A generation evolves — and we should not just sit back and watch
Pearl Harbor, JFK, 9/11 — after each, our nation’s values changed. After this pandemic, the same will be true. And we can play a role in shaping those values now.
Community Voices
Equity is rising as an imperative for Minnesota’s recovery
Our Minnesota Equity Blueprint could be the first draft of a new socioeconomic contract for a more inclusive, equitable and secure prosperity across the North Star State.
The case for homeschooling
Although we are still in our first years of homeschooling now, the experience has been life changing.
Non-compete agreements could prevent workers from finding new jobs during and after the pandemic
Minnesota must follow the lead of seven states that restrict the ability of companies to enforce non-compete agreements on low-wage workers.
Community pharmacists should be included in COVID-19 emergency funding
Including independent community pharmacists in the next round of state funding for COVID-19 allotments will ensure that we are able to continue our outreach.
On turning 60 — and enduring a pandemic that focuses its eyes on ‘60 and up’
I wake up startled with that special brain, my gut, wrenched. It’s not just fear for me and mine. It is a primal fear for everyone.
Through protests, lawsuits and a pandemic, abortion care is essential health care, and we are here to stay
No one should ever be forced to carry a pregnancy against her will, and most especially not in a pandemic when our lives are filled with uncertainty, economic crisis, fears about our own health and the health of our loved ones.
What can you do when they spew lies: revisiting the Fairness Doctrine
Who can be against restoring a right to reply when you are attacked? Isn’t that the American way?
COVID-19 is a cruel reminder of the human condition
The first principle of the American creed is that world is redeemable. We believe that we are exempt from the constraints of the human condition. I disagree. As Albert Camus suggests: We are Sisyphus.
Small business losses: another Great Recession?
The small-business forgivable loans, the rapid broadening of unemployment compensation, and the stimulus checks are helping stave off a deep collapse. However, we are not targeting the most needy among us.
The case for a green recovery in Minnesota
Wind, solar, electrification and energy efficiency projects create jobs, bolster rural and urban economies, and can transform the social inequities made transparent by this virus.
How data, analytics, and technology are helping us fight COVID-19
A variety of technologies are enabling public health officials to track potentially infected individuals, enforce quarantine measures, create community-wide awareness about the virus, and plan coordinated responses to deal with resource shortages.
In the midst of a pandemic, racial disparities in COVID-19 show why the census still matters
Perhaps the most direct impact of the census on health outcomes is its role in resource allocation. Data retrieved through the census is used to apportion billions in federal dollars.
Minneapolis’ new district design does not improve education equitably
It hurts more than 100,000 children, displacing them from their friends and schools and splitting families between schools.
Minneapolis Public Schools redesign a small step toward equity for black children
Creating the CDD plan is the first step in publicly acknowledging that the barriers our children experience daily were created by the system, building a foundation of trust in education, and healing black children from educational trauma.
Stimulus is helpful, but tariffs are still threatening our livelihoods
It is essential that leaders both in Congress and the Trump administration push to defer all tariffs immediately.
Now is the time for Minnesota to end driver’s license suspensions for unpaid fees
Driver’s license suspensions should be reserved for the sole purpose of ensuring safe roads, not demanding payment from people who may be struggling to meet their families’ basic needs.
This is not the time to reclassify vacation properties used for short-term rentals as commercial businesses
We support legislation that addresses this issue in a fair way by creating a new tax classification for short-term rental properties that falls between seasonal recreation and commercial.
Two trends mean Minnesota must better protect voters in 2020 elections
State elected officials should unify and act quickly to safeguard our health, safety, and our right to vote in the upcoming August primary and November general election.
Teachers point to ways Minnesota can build back better
As we think about post-pandemic Minnesota, how might we reimagine our educational, social and economic infrastructure to more evenly distribute the weight of care currently being shouldered by teachers and schools?
