The Owatonna People's Press praised the Legislature's passage of a primary seat-belt bill, saying at least "something worthwhile" came out of the contentious session.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has said he will sign the bill, but hadn't as of this morning.

"We have never been too fond of government intrusion into the lives of private citizens. But in this case, there are other reasons that the state was wise in passing this law," the paper opines.

"There is the monetary reason — namely, that by doing so the state will be eligible for $3.4 million in federal transportation that would otherwise have been lost. While it does seem a bit like blackmail to tell Minnesotans that if we don’t pass this law we won’t get some money, there is not much the state can do about that, other than refusing on principle to accept the money. Still, given the state’s current budget crunch, it seems a bit silly to refuse federal funds when the state could use the money.

"But the real reason for having this law is to protect lives. Obviously, people should be wearing seat belts, and though statewide the compliance is at 87 percent, that means that 13 percent of Minnesotans are putting themselves in danger when they don’t buckle up. What the law may do is to help make seat-belt use habitual in all Minnesotans. That is something we can all live with."