz roadshow rocks on across America. Regarding the recent election debacle, he admits he “didn’t get it done.” Seems to be his normal operating mode. Didn’t send the National Guard in to quell the “peaceful protest” until the damage was done. Didn’t handle the $18 billion budget surplus. Didn’t even suspect the $250 million COVID food fraud. And as his state was deadlocked on the looming budget issue, he hit the road to protect the Dem Party image of the tough guy.

Lou Matis, Roseville

 

Meaner? How about smarter?

Based on the extensive travel and speaking engagements that Gov. Tim Walz has embarked upon, it would appear that he remains in a state of delusion, thinking that he could actually be the Dems’ presidential candidate in 2028.

However, the governor has done a great service to the State of Minnesota by being absent for many weeks. The DFL will continue to make a financial mess out of the state, but they lack the socialist leadership of Walz.

In his recent speeches, Walz has asked that Democrats become meaner; he perhaps should have suggested that they become smarter.

As he looks back on his efforts while teamed with Kamala Harris, he said that “I didn’t get it done.” It is not often that he is right about anything, but he clearly has that quite correct, both at home and nationally.

Jon Swenson, Eagan

 

Forget new ideas

Last Sunday’s Pioneer Press reported on Tim Walz’s plan for fellow Democrats. His plan is for Democrats to be “meaner,” and he called President Donald Trump a “cruel man.”

Forget new political ideas and moving the Democrats more to the center, the governor resorted to name-calling and a negative personal persona.

After reading this, I can see Walz abandoned “Minnesota Nice” and stomped it to the curb.

Thomas McMahon, White Bear Lake

 

Historically, cousins

In response to a recent Letter to the Editor asking to stop antisemitism, I have a question that I hope will be answered. I am a semite of Syrian-Lebanese origin, yet antisemitism does not pertain to me. Why was the term coined only for Jewish people? As my friends would tell me, you know that Biblically, the Jews and Arabs are cousins.

Ferial Abraham, St. Paul

 

Vindicate the rights of Indigenous people

Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented May 27 from the decision of the Supreme Court to refuse a hearing on the appeal of Apache Stronghold against transfer of the land containing their ancestral sacred site, Oak Flat, to Resolution Copper. The justices have it right. The appeal ought to be heard.

Gorsuch based his dissent on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. He wrote that the court’s decision not to hear the appeal is a “grievous mistake — one with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations.” Gorsuch further stated, “Just imagine if the government sought to demolish a historic cathedral on so questionable a chain of legal reasoning. I have no doubt that we would find that case worth our time.”

Wendsler Nosie Sr. of Apache Stronghold is in the process of submitting their appeal to President Donald Trump, asking him to vindicate the rights of Indigenous people to land so often violated in our history.

Richard W. Podvin, Roseville

 

Spring into summer by moving more

Too many Minnesotans are not getting enough physical activity. Low levels of physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle increase the risk for developing many health conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, obesity and depression as well as the risk of premature death.

During the past several years, the “Promoting Physical Activity for Americans Act” was introduced to the U.S. Congress on multiple occasions. This would require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to issue physical-activity guidelines at least every 10 years based on the most current scientific and medical knowledge. Unfortunately, the bill has not received the support it needed to pass. As a professor who studies physical activity and its impact on health, society and quality of life, I cannot underscore enough the critical need for our elected officials to support physical activity legislation by reintroducing this bill and for all of us to do our part by being physically active.

Engaging in regular physical activity can help to prevent and treat many chronic health conditions, combat infection (such as from COVID-19), and improve mental health and well-being. Increasing your physical activity and fitness level, by even modest amounts, can translate to an average savings of $1,600 in annual healthcare costs. Simply put, physical activity is a “form of medicine” that is effective, safe, accessible and affordable.

Only 1 out of 4 adults currently meet the recommended guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and performing two days of muscle strengthening activities each week. A nation that continues to be physically inactive will face grave consequences: Our healthcare costs will be even more astronomical than they are now, we may not have enough active young adults to serve in the military, and we will be more vulnerable and less resilient to other threats, including pandemics and natural disasters.

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At first 150 minutes may seem like a lot. It is a reachable goal though as it translates to just over 20 minutes a day. Any activity that facilitates movement, makes your heart beat faster, and increases your breathing will work. So yes, even things like walking your dog, doing yardwork and playing with your kids or grandkids all count. Any amount of activity is better than no activity for improving your health.

As we approach summer, now is the time to get outside and enjoy everything the Twin Cities and Minnesota have to offer, like their parks, trails, lakes and outdoor events.

Steven Elmer
The writer is an associate professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program in the Henrietta Schmoll School of Health Sciences at St. Catherine University.

 

ARLINGTON, Texas  — Napheesa Collier had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Kayla McBride made six 3-pointers and scored 21 points, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Dallas Wings 81-65 on Sunday to extend their season-opening winning streak to nine games.

The Lynx (9-0), who won a WNBA-record 13 consecutive games to open their season in 2016, are off to the fourth-best start in league history.

Collier made 10 of 19 from the field, 3 of 6 from 3-point range, and finished with four assists, four steals and three blocks.

McBride hit a deep 3-pointer about 2 1/2 minutes into the game to make it 5-2, and the Lynx led the rest of the way.

Arike Ogunbowale hit six 3-pointers and led Dallas (1-9) with 26 points and Maddy Siegrist scored 15.

Dallas rookie Paige Bueckers (illness) missed her fourth consecutive game. The No. 1 overall selection in April’s draft missed the previous three games due the WNBA’s concussion protocol but was cleared earlier Sunday.

Siegrist made a layup with a second left in the third quarter to cap a 17-4 run that trimmed Dallas’ deficit to 57-56, but Collier opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, followed with a mid-range jumper, and the Wings got no closer.

Natisha Hiedeman hit a 3 with 2:24 to play that pushed Minnesota’s lead to 77-62.

The Lynx hit 13 pointers, finished with 25 assists on 29 field goals, had 12 steals and committed just six turnovers.

The Wings have lost five games in a row.

The Lynx play the Storm in Seattle on Wednesday.

How about shouting a “hip, hooray” for the bottom of the Twins batting order?

Brooks Lee and Christian Vázquez, the Twins Nos. 8 and 9 hitters hit back-to-back home runs, Willi Castro, batting sixth, had three hits and Minnesota beat Toronto 6-3 Sunday to end a three-game slide.

Eight of Minnesota’s 12 hits came from its bottom four hitters. Through five innings, all seven Twins hits and five runs came from that quartet.

“We’ve got good guys at the bottom of the lineup, too, with Ty (France), me and Vazky right now, for that game. I think we all did it today, but those are special days,” Lee said.

France had two hits to extend his career-high by reaching base in 20 straight games. The last Twin to do that was Edouard Julien, who reached in 23 straight games from Sept. 6, 2023-March 30, 2024.

Carlos Correa, the team’s cleanup hitter, had hits in the sixth and eighth innings, as did Royce Lewis, who came on as a pinch-hitter in the fifth. Byron Buxton earned three of the team’s eight walks, which matched a season high for the team.

“Our guys, up and down the lineup, just dominated the strike zone today and just refused to expand and swing at very many pitches at all out of the zone,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Their guys have really good stuff, and they get ahead, and then they throw tons of pitches that look really good. But they’re not strikes. And they just continue to throw them. And a lot of the times it’s tough, and you swing at them.”

“… But our guys were very prepared and very focused and pretty relentless in the way we were looking for a certain pitch in a certain spot, and that’s all we offered at. I was really proud of that. I thought that was fantastic.”

Down 3-2 in the fourth, Lee lofted — at a 40-degree launch angle — a home run just inside the right-field foul pole. Six pitches later, on a full count, Vázquez hammered a home run to the first row of the second deck just inside the left-field foul pole.

It’s the second time this season for back-to-back Twins’ round-trippers. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Byron Buxton did it May 15 at Baltimore.

“We had a lot of baserunners, because of the types of at-bats we talked about,” Baldelli said. “But that really nice turning point in the game were the two homers. Sometimes you just need some guys to come up big and have a big at-bat. I don’t think those guys are going up there aiming for pull-side homers. I think they just reacted and got the barrel to pitches.”

The Twins sent eight batters to the plate in the fifth, scoring just two runs and leaving the bases loaded. Minnesota also had the bases loaded with one out in the sixth, but Myles Straw threw out Correa at the plate trying to score on a medium-depth fly ball.

Minnesota was 3 for 12 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base.

Joe Ryan (7-2) needed 92 pitches to get through five innings; however, the final two were 1-2-3 affairs. The latter ended with a fine defensive play by Correa who charged in and scooped the ball directly from his glove to second baseman Kody Clemens at second base to begin a double play.

A fifth-inning walk was Toronto’s lone baserunner in a six-inning span.

Brock Stewart, Cole Sands and Griffin Jax each tossed an easy inning before Jhoan Duran earned his 10th save with a scoreless ninth.

Minnesota Twins’ Royce Lewis (23) gestures after hitting a single during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins’ Carlos Correa (4) is tagged out by Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (30) to end the bottom of the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays slides safely into third base in the third inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on June 8, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images)

Construction will begin this summer on a temporary solution to PFAS chemicals found in parts of Stillwater’s water supply.

Market and Johnson Inc., of Eau Claire, Wis., submitted the lowest bid to construct a temporary facility to treat water from one of Stillwater’s wells to meet the latest standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as “forever chemicals” because they resist breaking down in the environment.

Five bids were received and opened, city officials said. Market and Johnson, which has a local office in Stillwater, submitted a bid of $2,517,000, which beat the engineer’s estimate of $2,678,000, city officials said. The Stillwater City Council voted June 3 to accept the bid.

The facility, which will be located adjacent to Well No. 10 near Benson Park, is expected to be in operation until a permanent solution is found. The facility will use granulated activated carbon to treat the water.

The city secured a $3 million grant from the Public Facilities Authority for construction of the temporary water treatment facility, said City Administrator Joe Kohlmann. Construction will begin this summer, and the facility should be operational by late 2025 or early 2026, he said.

PFAS chemicals were found to have contaminated drinking water supplies in parts of the eastern Twin Cities, including in Stillwater’s groundwater supply. 3M and other companies manufactured the substances for use in products ranging from nonstick cookware to firefighting foam, but now they have made their way into water and food supplies across the country and have been linked to cancers and other health issues.

The Trump administration recently announced plans to relax limits on certain “forever chemicals.” But for two commonly found types, PFOA and PFOS, the limits put in place by the Biden administration will remain in place. Utilities will have two more years — until 2031 — to meet them.

Two wells in Stillwater – Well No. 6 and Well No. 10 – were found to contain PFAS at levels above health-based guidance values for drinking water. An additional well, Well No. 9, contains PFAS at levels just below these standards.

All three wells are currently inactive and are not providing water for the community, Kohlmann said. The temporary treatment facility at Well No. 10 will ensure the well can safely be put back into service to meet drinking-water standards, he said.

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