COVID-19 highlights the disparities in pregnancy care — including harmful restrictions to abortion
The COVID-19 crisis is shining a light on cracks and burdens in our health care system, often at the expense of our patients.
Community Voices
The MPCA needs to listen to Minnesotans, not just multinational corporations
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is moving forward on critical water crossing permits for the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline without real public input.
COVID-19 is a call for more volunteerism; a local hub helps connect people to needs
HandsOn Twin Cities has set up a Volunteer Responding Hub for COVID-19 as a centralized place for nonprofits to easily update their needs and for volunteers to connect to them.
We must end the fallout from COVID-19: xenophobia and hate
We must also protect the most vulnerable among us: the prisoners, the homeless, those at risk of assault, and those with the fewest resources.
Minnesotans come together in times of crisis. We’re better than bitterness.
I do not know how our politics got this broken, but I refuse to believe that it has to be this way.
Let’s get Minnesota’s economy moving: Fund infrastructure repair
Investment in infrastructure should be the centerpiece of a new federal stimulus package. At the state level, the answer to creating more jobs is passage of a major capital bonding bill that funds the repair of public infrastructure.
During a pandemic, we must find new ways to honor and mourn
At a time when we feel helpless and powerless about so many things, including death, it’s important to focus on what we can do.
Walking, biking, transit: A beefed-up Minneapolis TAP will deliver on strong community values
We are heartened by the breadth of the city’s Transportation Action Plan and its vision for the future. We strongly urge the City of Minneapolis to set higher goals for reducing car trips in the city.
A tale of two mine plans: Why did PolyMet tell Minnesotans one thing, and investors another?
Given the court’s clear repudiation of its approach in this case, the MPCA should have skipped the appeal and instead gotten right to the work of investigating PolyMet’s true intentions and of protecting Minnesotans.
Earth Day: We need nature more than ever
We’re advocating for $7 million for Forests for the Future, $3 million for Reinvest in Minnesota Working Grasslands Easements and $7 million for reforestation in state forests in this year’s state bonding bill.
Now’s the time to expand voting by mail in Minnesota
The arguments against vote by mail are feeble, its partisan impact is minimal, and we have every reason to expect it will be necessary to keep us all safe come election day.
In a time of isolation, Minnesotans must unite to support those who need our help
Gov. Tim Walz and the Legislature have worked together to take early action to support nonprofits and the people we serve during this crisis, but more needs to be done. We would like to highlight two specific recommendations.
Where does Joe Biden go from here – nationally and in Minnesota?
Uncertainties abound. Four major problems afflict Biden’s campaign in this unprecedented situation.
It’s time to recognize the essential value of direct support professionals
DSPs are on the frontline of the COVID-19 outbreak, risking their own health daily to provide critical support to people with disabilities.
In times of crisis, words from presidents matter
If President Trump wishes to have any useful role leading us through this current crisis, he should mimic the prose of effective presidents past and abandon his boorish style of speech now.
As we wait at home for our next delivery, let’s hear it for truckers
As an oil and gas trucker’s daughter, I’m happy to see that those who bring us our pasta, gasoline, Crown Royal, and so much more are being seen as more than the raucous character Jerry Reed played in the old “Smokey and the Bandit” movies.
How will the COVID-19 crisis affect federal and Minnesota elections this fall?
If this were a “normal” election, Trump and Republican senators and House members should get clobbered in November. This isn’t a normal election.
Acknowledging our common fate while keeping our distance
“America First” may be an effective political slogan, but it’s a delusionary policy if it means our fate can be separated from that of others.
Please remember older victims of domestic violence
In the face of significant age-related demographic change, Minnesota is in a position to lead in our responses to older victims of abuse.
How to better protect the health of women and their babies during and after the COVID-19 pandemic
We should immediately establish hospital-linked but non-hospital-based labor and delivery units, expand the capacity of accredited free-standing birth centers, and develop guidelines to allow for safe home births.
